寻云出海 -
我以前写的，借你用吧: 历史论文 - 比较古罗马与汉朝
(一千字)
Han Vs Roman Empire
The Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) of China developed at a similar point in time as the Roman Empire (27 BC – AD 395). Both these civilizations were very successful and influential to their ‘part of the world", even to this day. Their success can be seen in many different aspects such as government, social order, culture and technology. Because these civilizations had developed strengths and weaknesses in different areas, it would be difficult to compare their successes; one being more culturally flourishing while the other having a stronger government system. Therefore, they were both historically equal.
The Han had a basic system of a strong central government whose policies were implemented by a complex and efficient bureaucracy. The Han emperors accepted and applied the Confucian principles that:
The purpose of a government is to benefit those being governed and the leader should rule by good example, not harsh decrees.
With these principles in mind, the government rescinded the proceeding Qin dynasty"s harsh rules, reduced taxes and the practice of execution became less frequent. Schools were established to train government officials; written examinations were to be taken to determine qualified people for government posts. Under these efficient rules, the population grew and became prosperous and strong. When Wudi, one of its emperors died in 87 BC, the empire was already the size of what the Roman Empire was to become a few decades later.
The name, Roman Empire as a form of government speaks for itself. Its first emperor, Octavian Augustus shrewdly accumulated powers by avoiding committing the same mistakes of his predecessor, Julius Caesar, who was hated and considered to be a dictator. Unlike the Han"s way of choosing government officials, the senate body of the Romans was primarily made up of members from aristocratic classes. The ownership of at least1 million sesterces (silver coins used by the Romans) was one of the requirements to become a senator. As the empire grew, Augustus stood at the apex of the administrative system. He served as chief commander, high priest, supreme judge and main legislator. However, because he still needed the senators for their experience in governing, this emperor disguised his powers by adopting traditional names such as consul, tribune etcetera so that the senators would not feel threatened in their positions.
It seems that unlike the Romans, the Hans had a stronger, fairer government system because they had chosen their officials by looking at their abilities rather than their background and social status.
During the Han dynasty, the teachings of Confucius became the dominant school of thought. The basic concept of Confucian is jen, meaning ‘love" or ‘goodness".
Other Confucian virtues include righteousness, propriety, integrity and family loyalty. At the time, The Four Books of Confucian learning (Si shu), which some scholars still study today were already edited into their final form. The recognition and acceptance of Confucian and Daoism made the Han era known as the golden age of Chinese philosophy. Buddhism as a religion arrived in China during the Han dynasty and was adopted by the Chinese. In Literature, the great figure of the age was Sima Qian, who created Shi jin (Records of the Historian) by compiling a great number of works and was the source of Chinese history from that time forth. Although very little graphic art has survived, other forms of art such as ‘Ever-faithful" (a metal-sculpture) prove that the Hans had a high degree of artistic achievement.
In arts, the Roman also achieved extraordinarily. This was greatly encouraged by the ‘Augustan peace" and the government"s generous patronage. Virgil, one of Rome"s greatest poets, modeled the continuation of Homer"s Odyssey when he wrote the Iliad, a masterpiece that was later considered the greatest work of pagan antiquity. The Roman"s beliefs and culture were heavily influenced by the Greeks, who were the only ones the Romans would consider as equal. The Greek God, Zeus, (Jupiter in Latin) became a dominant figure in Rome. Isis of Egypt also became popular during that time. The Romans used to employ Greeks to teach their children art and philosophy; thus, ‘educated" Romans spoke Greek. Although little have survived from the Augustan times, ancient documents have described a variety of their artistic achievements, such as sculpture, glass and metal works, gem cutting, painting and portrait; many of these forms were taught by the Egyptians.
So, while the Han had achieved highly in literature and art; the Romans, by embracing other cultures, had become more ‘cosmopolitan" and as a result, had been inspired to a greater variety of artistic expression.
The land-owning families had been one of the most powerful classes in Han dynasty. This became more and more pronounced when trade within China as well as with other areas increased. Due to their wealth and property ownership, this class held the power to influence the local governments. The merchant class also became important during this time because their trade had offered them social upward mobility. Under the influence of the Confucian bureaucracy, individual talents were recognized more that backgrounds, thus anybody who had the time to study for exams had a chance to rise their social status.
The Roman aristocrats, similarly, were the most rich and powerful. They were privileged in many ways, for instance, when convicted of a capital offence, they were exempted from being crucified, burned alive or thrown to beasts, whereas these punishments were applied to the lower class. The lower class or ‘plebeian" consisted of musicians, actors, doctors and teachers together with slaves and freedmen (slaves that were given back their freedom) made up most of the population. However, anyone could improve his social status by serving in the army or by being successful in trades.
Here, patterns of similar social order can be seen in the two civilizations. The rich being at the peak of the society with the most power and the lower classes being offered opportunities to improve their social status. In addition, both the Hans and the Romans considered the family to be the most important and basic unit and both had deprived women of the right to gain power.
It is clear that the Hans and the Romans were equally successful. The first through a strong government system, the latter with a more cosmopolitan culture, but both with very advanced social orders.
小白 -
Chinese New Year
It will be Chinese New Year,people buy beautiful clothes and flowers.The decorations are beautiful too.People have a special dinner on New Year"s Eve.
Children are happy in this festival,they can get money in Red Packets.
I like it too.I don"t work during this festival.I meet my friends and relatives.
Chinese New Year is a traditional festival,we should keep our tradition.
北有云溪 -
题目呢？
LuckySXyd -
不好意思
酷驰CUTH是SB