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Brief Introduction of Chinese Cultures
Han dynasty and the spread of Buddhism
Brief Introduction of Chinese Cultures
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Culture is influenced by its people, and if the majority of people believe in a certain religion, then the society's achievements will reflect the belief of the people, and what is accepted as fact in the religion will be accepted by society as a cultural norm. Such was the case in the Han dynasty. Buddhism was introduced during China’s Han Dynasty when the Silk Road was presented. At first, the people were wary of this religion because most people had focused on honoring their relatives and family while Buddhism focused on honoring nuns and monks who had given up their family life and tradition to achieve enlightenment through meditating.
During times of great struggle and crisis, people looked to Buddhism because it promised an escape
...ther religions since they never really comitted to one main religion. Han China spread Confucianism by leading Confucius lives, they used Confucius ideas for their law codes and taught Confucius ideas to their children. The Confucian ideas spread by the Han helped rulers like Wudi have long reigns of power by embracing rule by morals and ethics. It also helped spread written exams as ways to determine peoples places and jobs in society based off of merit as opposed to putting anyone anywhere just to give people jobs. China also had a growing population of Daoists who believed in the power of nature. As time progressed both of their societies changed their religions. Rome slowly progressed from a basic Hellenistic polytheism to the once persecuted Christianity. Meanwhile China, which was mainly a Confucian and Daoist led society began to accept and embrace Buddhism.
The Han dynasty and the Roman Empire were both powerful empires during their era. However, the ways they obtained their power varied greatly because they used different methods that involved their political structures, which revolved around their centralized governments. The Han dynasty and the Roman Empire acquired very unique techniques that allowed them to control social and political. For example, the Han dynasty adopted a religion known as Confucianism, which monitored everything in the lives of the Chinese. Contrary, the Roman Empire established a monarchy but allowed its residents more freedom as compared to the Han. Nevertheless, the two empires were similar in political structures in that the power was depended on the wealthy that were in authority, the peasants struggled with their lives because of concerning issues such as food supply. The empires were able to create and preserve a peaceful and sustainable lives for a long time, unlike the past empires. Social distribution were under the control of the wealthiest and they could effortlessly impact community viewpoints and interactions among the residents. These two empires existed during the Classical Period had comparable and various social, political, religions, as well as economical values and practices. However, they both possessed differences and similarities in their economic and social perspectives even though the two empires were established around the same era.
The Han Dynasty governed China for more than four hundred years. It rose to power in 206 BC and stayed until 220 AC. The Han Dynasty played a vital role in China’s development. This dynasty pioneered a political system and social structure that lasted in China for almost 2,000 years. The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were considered two of the most strongest civilizations at that time. The Roman Empire lasted from 27 BC to 393 AD. This empire changed the way Romans lived. The Romans made rapid advancements in science and technology. Both of these civilizations successfully took control of their countries. While they both have an abundant amount of similarities, they is an overwhelming amount of differences that set these two empires apart. The decline of these two civilizations were both caused by internal affairs. The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire both ruled close to the same time span, they both had highly centralized political systems, and they both were the most advanced civilizations in their region of the world. Their similarities did not overshadow their differences however. The Roman Empire had a senate that served as their legislative body and in China, the emperors ruled over the city. The Han Dynasty implemented national equality, and used Confucianism thoughts to keep the country united, while the Romans divided their citizens into different social classes and kept ethic discrimination. While both civilizations had strong social class separators, the Roman Empire made their’s more apparent. Both civilizations were strong and advanced for their time, however, they both ruled their countries differently.
Of the many dynasties that make up China’s history, one of the most notable is the Han Dynasty, which lasted from 206 BCE to 220 CE, under the rule of numerous emperors. It made many contributions to China’s history and made lasting changes, some of which remained for millennia following the dynasty’s collapse. They made changes to China’s economy, technology, social order, religion, philosophy, and education that revolutionized the way China operated. Also, as the Han Dynasty expanded greatly during its rule, many of the territory that the dynasty conquered became part of what would later be modern day China. These changes helped to shape the country that China became.
The Cultural Revolution was a revolution that had happened between 1966 and 1976 and had a great impact on China. The Cultural Revolution used to be known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution but was changed after many years. The main goal of this Revolution was to preserve true communist mainly in China by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. It was also used to re-impose Maoist which was thought as the dominant ideology within the Party. The Cultural Revolution was basically a sociopolitical movement. But it was mainly for the return of the leader, Mao Zedong, who was the leader of the revolution on and off. Which had led him to a position of power after the Great Leap Forward which paralyzed
Regarding religion, Chinese culture saw the emergence of Confucianism and Buddhism as the major influence. Confucianism stressed filial piety which meant respecting elders and superiors, ruling righteously, and obeying commands and orders. Confucianism was introduced by the Chinese thinker Confucius. Buddhism was brought to China, but originated in India and was founded by Siddhartha Gautama. Followers of Buddhism worshipped Buddh...
... and power in China, which ended in 220 C.E with the rise of the Three Kingdoms period, during which time regional warlords all vied for power in the remnants of what was the Han Dynasty. Yet the Han’s lasting effects are still evident in the changes in the modern day China. Religions were introduced to China and expanded throughout its lands. Even in modern China, the people refer to themselves as Han rem, which means “Han people”, proof of the Han’s lasting effect and influence within China. The Han Dynasty’s legacy of improvements in education, government, religion, science, and innovation helped to shape the country that it would one day become. As Cristian Violatti stated in her article, “Although history tells us, then, that the Han Dynasty ended in 220 C..E., from the examples cited above it is clear that the Han still lives on today in many different forms.”
Buddhism prevailed as a religion indigenous to west India and comprises of varieties of traditions, beliefs and practices based on the teachings of Buddha. There are many reasons why Buddhism became so popular and entered into many civilizations. Buddhism began to be popular throughout Asia alongside India. Buddhism has blossomed in the contemporary world, especially in the West. It is an issue to wonder what Buddhism offers that other religions cannot and has become so significant worldwide. Buddhism has become an idea that is widespread and the teachings of Buddha have made a real difference in many civilizations like India, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea and surprisingly Buddhism has come to make a significant difference in American culture.
Another big event that happened in the Han dynasty was the ideology of Confucianism. This meant that they would be governed by a set of morals and ethics. For example, they would enforce a test to see if the people were able to withhold the job instead of basing jobs on social class ranking. This made education a huge necessity. Education at that time, however, was very expensive and lower class families were unable admit their children into the education system.
The four hundred years between the collapse of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.- C.E. 220) and the establishment of the Tang dynasty (618-906) mark a division in the history of China. During this period, foreign invasion, transcontinental trade, and missionary ambition opened the region to an unprecedented wealth of foreign cultural influences. These influences were both secular and sacred. Nomads, merchants, emissaries and missionaries flooded into China, bringing new customs, providing exotic wares, and generating new religious beliefs. Foremost among these beliefs was Buddhism, born in India, but which now took root in China. These new influences entered China by a vast network of overland routes, popularly known as the Silk Road
Talking about the culture of Asia, most of the people must think about Chinese culture because it influenced the mainstream culture of Asia the most in history. According to Bader (2005), many countries in Asia such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam, their culture were affected by China; they used Chinese characters as written language for centuries. As time passed, the cultural exchange is no longer one-way flow anymore but Chinese culture seem still have an important place in nowadays. So I want to find out the differences and similarities of the culture in Hong Kong and one of the China’s neighbor countries, Korea.
Philip J. Ivanhoe. Confucian moral self cultivation. New York : P. Lang, vol. 3, 1993.
According to historians, culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from social habits, arts, language, cuisine, religion, and music. Without culture, human beings world could be uncivilized because no humans will not have any ideas about who they are, what they eat, wore, what they are made off, and what they believe in. Therefore, one place at one moment in time which I will demonstrate their culture and also the moment of a product of things which were native origin that influence from other religion and that country is China.
Buddhism is widely known throughout China. Legend has it that the Chinese Emperor (Ming Ti) had dream which led him to send his agents down to Silk Road (the ancient trade route between China and the west) to discover its meaning.” The agent returned with a picture of the Buddha and a copy of the Sutra in 42 sections.
Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religions in the world today. This is the result of many people seeking answers about the global phenomena such as senseless violent acts, strife between different communities and races, suffering, death, etc. One may ask, why are people now turning to Buddhism to find the answers to these questions? For all one knows, Buddhism may be appealing to many individuals because they are now realizing that Buddhism is a religion that stresses the importance of kindness, acceptance, and peace. It teaches people to take full responsibility for their actions. Last, but, not least, it allows people to develop a highly spiritual version of themselves they did not know existed.