...scale assertion of imperial power in Eurasia. • The Khushan Empire emerged during the first century stretching from northern India into Central Asia and acting as an intermediary between Parthia and China. This made it possible to cross Eurasia from Spain to the Yellow River and spend most of the journey under the laws and protections of one of the major empires. • Rarely ever did a single merchant make the trek from one end of the Silk Road to the other during the first ages. • Goods were passed from hand to hand along the caravan routes and sea lanes that connected four empires. • The origins of the Silk Road were set for one of the great economic and cultural exchanges in human history. • The Silk Road brought China its first taste of Buddhism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam. • The Silk Road spread Greco-Roman aesthetic ideas and even myths across central Asia and even to...
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...Art of South and Southeast Asia before 1200: Portrayal of the Buddha Sabrina Hashem 04.12.2011 Art History Survey I Christine I. Wilson This paper analyzes the art of Southeast Asia before 1200, specifically the depiction of Buddha. A general idea of Buddhism and Buddhist art is presented as well as two specific works of Buddhist art. A study of how different cultures and time period influenced these pieces follows their descriptions, and finally a critique of each and a comparison of the two are also presented. Buddhism began in the late medieval period in India during the rule of the Pala dynasty with one man, Siddhartha Gautama. Known today as Buddha Shakyamuni, Siddhartha was born to a ruler of a small kingdom in present day Nepal. With the rise of an urban society replacing the agricultural lifestyle this was a time of great social turmoil in the sub-continental India. The Aryan people, with whom caste system began in Hinduism, became more and more complex in their social and religious practices. The Brahmins, the priestly class grew powerful and began to impose rigid ideas about social order to ensure their place in power over the rest of the society. Many sages and philosophers at the time began to resist this unequal society and began preaching of social equality and a more direct and personal access to the spiritual world. Siddhartha would have experienced this revolutionary movement as a young boy. Around this time he also encountered sickness and death among...
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...Art of South and Southeast Asia before 1200: Portrayal of the Buddha Sabrina Hashem 04.12.2011 Art History Survey I Christine I. Wilson This paper analyzes the art of Southeast Asia before 1200, specifically the depiction of Buddha. A general idea of Buddhism and Buddhist art is presented as well as two specific works of Buddhist art. A study of how different cultures and time period influenced these pieces follows their descriptions, and finally a critique of each and a comparison of the two are also presented. Buddhism began in the late medieval period in India during the rule of the Pala dynasty with one man, Siddhartha Gautama. Known today as Buddha Shakyamuni, Siddhartha was born to a ruler of a small kingdom in present day Nepal. With the rise of an urban society replacing the agricultural lifestyle this was a time of great social turmoil in the sub-continental India. The Aryan people, with whom caste system began in Hinduism, became more and more complex in their social and religious practices. The Brahmins, the priestly class grew powerful and began to impose rigid ideas about social order to ensure their place in power over the rest of the society. Many sages and philosophers at the time began to resist this unequal society and began preaching of social equality and a more direct and personal access to the spiritual world. Siddhartha would have experienced this revolutionary movement as a young boy. Around this time he also encountered sickness and death among...
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...courts to deal with the problem of differences between foreign and Roman law, a new conflict that was introduced when the trading aspect of Roman society became a major influence on everyday life. Conflicts would be presented in front of a judge who would rule on what seemed fair and morally correct, thus creating the idea of justice. This was called universal law, a law that all people, including kings and emperors, must follow. The most recognized part of Classical Greek civilization is its democratic political system which needed major participation if it were to work. This was closely tied to rationalism, the belief that human reason or intellect is the true source of knowledge……. Rationalism began with the Greek observation and speculation of the natural world. This raised human status to become the center of the universe. The polis is what the Greek democracy was founded on. A polis is a city-state, but also a culture around which a person’s meaning, civic purpose, and social responsibility revolved. It institutionalized personal political participation and led to the idea of democracy. Every male over the age of nineteen participated in the direct democracy. They would pass laws, elect chiefs of states, and help try cases in juries. Humanism or the pervasive belief in the human individual…….. affect Greek life in many ways; religious celebrations, the arts, the military, the economy and politics. The classical Chinese period was structured on the family, divine mandate...
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...Since the beginning of recorded history many different types of artwork have been discovered around the world, and the study of all the art forms have provided much history that leads up to the modern times. The facts surrounding each piece of art tell me a story, but I want to know the entire story about every famous piece of art around the world. What if I could travel back through time to each period in which every famous artwork was created? I could tell a firsthand experience about why it was created, and what the purpose was for the piece. What if I told you that I already had, and that I have already wrote a book about my first hand experiences? Here is a few of my favorite chapters in my new book for you to preview. Roman Civilizations I traveled to Rome around 80 C.E. and I witnessed a firsthand experience of the famous amphitheater, “The Flavian Colosseum.” I could not believe the beauty of this architectural structure at its young age. Since visiting it in modern times is nothing like seeing it in action, and watching the shows there was extremely entertaining. Many theaters were created in the state around this era because of the states policy to provide entertainment to the public, and in the Colosseum specifically the people were entertained with shows of bloody battles between two humans, humans and animals, and two animals (Benton & DiYanni, 2007). The cost for this architectural wonder is still unknown, but the Emperor Titus raided the city of Jerusalem...
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...University of Phoenix Material Philosophy Matrix Field | Definition | Historical Developments | Schools Of Thought | Key Contributors | Principal Issues | Epistemology | The study of knowledge: What constitutes knowledge, the nature of knowledge, and whether knowledge is possible | Pre-Socratics observe and seek to define physical phenomena.Socrates studied human behavior and tried to determine the essential nature of knowledge.Aristotle sought to categorize his observations.The Scientific RevolutionNewtonian influencesFreudian influence | SkepticismRealismConceptualismNominalismEmpiricismRationalismAbsolute IdealismExistentialismPhenomenologyHermeneuticsStructuralismDeconstructionCritical TheoryPragmatismBehaviorismFunctionalism | ThalesAnaximanderAnaximenesLeucippusDemocritusSocratesPlatoAristotlePyrrhoDescartesLockeBerkeleyHumeKantHegelSchopenhauerKierkegaardNietzscheSartreHeideggerFoucaultDerridaRortyJamesDeweyRussell | What is knowledge?What can be known?Is knowledge possible?How do we attain knowledge?Can we trust our memory?How does language affect what we know? | Metaphysics | The study of being: The nature of being and what characteristics make up being | Plato developed the theory of forms and introduced skepticism about reality.Aristotle coined the word metaphysics.Augustine reconciled Platonism with Christianity.Aquinas reconciled Aristotle with Christianity.The Scientific RevolutionIntelligent design...
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...Chapter 3: South Asia – Around the time when alexander the great is now known for his conquest. He invades almost every nation including the southwest corner of Asia like India, Pakistan, and modern-day Afghanistan. while the greeks and later the roman empire set to establish outpost, they had start building upon a much older network of land and sea route around their territorial expansion that create a linking to the Mediterranean Sea and western Europe, which is part of the east. Transmitting cultural influence in the different direction, from west to east were Buddhist missionaries were sent to Greece and the middle east by indian emperor Ashoka. Seeking for linked trade route that goes from china to rome, so they can give out goods like silk, bronze, ceramic and lacquerware while going to a direction that is easy to flow by. For the type of art indus valley made are glyptic art, which is popular in sumer and akkad, and since there are no monumental painting there. The one glyphic art (3.1) they made were animal, it ranged it subject of bull-zebra stylized beard and thin horn on linear quality and sense of natural bulk....
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...When the Greeks interacted with other cultures, they spread their culture to all parts of the world and history. They had the audacity to branch out to other areas of life that other civilizations had tried to dwell in before. Because of their discoveries, this therefore influenced the rest of the world, but did not change it. One of their major influences was politics and religion. With politics, the Greeks discovered through trial and error that Democracy worked for them, and that tyranny and anarchy did not. They also tested oligarchy and monarchies, which appeared to work, and are found throughout history and in the modern day world. Religion was another aspect that influenced the western world. The Greeks were polytheistic by nature,...
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...Aristotelianism When it comes to Western philosophy, Aristotle is considered to be one of the greatest contributors. He believed that humans were distinctly defined by their character traits rather than their behavior. Aristotle supported this belief by explaining the concept of achieving eudaimonia through living virtuously. Through evaluating his theory of human nature we are given the answers to three of the most common questions humans face today. These common questions are: 1. What should we strive for, and how do we achieve this goal? 2. What makes us special if anything? 3. What tends to go wrong in the pursuit of our goal? Aristotle teaches, “everyone aims, ultimately, for eudaimonia”. Eudaimonia is the Greek term, which means human flourishing. For the ancient Greeks, the term flourishing relates to one being successful in life. “Aristotle realizes, of course, that there are many different opinions about just what eudaimonia is” (to be successful). “In order to sort through these opinions, separating the plausible from the true, Aristotle discerns three preconditions for a proper understanding of eudaimonia”. “According to Aristotle, whatever eudaimonia is, it must be such as to be final, self sufficient, and the end of action”. In order for eudaimonia to be final, it cannot be achieved for the sake of something else. This means that our goal of achieving eudaimonia should not serve to meet another goal. A good example of a non-final goal would be one setting their goal...
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...East/West Religious Paper Misanna Gordon HUM 130 July 15, 2012 Vickie Burns- Sikora Religion has in the past and will continue to be in the future one of the main forces that has constantly shaped and drives the world. Throughout many centuries, wars were fought, laws were made, towns and countries were built and broken down all in the effort to make known or protect many of the different religions that exists in the world today. In this paper I will be comparing and contrasting the different western religions which are Hinduism and Buddhism and the eastern religions which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The country of origin for Hinduism is India and Southeast Asia. Hinduism was originated from the word “India” which has the very similar spiritual and cultural practices; this was developed in India more than one thousand years ago. There are several societal and cultural influences that made the religion of Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated. The Hindus of India tends to follow several traditions and social standards. When it comes to culture, the Hindus have several myths indicating that there are multiple faces of the divine, and also myths indicating that the divine interacts in many forms with the believers Hinduism is a religious belief system that lacks unity; it is also referred to as the Santana Dharma. The Santana Dharma means the “eternal religion” (Fisher, 2005). The Hindu religion is made up of several religions that were...
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...Confucianism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Islamism enjoy equal popularity. Before the middle of Ming dynasty, Chinese economy, technology and education were in front of world. Without relying on force or the strong political background of the government, Confucianism spread to many neighboring countries just by its great humanistic spirit including humanity, kindness ethics, harmony, and the golden mean and even forming a large Confucian heritage...
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...that “Roman culture was modeled on that of the Greeks.” (Lewis 228) More specifically our textbook states that “while the romans absorb their artistic ideals from the Greeks, they were more realistic than idealistic, more active than philosophical, more pragmatic than creative.” (Lewis 228) One example of the more realistic art contributions made by the Romans is “a tradition of realistic portraits.” (Lewis 228-229) The Roman sculpture of Cato and Porzia exemplifies this realistic portrait sculpture. The portrait is very realistic and descriptive of all of their features despite their somewhat unattractive nature. By contrast, the Greek’s would have preferred a much more idealized sculpture of the couple. Another aspect of art introduced by the Romans can be seen in their architecture. The Romans used many of the Greek techniques but also “borrowed the idea of the arch from the East and exploited its possibilities to construct public buildings of great size, feats of ancient engineering.” (Lewis 230) The Roman Coliseum could not have been built using traditional Greek architecture due to the weight of the structure. In addition to the use of the arch in Roman architecture, “The Romans developed the architectural feature of the dome.” (Lewis 233) The Roman Temple the Pantheon is a great example of the Romans use of the dome in architecture. The Roman use small stones to make an image, called a Mosaic, are another lasting influence on art. Mosaics are very resilient and one Mosaic...
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...Religious Splits Christianity is the world religion with the greatest number of followers. The name Christian comes from the title given to Jesus of Nazareth – ‘the Christ’ which is a Greek word which means ‘Messiah’. Christianity began in Palestine in the 1st century CE as the claimed fulfillment of God’s promises to the Jews. There are many different types of Christianity practiced; the major division is between Western (itself divided into Roman Catholicism and Protestantism) and Orthodox Christianity. Christianity is a belief system that has had immense cultural and political consequences. Christianity comes from the life and teachings of Jesus (5BCE-30CE approximately), a Palestinian Jew. Worship is undertaken in buildings called churches. Entry in to the Christian Church is via Baptism and is usually undertaken when the person is a baby though denominations such as Baptists wait until the person is old enough to confirm personally their own Christian faith. In denominations where Baptism is the norm for babies, Confirmation is undertaken where the person personally affirms the vows undertaken for them when they were baptized as a baby. Christians believe worshipping in a group is important and this is usually called a service which takes place in a church on a Sunday (Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday). Each denomination worships in a different way. Some may be only slight while others are more noticeable. The most important differences...
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...the people of the “Dark Ages” or historical knowledge of the time? Yes, from the establishment of the barbarian supremacy. 3. Does this definition resemble more the original meaning of the “Dark Ages” or the meaning it gained over time? Notes: Called “Dark Ages” because of depression. Secondary Document B 1. How did religion influence the Magna Carta ? God was first in everything. 2. How did the Magna Carta limit the power of King John? It made him run all decisions through the nobles. 3. How did the Magna Carta lay the foundation for democracy? Notes: Limits power and lets the people have...
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...Through time it was found that two types of religion exist in China, diffused and institutional. Diffused religion such as Confucianism is part of the country and its systems. It is within the families, education, and the state as a belief. Institutional religion exists as a separate entity of the systems and is in itself a system. Certain religions like Buddhism and Daoism can be said to be this because of their separate institutions and priesthoods. Before todays beliefs, however, existed many different cults and sects that practiced a variety of values and rituals. Way back in ancient times between 2000 and 1123 BC existed the ancient cults which included totemism, animism, and occultism. After that came the humanistic religions when the Zhou dynasty came into control between 1122 and 256 BC. Proceeding that came Confucianism and Daoism between 772 and 481 BC. This was followed by the introduction of foreign religions and their integration within China. Buddhism was introduced first, this came from India where it had its roots and spread to become a rather popular belief system in China to this day. After Buddhism came Christianity which came from the western civilizations which did not take such a great hold because of its monotheistic worship which is unlike any other religion China has encountered or believed...
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