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134 Cards in this Set
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Who were Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony and Octavian Augustus? You can use one generic answer to describe all 3 since they all shared many common attributes, such as, for example, all being from ancient Rome.
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They were all ancient Roman generals, and two were Cleopatra’s lovers.
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Why did Cleopatra think she needed to seduce them? In your answer, you will need to address 2 issues: why were these 3 a danger to her/her country and why, of all possible ways to protect herself, Cleopatra used the seduction strategy.
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Cleopatra thought she needed to seduce them because…
-To protect herself and Egypt. -They were a danger to Egypt because they were trying to take over. -Cleo used her seduction strategy because she was very smart and charming, and knew that she could get the men to love her. - Because then she would have to be the pharaohs wife not the pharaoh |
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You will be given a picture of a man “falling on the sword” and you will be asked to answer the following questions: what do you call what this man is doing in this picture, who was the most famous person in history to do this, why did he feel he needed to do this?
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Because then she would have to be the pharaohs wife not the pharaoh.
In the picture the man is committing suicide. The most famous person was Mark Anthony. He did it because otherwise he would be executed publicly and that is not as noble as killing himself |
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What other culture besides the ancient Roman expects its warriors to commit suicide instead of being captured by the enemy and what is the name of these warriors in that culture?
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The Japanese culture expected their samurais to kill themselves if they were captured because they failed and it was more honorable to kill themselves.
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You will be given a picture of the front page of the New York Post with the article titled “Fall On Your Sword, Weiner” and you will be asked to answer the following questions: what is the meaning of the expression, how do you fall on the sword and where does this expression come from?
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Falling on your sword means, to offer your resignation (or commit suicide). The expression comes from Mark Anthony honorably killing himself by falling on his sword after he had failed.
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who is depicted in this picture, describe the event that is being depicted here, how and why did she do what she did?
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In the photo it shows…
-Her maids, herself, and the snake -She is having snakes bite her, and the venom will kill her -She did this because her trying to seduce Octavian didn’t work and he threatened to kill her- more honorable to kill herself (Mark Anthony did the same thing!) |
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What did Cleopatra’s death mark in the history of Egypt?
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Her death marked the end of the dynasties in Egypt and the start of Roman Period.
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What happened to Egypt right after Cleopatra died, and who ruled Egypt for the next 1900 years?
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The Romans took over Egypt and made it another province. The next 1900 years Egypt was ruled by non- Egyptians (Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks..)
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What do you call the religion of ancient Egyptians?
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The religion was, Ancient Egyptian religion.
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Some of the Egyptian gods were anthropomorphic, some were zoomorphic and some were “half'n'half”: what does each of these descriptions mean?
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Anthropomorphic means human like. Zoomorphic means animal life. Half and half is a human body with an animal head.
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Did the Egyptians worship all thousands of their gods and if not then what did they worship as a community, individually at home and which gods did all Egyptians worship nationally, regardless of who they were or where they lived?
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They had gods for every household, every city town had temples to worship, and then there were national gods like Ra and Isis.
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What is a creation myth?
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A creation myth is the religious explanation for how the world was created.
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Where in the bible is the Jewish/Christian creation myth located?
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It is located in Genesis (the beginning).
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What is it about the nature of the Egyptian religion that explains why it is extremely difficult for us to study, follow and understand it?
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Because, the religion was constantly changing and evolving.
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Why do you think that of all the Egyptian gods, it was Osiris who the Egyptians believed became the god of the dead?
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Because Osiris was the only god that was killed (twice!)
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What is the connection between the movie Matrix and Osiris?
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In the Matrix the first battleship to be destroyed was called Osiris, named after Osiris the first Egyptian god to die.
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How did the Egyptian pharaohs justify their custom of marrying their siblings?
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The Egyptian people thought that if the Gods could marry their siblings so could they.
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You will be given a copy of the ancient Egyptian wall painting of the Trial/Judgment of Osiris, aka the Weighing of the Heart, and you will be asked to describe it: who was Osiris, what 2 objects were weighed on the scales and why were they being weighed, what would determine if the person was good or bad, what would happen to the heart if it belonged to a bad person, what were the monster’s 3 parts, what did the Egyptians believe happened to the souls of good people and bad people after the trial was over?
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Osiris was the god of the underworld. The deceased heart and the feather of Ma’at was weighed on the scale, to see if the deceased heart was equal to a feather and that would mean they were a good soul. The god Anubis judged if the heart was good or bad. If the heart belonged to a bad person and was heavy with sins the deceased would go to the underworld to meet Osiris. The monster was 1/3 crocodile, 1/3 hippo, and 1/3 lion. The soul of the good person would go to paradise (food), and the souls die forever and go into eternal nothingness.
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What was the name of the Egyptian paradise?
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Happy Field of Food
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Did the Egyptians believe in eternal hell full of suffering, what did they believe was the harshest punishment for the souls of bad people, and how did the Egyptian idea of the afterlife differ from the way the Sumerians pictured it?
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There is no hell, your spirit will die forever and there will be nothingness- just darkness. The Sumerians believed that life and afterlife was hell and the Egyptians believed that after death there was eternal nothingness or paradise.
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What is the Egyptian Book of the Dead?
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The Book of the Dead was in 5 parts, and each part dealt with an aspect of the underworld.
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We all know that the Egyptians were absolutely obsessed with the preservation of the dead body, the so-called mummification – a very difficult and expensive procedure designed to preserve the body in as good a shape as possible. However, it was the spirit of the person that would go to paradise, not the preserved mummy itself, which would remain in the tomb/grave. The question is: Why did they bother with mummification then if this mummy wouldn’t even make it to paradise: why was the objective to preserve the corpse in as recognizable form as possible and why did it need to be preserved at all in the first place?
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They bothered with mummification because the soul could shuttle between the “Happy Field” and the body- the sprits had to know which corpse to return to! They needed to preserve it in recognizable form so it would not decay- and the sprit could find it
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What is a mummy?
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A mummy is an embalmed corpse.
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How did the Egyptians prevent corpses from rotting, and why would salt do the job?
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Egyptian prevented corpses from rotting by coving it in salt to dry out the body, and suck out the flesh -eating bacteria so that the body would not “rot”.
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What is the connection between the Egyptian mummies and fish jerky?
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Their bodies are both dried out by salt to prevent rotting.
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Mummification could only be afforded by the rich: how did the poor Egyptians get their corpses mummified for cheap and why would that method work?
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The poor would be buried in the desert sand because it did the same thing as the embalming process- it worked because the sand acts like salt.
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What did the Egyptians value more: a human heart or a brain, why and what did they do to each of those 2 organs after a person’s death?
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The heart had more value than the brain. With the heart they Egyptians would leave in the body so it could be weighed. The brain was useless according to the Egyptians so they would remove it from the body with a spoon.
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What is the origin of the word “mummy“? In your answer you will have to explain what the Egyptians coated people’s corpses with, what is the connection between bitumen, or pitch, and the word “mumiya”, and why the sap used by the Egyptians to preserve corpses was confused with “mumiya”. Why did people in the Middle Ages used to crush mummies into powder?
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People would crush mummies into powder because doctors thought that tar would treat people if they were sick, so when they were looking for tar they found mummies and used the “mumiya” which they thought was tar, making the sick even sicker.
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What language do present-day Egyptians speak, and what language did the ancient Egyptians speak?
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Present day Egyptians speak Arabic. Ancient Egyptians spoke Ancient Egyptian.
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What are dialects?
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Dialects are different forms of the same language
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Which dialects are regional, and which are historical?
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Regional dialects are dialects that are spoken in different areas but the same language. Historical dialects are, spoken in the same area but in different time periods.
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List some regional and 3 historical dialects of the English language. What happens to any language over time (its vocab., grammar, pronunciation, and spelling)?
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Regional dialects would be American English, Aussie English, Kiwi, and British English. Historical dialects are Old English, Middle English, and Modern English.
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What happens to any language over time (its vocab., grammar, pronunciation, and spelling)?
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Over time the vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation will alter.
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What are the classic literary examples of Old, Middle and Early Modern (Shakespearean) English and how much of each of them can you understand?
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Old English- Beowulf (understand 1%)
Middle English- The Canterbury Tales (understand 50-70%) Early Modern English- Romeo and Juliette (understand 90-95%) |
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What are the words used for “you” and “your” in King James Version of the Bible (hint: think the 10 Commandments) and why doesn’t it use “you” and “your”?
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“Thou” and “Thy”, instead of “you” and “your”, because that is how they spoke at the time it was written.
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What are the 2 conditions under which a language may be pronounced dead?
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When it is not spoken on a daily basis, and when parents do not teach it to their children.
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What is Coptic and how is it still being used?
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Coptic is the last historical dialect of the Ancient Egyptians. It is used for religious purposes.
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What are the other 3 dead languages, besides Coptic, that are still being used and how are they still being used?
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The two dead languages are Latin, and Ancient Greek. Latin is being used in the Catholic Church. Sororities and paternities in colleges use ancient Greek. Also, Hebrew is used for religious purposes.
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Why does Hebrew stand out among all the dead languages?
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Hebrew stand out the most because it is the only dead language that has been brought back to a civilization.
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Who are Copts?In your answer you will need to describe the following: the country where they primarily live, their religion, the language they speak on a daily basis and the language they use for religious purposes.
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Copts live in Egypt, speak Arabic on a daily basis, their religion is Coptic Christian, for religious purposes they speak Coptic.
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What is the connection between Copts and Ancient Egypt?
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The Copts are the descendents of the Ancient Egyptians and they only marry other Copts (10%).
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Who are the majority of modern day Egyptians (their ethnic group and religion), and what is their connection with Ancient Egypt?
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Modern Egyptians are “Arab”; their ancestors conquered and moved to Egypt 100’s of years ago after the Roman Period (90%), most of them are Muslim.
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Why did Kirill used to go to a Coptic church in Santa Monica?
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Because he wanted to see the Ancient Egyptian culture, and he’s a dork!
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What kind of symbols do we call pictograms, ideograms and phonograms, and how many of each of these symbols does it take to spell out a word?
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Pictograms- symbols for objects (1 symbol = 1 word)
Ideograms- symbols for objects and ideas (1 symbol per word) Phonograms- symbols for speech sounds (1 symbol= 1- 26 sounds) |
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Why is it easier to use phonograms than picto- or ideograms?
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It is easiest to use phonograms because 1- 26 sounds are in more than one word or phrase.
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What ancient and modern languages were/are written using letters for consonants only?
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Arabic does not use consonants and neither does Ancient Egyptian, or Hebrew.
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Is it possible to understand words spelled with consonant letters only, and if yes, give me a few examples?
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Yes, people use words without vowels in texts.
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Name 2 English letters that can be traced all the way back to an Egyptian hieroglyph, draw this hieroglyph and explain how its shape relates to its meaning.
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“N” and “M” can be traced all the way back to Egypt. The hieroglyph is a zig- zag horizontal line- resembles waves.
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In which 3 directions was the hieroglyphic text written, and how could you tell if it was written from left to right or from right to left?
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Hieroglyphic text was written, right, left and top to bottom. You could tell by which way the people or animals were facing.
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Why are there so many spelling mistakes in the Egyptian texts carved on walls?
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There were so many mistakes because the carving was done in 2 stages; 1st the scribes would write it in light paint on the wall in the proper form, after stone -masons who did the actual carving did not know how to write so they made mistakes.
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Where is the English word “paper” derived from, and what was the Egyptian “paper” made from?
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The word paper is derived from papyrus. The Egyptian paper was made from papyrus.
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What 2 major advantages do papyrus and paper have over clay tablets?
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Papyrus was lighter, and thinner than clay tablets.
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In what way is papyrus second only to paper?
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It is second only to paper because of all media that people have been writing on it is only 2nd to paper in the amount things have been written on it.
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How come that for thousands of years millions of people could speak and write in the Ancient Egyptian language, but then for 100s of years nobody in the world could?
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After thousands of years nobody could write because ancient Egyptians assimilated and had lost or forgotten the ancient language.
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You will be given a picture of the Rosetta Stone and asked the following: identify the object in this picture, describe how and by whom it was discovered and the significance of its discovery.
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The Rosetta Stone was found by French soldiers in 1799 in the town of Rosetta, while conquering Egypt. Its discovery was important because before the discovery nobody could read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
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Approximately how long did it take scientists to decipher the Egyptian portion of the Rosetta Stone (days, months, a couple of years, decades, centuries) and why were they able to use the inscriptions on this particular stone in order to do this?
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Many people studied hieroglyphs over a few decades. One of the inscriptions was in Ancient Greek and my comparing the two their texts people were able to figure it out. They were able to use the inscriptions because the stone was written in 3 different languages and once people mastered the first two they could figure out what each hieroglyph meant.
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Today, a company called Rosetta Stone Inc. creates software which helps people to learn foreign languages: why do you think the company’s founders named it after the actual Rosetta Stone?
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I think that it was named Rosetta stone because the Rosetta stone was in three different languages and people learned them all- much like how when doing Rosetta stone you can learn a new language.
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You will be given a picture of the logo of Rosetta Stone, Inc. and asked to explain its shape and the 2 horizontal lines in the middle of it.
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The shape is just the shape and the lines separate the different languages.
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Which 2 types of monumental structures are associated with ancient Egypt, and what is it about them that has made people obsess over them for 1000s of years?
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The two monumental structures are the pyramids, and obelisks. People were fascinated by the size and shape of the pyramids, and all of them try to touch the sky.
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Please describe what is an obelisk and how does its tip connect it to a pyramid?
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People were fascinated by obelisks, because they were a tall needle like square stone pillar with they pyramid on top, symbol of greatness and are still being built today.
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What is the connection between George Washington and ancient Egypt?
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The connection is that on the top of the Washington monument there is a small pyramid and the monument is in the shape of the obelisk.
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You will be give a picture of a sundial, an obelisk and a water clock and you will need to do the following: identify the objects in this picture, describe how each of them relates to the other 2 and what does ancient Egypt have to do with all 3?
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All 3 originate in Egypt, the sundial and water clock are measuring devices and sundial and obelisk are believed to have inspired one another. No longer depended on sunlight and weather like sundials and obelisks did.
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How does a water clock measure time (hint: an hourglass), and what is its major advantage over a sundial?
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The water clock measures time the same way an hourglass would you turn it over and when all the water has drained to the other side an hour has gone by, its major advantage is that it does not need any sunlight to properly operate.
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Which 5 features of our modern calendar originate in the ancient Egyptian one?
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The five features of our modern calendar are…
1. Created the 12 months 2. 365 days in a year was their idea 3. Celebrate the end of the year 4. Leap year every 4 years 5. 1st solar calendar |
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What did the ancient Egyptians discover about proportion in art?
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Proportion is beauty. The ancient Egyptians discovered that all body parts had to be in proportion or keep the same ration as all the other body parts, and so the drawing will look realistic.
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What kind of technique did ancient Egyptian artists develop in order to maintain the same proportions when painting images of people?
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They invented a grid to draw people and animals with the same proportions. The eyes, faces, shoulders, are all straight and going the same way. All the faces are in profile, you never see them looking at you.
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21. What is the origin of the word “china” (as in “fine china/porcelain/your gra’ma’s china/like a bull in a china shop/cups and plates“)
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The origin of the word “china” is, translucent porcelain was invented in China- when it was imported from China to Europe in the 1600’s, people started referring to it as “China porcelain.”
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What does “like a bull in a china shop” mean?
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It means that bulls are very clunky and large and China is very delicate so when a bull goes into a China shop, it will make a mess and cause destruction
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What is the difference between transparent and translucent?
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Translucent is when light is allowed to pass through the object but not detailed images. Transparent is when light is allowed to pass completely through and all objects can be completely seen.
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What do we divide the history of China (the country) into, and how does this differ from Ancient Egypt?
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China’s history is broken up into a series of dynasty’s unlike the Egyptians Dynasty’s had ordinal numbers while the Chinese dynasty’s went by family names.
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Why can’t we call Chinese family names, “last” names?
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Because, in China your family name comes first and your given name comes last.
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Where is the English word “China” (the country) derived from?
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It is derived from the “Qin/Chin” dynasty: 1st time non- Chinese wrote down the countries name, it was ruled by the Qin and the name stuck → “China”.
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What is the translation of the Chinese word for “China“(the country), and why did the ancient Chinese name their country so?
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The translation is middle kingdom, because they thought the were in the middle of the earth.
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Draw the Chinese character for “middle”, and explain why it totally makes sense.
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It makes sense because it’s a square with a line right down the middle!
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You will be given a picture with the image of a porcelain plate, the word “China” written in Chinese and the outline map of China and asked to describe how all 3 relate to each other.
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Porcelain is called China, Chinese for China, map of China.
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How did China benefit from the natural barriers around it?
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They benefitted because they were isolated and were not attacked for long periods of time because it was hard to reach them.
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Where was the birthplace of the Chinese civilization?
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The birthplace of Chinese civilization was along the yellow river in Inner China.
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Which of these 2 Chinas – Inner or Outer - do we study as Ancient China, and which of the 2 does the People’s Republic of China consist of?
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We study Ancient China a.k.a Inner China, and the Peoples Republic is Inner and outer China- not Taiwan.
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What 2 modern countries have the word “China” in their names and which one of them is also known by the name of an island (you will have to name the island)?
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The two modern countries are The People Republic of China, and Republic of China (Taiwan).
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What do the ethnic Chinese call themselves, where does this name come from, and why do the ethnic Chinese use the name of that particular dynasty to describe themselves?
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Ethnic Chinese call themselves “Han”. The names comes from the fact that they are all descendents of those Chinese whose ancestors lived in China during the Han Dynasty, when the Chinese National ID was formed.
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Where in China do the ethnic Chinese mainly live, and what are the 4 things we would expect them to have in common in order for us to be able to identify them as the “real” Chinese, as opposed to simply the citizens of China?
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The ethnic Chinese live mainly in the inner China provinces. They look, speak, eat, and write Chinese. The non- Chinese, are Mongolian, Tibet, Vietnamese, Cambodians.
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Who are the non-ethnic Chinese: give 4 examples of the non-ethnic Chinese people living in China, where in China do they primarily live, in what ways do the non-ethnic Chinese differ from the ethnic (Han) Chinese, and if they are so different from the Han Chinese, then what makes them “Chinese” at all?
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Non- ethnic Chinese live mainly in the outer China provinces. Four examples are they have their own non- Chinese language, writing system/ alphabet, cuisine, and many do not look Asian. What makes them all Chinese “Han” or not is that they are all citizens of China.
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Why are we not so sure the Xia dynasty actually existed?
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We are not sure it actually existed because there are no written records, just a few random artifacts.
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Why is the Yellow river called “Yellow”?
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It is called the yellow river valley because it has a yellow hue due to silt blown in from the Gobi desert.
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Where was rice first domesticated, and what makes it so special as a crop?
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The first rice was domesticated in the Yangtze River, because that is where the first wheat was harvested. Rice is special because it produces the most yield per harvest.
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What made the Shang dynasty “expansionist”, and where did it expand from and to?
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The Shang dynasty was “expansionist”, because they expanded their rule south from the Yellow river over to the Yangtze River.
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You may draw a sketch to help you answer this question. You will be given a picture representing the Mandate of Heaven concept (house on a cloud with rays of light coming down onto a man) and asked to describe it: what does the house on the cloud represent, what to the rays represent, who is this man, who grants what to whom, on what conditions, and what are the people allowed to do if in their eyes the king does not meet the conditions?
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The house on the clouds represents the god called “heaven”, the rays represent power, and the man is the King. The main god is Heaven, and he gives his mandate to the king on the conditions that the king rules fairly, well, rationally, capable, and protects his people from disaster and attack. If the king does not meet these conditions then the people have the right to rebel and overthrow such king and put another one into power with a new Mandate.
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What 2 things did the Mandate of Heaven justify?
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The Mandate justified…
1. The right of kings to rule 2. The people have the right to rebel against bad Kings |
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You will be given a picture of the yin and yang symbol and asked to do the following: identify the image and explain what each of its features/parts represents – the 2 colors (black and white), the 2 tear drops interlocked to form a circle, the small black dot in the white teardrop and the small white dot in the black teardrop, etc. Here is an example of what I would expect from you: “the 2 colors (black and white) represent the idea that the world consists of opposites, such as man and woman, hot and cold, wet and dry”.
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The Yin Yang, represents the Concept of Universal Harmony. The 2 colors black and white represent opposites, such as man and woman, hot and cold, and dark and light. The interlocked teardrops symbolize that opposites are not in conflict with each other but compliment each other- cant exist without each other. Each opposite has a tiny “seed” or portion of its partner (dots) inside of it.
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You will be given a chart/diagram representing the system of feudalism and asked to describe it: how did the king divide the country, what kind of people were appointed as what, what were the main duties/obligations of a duke, how did dukes divide their lands, what responsibilities/tasks did the counts have, what were the 3 main obligations of peasants?
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The King divided the country into provinces, and put his family and friends in charge as “dukes”. The dukes job was to keep law and order, collect taxes for the king (keep some for himself), and be ready to fight on demand. The dukes divided their land into provinces, and put friends and family in charge as “counts”. The counts jobs were to keep law and order, collect taxes, and fight on demand. The main obligations as a peasant was to farm, pay taxes with what they produced, and fight as militias for the counts.
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Who are the “militias”?
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A militia are non- professional soldiers.
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Under the feudal system - and using the same feudalism chart/diagram - please describe step by step how the tax revenue would “travel” from its “source” to its “destination”.
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The taxes originate with the peasants, and then they go to the counts who keep some and give some to the dukes who keep some and give the rest to the king.
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Under the feudal system, please describe step by step how the king would raise his army, starting from the king getting the message that his kingdom was going to be attacked.
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The king tells the duke, who tells the counts, who tells the peasants. Then everybody would gather at the palace to fight.
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How did the feudal system lead to the break-up of China?
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Some of the dukes stopped passing on any taxes to the king, refused to obey him, or serve in his army and declared themselves kings of their own provinces.
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What was happening in China during the Warring States period?
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Each of the former Chinese provinces, having declared themselves separate kingdoms, was fighting the others for 250 years.
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China‘s Qin/Chin dynasty unified the country and carried out several reforms/projects: please tell me what did they standardize and why (weights and…, etc.)? Why did the roads need to be the same width and cart axels need to be all the same length?
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They standardized weights and measures, width of roads, and lengths of axles. Everything was standardized to make the country more unified and easier to work in, and easier passage on the roads so everybody could travel.
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What did they do to better protect the country in the north and why did they need to do it?
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To protect the country they built the Great Wall of China, because that’s where raiders were trying to get in.
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What is so special about the Great Wall of China?
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It is so special because it is the longest wall in the world.
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Why did the Qin build 1000s of miles or roads (3 reasons)?
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The Qin built 1000’s of miles of roads for…
1. Trade 2. Communication 3. So they could send their army anywhere in China |
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Why is the tomb of the 1stQin/Chin emperor so famous (hint: size, its floor, mercury) and how was it “camouflaged” to resemble a topographical landmark?
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It had a mock up of the world on the floor and mercury flowing through the rivers- it was huge! It was camouflaged by putting dirt and tress over it to make it look like a forest.
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Who are the famous terracotta soldiers/army and what are the 2 things that make them so special?
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They are terra cotta clay soldiers who were buried next the first emperors tombs. They are life size and no two are the same.
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Why was the location of this tomb lost for 1000s of years and why haven’t the Chinese archeologists excavated the tomb yet?
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The tomb was lost because everybody who knew about it were killed. Archeologists are afraid the mercury levels will be too high and they will die- did a test and the levels are through the roof.
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You will be given the images of 3 maps: the ethnic map of modern China showing the different ethnic groups living there, the map of China under the Han dynasty and the present day political map of China showing the Inner and Outer portion of China: you will be asked to describe the connection between the 3 maps.
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The connection is the bottom map is where the Han Chinese live and the second map shows where the dynasty took place. The first map shows that Inner china is where the Han dynasty was.
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What happened to many non-Chinese tribes and nations that had been conquered by the Han dynasty?
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They were sinficated.
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What is sinification?
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To sinficate means to assimilate into the Chinese culture
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What do we call it when someone assimilated into the Russian culture, the American culture, the ancient Roman culture, the Western culture?
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Russify, Americanize, Romanize, Westernize.
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Who are the “Han-ren” and what is the connection between Inner China and the Han Chinese?
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Han-ren are Chinese people. The connection Han Chinese aka Han after Han dynasty, Han dynasty ruled the portion of China that today is known as inner China.
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What are the 3 main features of the traditional/folk Chinese religion?
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The three main features are…
1. Mix of polytheism- gods who control nature 2. Animism- all animals, plants, even objects have spirits in them 3. Focused on ancestor worship. |
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What’s animism?
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Animism is the belief that all living things, plants, and natural landmarks, have spirits in them.
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How, according to the Chinese folk religion, can the living people get their requests reach gods/spirits and what 3 things would people want to ask for from them?
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Living people would ask their ancestors to ask the gods for advice, predictions, and favors.
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What do you need to do to have your ancestors’ souls want to help you out and pass on your request to gods and spirits (something before they die and something after)?
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In order to have your ancestors souls want to help you when they are alive you must be nice to them and worship them. After they die, you must pray, make sacrifices to them at home or at their grave.
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How does Taoism view human life, what is the worst thing a person can do in life and what is the ultimate goal of Taoism?
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Taoism views life as the greatest possession. The greatest crime is suicide. The ultimate goals are too…
1. Eat well 2. Breathe well 3. Think well 4. Act well |
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What do you need to do in order to achieve the longest life possible or even immortality?
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To live the longest life possible/immortality one must live very simply.
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Why does Taoism claim that life is to be lived simply and that having ambitions is not a good thing?
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Because in Taoism formal education should be avoided because it is used as a mean to achieve ambitions, and if you fail at ambitions then it can lead to depression
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Give 3 examples of ambitions that Taoism teaches should be absolutely avoided?
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Taoism says one should avoid power, glory, and fame.
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What idea is expressed in the following 2 sayings: The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be cut down and The higher you fly the harder you fall. How does Taoism see formal education and why?
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The idea expressed is that there should be no showing off because if you mess up when showing off you “fall” even harder. Taoism sees formal education as a waste of time.
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Who founded Confucianism, and why do most historians and philosophers do not consider Confucianism a religion (5 examples of things it lacks)?
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Confucius founded Confucianism. It is not considered a religion because it’s a secular philosophy, it lacks…
1. No gods/spirits 2. No sacred texts 3. No temples or priests 4. No afterlife/hell/ paradise |
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What is “secular”?
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Secular is to denote attitudes, activities, or other things, that have no religious or spiritual basis.
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What is the main goal of Confucianism?
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The main goal of Confucianism is to have a harmonious society.
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What are, according to Confucianism, the 5 types of relationships, and how do these relationships need to work?
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The five types of relationships are
1. Dads→ sons 2. Elder brothers→ younger brothers 3. Hubbies→ wives 4. Seniors→ Juniors 5. Rulers→ subjects |
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Why does Confucianism put so much emphasis on formal education and how has Confucianism affected the system of education in China?
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These relation ships need to work by the (hubbies, kings, ect.) being fair, kind, and considerate to their counter parts, and by their counter parts being loyal, respectful, and obedient. Confucianism puts so much emphasis on education because they believe that is the way to fulfill their full potential. It affected the school system in China because to this day the Chinese believe in order to succeed students must practice, study hard, take exams.
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Define meritocracy, cronyism and nepotism.
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Meritocracy is the idea that people should advance in life based on what they know (competence, expertise, talent, ability) Cronyism is that relatives should not advance in life based on who they know and are related to. Nepotism is that friends should not advance in life based on whom they are friends with.
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Which 2 of these 3 are forms of corruption, and why would they be bad for society?
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Cronyism and Nepotism are forms of corruption, it is bad for society because the lower the quality of life in society: things/ tasks are not done well, because they are done by people who are not the best qualified, but who are the best connected.
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Why would such countries as Iraq and Afghanistan benefit more from Confucianism than from the American $ and soldiers?
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Because they have high corruption and low quality of life, and Confucianism teaches how to organize society based on meritocracy, and not cronyism or nepotism, which are forms of corruption, to make society function better.
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What is the fundamental flaw in teaching people that doing good things must always be rewarded and doing bad things will lead to punishment?
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The flaw is that people might think if there is no reward in doing good, then why do it?
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What is the Golden Rule?
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The Golden Rule is, “ Do onto other what you would want onto you”, also known as “ treat others how you want to be treated.”
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What is so peculiar about the modern Chinese religious beliefs?
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What is so peculiar is that in Chinese culture there is no problem with picking and choosing different bits of several religions and philosophies in any proportion you want.
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Why did the ancient Chinese develop writing?
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The Chinese invented writing to speak to gods and spirits.
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The Shang dynasty introduced the first Chinese system of writing: who were the people who developed it, what did they write on, which bones did the Chinese pick to write on and why these particular bones?
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It was developed by special priests know as shamans (oracles). They wrote on shoulder blades of animals and turtle shells because they were flat and easy to write on.
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Who are the oracles, how did they write on “oracle bones”, who were these messages addressed to and what were they asking?
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The oracles are the special priests who invented writing. They would scratch inscriptions onto the bones then they would heat the shells in the fire until they cracked. The messages were addressed to gods and spirits who were being asked questions about the future.
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Why did they poke these ‘oracle bones” with a hot metal rod, and how did the oracles “read” the answers?
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The oracles read the answers by interpreting the cracked lines on the shell or bones much like a palm reader, once they oracles got the answers they would write it down on the shells.
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How do we know what the answers are?
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We know what the answers are because they were written in early Chinese script.
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Why is the Chinese system of writing so complicated?
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It is so complicated because there are so many characters it takes 2,000 to read a newspaper, 5,000 to graduate from school, and in total there are 104,000 in the dictionary.
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Name 2 main Chinese dialects and explain how the speakers of these dialects can still understand each other, even though orally they sound so differently, making it often almost impossible for those who speak only 1 to understand the other 2.
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Two main dialects are Mandarin and Cantonese. They sound so different but the characters are the same.
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