Ancient China Dbq

Daily life was influenced in both Ancient India and China because of religion and philosophies. Their well being, their beliefs, and their caste system were affected by religion and philosophies.

The well being of people in Ancient China were affected by the philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. According to the graphic organizer, “Confucius taught people to be kind and love mankind. Taoism teaches you to live in harmony and leave nature alone.” This excerpt shows that you should help yourself before others, and live in harmony with nature. The people of India we also affected by the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha, or Siddhartha Gautama, taught that one should live life to a medium, and live on the middle path, a path not

too extreme, and not too simple. From the evidence above, we can see that the well being of people in Ancient India and China were affected by religion and philosophies.
Religions affected the beliefs of people in Ancient India.

From the text excerpt in Document A, “Hinduism was (and is) a polytheistic religion - Hindus believed in many gods. --- In this kind of Hinduism, people believed in reincarnation - that people could be reborn into other bodies after they died.” This evidence shows that because of religion, Hindus have belief in many gods, and believe in reincarnation. Without a religion, they would not believe in an all-mighty ruler, or in reincarnation. Hindus also believed in karma, which means the good and bad actions that have an effect on the soul, and dharma, or spiritual duties one must follow. As you can see, beliefs were greatly influenced by religion.

Caste systems were affected by philosophies and religion. Shown in the graphic organiser, “Father > son, older brother > younger brother… as taught in Confucianism…” This evidence shows of a simple caste system in China, a caste system that was not as strict as the Indian Caste System. These castes were separated by how much power a person had. A dad was more powerful than his son, and more powerful than his wife. This is the same thing with India. The Brahmins were more powerful than the Sudras. As shown by the research above, religion and philosophies affected the caste system in both India and China.

Throughout all of the above evidence, a common theme is demonstrated. Daily life was influenced by religion and philosophies in both India and China. Religion and philosophies affected

the people’s beliefs, caste system, and well being