Compare_Contrast__Ancient_China_vs_Persia

Many classical civilizations have influenced common ideals in world society. Ancient China and Persia were two famous examples that impacted many civilizations through these techniques. Although ancient Persia and China had many political similarities such as patriarchal dominance and centralization in both empires, their powerful diversity from each other in culture such as their linguistic and religious views proved to display a greater impact on these civilizations. ------------------------------------------------- Ancient Persia and China shared many political similarities. Both civilizations were patriarchal. Ancient Persian men were the superiors, performing the roles of ‘warriors’, activists in government, or hard workers in the family. In ancient China, the Book of Songs held daily accounts of typical women in society; from this book, women expressed that they were treated unfairly and had limited rights. Also, men were so highly honored, for example, they were worshiped after death as ‘spirits who brought good deeds’ upon their family. The patriarch-influenced empires in ancient China and Persia signified a ‘weak link’ in society; in addition to being an impetus for gender imbalance, ideas from women lacked, and thus technology and innovations did not develop as quickly as they could have. Ancient China and Persia used tax systems. Taxes were used to pay for fees in the government, military, technological development or other societal contributions. Tax systems allowed both civilizations to maintain their economy and somewhat keep society balanced, although sometimes taxes were dedicated to the ruler, emperor, or the royal family- this would have affected lower classes negatively. Under the rule of Qin Shihuangdi in ancient China, the tax system was standardized. In addition to tax systems, ancient China and Persia utilized bureaucrats. Bureaucrats, or government workers, performed important duties for the government; in ancient Persia, some bureaucrats were satrapies or spies whereas in ancient China, bureaucrats carried out duties for the royal family and monitored laws and activity in society. The utilization of bureaucrats in both civilizations portrays the strong and organized government ancient China and Persia had. Since some bureaucrats monitored laws, organized laws were especially essential in both civilizations, a similarity China and Persia shared. Laws balanced society and dealt with punishments for those who performed crimes against it. The development of similar laws illustrate how the laws created targeted the most common problems and crimes that both societies encountered; thus, the crimes performed in ancient China and Persia were quite similar. Finally, ancient China and Persia were highly centralized. Centralization was an essential key in Persia to maintain balance and stability within the empire’s government; in ancient China, the government was especially centralized, where the government possessed almost all power over the empire following both Confucianism and legalism. The centralization in both empires concludes that the governments in ancient China and Persia were very powerful and maintained high stability. ------------------------------------------------- Despite their political similarities, ancient Persia and China’s cultural variations proved to be much more significant, signifying their powerful diversity from each other. First of all, ancient China and Persia had completely different views on religion. Originally, ancient Persia was polytheistic, later emerging into a new religion called Zoroastrianism, where the afterlife was affected by the behaviors, decisions, and deeds one would perform in life. In ancient china, there was no organized religion. As mentioned earlier, families worshiped male ancestors that have passed away in their family. However, philosophies like Confucianism and Daoism later developed in ancient China; still, these philosophies often stressed how one should behave in society, and how to achieve life. In addition to Persia’s belief in Zoroastrianism, they also believed in salvation. In ancient China, the importance of the afterlife wasn’t often stressed about in society, whereas in ancient Persia, Zoroastrianism spurred the belief in a heavenly or evil afterlife. Therefore, the belief in Salvationism in ancient Persia displays they had an optimistic view of the afterlife. Ancient China was ethnocentric while ancient Persia was tolerant of other cultures. Calling themselves the ‘middle kingdom’, Ancient china’s ethnocentricity was also one of the causes of becoming isolated, in addition to the exterior and interior political downfalls, such as the conflicts caused by the yellow turban uprising. In ancient Persia, Persians were tolerant of other cultures; they incorporated their tactics and traditions through diplomacy, rather than harshly conquering other lands. This would have caused a bitter relationship with other nations and there would be a spur of problems regarding trade and prosperity. Therefore, the way ancient Persia and China tolerated other cultures display that ancient China’s isolation caused them to evolve into an individual diverse culture, while ancient Persia prospered in technology and innovations due to cultural diffusion and their intelligence in dealing with other ancient civilizations. The structure of family was differentiable in ancient China and Persia. In ancient China, families held status according to inherited wealth from previous ancestors and the labor they worked for. Also, ancient Chinese people often worshipped the spirits of their ancestors in temples and asked them to bestow greatness upon them. In ancient Persia, clan warriors led families and gained status through courageous actions and wise decisions they made, causing certain families to be more respected than others due to the men in their family. The differences in family structure portray that although both societies were patriarchal, men reflected different ideals in ancient China and Persia. Finally, the language in Ancient China and Persia were nothing alike. The origins of China versus Persia differed greatly and their language affected many other cultures, thus contributing to the facts of how their language came about. The Persian language strongly influenced Sanskrit, therefore being similar to many Indian languages; also, the ancient Persian language was very similar to Arabic. The ancient Chinese language evolved throughout the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties. The ancient Chinese language does not really share many similarities with other cultures in the world. The powerful contrast between ancient China and Persia’s linguistics displays how their culture was very much different and how China’s isolation strongly affected them. ------------------------------------------------- In conclusion, many classical civilizations have influenced common patterns in ancient society. The political similarities between ancient China and Persia illustrate how both societies interestingly evolved in a somewhat similar way. However, China’s isolation from ‘the world’ around them has caused them to evolve differently- lacking cultural diffusion with other ancient societies, but also developing completely unique technology and innovations; eventually, this has proved to display their variations from other ancient civilizations around the world.