Essay on Roman and Chinese History

Q 1.The decline of the Roman republican into an Empire began with the rule of Caesar. He made the system in such a manner that his nephew would rule as an empire. Although the next ruler after Caesar ruled with republican policies he is considered the first empire of Rome. Various factors led to the transition of the Roman system of governance from a republican to an imperial. These changes began with the rise of Julius Caesar (Young, 2015). According to the ruler, the system of governance of the period was not effective. By this time the Roman senate was ineffective in managing the vast resources of the nation. The other factor that led to these changes was constant struggles by generals for power. This became the greatest contributor to political crisis as well as civil wars.

Influences on Politics

The Transition of Roman system of governance had great implications on the political arena of the nation. Probably the main factor that led to political crisis for the republic was its inability to control the military. The military of the period contributed to various murders and civil wars. Changing to an imperial system of governance, the emperor with a small unit of the army was able to control the whole army. In relation to political power, both systems of governance had same mode of governance. In all systems of governance, only few individuals had absolute power.

On the other hand, the Imperial system of governance tried to destroy the influence of autocratic leadership. Using a small contingent of military personnel the ruler was able to manage political wars. The system allowed for the military to provide services within the civil service. It was a scene to witness the government operates without non-military personnel within its public service offices.

Influences on Social Life

During the period of the transition, life in the nation revolved around the city of Rome. The city was famed with various brothels, baths as well as various theaters. The mode of housing during this period relates to modest building to magnificent structures. The country was laid with various temples. The mode of operation of various landlords was leaving their estates under the care of managers while they lived in cities (Young, 2015). The transition from republic system to the imperial had no much influence on this mode of social order. Most of the products that include oil were imported. The change in the system meant that landlords had to free their slaves to capture the needs of the new dispensation. Most of the social life of the Roman people was borrowed from the Greeks.

Q2

1. The Chinese language utilizes single character symbols while in the written form. Words of the old Chinese language were monosyllabic. Each character is denoted by a single word. The reason for having single characters in the language is for standardization of the language and in ensuring continuity of original text of the language. It also maintains the original culture of the people of China.
2. The Yin and Yang symbols have important influence for the Chinese culture. These symbols insist that things exist in nature in two inseparable contradictions. It is an important feature in many religions in China. It denotes that for anything positive, there has to be a negative side. It argues that for darkness to exist light must be present.
3. The Zhou music was distinctive to that of other ages. This is because the music consists of varied instruments which are highly complex in nature. Most of the music of this period is based on Chinese fairy tales and stories. It employs instruments that include bells, gongs and stone chimes.
4. Daoism also known Taoism is a famous way of life for a majority of the Chinese people. The religion focuses its attention on Laozi. The text is an important aspect since it the classic way of power for Taoism followers. The basic concepts of the religion include the interaction of the world and humans. The second theory is the reversion of all things to Dao. The other concept is the worship of ancestors as well as heavens.
5. The main concepts of Confucianism include the virtue of virtues. Confucius said that virtues were the most important aspect of the universe. The main concepts concentrates on jen and Li. Jen concept relates to goodness of man as well as heartiness. Li on the other hand relates on human action.
6. Han feizi philosophy relates to the concept of legalization in the Chinese culture. The concept came into practice in order to prevent negative effects of governance within the nation. The model based on the creation of a bureaucratic model of governance. The minister advised government officials to maintain a low profile.

References

Young, A. (2015). From Caesar to Tacitus: changes in early Germanic governance circa 50 BC-50 AD. Public Choice, 164(3/4), 357-378.