In Ancient Chinese culture, Confucius identifies virtue in The Analects as fidelity to the Way, a path or model of behavior, while in Gilgamesh, virtue in Sumerian society grows from legacy and comradeship. Both cultures recognize importance of striving to better society and build community. They also value progress and growth, but they differ in how to achieve those ends. In Chinese culture, progress and growth are measured by following the principles and mandates of the Way; in Sumerian culture, by achievement and legacy. In The Analects, success rests on harmony and respect for elders; in Gilgamesh, comradeship and working together. Virtue in Confucian society is ultimately related to order, while in Sumerian culture virtue builds community …show more content…
Gilgamesh persists in reaching his goal of immortality, but as he journeys through the Cedar Forest and beyond, Gilgamesh begins to realize that his purpose in life is not to live forever, but rather to leave something behind for eternity in his name. When Gilgamesh interacts with Utnapishtim and tries to determine how Utnapishtim was able to achieve immortality, Utnapishtim explains how he saved human life from extinction and was thus rewarded immortality from the gods. Humans are not measured by their achievements of strength and power, but instead on how they can make society stronger. Not only does Gilgamesh pass on military success and a powerful city, but he also gives the people of Uruk the knowledge he has learned of the value of respect and comradeship. Even though Gilgamesh was not successful in achieving his goal of humanity, Sumerians values knowledge for future experience above all else. As the book concludes, Gilgamesh begins to focus on the splendor and greatness of the city of Uruk that he has helped develop, and the “Legacy of Uruk, the city of Gilgamesh.” The legacy that Gilgamesh has built for himself is for all of the people of Uruk to not only remember his heroism, but also to be an example for others. Gilgamesh expresses Sumerian virtue as he gives the citizens of Uruk hope for a better future because he has left behind a safe, unified city and a legacy that …show more content…
While Chinese culture believes that societal improvement arises from strict adherence to a set of guidelines and ridged political structure, Sumerian culture encourages improving society through developing a legacy to inspire future generations. The Chinese emphasis on order is present in the familial and social hierarchy structure that fosters submissiveness and respect to elders, which diverges from Sumerian emphasis on comradery. Virtue is strictly attainable to individuals of high social status or hold political power and can fully devote their lives to studying, practicing, and understanding the Way, but most citizens can not invest this time and effort. As a result, it is the responsibility of those who have found the Way to instruct the entire society and lead by example. While Sumerian culture is similar in that those who have found virtue are responsible for the improvement of others, the guidelines of becoming virtuous are much less rigid and exclusive. The Chinese value a carefully planned journey, while the Sumerians prefer an organic
In conclusion, the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome and China maintained a strict social hierarchy, which was important for running stable, progressive and well-culturally preserved societies. The key elements that played a role in achieving that were the well-defined social order, the substantial social and economic inequality and the distinctive social norms. In each of the three civilizations, the classes were visible and there was no room for chaos, because strict laws were in place. Inequality ensured the movement forward, but social norms provided order and kept the hierarchical pyramid in place. Without the vital feature of the social hierarchy, it would not be possible for the societies to preserve their traditions and ensure continuity
Rome and Han China, ancient history’s most remarkable civilizations, have many more profound ideals to teach people today than just their world-famous astounding engineering or fascinating cultures. The values of ancient Rome were simplicity, frugality, honesty, austerity and patriotism (PSR 47). Simplicity is the state of being uncomplicated. Careful and reasonable use of resources defines frugality. Honesty means to be sincere and truthful as well as fair in conduct.
When reading The Epic of Gilgamesh we can find different examples of the six criteria for evaluating works of art. Therefore we are able to hone in on a few that really prevail throughout the story that persuades the reader to think critically about what exactly the author wants the reader to understand. Three main themes of the Christian critical tradition in The Epic of Gilgamesh are truth, righteousness, and beauty. When looking at the epic of Gilgamesh and accessing the literature for truth we see that an ultimate truth is death.
With Gilgamesh coming to realization of his mortality, he departs from Uruk on a second journey. Unlike the first journey, Gilgamesh isn’t setting off avid for glory and fame. Instead, he is embarking on a journey to discover himself. Gilgamesh was known for ruling with an iron fist, he was able to get away with anything he wanted by invoking fear into the townspeople. On the other hand, Hammurabi of Babylon provides a perfect example of how to treat your townspeople.
These differences can be seen in their respective cultures, languages, religious practices, and systems of government. This write-up will highlight and discuss the major differences between the Shang and Zhou dynasties and the cultures that
Over its extremely long life span, China has developed into an extremely ritualistic society based on the ideas of Confucius and the concept
In comparison, it’s always observed on how different scholars find the similarity of especially marital settings, characters, and as well as the wanderings of the mythological world. Different events within the life of these characters cover broadly a huge range of epic encounters that are heroic. The character, emotional and psychological development of Gilgamesh can be borrowed especially from the ancient heroic perspectives of mortality and death while comparing with Achilles. Mesopotamian civilization has had several phases in which hero Gilgamesh has been in existence, however having similar attributes. One of the earliest stories of Gilgamesh is developed from Sumerian texts, one of the most influential and well-known poems (Michelakis & Pantelis 2007).
The Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh uses warrior values to motivate himself and those around him. The Sumerians, which were Gilgamesh’s people, were located in Mesopotamia. The Sumerians expanded and developed the city of Uruk. The Sumerians survived due to their expansion of wheat and irrigation system.
People of Uruk complain about the nature of Gilgamesh’ tyranny to gods as they can no longer tolerate the king’s unjust behaviors: “His companions are kept on their feet by his contests, [the young men of Uruk] he harries without warrant. Gilgamesh lets no son go free to his father, by day and by [night his tyranny grows] harsher. (Gilgamesh, I.166-170)” People rely on the king to protect their rights and the country, but Gilgamesh does the opposite by taking away their sons and daughters for his personal needs. The people of Uruk feel oppressed under Gilgamesh’s rule as Gilgamesh gives himself the right to sleep with women on the first night of marriage and to take away sons from the household to appease his appetite for war games.
Cultural Values A demigod named Gilgamesh, tragically loses his best friend, then he goes on a journey to find the secret of immortality. One could say that these specific cultural values work effectively for the Gods and the people of Uruk, such as rituals, war, and making sacrifices to make this culture successful. Commonly this culture mostly performs rituals for everlasting life or immortality. Gods are afraid of mortality and death itself.
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Relevant Truth for Today’s Society The Epic of Gilgamesh is set in Uruk, an ancient city of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer, now modern-day Iraq. The epic was said to be written by Sin-liqe-unninni, but it is based on five earlier Sumerian poems with no known author. The piece was difficult to translate, and there are two main version for the Epic of Gilgamesh. This is the result of the environment during the time the piece was being written.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest story known to mankind, being written on Sumerian clay almost five thousand years ago (Garone). Since the story was originally known orally, the culture and themes from The Epic of Gilgamesh must have existed long before it was finally inscribed (Mark 4). Having known this, the cultures and themes can be compared to today’s society, discovering about how they have shifted and evolved, and also observe how they are similar. The ancient days of Gilgamesh has brought culture that has greatly influenced today’s society. Because Gilgamesh was set around the time of late Babylonian or early Sumerian society, the Babylonian and Sumerian cultures also play a role in shaping the world into what is is today (Mark).
Chinese tradition is opposed to individual glorification and considers anyone who desires personal enhancement as a threat to collectivism (Pye, 1982). Chinese are more group-oriented, they value respect and friendship. China is more Egalitarian, meaning that they share power and share authority and spread the authority out evenly. They do not expect all power as some cultures do. Next is Performance orientation, which means when the community encourages and rewards good things done and completed.
Gideon Shelach’s article deals with the construction of two sedentary Neolithic societies and their social structure by taking an anthropological approach. Because his goal is the search for early Neolithic cultures, he chose to not only focus on pre-Hongshan cultures, but also use them as a comparative model because the Hongshan culture has attracted much attention in both China and the West. The two cultures he focuses on are Xinglongwa and Zhaobaoguo in northeast China. In doing this, Shelach hopes that the differences found in these societies can be used to examine the differences in cultures of the world today. Shelach starts his article by describing some of the main features of these cultures, such as rectangular houses, the use of
We will try to delve into the ancient period and will examine the individualistic and collectivistic characteristics of the society. Also we will raise some questions from ethical point of view about their traditions. Are these traditions necessary or they are redundant? Why they are morally necessary? How these traditions or their way of living are related to communism?