The Legalist Answer

The forceful reunification of China under Shihuangdi and the Qin dynasty (221–206 b.c.e.) gave inspiration and means for Legalist ideology, but the brutality of that short reign utterly discredited Legalism. Although its methodologies and practices were used in succeeding Chinese statecraft, few intellectuals or monarchs openly championed its theories as to could improve. He advocated for a broad liberal arts curriculum that included language, literature, history, philosophy, and ethics, all of which were applied to practical issues in administration.
Such concepts left a lasting impression on Chinese culture. The discrediting of Legalism under the Qin dynasty paved the way for Confucianism to become the Chinese state's official doctrine, to the point where Confucianism became nearly synonymous with Chinese culture.
The tradition of ancestor veneration, which includes visiting the graves of the deceased, pre- sending them with sacrifices, and creating commemorative tablets and shrines in their honor, had long been essential to Chinese popular culture.
Confucian family beliefs were rigorously patriarchal, and they set the tone for defining the lives of both men and women. Those beliefs were based on a hierarchical vision of the world, in which the lower and receptive earth was in harmony with the superior and creative essence of Heaven.

The Daoist Answer

No culture has ever used a single hue to express its cultural worldview. As Confucian philosophy became more widely recognized in China, a new school of thought emerged.
Confucius had emphasized the value of education and a genuine desire for moral improvement and good government, and Daoist thought went opposite to this in many respects.
Dao, an enigmatic concept that refers to the way of nature, the underlying and unchangeable principle that underlies all natural phenomena, is the basic concept of Daoist thinking.
The Daoists yearned for an earlier time, "an age of perfect virtue" that had been shattered by the Confucian quest for something greater, during Confucius' highly prized world of civilization.

South Asian Religion: From Ritual Sacrifice to Philosophical Speculation

Despite the fragmentation and diversity of Indian cultural and religious traditions, there was some continuity thanks to an evolving group of widely recognized sacred texts. The Vedas regularly was regularly the first of these writings, which were compilations of songs, hymns, prayers, and ceremonies.
The Upanishads, a collection of religious books, evolved from this unhappiness (oo-PAHN-ee-shards). These mystical and highly intellectual texts, written between 800 and 400 B.C.E. by mostly anonymous authors, tried to elucidate the deeper significance of the Vedic sacrifices.
Philosophical Hinduism's central claim was that the individual human soul, or atman, was in actuality a component of Brahman.

Hinduism as a Religion of Duty and Devotion

Surprisingly, Buddhism as a distinct religious practice went out in its birthplace as it was absorbed into a larger Hindu tradition, but it expanded extensively and prospered in other areas of Asia, notably in its Mahayana form.
There was minimal friction or severe theological strife as a result of the profusion of gods and goddesses and their bhakti cults. “Hinduism is inherently tolerant,” argues a renowned researcher, “and would rather absorb than rigorously exclude.”
As a result, a continually changing and vastly diverse South Asian religious tradition had been significantly altered. A focus on ceremonial sacrifice, in the beginning, gave way to intellectual speculation, devotional worship, and detached activity in the world.
The Middle East's march toward a distinctive monotheistic theological viewpoint, which found expression in Persian Zoroastrianism and Judaism, paralleled the growth of Chinese and Indian cultural traditions.

The Greek Way of Knowing

Between 600 and 300 B.C.E, the roots of Greek rationalism formed, coinciding with the prosperity of Greek city-states, particularly Athens, and the expansion of its artistic, literary, and dramatic traditions.
Many of the early ancient Greek intellectuals, many of whom lived on Anatolia's Ionian coast, adapted this logical and questioning style of knowledge to the natural world.
Democritus proposed that visible matter was formed when atoms, small “uncuttable” particles, interacted in various combinations. Pythagoras thought there was a basic, constant mathematical order underneath the chaos and complexity of the apparent universe.
This kind of thinking also helped to explain how the human body works and how illnesses affect it. Hippocrates and his followers came to think that the body was made up of four fluids, or "humors," which, when out of balance, produced various diseases. He also attributed epilepsy, dubbed "the sacred illness" by the Greeks, to simple heredity: "
A group of highly educated "guardians," commanded by a "philosopher-king," would control it. Such individuals would be able to see beyond the material world's numerous illusions and understand the "world of forms," where concepts like goodness, beauty, and justice had a true and unchanging existence.

The Spread of New Religions

Neither Jesus nor the Buddha wanted to start a new religion; instead, they wanted to revive the traditions from which they came. Despite this, Christianity and Buddhism quickly established themselves as unique religions from Judaism and Hinduism, announcing their beliefs to a much broader audience.
Saint Paul (10–65 c.e.), an early convert whose missionary efforts throughout the eastern Roman Empire led to the foundation of tiny Christian communities that included non-Jews, beginning the transformation of Christianity from a small Jewish sect to a world religion.
Nonetheless, early Christianity's inclusive message was one of the new faith's main draws as it grew slowly throughout the Roman Empire over several decades after Jesus' death.

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The Legalist Answer

The forceful reunification of China under Shihuangdi and the Qin dynasty (221–206 b.c.e.) gave inspiration and means for Legalist ideology, but the brutality of that short reign utterly discredited Legalism. Although its methodologies and practices were used in succeeding Chinese statecraft, few intellectuals or monarchs openly championed its theories as to could improve. He advocated for a broad liberal arts curriculum that included language, literature, history, philosophy, and ethics, all of which were applied to practical issues in administration.
Such concepts left a lasting impression on Chinese culture. The discrediting of Legalism under the Qin dynasty paved the way for Confucianism to become the Chinese state's official doctrine, to the point where Confucianism became nearly synonymous with Chinese culture.
The tradition of ancestor veneration, which includes visiting the graves of the deceased, pre- sending them with sacrifices, and creating commemorative tablets and shrines in their honor, had long been essential to Chinese popular culture.
Confucian family beliefs were rigorously patriarchal, and they set the tone for defining the lives of both men and women. Those beliefs were based on a hierarchical vision of the world, in which the lower and receptive earth was in harmony with the superior and creative essence of Heaven.

The Daoist Answer

No culture has ever used a single hue to express its cultural worldview. As Confucian philosophy became more widely recognized in China, a new school of thought emerged.
Confucius had emphasized the value of education and a genuine desire for moral improvement and good government, and Daoist thought went opposite to this in many respects.
Dao, an enigmatic concept that refers to the way of nature, the underlying and unchangeable principle that underlies all natural phenomena, is the basic concept of Daoist thinking.
The Daoists yearned for an earlier time, "an age of perfect virtue" that had been shattered by the Confucian quest for something greater, during Confucius' highly prized world of civilization.

South Asian Religion: From Ritual Sacrifice to Philosophical Speculation

Despite the fragmentation and diversity of Indian cultural and religious traditions, there was some continuity thanks to an evolving group of widely recognized sacred texts. The Vedas regularly was regularly the first of these writings, which were compilations of songs, hymns, prayers, and ceremonies.
The Upanishads, a collection of religious books, evolved from this unhappiness (oo-PAHN-ee-shards). These mystical and highly intellectual texts, written between 800 and 400 B.C.E. by mostly anonymous authors, tried to elucidate the deeper significance of the Vedic sacrifices.
Philosophical Hinduism's central claim was that the individual human soul, or atman, was in actuality a component of Brahman.

Hinduism as a Religion of Duty and Devotion

Surprisingly, Buddhism as a distinct religious practice went out in its birthplace as it was absorbed into a larger Hindu tradition, but it expanded extensively and prospered in other areas of Asia, notably in its Mahayana form.
There was minimal friction or severe theological strife as a result of the profusion of gods and goddesses and their bhakti cults. “Hinduism is inherently tolerant,” argues a renowned researcher, “and would rather absorb than rigorously exclude.”
As a result, a continually changing and vastly diverse South Asian religious tradition had been significantly altered. A focus on ceremonial sacrifice, in the beginning, gave way to intellectual speculation, devotional worship, and detached activity in the world.
The Middle East's march toward a distinctive monotheistic theological viewpoint, which found expression in Persian Zoroastrianism and Judaism, paralleled the growth of Chinese and Indian cultural traditions.

The Greek Way of Knowing

Between 600 and 300 B.C.E, the roots of Greek rationalism formed, coinciding with the prosperity of Greek city-states, particularly Athens, and the expansion of its artistic, literary, and dramatic traditions.
Many of the early ancient Greek intellectuals, many of whom lived on Anatolia's Ionian coast, adapted this logical and questioning style of knowledge to the natural world.
Democritus proposed that visible matter was formed when atoms, small “uncuttable” particles, interacted in various combinations. Pythagoras thought there was a basic, constant mathematical order underneath the chaos and complexity of the apparent universe.
This kind of thinking also helped to explain how the human body works and how illnesses affect it. Hippocrates and his followers came to think that the body was made up of four fluids, or "humors," which, when out of balance, produced various diseases. He also attributed epilepsy, dubbed "the sacred illness" by the Greeks, to simple heredity: "
A group of highly educated "guardians," commanded by a "philosopher-king," would control it. Such individuals would be able to see beyond the material world's numerous illusions and understand the "world of forms," where concepts like goodness, beauty, and justice had a true and unchanging existence.

The Spread of New Religions

Neither Jesus nor the Buddha wanted to start a new religion; instead, they wanted to revive the traditions from which they came. Despite this, Christianity and Buddhism quickly established themselves as unique religions from Judaism and Hinduism, announcing their beliefs to a much broader audience.
Saint Paul (10–65 c.e.), an early convert whose missionary efforts throughout the eastern Roman Empire led to the foundation of tiny Christian communities that included non-Jews, beginning the transformation of Christianity from a small Jewish sect to a world religion.
Nonetheless, early Christianity's inclusive message was one of the new faith's main draws as it grew slowly throughout the Roman Empire over several decades after Jesus' death.