Perhaps, no other medium has had such a prodigious impact on the recollection of history and societal structure and formulation than writing. When it was first introduced, it was clear that people could grasp its value, thus they took the necessary steps to grind through the process of developing it into a usable mechanism upon which to benefit their livelihood. In essence, writing was the catalyst that caused normal people groups to not only become civilizations with laws and governance, but also enabled communities to come closer together and recollect their own histories much more vividly, creating a closer connection to their ancestry and religious ideas. Therefore, writing has been instrumental in shaping past and modern societies and
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One reason that they recorded these accounts is that it allowed for a greater governance and structure when it concerned hierarchical dispensation and control. In fact, sometime around 2500 BC, Sumerians began to focus on keeping the kingship in the family and this is where written records began to surface, showing us this trend (XXXX). This is an important development because it demonstrates that once in power, they wanted to retain that control and be disjoined from the common man. Proof of this is that the kingship would often marry with other elite in neighboring countries and kingdoms (XXX). These pictographs, or cuneiforms that the Sumerians utilized were essentially pictures that represented ideas, upon which meanings could be conveyed. This was so impactful that they started establishing scribing schools where people could more accurately and diligently keep property records for the elite. In fact, Mckay et al. (2014) noted that, “writing first developed as a way to enhance the growing power of elites, not to record speech (p. 37). In other words, normal, day to day events, if they were even documented, were often overlooked (XXXX). In addition, the Sumerians also took part in oral history (spoken historical recollection) and one of their great stories was eventually …show more content…
But, because the Chinese understood the importance of writing with regard to establishing governance and record-keeping, it later became an important skill to employ for the elite (95). The early script in use by the Chinese is called logographic and was similar to the Sumerian and Egyptians forms in that they used symbols to represent words. Written forms were important in Chinese culture because it produced writings such as the Book of Documents, Songs of Chu, Book of Changes and the Book of Songs, which allowed people to feel more closely connected to each other. Later, after many battles arose, Confucianism emerged and encouraged a more compassionate approach to life and rule. For example, in the Book of Documents, which was penned by Confucius, Ward and Gainty (2012) explained that, “Do you by be virtuous, be it in small things or large, and the myriad regains will have cause for rejoicing” (p. 75). This exemplifies how this movement promoted this kind of ideology with regard to the ruling class. What is more, this powerful system was encouraged by reading poetry, religious texts and historical tradition (103). Therefore writings did had a prodigious impact on the effect of this ideology. And this movement, “also provided a moral basis for the Chinese family that continues into our modern times”
One reason that they recorded these accounts is that it allowed for a greater governance and structure when it concerned hierarchical dispensation and control. In fact, sometime around 2500 BC, Sumerians began to focus on keeping the kingship in the family and this is where written records began to surface, showing us this trend (XXXX). This is an important development because it demonstrates that once in power, they wanted to retain that control and be disjoined from the common man. Proof of this is that the kingship would often marry with other elite in neighboring countries and kingdoms (XXX). These pictographs, or cuneiforms that the Sumerians utilized were essentially pictures that represented ideas, upon which meanings could be conveyed. This was so impactful that they started establishing scribing schools where people could more accurately and diligently keep property records for the elite. In fact, Mckay et al. (2014) noted that, “writing first developed as a way to enhance the growing power of elites, not to record speech (p. 37). In other words, normal, day to day events, if they were even documented, were often overlooked (XXXX). In addition, the Sumerians also took part in oral history (spoken historical recollection) and one of their great stories was eventually …show more content…
But, because the Chinese understood the importance of writing with regard to establishing governance and record-keeping, it later became an important skill to employ for the elite (95). The early script in use by the Chinese is called logographic and was similar to the Sumerian and Egyptians forms in that they used symbols to represent words. Written forms were important in Chinese culture because it produced writings such as the Book of Documents, Songs of Chu, Book of Changes and the Book of Songs, which allowed people to feel more closely connected to each other. Later, after many battles arose, Confucianism emerged and encouraged a more compassionate approach to life and rule. For example, in the Book of Documents, which was penned by Confucius, Ward and Gainty (2012) explained that, “Do you by be virtuous, be it in small things or large, and the myriad regains will have cause for rejoicing” (p. 75). This exemplifies how this movement promoted this kind of ideology with regard to the ruling class. What is more, this powerful system was encouraged by reading poetry, religious texts and historical tradition (103). Therefore writings did had a prodigious impact on the effect of this ideology. And this movement, “also provided a moral basis for the Chinese family that continues into our modern times”