Noel Chavez
Book: Ways of the World
Chapter 5
Chapter title: Eurasian Cultural Traditions (500 B.C.E. – 500 C.E)
Today’s cultural traditions in China such as “Confucianism” and “Buddhism” continue to be in the interest of the nation’s people and community regardless of all the opposition efforts made by the Communist party to eliminate this traditions.
The cultural traditions in China, India, the Middle East, and Greece, who did spread widely, have persisted in very diverse forms into the 21st century. Traditions that have also shaped the lifestyles and outlooks of the people until present.
Traditions by Countries;
China: Kong Fuzi (Confucius) and Laozi, whose teachings gave rise to the Confucianism and Daoism respectively.
India: A series of religions writings known as the Upanishads gave expression to the classical philosophy of Hinduism, while a religious reformer, Siddhartha Gautama, set in motion a separate religion known later as Buddhism.
Middle East: Zoroastrianism, derived from the teachings of the Persian prophet Zarathustra, and in Judaism, articulated in Israel by a number of Jewish prophets such as Amos, Jeremiah, and Isaiah.
Greece: Socratos, Plato, Artistole and many other.
China and the Search for Order
A country whose nations did change from having political unity at the beginning, to then damage and then resulting chaos (age of warring states) on all over.
The Legalist Answer
The solution to Chinas problems lay in rules and laws. Giving credit or the opportunity to only farm workers or soldiers and not taking in consideration scholars, merchants and other classes were regarded as useless.
The Confucian Answer
A teacher who never had the opportunity to put in action his believe for moral, the superior (father) ruler to the inferior (son) if the superior gave a good example (fair) the inferior will follow the role model (superior).
The Daoist Answer
To believe that people need to withdraw from political and social activism and instead to align themselves with nature. Overall small communities that made use of what was really in need and active efforts at self-communities.
Cultural Traditions of Classical India
Hinduism dissolved into a vas diversity of goods, spirits and beliefs, practices, rituals and philosophies. The cultural development od the Indian civilization was far different from China.
