Greek and Chinese ways of life Essay

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Throughout the class of history. civilisations have been developing all over the Earth. Some of these civilisations have shared several ends. experiences. and jobs. Two peculiarly notable civilisations are those of Greece and China. Greece had many city states within in it. Two major Grecian city states were Sparta and Athens. Despite belonging to Greece. these city states were alone culturally. politically. and socially. The Han Dynasty in China is another civilisation that was alone in footings of its cultural. political. and societal development.

Grecian and Chinese civilisations have several similar and different facets that have been the ground for their ends. experiences. and jobs in life. but they both have besides been alone culturally. politically. and socially. Athens. one of the most powerful city states in Greece. had three major ends defined by its swayer. Pericles. His three major ends were to protect Athens. fancify it. and to do the Democracy stronger. In order for Pericles to beef up the democracy he needed to increase the figure of paid public functionaries.

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Before. merely the wealthy could afford to keep public office. but by increasing the figure of paid public functionaries it allowed even the hapless to prosecute in self-determination. Pericles believed that the Athenian fundamental law should be in the power of the people and by set uping a direct Democracy ; he was able to implement this in Athens. One manner Pericles attempted to protect Athens was by utilizing the money from the exchequer of the Delian League to construct Athens the strongest fleet of ships in the Mediterranean. The Delian League was an confederation of ancient Grecian city states. which were dominated by Athens.

This was of import in protecting Athens since it was surrounded by H2O. If they could command entree to their surrounding waterways so they could diminish their opportunities of invasion. Athens is located right following to the Mediterranean Sea. which enabled them to develop their strong navy force for military usage. This was merely one manner Pericles strengthened Athens ; he besides found a manner to do Athens gloriously beautiful. Pericles beautified Athinais by utilizing money from the Empire to purchase gold. tusk. and marble.

He did this because those stuffs were expensive assets and helped do Athens a wealthier and powerful city state. All these ends that Athens developed over clip. helped protect it. fancify it and do it the strongest city state of all clip. Despite Athens’ prosperity. this city-state experienced many obstructions that finally stripped it of its laterality within Ancient Greece. Power shifted from Athens to Sparta during the Peloponnesian War. Sparta was focused chiefly on militaristic enterprises while Athens celebrated peace. rational development. art. and beauty.

Sparta had an unarguable advantage since all male citizens spent their lives developing to go strong soldiers. and all adult females were responsible for being strong plenty to bear more soldiers. Sparta’s onslaughts were most effectual when contending on land so Athens did hold an advantage since it was surrounded by organic structures of H2O and had the strongest naval forces in all of Greece. Under Pericles. Athens’ program was to avoid land conflict with the strong Spartan Army. so they waited for the right clip to strike from the sea. Old ages passed and finally Athens fell to Sparta’s strong military tactics.

After Sparta won the war. it was so the strongest city state in ancient Greece. Athens’ ruin switching power in favour of Sparta was of import because it reshaped the Ancient Greek World. These developments made Sparta the strongest city state in all of Greece. Athens besides had major economic inequalities which shaped their manner of life. Athenian husbandmans frequently found themselves sold into bondage when they were unable to refund the loans they had borrowed from their neighbours. This forced them to plight themselves as collateral. Old ages passed and the Athenian husbandmans asked their loaners to call off the debts and to give them land.

The loaners were non so lament on this thought. which led to a civil war within Athens between the husbandmans and the loaners. This civil war within Athens. gave Sparta the right clip to strike. Once Sparta attacked. it was all over because Athens was non prepared to strike back. The war within made Athens weaker. giving Sparta the advantage it needed to win the Peloponnesian War. This civil war helped determine Athens’ hereafter by deflecting it from external concerns therefore giving Sparta the opportunity to assail and finally win the Peloponnesian War. Sparta was a city state within Greece that besides had many ends. experiences and jobs.

One of Sparta’s chief ends was to make an unbeatable force. They made their ground forces an unbeatable force by developing their warriors from a immature age to go the work forces Sparta needed to contend Sparta’s wars. This allowed for the enlargement of Sparta’s military power. One illustration of their military power was their triumph in the Peloponnesian war. Sparta had strong military tactics. which helped them get the better of the mighty city-state Athens. Athens was considered most powerful because of its prosperity. wealth. and strong navy fleet. but Sparta won the war due to their military power on land and the civil war which weakened Athens.

The war changed the dynamic power between the two city states. which caused a great trade of alone alterations in these two city states. and therefore. all of Ancient Greece. The Han Dynasty within the Chinese civilisation was another civilisation that had many ends. experiences. and jobs. One of the Han Dynasty’s chief ends was the fusion of China. The Han dynasty was able to unite China by integrating rules of Confucian thought into societal construction. Torahs. and religious beliefs. The incorporation of Confucianism helped to beef up the economic system. retrace the royal castle. and besides allowed for the rise of blue households.

Confucianism brought the thought that people are born with a possible for morality. The Han incorporated this thought into their province policy. believing that swayers must back up it. This caused the Han period to see a great decrease in rough Torahs and penalties. and a bend to govern by virtue philosophy. which is regulation under one leader. The Han Dynasty’s fusion transformed Chinese civilisation in many ways taking to its cultural. political. and societal singularity. The Han dynasty experienced great military enlargement throughout its reign.

Its powerful military forces were able to spread out the land all the manner to Vietnam and Korea. Chinese civilization. ways of life. schools of idea. and faith were spread to all of these conquered lands. This was a major achievement for the Han dynasty because it changed the universe in more ways than anyone could surmise. Most of all. it made the Han Dynasty bigger and stronger. therefore more capable of doing even more influential alterations. This enlargement led to increase trade. which brought about the Silk Road. a monolithic web of trade paths which connected the East to other parts of the universe.

The Chinese used the Silk Road to merchandise largely silk. Cu. and Fe ; nevertheless this trade path grew to besides back up the exchange of many other objects such as spices. arms. fabrics. and more. The improved trading web and military enlargement allowed the Chinese civilisation to thrive as a state. and to develop culturally. politically. and socially under no one’s footings but their ain. Athinais and Sparta were city states within Greece. but they both had different signifiers of authorities. Athens’ authorities on occasion used oppressive methods. but chiefly followed a democratic theoretical account of authorities.

The Spartans did non O.K. of dictatorships so they produced a different signifier of authorities in order to avoid it. The Spartans’ signifier of authorities was called an Oligarchy. Oligarchic authorities is made up of four parts: the kingship which is alone in that there are two male monarchs. the Gerousia ( the council of seniors ) . the Ephorate. and the assembly. These two signifiers of authorities helped these several city states within Greece to go some of the strongest states in the universe. Unlike Greece. China was a feudal province. The Han Dynasty was a to a great extent centralized province. much like that of Sparta.

The Hans did non follow Athens’ signifier of democracy. which made them different from each other. Under the Han swayers. the philosophies of Confucianism were revived and followed. Under Confucian instructions. the swayer and the topic should hold common regard for each other. the people and the swayer should both exhibit good behaviour. and the swayer should be an illustration for the remainder of the people. Everyone was expected to esteem the swayer. even if he was a bad leader. Legalism was another governmental ideal that was spread throughout the Han Dynasty.

Legalism stated that worlds were of course evil and needed subject and restraint by the authorities. Throughout the Han dynasty. these two forces influenced the authorities. Confucian instructions and Legalism shaped the Han dynasty’s ends. experiences. and jobs which contributed to do them the state they have become. Many differences between Athens and the Han Dynasty have caused them to go the states as we know them today. One of the most influential differences between the two was the type of authorities they used within their civilisations.

Athinais had a democracy. whereas the Han Dynasty had a monarchal signifier of authorities. The difference between a democracy and a monarchy is that a monarchy is a signifier of authorities in which supreme power is given to an person. who is the caput of the province. The person who heads a monarchy is called a sovereign. Monarchies were the most common signifier of authorities in the universe during antediluvian and mediaeval times. On the other manus in a democratic signifier of authorities the supreme power is held wholly by the people under a free electoral system.

These two signifiers of authoritiess were prevailing in civilisations all over the Earth. Many civilisations have prospered from these signifiers of authoritiess. and most are still being used today. Another major difference between Athens and the Han Dynasty was that Athens was a little part of Greece whereas the Han Dynasty occupied a much bigger country all over China and was actively working to distribute its land. The sum of country a civilisation conquered or owned helped find if it was a strong civilisation or a weak one.

Athinais despite being a little civilisation in comparing with the Han Dynasty was still rather strong. Athens won its just portion of wars and conflicts. merely like the Han Dynasty. One ground why Athens was a little civilisation in compared to the Han Dynasty was because Athens was a city state that was portion of a greater imperium. whereas the Han Dynasty was a great imperium itself. doing it stronger than Athens. Another difference between Athens and the Han Dynasty was that the Athenians were heathens. whereas the Han Chinese believed in Confucianism and Daoism.

All these differences between the Han Dynasty and Athens have shaped the ends. experiences and jobs for both civilisations in many ways. Within the Han society there were legion agricultural innovations that helped to hike productiveness throughout the dynasty. Among these were blocks. and ox neckbands to enable the cattle to draw ploughs without choking. Another agricultural innovation that increased productiveness was weaving cogwheels which helped with excavation. This differed from the Grecian theoretical account in that the Greeks didn’t truly contribute much to increase agricultural productiveness.

The Greeks believed that no new methods were needed because there were adequate slaves to make the work. Productivity was one manner in which the Greeks fell abruptly of China’s criterions. Without agricultural innovations the Han Dynasty would non hold been about every bit comfortable since these innovations helped determine their manner of life and boosted their economic system. One major similarity between the Greece civilisations and the Chinese civilisation was that their societal inequalities and failings of the lower categories of society brought them to their diminution.

In Greece. the dirt conditions were non ideal for the growing of grain. but grain was an highly of import portion of Grecian life. Farmers turned to olives and grapes which were really good adapted to the soil’s conditions. but were high in footings of care. Besides. grape vines and olive trees did non bring forth fruits for at least five old ages after seting ; nevertheless. husbandmans still had to pay money to take attention of the land. while acquiring nil in return. As a consequence. the bulk of the Grecian husbandmans went into debt.

Once in debt. they were really frequently mistreated by their landlords. who forced them to go labourers or slaves. The Greeks allow their slaves do all the work. so there was small demand for innovations that could increase productiveness. Weakness within Athens and other city states caused them to contend for each other’s lands endlessly. Changeless combat between the city states was the greatest failing Ancient Greece faced. These jobs within the Grecian universe shaped their ways of life in ways comparable and incompatible to the Chinese universe.

Within China. a failing of the Han Dynasty was that the imperium was enfeebling mammoth. Near the centre of the imperium. authorities power was strong. However. as one moved outward toward the boundary lines. authorities authorization bit by bit declined due to miss of cardinal authorities inadvertence. As clip progressed. the one time effectual disposal from the Han swayers became corrupt. For illustration. landlords would lie on their land revenue enhancements. so they could do a greater net income. Like Greece. the Chinese landlords would frequently duplicate revenue enhancement their already hapless provincials. which finally damaged the economic system.

When tribunal functionaries tried to deprive the corrupt landlords of their lands. they faced tremendous opposition and were unable to alter anything. Another failing which contributed to the ruin of the Han Dynasty. like the Greeks. was internal combat. The Confucian bookman aristocracy turned against the corrupt functionaries. while the functionaries struggled for power with everyone else. As all of this was happening the lives of provincials continued to decline. Finally. the landholding elect held all the power in the state. and the policies of the emperor favored them. Then. Taoist ideals began to distribute among the peasantry.

Peasants across the state revolted in many cases. such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion. which finally led to the autumn of the Han Empire. After the autumn of the Han dynasty’s cardinal authorities. power went to three warlords. officially get downing the Period of the Three Kingdoms. In the terminal. one can see that Greek and Chinese civilisations. though they have their similarities. have each evolved unambiguously in footings of civilization. political systems. and societal norms and construction. Besides. within these great civilisations the many differences and similarities within them have shaped their ends. experiences. and jobs otherwise.

Whether it is the signifier of authorities a state follows. spiritual positions. or social beliefs. all of these factors bear influence on the civilization’s way in the terminal. Works Cited Fleck. Robert. “The Origins of Democracy: A Model with Application to Ancient Greece. ” Journal of Law and Economics 49 ( 2006 ) . Print. Holliday. A. J. “Sparta’s Role in the First Peloponnesian War. ” The Journal of Hellenic Studies 97 ( 1977 ) : 54-63. Print. Homer. and Robert Fagles. The Odyssey. New York: Penguin. 2006. Print. Nylan. Michael. “Han Classicists Writing in Dialogue about Their OwnTradition. “Philosophy East and West 47. 2 ( 1997 ) : 133-88. Print.

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