Society & Inequality in Eurasia

In the Chinese society males the most prestige of the Chinese state officials. Emperor Wu Di established an imperial academy were officials were trained as scholars. They were dealing with history, literature, art, and mathematics, and with an emphasis on Confucius. In the Chines society officials came from wealthy families and their prestige that accompanied their education and a membership in the official elite. In India birth determined social status, and great inequality characterized by social life and religious or cultural traditions defined the inequalities. I found very interesting the Caste as Varna were the caste evolved from a racially defined encounter of light-skinned Aryan invaders and the darker-hued native peoples. In the Rome, society was based on slavery. In classical Athens it was a home for 60,000 slaves, about 1/3 of the population. Philosophers in Rome bought that being a slave was horrible but owning a slave was good.

Ch 5 Documents

The Chinese women were limited importance in chinese society. This women wrote instructions for women. One of these instructions was humility, and says "Let a women retire late to bed, but rise early to duties; let her nor dread task by day or by night."By saying this she means that women's have to do everything even though they might say up late doing there duties. In An Alternative to Patriarchy in India, women were never to be independent, and they could not have more authority than ordinary life. Women began to write poems where they talked about their religious experience. In the Roman Women in Protest talks about the Roman authorities passed the Oppian laws were women could not use luxury goods. Overall these documents talked about women's not been equal as men. They were inferior and did not have rights they were seen mostly like house wires that had to take care of the kids and their home.

Chapter 4 Documents

In The Analects I enjoyed reading about Confucius ideas. I liked many of his ideas about how a ruler should be, and how there needs to be laws for a country to work properly. Confucius says" If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of property, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good." I like his ideas of how a person can change and become good. Another interesting idea that Confucius had was always mentioning the virtues. Another document that I enjoyed reading was The Gospel of Matthew which talks about Jesus teaching people and telling them that if they do good they will have the kingdom of heaven and that they will be called sons of god. He is telling people that they have to do things right and be good people. Both Confucius and Jesus have the idea that people can be good and do great things, and they are giving people moral and ethical teachings.

Culture and Religion

It is interesting how the Chinese and the Greeks thinkers focused more on the affairs of the world and credited human rationality with the power to understand the reality. But the Indian, Persian, and Jewish intellectuals explored the unseen realm of the divine and the relationship of God or the gods to human life. In order to solve Chinas problems they had three answers. The first answer was the Legalist answer which was to lay the rules or laws, and strictly enforced through a system of rewards and punishments. Second answer is the Confucian answer. The answer to Chinas disorder was the moral example of superiors was the key to social harmony. Lastly the Daoist answer. Daoist answer focused on the withdrawal into the world of nature and encourage behavior that was spontaneous, individualistic, and natural. I think that from all the answers I would take all three of them and apply them because they are all good and would help restore a country.
In the Buddhist and Christian Religion I found interesting that neither the Buddha and Jesus had intentions on founding a new religion. Jesus never claimed divine status and saw himself as a teacher or a prophet, whose close relationship with god could be replicated by anyone. The Buddha viewed himself as as an enlightened but fully human person.

Confucius

In The Analects by Confucius we can see that he beliefs that there are rules that people need to follow. That would be the only way for something to work. I found interesting that he thinks thinks a person news to have sincerity, and tell the truth, dignify, no anxiety or fear in order to be a superior man. I think that he has a very good description of how a superior man needs to be in order to serve others. On XV.36 says" The superior man is correctly firm, not merely firm" This means that he has to be firm and not do things that are bad that way his people will also do good.  

Reflection: Ch 3 Documents

In the Roman Empire had a century of autocratic but generally but benevolent rule. In Rome, Aristides delivered to the imperial court in front of the emperor. The Roman Empire had a combination of democracy and aristocracy. In the Chinese Empire was ruled by a single emperor who mediated between heave and the human realm. In The Writing of Master Han Fei it talks about how the country was weak if the people would not follow the rules. But if people were to listen then country would be strong. they had to follow the law of the country. The Indian Empires followed the rules from his emperor Ashoka. It seemed more as a teachings of life. In The Rock Edicts says" Beloved-of-the -Gods thinks that even those who do wrong should be forgiven where forgiveness is possible" These to me seem like teachings, ways that people should live. If I had to choose were to live I would chose the Roman empire because it had a combination of democracy and aristocracy, because I would not like to live in a country were one person has all the power.