Similarities Between Chinese And Greek Civilizations

Although it seemed that the Chinese civilization was isolated from the other Eurasian civilizations, they created and built similar achievements and breakthroughs while still staying different. There are many comparisons and contrasts between the Greek and Chinese civilizations. To begin, one striking similarity was how they both subdivided their territories. With the territorial water terraces in China and the polis in Greece resembled one another intensively. Both the territorial princes and the polis magistrates held a larger amount of power over their subjects, but they retained differences in how they were elected (enterprising local landowners claimed the terraces as for the polis magistrates were elected). Surprisingly, the same accomplishments

often developed at close time with no intention. Therefore, the subdivisions of the Greek and Chinese civilizations show comparisons between them.
Also, another parallel similarity between the two was how they both were comprised of celebrated philosophers that are still relevant today. China’s Confucius invoked teachings to live a stable lifestyle and to conduct oneself as a gentleman. He is now attributed today with many revered quotes and his book, Analects is well known. Whereas the Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle’s teaching were slightly dissimilar to those of Confucius. They were known to ask questions to otherwise commonly tue statements and making inferences about the nature and physical world around us. Even though the last examples were displaying the resemblances between the two civilizations, their methods of collecting taxes were quite mismatched. Because of their abundant rivers and streams containing navigable waterways, the Chinese used canal boats to concentrate their tax income for their imperial leaders. On the contrary, Greeks diverged from the “tax farmer” technique and used the polis idea to keep their power local. Another instance of a difference between the two civilizations was their warfare strategies. The civilization of the Yellow River deployed their troops with crossbows and limited cavalry while the Greeks thrived with their patented phalanx warfare method. The phalanx warfare decided many more battles than the crossbows because of the concept’s unity to protect the each man next to him with spear and shield. In brief, there was congruity in comparison to the civilizations, but examples like the tax collection and warfare strategies emphasize contrasts as well.
Furthermore, more exemplifications of alternative achievements was the coinage systems.

While the Chinese are not mentioned to have developed any sort of monetary device, Greek cities following King Croesus minted metal coins for everyday market transactions. This breakthrough made buying and selling more profitable because merchants or consumers no longer had to exchange items, but had these coins in which they were willing to depart with. However, as there were these disparities, there were more uniformities (than the ones above) as well. For example, the emergence of the Han and Macedonian Empires are strikingly indistinguishable. They both took over a group of divided states and legions to make one mass empire and they also finished polis and warring states periods. This created a more stable political order, less strife between states, and social order in both Greece and China. Another instance of similarities were the constant intrusive locally smaller tribes against the Greek and Chinese civilizations. In China, they experienced the recurring issue of the northern steppe raiders invading nearby villages. Their failed solutions included hiring steppe cavalrymen to guard posts and building defensive walls on northern frontiers. In Greece, they had periodic armed conflicts with Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Etruscans while completing naval trade routes along Mediterranean and Black Sea shores. As a final point, those reasons were some of the samples of the comparisons and contrasts between the Greek and Chinese

civilizations.
Finally, there are two more similarities and differences between the civilizations. The similarity was that both civilizations impacted cultural diffusion and influenced other civilizations. Emperor Wudi’s expedition cleared the path from China to Western Asia affecting ideas, techniques, diseases, crops, and other novelties towards the Central Asia and Asia’s southern borders. As for the Empire of Alexander the Great spread Greek culture of athletics, theater, wine drinking, monumental art, and philosophical theories as far as India via his conquests. Additionally, Greek styled urban markets took place around Southwest Asia to Egypt. Lastly, the last variation between the diverse and still intersecting civilizations was agricultural impact. The Chinese were able control diking and drainage of their floodplains across the Yellow River for the initial time. They spread a vast area of fertile fields controlling the Yellow River flooding while on elevated terraces growing millet and wheat. Their agricultural accomplishments defined the Chinese civilization while Greece did not rely on agriculture nearly as much due to their miniscule fertile fields and mountainous terrain. Both the Greeks and the Chinese shared many difference and many comparisons in important concepts and attainments. In conclusion, there was much to relate and contrast when considering the civilizations of Greece and China.