Civilizations Influence on Asia and Europe Essay

Civilizations Influence on Asia and Europe The break of the European civilization in existence in the 17th century was based upon the change on religious views and motivation for advancement within the culture. The people of Europe looked to other countries where the gain of independence was soon to be sought and perused that dream during these times. With laws of government that became unjustly to the lower class and harsh treatment to the poor and women are only some of the few things that had an influence on the culture during this time. Asia had a development of a new government and social strengths. With the expansion of commercial trade Asia had became a hot commodity making it a resource for all countries that looked to them for trade. Even today we rely on Asia when it comes to trade and development within our economy from transportation to entertainment. The cultural difference of the two was that one was more resourceful than the other. Comparing the two, both were able to expand their trade system and still had a cultural ethic of discrimination towards the lower class and mistreatment towards the women in their cultures. In Europe, reformation was one of the influential factors toward the people of the country. It was one of the most important divisions of the religion we now know as Christianity. Within this movement the Catholic Church was divided into two areas. One is being Protestant, which is one of the four principal traditions within the Christian religion. Its originator, Martin Luther, was the first to lead the Reformation in the year 1517 after the disappointment he carried with the Catholic Church. His purpose for this dramatic change against the Catholic Church was to create doubt amongst the followers of the Catholic Church and to intimidate them into changing their ways. One of where they believed that in order for them to get into heaven they must pay their tithe and offerings to the church. The Protestants believed that the bible is the final source of authority for all of God’s followers, not the church. Some of its denominations are still around in today’s society, which we know them as Lutheran, Methodist, and Baptist. ‘ He thought that the people should not be able to buy their way out of punishment for their sins. ‘ Europe was also going through the phase of mistreatment towards its commoners and lower class citizens. The Aristocrats, seen themselves as people with more worth than those of a common status and seek to treat the lower class with the most disrespect . Women were also seen as an unequal acquaintances and not even allowed to be spoken to as a man. Land â€Å"lords† were the worst when it came to habitual security towards the lower working class because they raised the taxes and abused their laborers believing that physically hurting them would motivate them to work harder. The education system in Europe around this time was also limited to where women were not given the same knowledge as the men. With this unfair treatment the commoners, who were a high status than the serfs, felt that they had no power or say in anything than the aristocrats, even though they were not physically treated like peasants were. With emotional distress like this, it was very common for the commoners, peasants and serfs to fall into many cases of depression and overwhelming distress. With the attitudes of such unequal treatment is what gave the Europeans a motivation to want to branch out into the world and discover new opportunities for trade and even democracy. 7th century Asia consisted of similar attitudes as the Europeans did towards their government and lower class. In Asia the treatment of women was very common and maliciously intended. India and China share almost a similar beginning in their civilization and dynasties. It is believed that civilization in China originated around yellow river in 2700 BCE and all began with dynasties beginning with Shang dynasty which was founded in 1800-1500 BCE. Much of the Chinese philosophies revolve around Confucianism which emphasized on conformity by moral excellence and respect for the elderly and superiors in the society. They believed there would be good governance if people adopted confusion teachings. They worked more towards harmonizing with nature. China’s foundation was solidly founded on Confucian foundation despite the inception of Buddhism. In India, the treatment towards the women was the same. If a woman was to not be able to bare a child for her husband that was something to frown upon. The Indians sold more to the Romans than they bought from them making a lot of wealth from them which lead to the mitigation and collapse of the Mauryan Empire. The Kushans who invaded were later assimilated to the Indian and further adopting the Indian language and intermarried with the royal families of India. Various dynasties fell among them the Maghadha who were conquered by the Andhara. China’s Luoyang’s royal palace was burned, Imperial tombs were looted. The Jin emperor was carried off and forced to become a cupbearer, until Liu Chong had him executed. Among the southerner’s they refused to cooperate with the government at Jiakang. But Jin Yuandi was patient. His regime avoided interfering with the privileges of the south’s elite family, and eventually Jin Yuandi’s regime persuaded the elite to cooperate with it. Across the Silk Road, the Buddhist’s of Northern China remained connected to Central Asia and India, and Buddhism was a conduct for Hellenistic culture from Central Asia. From Buddhism, many Chinese gathered that China was not the only civilized country in the world. They learned respect for India and felt compelled to re-examine the theory that the Chinese emperor was the Son of Heaven and enthroned at the center of the world. In translating Buddhism to Chinese, Taoist words were used. And through mistranslation, Chinese Buddhism acquired a belief that was foreign to Buddhism elsewhere. Buddhism became the favored religion among the chieftains, and more popular among the masses in the north. Buddhism spread through all classes of Chinese, influencing art, thought and daily customs. Tea, which was mostly used by Buddhists, became China’s national drink, and Buddhist’s introduced the Chinese to the wearing of cotton. Buddhism’s great temples influenced Chinese architecture–a counter to Confucianism’s condemnation of complex buildings as an extravagance. In the place of the contempt for which Confucians had held the writing of stories and novels, Buddhism gave this kind of writing new prestige. Across the Silk Road, the Buddhist’s of Northern China remained connected to Central Asia and India, and Buddhism was a conduct for Hellenistic culture from Central Asia. From Buddhism, many Chinese gathered that China was not the only civilized country in the world. They learned respect for India and felt compelled to re-examine the theory that the Chinese emperor was the Son of Heaven and enthroned at the center of the world. In translating Buddhism to Chinese, Taoist words were used. And through mistranslation, Chinese Buddhism acquired a belief that was foreign to Buddhism elsewhere belief in a soul that an imperishable part of one’s humanity. Perishable part of one’s humanity. But conflicts existed between Buddhism and Taoism. The Taoists were devoted to nature while Buddhist’s believed in withdrawal from nature. India advanced with time by giving its citizens freedom to apply their skills in mathematics, art and architecture among other things making them rich and dominant. Hindu religion got a boost from the royalties which saw it regaining ground from Buddhism which had taken root. As this was in the beginning of the development of the countries in Asia, the 17th century changes came from the factors of older culture related ethics and influential social standards. Women in Asia had similar characteristic treatment traits that made them inferior to the men. Women were seeked as pleasure principals and pro-creators, with the idea that they were not to enjoy any aspect of their lives. When the rise of Buddhism and Confucianism began the high standard they carried for living had decreased. In china, the women were seen as less than a man but about a little more than a slave. The ability to have a voice or make a self-made decision was not an option for the Chinese women. Even as children, females were sold in the city for services toward the men, most likely ended up in brothels. The men even controlled their way of managing the lifestyle for their children and house hold. In the country of India, the caste system is what made advancements towards its culture. With this in place many of its people believed that you were born into what ever you became or were at that time. Even if you were seen as intelligent or found a lump sum of money, your destiny is what determines your lifestyle and future (which is ridiculous). The women in this culture was also given mal-treatment and seen as nothing more than a pro-creator and had to be obedient. The Indians believed that the women in their country should be humble and never arrogant or rude. If a wife was to disobey her husband’s instruction, she was sought to be punished physically. The Japanese culture, women were not even allowed to sit, bathe, or stand in the same place as men were. Intimacy was ordered and not a choice for most Japanese women, along with friendship, by their parents. The rules the women had to obey in their culture were that of obedience. The irony of these countries in the Continent of Asia is that the dominant religious views speak on how people should respect each other and all men are created equal. With such transformation and discrimination amongst the classes the Europeans and Asians civilizations were the same in many ways. They both discriminated against the women, which we still had problems with over seas and had a great deal of maltreatment towards people of the lower class. In Europe, the taxes were high on the poor and so was the malicious intent the upper class consciously placed on the poor. In Asia, the same methods were taken into action as the Indians had the caste system. As the government had a fear into the countries, villages developed their own systems to follow. Even as these influences took over the changes made in both cultures was detrimental and beneficial. With the expansion of trade to both countries gave more opportunities for power and wealth. When the Asian became a source for the other world countries, they began to gain more than lose. Since the Europeans looked in the third world countries for spices and silks, all of what was needed; there was still not as much power on their behalf as the Asians. Even today, after the fact that the Europeans had came to America to begin a democracy based economy, the need to network with third world countries still exist. Reference:’ Dennis Sherman, A. Tom Grunfeld, Gerald Markowirz, David Rosner, and Linda Heywood. , (2006) World Civilizations: Sources, Images, and Interpretations (4th Ed. Vol. 1). Boston: McGraw-Hill.