Ancient China Vs India

605 Words3 Pages

Follow the Silk Road to Politics, Philosophy, Religion and Social Structure
Some might say that China was better than India. They are however unique based on what they believed to be important. China and India are the same because they both used the Silk Road for trade, however they traded much more than goods. The Silk Road was the path to Buddhism.
First, China’s focus was on politics and philosophy. China had a centralized government. The government was known as the “Mandate of Heaven” (Centeno, 2017). The Mandate of Heaven had a hierarchy. On top was “Heaven below was King/Emperor and then on the bottom was Earth” (Centeno, 2017). This was created during “The Chou Dynasty (1050-221 B.C.E)” (China and Japan: Beginnings to 1500).
In addition, …show more content…

This means that if you were bad in your past life then you came back accordingly or “Darma” (Centeno, 2017). Hinduism was the religion that they practiced, that was until Ashoka. When Ashoka took over he “converted to Buddhism and promoted faith throughout the empire” (Centeno, PowerPoint, 2017). After Ashoka left India separated into “16 city-states” (Centeno, 2017).
In the end, Ashoka left behind the ability to have religious freedom. When Ashoka went on his quest to take over, he did so using the “Silk Road” that China had built for trade. China had built the road to sell good. However, Ashoka grew fond of Buddhism on his quest. Ashoka then allowed for “religious freedoms” (Centeno, PowerPoint, 2017). China and India have this in common they both practiced Buddhism. However, Buddhism did originate from China. Buddhism is now practiced all over the world.
Inconclusion, the way that China and India chose to govern, was different in many aspects. Whether it was China’s politics and philosophy or India’s social structure and religion they were different. However, the government was influenced by one major religion. That religion was Buddhism which originated in China, and via the Silk Road was then practiced in India. Buddhism was what China and India had in