The Shang believed in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, while the Egyptian religion was centered on the ruler and the eternity of the soul. The two civilizations possessed political differences, too. For instance, Shang military officials had more power than the governors did in Egypt. Shang was also a little more organized. However, Shang had human sacrifices, usually prisoners of war, as a way of honoring the gods.
| Ancient Egyptian Religion | | | Samantha Matias | 4/12/2012 | World History Honors Boivie Period 7 | There are 12 major religions in the world today and none of them can compare to Ancient Egyptian religion. Ancient Egyptians took their religion very seriously; it helped develop their culture single handedly. Egyptians did not believe in just one god like most religions. Ancient Egyptian religion was a unique religion because it consists of 3 major beliefs; ancient myths, nature and animal worship, and countless deities. In ancient Egypt, myths were one of the most praised things in culture and religion.
After unified it he was the first emperor who allowed citizens to take parts in government according to their abilities to work not just by blood. He invented one economy system that everyone used china. He unified China under one currency Lian, all units of measurements, reduced the amount of Chinese characters and made one written language. This made the economy system run much smoother. Qin Huang Di was an egocentric and brutal emperor that dictated all of china and outlawed all religion that wasn’t legalism.
Darius also gained the favor and praise of many Jews for allowing them to return to Jerusalem and rebuilding a temple destroyed by Babylonian conquerors in 587 B.C.E. While Persians acknowledged the traditions and cultures of those they ruled, the rulers of Han dynasty did the opposite. Han Wudi, an emperor of China, pursued a policy of expansion and had a great desire to expand his territories further. North Vietnam and Korea are two lands he invaded and subjected under the Han rule. He ruled both these lands through a Chinese-styled government, a centralized government that relied on Legalist principles, and imposed Confucian values.
Han Chinas government was strictly centralized, with an emperor as their supreme and divine ruler; the Son of Heaven. People believed that Heaven chose the person that is ready for being its ruler on Earth. Many people questioned how Heaven does this. In a dialogue between Mencius, a student of Confucius, and Wan Chang, Menciuss student, Chang asks Mencius a few questions of Heaven choosing its next Son. Mencius answer was that Heaven does not speak but reveals itself by acts and deeds; Heaven sees with the eyes of its people and hears with the ears of its people.(Doc.
The ancient civilizations of Egypt and China were very similar in many different aspects. Their gov ernments and their geography were extremely alike and the religions of the two civilizations had onl y tiny differences. The early Egyptians also had the same concept of writing as the Chinese people who lived across the continent from them. Suprisingly, these two ancient civilizations that existed very far away from each other show a enormous amount of similarities in almost every area. The gove rnment of Ancient Egypt was headed by a king (in the New kingdom, the king assumed the name "pharaoh ") with absolute power.
In Rome and China their administrative techniques used, you can see when looking at the emperors and legislative bodies they had, that in China, the emperors where given the right to rule by the “Mandate of Heaven”(study guide)(pg.130) which made all populous of the empire obey the ruler with out much question, giving him the same obedience that children gave their fathers. (pg.131) In contrast, Roman Consuls were placed into power by either their family right or by appointment of the previous Consul. (pg.149) Conflict grew between those who were appointed by the previous Consul and with those who had the family right making choosing the next emperor very tricky and often caused chaos in the government until things could be resolved. (pg.154) The regions of China and Imperial Rome are similar in the way of the use of bureaucracy,(ch.4) but different through the use of belief systems and in the role of the emperor. Both the empire of Han China and Imperial Rome used a bureaucracy as the form of political control.
An example of this is “Mandate of Heaven.” It is a concept in China: The ruler had moral authority so long as powers granted it to him on the basis of his good character. A well-functioning government was evidence that the ruler possessed the Mandate of Heaven. A poorly functioning government showed that the mandate had passed away (pg. 451 The World’s History). So basically the ruler made the laws and he had to make sure that the civilization was under control by following them laws.
Increasing trade with all major regions of the world c. A dislike of the arts and sciences d. A powerful centralized government 18. A “dynasty” in Chinese history was a. Any emperor who lasted more than two decades b. A family that passed the imperial title from generation to generation c. Powerful bureaucrats who ran the state d. Big business families who monopolized trade 19. Merchants in China were considered low prestige according to Confucian ideals because: a.
Both empires allowed their citizens to contribute to the empire; however, they did so by different means. Emperor Augustus of Imperial Rome, after declaring himself as emperor, allowed for the senate to exist, therefore giving citizens more opportunities to obtain senatorial and office positions. This might have occurred because Augustus’s government was a monarchy disguised as a republic. All citizens except for foreigners and women could obtain political positions in Imperial Rome. Citizens in Han China could only contribute to the empire by becoming a bureaucrat, however, this positions was very limited and was open only to Confucian Scholars.