Marco Polo was born in c.1254 in Venice. He was a Venetian explorer and merchant whose account of his travels in Asia was the primary source for the European image of the Far East until the late 19th century. Marco’s father, Niccolò, and his uncle Maffeo had traveled to China (1260-69) as merchants. When they…
In the summer of 1966 there was a new effort on the part of the head leaders in China to further control the actions and thoughts of the people in China. The Red Guards were the force to do it all. A group of kids who mostly in their teens and some in college were…
Deng Xiaoping was a loyal communist who sacrificed his own life so his people could have a better one. During his long political career, he served as a Communist political commissioner of the 129th Division (Liu-Deng Army) from 1929 to 1949. As political commissioner he bravely and successfully fought the Nationalists. In 1945, he was…
To say that the Chinese Communist revolution is a non-Western revolution is more than a clich‚. That revolution has been primarily directed, not like the French Revolution but against alien Western influences that approached the level of domination and drastically altered China’s traditional relationship with the world. Hence the Chinese Communist attitude toward China’s traditional…
In The Good Earth, by Pearl S, Wang Lung the main character is a poor peasant who buys a wife and moves up in the social ladder during the peasants’ revolution. This story displays many major ideas of ancient Chinese culture, such as the social order, the treatment of women, and the role of the…
The Han dynasty, a time period that saw China’s epitome of glory, created some of the greatest accomplishments that have substantially impacted both the world of the past and present. It was during the Han dynasty when The Silk Road was first established, providing a portal for the east to come into contact with the…
Confucius– Confucious was a Chinese philosopher who has had a major impact on East Asia because of his teachings. He was born in 551 BCE and he died in 479 BCE. Confucius is important because he felt the world had gone wrong. He felt that it was up to him to try and save the…
State Leader & Symbolic Role Method of Unification Ruler’s Means of Control Egypt Pharoh (herdsman) sometimes functions as god. Organizing labor to manage floods; distribution of food; use of Nile River as highway to unify, control. Pharaoh’s commands, policies function as law, regarded as devine. Mesopotamia city-states King/Royals, mediate, lead, worship, receive oracles. Organizing labor;…
School Geography Thoughts Rituals Theravada Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia “the way of the elders” Conservative Do not worship Buddha as a god. Meditation Mahayana China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan “the greater vehicle” Older forms of the religion. Liberal Heavens are populated with Buddha or divinities to whom people can pray. Bodhisattvas. -the buddha is the…