Readings for the week

The readings begin with Culture and religion in Eurasia/North Africa. China has a tradition of state building. In 1122 B.C.E., the Zhou dynasty took power and the Mandate of Heaven had taken root. But by the 18th century, the Zhou dynasty had weakend and the overall unity of China was cpmpletetly gone. A bunch of Chinese thinkers were trying to find solutions to the problem. The Legalist answer was layed out by rules and laws. High rewars but heavy punishments. Qin and Shihuangdi dynasty were in charge but it did not last very long. Then Confucius thought he found the answer to the problems of China's disorders. But no actual opportunity came to him. The reading then goes on with trying to find the "right" answer for their problems. Religion was mentioned a lot. Buddhism came about when the founder Siddhartha Gautama introduced it (566- 486 B.C.E.). It was related to Hinduism and it had a popular appeal. Though it had restrictions and opportunities for women. The readings continue on to Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Classical Greece, birth of Christianity, and the spread of new religions. Chapter 5 then proceeds with societies in China there was a caste in China and India that restricted some people from wealth and power. The people at the top which where the land owners and the elite class had all the power while everyone else suffered and experinced unfairness. Slavery came about in Greece and patriarchy.