The Confucianism was not the pure studies of Confucius, but a mixture of various other philosophies and superstitions to enhance the complex and inadequate teachings of Confucius. This changed the way that the empire was run. Before, emperors appointed people to positions regardless of their competence. Now, the emperors chose the people they thought were the best suited for the job based on merit. Written examinations were used to identify the best qualified people for the job.
In the Roman Empire, some believed that technology was necessary, but not necessarily enlightened, while others saw it as a way to show how great their civilization really was. Han government officials felt that technology was indeed an important part of a civilization and required government intervention. The Han government official in Document 1 said, “I request that establish water conservation offices in each district and staff then with people who are experienced in the ways of water. There should be one high official and one deputy with just enough workers to meet the need”. This shows that he felt it was important for the government to have some control, and to have people who knew what they were doing in charge.
The empires of the “Classical World” evolved techniques that helped control the advancing civilizations. Those techniques helped civilizations become unique and share many similarities and differences. The Roman Empire and Han China were two empires that progressed strongly through the “Classical World” and expanded their empire with the use of a strong administrative structure. The non-hereditary administration in both empires were controlled by emperors (known as a “Consul” in Rome) and a representation of the elite population through the Senate in Rome and the government officials in Han China that were chosen through an exam. Techniques of the both empires also grew through their military that defended the empires and conquered neighboring lands.
Han V.S Roman Technology Beliefs Throughout China a disagreement in the needs of technology differed between the Han, and Roman Empire. The Han China’s attitude toward manufacturing and labor of technology was more open and positive then then Romans which had a more systematic and class-divided society, therefore causing the general attitudes of technology and labor to be low in the Roman Empire. The documents displayed can be grouped in many different ways. Documents 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 are all from government official’s point of view. Documents 3 and 7 are from a philosopher’s point of view.
Han China and Imperial Rome During the period of 206 B.C.E to 220 C.E in Han China and 31 B.C.E to 476 C.E in Imperial Rome many similarities and differences in political control occurred during the classical period. Although both Imperial Rome and Han China controlled large portions of the world’s population and use a bureaucracy as political control they also had differences within that held power and what they based their belief of power on or who it should be controlled by. Both Han China and Imperial Rome controlled a large portion of the world’s population and produced political and cultural legacies that extended to modern day society. They used bureaucracy as a form of political control which is a delegation of power in government. Military played a major role in there rise and fall of their political structure.
Politics in the Han dynasty were very important to keep the empire together. In the Han dynasty, Liu Bang did something different and, instead of wealth or birth name, he gave government positions to those who were well educated and deserving of this position. Liu Bang wanted to be a strong dynasty like the Qin dynasty, but weak like Zhou at the same time. He chose to go down the middle path and be a mix of weak and strong. Bang divided the empire into administrative districts that were each governed by officials.
The Han developed a supply of soilders, which kept their borders secured and made them capable to exchange with others from time to time. On the other hand, Rome had a centralized, mingled structure. The main focus points of the Roman Society were operated by a Roman Monarchy, which was disguised as a Republic, who controlled their complex structure. The only way Romans could accomplish anything big in a certain time span was to make strong changes in their community. It was an enormous weight on Rome's resources and power, when they had to stress over big wins.
In the Han and Roman empires, the two cultures felt extremely different about their attitudes towards technology, but even within the cultures themselves, these attitudes were not necessarily the same. Hans believed that while technology was primarily for the lower class people, upper class people should invent these, and sometimes use them. However, the Roman empire seems to be thoroughly divided on their attitudes towards technology. Some of the documents seem to think that technology is not for the upperclass, and is in fact vulgar, but others seem to think that it is beautiful and useful, created by the lower class but used by both. The first four documents are from the Han dynasty, and two of them are from government officials, which would probably mean a weak bias on their part towards the government.
Confucianism and Hinduism Thesis: Confucianism and Hinduism are very similar in the aspect of having a social caste system; however, their views on who rules and patriarchial societies are very different. Body TS 1: Confucianism was a religion/philosophy in China that had many values concerning society and its structure. Body CD 1A: Had a social structure that from highest to lowest put land owning aristrocrats and scholars, laborers, and lastly unskilled laborers (artists, slaves, etc.) Made people properly hold their place in society. Body CD 2A: Valued intelligence.
Nature and ancestor spirits are common in popular Taoism. Organized Taoism distinguishes its ritual activity from that of the folk religion, which some professional Taoists view as wrong. Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. Confucius was the founder of the teachings of Confucianism. Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and religious thought which has had big influence on the culture and history of East Asia.