Confucius Ideas In Ancient China

1725 Words7 Pages

Amanda Lovgren
Survey of World History
Task #2
Part A
The geographical distinctiveness that Greece possessed posed a variety of positive and undesirable qualities. Although the location on the coastal areas of the Black and Mediterranean seas gave way to successful maritime trade and their supremacy of what would become “the most contested waterway in the ancient world” (Acrobatiq, 2017), the geography of the region was not well suited for growing substantial crops of their own. This meant that aside from grapes and olives, the Grecian people relied heavily on trade for sustenance in their communities. Unlike the river-based civilizations of early China, India, and Mesopotamia, the coastal landscape of the Mediterranean was comprised of “rugged …show more content…

Confucius spread his ideas throughout China in hopes of one day creating a righteous society. His ideas were based on three main concepts; Ren, Li, and Xiao. Ren could be described as benevolence, kindness, a compassion towards others. Li represents etiquette, proper behavior, and respect. And Xiao represents the devotion expressed from an inferior to a superior. From these concepts Confucius tried to create a better China through his teachings. He viewed all of China as a big family within the lens of Xiao, seeing the emperor as a loving father responsible for taking care of his family, and the family showing loyalty and support for the emperor. (Acrobatiq, …show more content…

The impression that the Greek’s culture, including the Greeks art and ideas, “spread widely from the Eastern Mediterranean to the banks of the Indus River valley” (Acrobatiq, 2017) following Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire. Of the regions that Alexander conquered before his death, the old Hellenic ways were replaced with a new Hellenistic perspective. This meant that many of the old ways of philosophy and political policies were changed. With these Hellenistic monarchies, the king and his court were the “focal points of political power.” (Acrobatiq, 2017), giving Alexander a great deal of power. Successful military and political accomplishments as well as his creation of a massive empire in such a small span of time made the wide-spread distribution of Greek-based Hellenistic culture into India, Persia, Egypt and Greece remarkably easy. The Hellenistic culture that spread amongst these other territories was still Greek, yet it had a new twist due to the wide variety of people who were implementing it. The kingdoms that arose following Alexander’s death sustained the cultural characteristics of the Greeks yet at the same time, a new fusion of Greek ideas and practices were born. Unfortunately, when Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE, he