Han China and Gupta India Essay Example for Free

Han China and Gupta India Essay Han China differed from Gupta India politically, developing a strong bureaucratic system while India allowed local rulers to stay in control, but the Guptas focused more on trade and made more intellectual achievements than China, especially in mathematics. They established empires that were successful, but also distinct in their own ways. Although these two civilizations were notably different politically, economically, and intellectually, both were successful in bringing prosperity to their empires. During the Han dynasty, China successfully improved its bureaucracy, but in India local rulers maintained regional control. India’s territory never grew to be as large as China’s, so different forms of government were needed for each civilization. Han China retained the centralized government formed by the Qin, and expanded the bureaucracy. The bureaucratic system suited China, because it was able to support the civilization as it expanded into a large empire. The emperor Wu Ti created civil service examinations for his bureaucrats, which could be taken by any male. Wu Ti also urged Confucianism in order to gain support, as it urged respect for the government. On the other hand, India lacked an extensive bureaucracy, and local rulers were allowed to keep control as long as they remained loyal to Gupta authority. Because of its separated regions, it was very difficult to politically unify India. Similar to China, the Gupta rulers turned to religion to strengthen support for the government. In contrast to China, they favored Hinduism because they claimed to be appointed by Hindu gods. Additionally, Hinduism encouraged the rigid caste system. The empires were also similar because political power was given to landowners. Although the Gupta period is considered the golden age of India, providing its greatest period of political stability, it never developed the solid bureaucracy that Han China did. Although trade is vital to any civilization’s success, India emphasized trade far more than China did. China’s economy focused on extensive internal trade, while India developed more maritime trade. Trade gradually became more important during the Han dynasty, focusing on luxury items for the upper class such as silks, leather, and jewelry. Internal trade was made easier by the standardization of currency and circulation of copper coins. Han rulers expanded the empire, which allowed trade with more places. Some merchants even took profitable trips to India. Even though they were important, trade and the merchant class did not become the focal points of Chinese economy. This was due to the emphasis on Confucianism, which frowned upon a life devoted to moneymaking. On the other hand, the Guptas established a strong economy. It was partly based on technological sophistication, new inventions, and production. For example, Indian artisans were the first to manufacture cotton cloth, calico, and cashmere. In these areas, India and China were rivaling, but the India’s economy became more vigorous. Merchant activity was greater in India than in China, with merchants at a relatively high caste status. They traveled by land, and also by sea, increasing maritime trade. Han China and Gupta India’s economies can be compared as firmly agricultural, both relying on a large peasant class, organized into cooperative close-knit villages. Han rulers regulated agricultural supplies by storing extra grain and rice in good times, preventing price increases when harvests were bad. The Gupta period in India was known for its wealth, which was due to extensive trading both internally and by sea, as opposed to Han China’s economy, which relied more on technological innovations. The Hans and Guptas both made many important intellectual achievements, but there was more academic success in India, especially in mathematics. The Chinese studied astronomy, calculating the movement of planets, as well as observing sunspots. During the Han dynasty, scientists invented a seismograph to register earthquakes. In addition, they actively researched medicine, studying principles of hygiene that would support longer lives. Generally, the Chinese focused their studies on practical findings, such as discovering how things worked. They studied the mathematics of music that led to advances in acoustics. Like China, Indian scientists also progressed in astronomy and medicine. Many astronomical discoveries were made, such as the calculation of the solar year, the circumference and daily rotation of Earth, a theory of gravity, and the discovery of seven planets. In medicine, hospitals also stressed cleanliness, like China. India surpassed China in mathematical discoveries. Scholars created a numbering system and the concepts of zero and negative numbers. Mathematicians also calculated square roots and a more accurate value of pi. These advances in both civilizations were possible because of support from the government. In China, the government sponsored intellectual life, organizing research in astronomy. The Guptas had a vast university center in Nalanda featuring lecture halls, libraries, and an observatory. This supported the new discoveries that were being made. Both civilizations made important intellectual achievements that were advanced by world standards, but Gupta India especially excelled in mathematics. The Han and Gupta dynasties were both successful periods in China and India. Their success was due to different causes, because their societies were very unlike each other. China’s government centered on its strong bureaucracy developed during the Han dynasty, while India never advanced a decent bureaucratic system. Both civilizations had strong economies, but India focused more on over-sea trade than China did. Also, Gupta India made more intellectual achievements particularly in science and mathematics. The Han and Gupta periods were similar in some ways, but their civilizations showed distinct differences politically, economically, and intellectually.

Siobhan Somerville’s essay Passing through the Closet in Pauline E. Hop

Siobhan Somerville’s essay â€Å"Passing through the Closet in Pauline E. Hopkins’s Contending Forces† In Siobhan Somerville’s essay, â€Å"Passing through the Closet in Pauline E. Hopkins’s Contending Forces†, the tacit allusion to homosexuality within Hopkins’ story is argued to be a resource used to question the dominance or implicit strength of heterosexuality in the African-American community over Black women. While I do believe Hopkins may have intended for the novel to raise questions about the institution of marriage in relation to the African-American female, I do not believe the argument is as polarized as a difference between homosexual and heterosexual attraction in relation to politics between the sexes. Instead, I would argue that the very ambiguity of sexuality within the text serves to comment on a larger issue of what makes a woman female and the importance of intimate bonds between women in society. The most important piece of textual evidence in Somerville’s argument is the attic scene between Dora and Sappho. In this scene Sappho begs Dora to spend the morning with her after a snowstorm from the previous night makes it impossible for her to go to work. The two lock themselves away in Sappho’s attic apartment and commence to have a tea party and â€Å"play ‘company’ like the children† (Hopkins 117). In her essay, Somerville describes this as a highly sexualized scene, in which the intimacy between the two women hints at a possible homosexual attraction between the two, given the homoerotic description of their affection towards one another (Somerville 149-152). While I do believe the scene does have a certain element of homoerotic tension, I would not go so far as to polarize the scene as clearly â€Å"homosexual† as â€Å"a pot... ...al Economy' of Sex." Toward an Anthropology of Women. Ed. Rayna R. Reiter. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1975. 157-210. Hopkins, Pauline E. Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Levi-Strauss, Claude. The Elementary Structures of Kinship. Ed. Rodney Needham. Trans. James Harls Bell and John Richard von Sturmer. Boston: Beacon Press, 1969. Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. Between Men: English Literature and Homosocial Desire. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985. Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. â€Å"The Female World of Love and Ritual: Relations between Women in Nineteenth-Century America.† Signs, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1975). 25 Oct. 2005 . Somerville, Siobhan. â€Å"Passing through the Closet in Pauline E. Hopkins’s Contending Forces† American Literature, Vol 69, No 1, (1997). 19 Oct. 2005

Mathematics, the Connection Between Art and Science Essay

Although there are many differences that set art and science apart, they share one undeniable commonality. This bond that is present between what is otherwise considered as polar opposites is mathematics. As shown in Professor Vesna’s lecture, mathematics is imperative to the development of art. Through math, artists have come to understand perspective, proportion, and geometrics. In terms of science, mathematics is the foundation which every theory stands upon. Nature, humans, and the digital world would have been impossible to comprehend without numbers to bridge the gap between the unknown and the understood. Truly, mathematics is ubiquitous and continues to prove its importance to this day. A novel amalgamation that consists of mathematics, art, and science is music. Milkman, an artist of the mash-up genre, is a musician that samples different songs and digitally combines them to form a brand new track. In a way, his work is described as an example of cross synthesis or convultion which according to Burk is some aspect of one sound superimposed on another. To harmoniously combine two different songs, one must fully understand every possible correlation in terms of rhythm, melody, and lyrics. And with mathematics and science making the technology available, the art of mashing up songs has become readily accessible and requires only creativity to create the next hit single. Mathematics has almost an infinite range of applications in society today. For example, Robert Lang presents mathematics as part of the core that drives origami, the art of folding paper. Lang shows that complexity is irrelevant; with mathematics to dictate origami, anything can be shaped. Because of its practicality of compacting large things, origami is used in various sectors of science which include telescope lens packing and heart stents. Another example of math’s prevalence is Theo Jansen’s presentation on his kinetic sculptures. His biological art, able to move independently, essentially redefines the wheel. Not only is it artistic but also it is a masterpiece of engineering; just a simple push can propel a massively heavy structure across difficult terrain. It is evident that math not only facilitates the evolution of artistic creations but also helps apply them as potential solutions to problems of today.

Freuds and Eriksons Perspectives on Human Development Essay

One of the most intriguing aspects of psychology is child development, it greatly impacts the rest of our lives and ultimate helps determine who we become as an adult. From a psychoanalytical perspective there are two great theorists, Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson. From a Freudian perspective human development is based on psychosexual theory. From a psychosexual perspective maturation of the sex drives underlies stages of personality development (Shaffer et al., 2010). Ultimately, Freud believed that sex was the most important instinct and any mental disturbance revolved around sexual conflicts that were suppressed from childhood. Furthermore, Freud believed that parents permitting too much or too little gratification of sexual needs led†¦show more content†¦During this stage pleasure arises from genital stimulation. This is also the stage where children experience the Oedipus or Electra complex (Barlow, Durand, Stewart, 2009; Shaffer et al., 2010). Freud alleged that young boys would have sexual fantasies that included their mothers with accompanying feelings of anger toward their fathers. This was coupled with fears that their fathers would castrate them led to the Oedipus complex (Barlow, Durand, Stewart, 2009). Alternatively, girl s may suffer from what is known as the Electra complex. Freud supposed that girls wanted to replace their mother’s place and assume a relationship with their father. This was coupled with penis envy of a brother or father as girl’s wished they could be more like the male figures in their life (Barlow, Durand, Stewart, 2009). If this stage was not resolved in childhood, Freud believed that anxiety from unresolved conflicts with same-sex parent lead to neuroses (Shaffer et al, 2010). Latency, the fourth stage of psychosexual development, begins around age six and ends around age eleven. The traumas that occur in the phallic stage cause the sexual urges to be suppressed and channeled into focusing on education and play. The fifth and final stage of psychosexual development is known as the genital phase that starts around age twelve and continues on. During the final stage puberty causes the sexual urges to return and adolescents must learn to how to conduct them in an acc eptable manner. If aShow MoreRelatedFreud vs. Erickson on Human Development1761 Words   |  7 PagesErikson Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud are well known within the field of psychology for their theories on human development. These two men acted both as scholars and psychoanalysts. Erikson was a psychologist and Freud a psychiatrist. Erik Erikson studied and taught Freudian theory in Vienna, where Freud once studied at the University and practiced as a psychiatrist. Erikson believed that Freud’s developmental stages had discrepancies. 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