Emperor Constantine And Mou Tzu's The Disposition Of Error

The Roman empire and Han dynasty were alike in many ways— their large populations, institutional governments, and problems with northern ‘barbarians’— but particularly in their approach to a new religion and its growth. Both Eusebius’ The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine and Mou Tzu’s The Disposition of Error were written during this time as a response to Christianity and Buddhism. This raises the question, based on how these texts are portrayed, what do they reveal about the attitude towards Christianity and Buddhism in the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty? In the beginning, as the religions were slowly gaining a following, people became apprehensive of its effect. Thus, both Eusebius and Mou Tzu’s documents were propaganda pieces that

For instance, Bishop Eusebius describes Christianity with words with positive connotations, such as “powerful”, “supreme”, and “saviour and protector” (Eusebius 18). Any other religion was expressed with negative connotations, specifically, “wicked”, “unhappy end”, and “wrath” (Eusebius 18). Likewise, Mou Tzu does the same, in fact the title “The Disposition of Error” (Mou Tzu 87) means to get rid of this wrong; essentially, he is establishing that the doubts of Buddhism are wrong. He continues to associate Buddhism with phrases like “distinguishing marks are extraordinary” (Mou Tzu 87) and “goodness and wisdom” (Mou Tzu 88). As a result, their loaded words evoke a strong emotion in their

For the Romans, Eusebius associates Christianity with the Roman army. The Roman army was powerful and effective, and the bishop writes that Constantine “caused the sign of the salutary trophy to be impressed on the very shields of his soldiers” (Eusebius 19). It projects Christianity positively to the Romans; if the cross was the motif that was the first thing that challenged their adversaries in battle, it must be essential and efficient. In the same fashion, Mou Tzu is explaining why he studies the Indian way of Buddhist scriptures and he connects it to the Chinese ways (e.g., Way of Yao, Shun, Confucius, and the Duke of Chou), which naturally, the Han people are familiar with. He does so by saying “why should I reject the Way of Yao, Shun, Confucius, and the Duke of Chou? Gold and jade do not harm each other, crystal and amber do not cheapen each other” (Mou Tzu 278). To clarify, he means that both the Buddhist and Chinese practice can both be followed, using the phrase “gold and jade” (278) to show how valued both manners