In AT LEAST 1000 words write a paper answering ONE OF the following questions.
1) Ruling millions of people requires a great deal of authority. Select at least three Chinese dynasties and explore how they legitimated their rule. (You can also select an Indian dynasty.)
Some ideas you might want to explore:
To what degree did the circumstances of their ascension to the throne (how they became king or emperor) dictate the ways they could legitimate their rule?
What was the relative role of religion vs. pragmatism vs. brute force.
2) How did the differing conceptions of the after life in China and India affect Government and Politics, the family, trade and economics, art, architecture and literature, and/or attitude towards new religions?
This is a question with some room to it you do not need to discuss all the topics above but one or two such as family and Government and Politics should suffice
Some topics you might want to explore:
Ideas of after life in India (the transmigration of souls, rebirth etc. ) vs. the ideas of the after life in China (ancestor worship, ancestors retain their identity and can affect the world, and must be appeased, worshiped and sacrificed to.
How did the ideas of each affect at least one topic So for instance how did the ideas of the after life affect Chinese art like that created or the Emperor Huangdi.
The afterlife in Buddhism (transmigration of souls, but with the idea of escape from rebirth and also the idea that some enlightened souls come back to aid indivduals obtain Nirvana.
Did this Buddhist idea cause any changes in your selected topics?
As always try to use primary sources to back up your claims.
Though in my mind I see someone discussing family in China vs Family in India, I can see a successful paper whose thesis runs something like while in China the conceptions of the afterlife mostly influenced family in India it mostly influenced art and literature. (substitute whatever topics you want to discuss)
Feel free to ask me any questions if you are unsure of what I want here.
Please try to use sources that are in the course, my professor does not like me using sources from the internet. When citing sources in the essay, try to show where you found it from. For example, (Sterns, 3.4.2)
Work cited for Sterns: Stearns, Peter N. “Pearson EText
for Stearns, World Civilizations, Volume I — Instant Access.” Pearson,
Pearson, 2021,
https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/product/Stearns-Pearson-e-Text-for-Stearns-World-Civilizations-Volume-I-Instant-Access-8th-Edition/9780137589241.html.
Work cited for PSAs example: PSA for Lec 3b: The Athenian Constitution on Solon and
Pisistratus. Canvas.
Work Cited for Powerpoint example: Weiser, Brian “Slides for Mauryan
India.pptx” World History to 1500, Mar. 2, 2022, Metropolitan State University
of Denver, Denver, PowerPoint presentation.
This is also an analytical paper and he is very strict about that, try to back up claims with sources if possible. There are also instructions on how to write essays for this class. (In the files)
Most of the information is in the Sterns reading(screenshots) but use the PSAs and powerpoints if you need to.