Chinese Philosophies

All throughout history, a main goal for a government is to find a way to create harmony and peace with benefits for everyone. There are many philosophies and ideas on how to achieve that goal, but aside from big government procedures there are roles and ideas that affect how that specific country should be run. Many countries have very similar thoughts on certain issues while they could also disagree with other concept. In classical India and China the roles of gender and the thoughts on family display many similarities, while different philosophies and their religious beliefs influenced their thoughts on social and economic class.

In classical India and China, there were specific roles a person played in society based on what class someone

was in but mainly based on their gender. When the Aryans migrated into India, they came from societies that exercised the subordination of women and the superiority of men. The Aryans adapted the concept of a patriarchal society to fit their needs and it quickly became very popular in classical India. Patriarchal society also became prominent during the dynasties of classical China. Similar to India, men held the important roles in society; however, early in China women had more of influence. Their influence gradually decreased throughout the empires, yet families were still obligated to respect their female ancestors. The Han period in China supported filial piety however, the focus was more on patriarchy. Due to China’s society being led by men, the women were often considered not important. The women in classical India had similar experiences when it came to their roles and influence in society. The women played crucial roles in the communities but were often overlooked or overshadowed by men. In the Chinese and Indian societies, because men held all the power, women had to find ways to make an impact on their community. However, the men always wanted more power for themselves and it became harder and harder, especially in Indian societies, for women to gain influence. In China, Confucianism also supported the respect of women. As it became harder for women to gain respect, the teachings of Confucius emphasized filial piety and demanded a certain amount of respect for women. In India, ideas about social class came from their religion but the society itself was centered around the Caste System. The Caste System had four main groupings but those groupings were based upon the men and their place in society. Throughout history, women have constantly been overlooked as important figures in society because of the forced dominance of men.
Similar to their common view on the roles of gender, humanistic India and China had similar opinions on family and kinship, with a few differences concerning specific dynasties and empires.

In India, the Caste System supported families and supported the idea of kinship being together. There were sub-castes called jati that held responsibility for one another. A jati would consist of a few families that stuck together for generations. Similar to India, Chinese philosophies supported families. Confucius taught that one should honor parents and elders. In the Zhou dynasty it was said that a family would only prosper if all members, dead and alive, worked together harmoniously. Chinese children were taught to honor elders; chinese women were subordinate to men because of the prominence of patriarchy. While the women were subordinate to men, Chinese families also had to have a certain respect for the female members. Women in Chinese society did not have much importance in large society but they did receive respect from their families and community. During a brief period in the Qin dynasty, the emperor stated that families were for the weak and one was to deny their family. This little time period is similar to what the Buddhists thought because they believed to achieve Nirvana, one had to deny their families. In China, a big idea that stood in place of a religion was the honoring of ancestors. Because it was thought that a family could only achieve greatness if all members both

dead and alive worked together, the members of the family that were alive were obligated to pay their respects and honor their past members. This possibly was a substitute for religion because they would try and honor their ancestors through everything they did. It was one of their main focuses in live. Throughout most of Chinese and Indian history, the societies have supported families and encouraged them to stick together yet
The different environments and experiences the Chinese and Indian societies went through impacted the philosophies and ideas that were produced during those time periods. Religion was not a very influential thing during classical China, rather philosophies such as Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism were more notable in the Chinese society. Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism, while all different, all supported the idea that a person could move up in social standing. In India, social status was mostly based on the Caste System and it was very rigid in the sense that a person was stuck in the class that they were born into. Much of the Indian religions at the time affected the thought on social class. In the Vedic religion and Hinduism, the thought was if a person did something bad in a previous life that they would be punished in the next. The teachings of the Upanishads in the Vedic religion, specifically the concept of karma and dharma, severely impacted the Indian society’s view on class. Due to the fact that religion was not a big thing in China, the Chinese did not have set views on social or economic class. Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism were the main philosophies at the time; they also influenced how the Chinese government's ran. The three main philosophies became prominent because of the turmoil at that time in Chinese history. During the turmoil, many kings and emperors rose and fell. The idea that one could change social classes if they worked hard enough was shown in this time period. Lui Bang was a commoner who became emperor because he wanted it and he worked for it. In India, they had some political unrest but there was always the Caste System underneath the surface that supported the framework of the communities social and economic condition. The differences, between the social and economic set up of the two different civilizations, proved to be just a simple concepts but had lasting impacts on the way the communities functioned.
The similarity of the roles of gender as well as the thoughts on family throughout classical China and India display a strong foundation in the Chinese and Indian society; however the differences in the way their social and economic class system was set up advertised the differences in their complex societies.

Classical China and India were very different in many ways but specifically in the way their community functioned and operated. Because there were a few basic religions in India, their take on certain happenings and events was very different from what the Chinese outlook was. The Indians believed in certain things, such as the Upanishads, that supported the system that their society was founded upon. The foundations the different societies were founded upon deeply impacted the daily lives of the citizens without them being fully aware of what was affecting their

lives.