Han China Dbq

Eli Winker

Dr Knickman

SST150

9 February 2023

Comparing Classical Greece and Han China

In the Classical Age, the Han and Greek empires differed in many ways, most notably in their government ideas and the power of one individual in a government. The classical Greeks used democracy as their primary form of government and citizens all had a role in the government. The Han empire used a monarchy with an emperor at the head and everyone else in the empire had little to no power. Although the Classical Greeks and Chinese shared similar ideas about the role of women in society, their ideas about government and the role of an individual in government were more different than similar because the Greeks believed in more of a democratic government rather

In document 4, Pericles said that their government is called a democracy because its administration is in the hands, not of few, but of the whole peoples. Greek government was a lot more inclusive and wasn’t in the hands of one person. However, in document 7, it is revealed that by the end of the Han period, China’s bureaucrats and government officials only represented 0.2% of the population of the empire. That is vastly different than Greek democracy where all citizens could be part of the government. These Chinese individuals could have all of the power or none of it and some select Greek individuals could each have a part in the government; this was one of the main ways that the Greek and Han empires differed in their

In document Q, Aristotle is quoted saying “[t]he courage of a man is seen in commanding, of a woman in obeying.” This is a very similar idea that the Han empire employed, with the women simply being a helper to the man. Document R kind of agrees with document Q, saying “[t]here has never been a woman who had [humility, industriousness, and the ability to continue the sacrifices] and yet ruined her reputation or fell into disgrace.” Both of these documents agree on the fact that a woman is only a part of a man’s life to serve him and keep his house and family in order. The two empires did not give women many rights and believed they were there to serve the