AP World History China and Persia Test

Oracle Bones

Animal bones that were used in divination by the Shang kings of Ancient China c.1600 B.C onwards. In many cases the question and/or answer has been written on the bone in pictographic figures. Animal bones bearing inscriptions made by diviners who used the bones to foretell future events. The inscriptions are among the earliest examples of Chinese writing.`

I Ching

"Book of Changes." Goes back to 2000 B.C.E. Book of divination. Possibly one of the oldest books created. An influential text read throughout the world, providing inspiration to the worlds of religion, psychoanalysis, business, literature, and art. After becoming part of the Five Classics in the 2nd century BC, it was the subject of scholarly commentary and the basis for divination practice for centuries across the Far East, and eventually took on an influential role in Western understanding of Eastern thought. It uses a type of divination called cleromancy, which produces apparently random numbers. Four numbers between 6 and 9 are turned into a hexagram, which can then be looked up in it, arranged in an order known as the King Wen sequence. The interpretation of the readings found in it is a matter of centuries of debate, and many commentators have used the book symbolically, often to provide guidance for moral decision making as informed by Taoism and Confucianism. The hexagrams themselves have often acquired cosmological significance and paralleled with many other traditional names for the processes of change such as yin and yang and Wu Xing.

Five Cardinal Relationships of Confucianism

-Elder friend to younger friend -Husband to wife -Elder sibling to younger sibling -Father to son -Ruler to subject

"The eyes and ears of the king"

A new category of officials created by the Achaemenid rulers to prevent the rebellion of satraps. They were essentially imperial spies who traveled throughout the empire with their own military forces conducting surprise audits of accounts and procedures in the provinces and collecting intelligence reports.

Persian Royal Road

A road, parts of it paved by stone, that stretched across the Achaemenid Empire, from Susa to Sardis. Caravans took some ninety days to travel this road, lodging at inns along the well-policed route. The imperial government also organized a courier service and built 111 postal stations at intervals of 25 to 30 miles along the royal road. Each station kept a supply of fresh horses and food rations for couriers, who sometimes traveled at night as well as during daylight hours. Schoalrs estimate that these couriers were able to carry urgent messages from one end of the Royal Road to the other in two weeks' time. The Greek historian Herodotus spoke highly of thses imperial servants, and even today the United States Postal Service takes his description of their efforts as a standard for its employees: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Facilitated trade.

Daoism

A spiritual alternative to Confucianism that emphasized the harmony in nature and life. True understanding comes from withdrawing from the world and contemplating the life force. Religion derived from the philosophical doctrines of the sage Laozi, based on the notion of the unity of humankind, nature and the universe. Taoism developed into a popular religion devoted to the worship of China's ancient gods. The philosophy emphasized skeptical views about knowledge and action and promoted harmony with natural order. Later became a more religious movement with a strong mystical dimension focused on the quest for immortality. The health and longevity of the individual, not the family or society, were Daoism's primary concerns. If all individuals embraced the same goals, then government would become superfluous. As such, Daoism, was an outlook on life centered on a speculative curiosity about the natural world. Literally Dao meant "the Way." The primary source of the Universe and of life, which permeates and transforms every living being and leads them back into their original state of non-being. A silent, immaterial entity unchangeable and mysterious, superior to all, constantly in motion, with a vastness that makes it inexpressible in words, and therefore indefinable. Closest to the Dao (the Way) at birth--metaphor: baby breathing. Metaphysical reality that everything leads to everything. Harmony of life and how you play your part.

Confucianism

A way of life, not a religion. Founded by Kong Fuzi. Emphasis on virtue and duty and the relationship of humans--5 relationships. Harmony and duty/virtue.

Satrapy

Administrative and tax districts of the Persian empire--governed by Satraps. Administration during the Achaemenid empire--Darius divided his realm into twenty-three satraps. Most of the satraps were Persians, but the Achaemenids recruited local officials to fill almost all administrative posts below the level of the satrap. Each had a contingent of military officers and tax collectors who served as checks on the satraps' power and independence. Each was required to pay a set quantity of silver--and in some cases a levy of horses or slaves as well--deliverable annually to the imperial court.

Battle of Guagamela

Battle at which Alexander ended the Achaemenid Dynasty--though he claimed to absorb its power and authority.

Ctesiphan

Capital of the Parthians, then the Sassanids. On the Euphrates River by modern Baghdad.

Anyang

Capital of the Shang Dynasty.

Chang'an

Capital of the Zhou Dynasty.

Warring States Period

Comes at the end of the Zhou Dynasty. Constant warfare but economic growth--Rise of the Chu (Yangtze River). Warriors and aristocratic families come to power and begin to fight each other--political system leads itself to this type of warfare. Iron age--crossbow, swords, jade and bronze. Assimilation of cultures--cavalry. Military improvements: cavalry, crossbows

The Analects

Confucian book. Written by Confucius' students, not him. Contained Confucius' sayings--preserved his philosophies

Juntzi

Confucian concept of a fully actualized person; a (Confucian?) teacher; the highest performing scholar.

South Korea

Country with contemporary (modern) flag that shows the concept of yin and yang.

Cambyses

Cyrus the Great's son. He conquered Egypt in 525 B.C.E. and brought its wealth into Persian hands.

Darius

Emperor who extended Cyrus' Empire to its greatest extent, focused on communication to bind together disparate ethnicities and to rule all corners of the empire. The greatest of the Achaemenid emperors. His empire had a population of some thirty-five million people, and it was the largest empire the world had seen. His capital was at Persepolis. He divided his realm into twenty-three satrapies. He replaced irregular tribute payments with formal tax levies and required each satrapy to pay a set quantity of silver--and in some cases a levy of horses or slaves as well--deliverable annually to the imperial court. He issued standardized coins, which fostered trade. He sought to bring the many legal systems of his empire closer to a single standard. He did not abolish the existing laws of individual lands or peoples, nor did he impose a uniform law cod on his entire empire. But he directed legal experts to study and codify the laws of his subject peoples, modifying them when necessary to harmonize them with the legal principles observed in the empire as a whole. He pursued a policy of toleration in administering their vast multicultural empire: he took care to respect the values and cultural traditions of the peoples they ruled. He won high praise from Jews since he allowed them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple that Babylonian conquerors had destroyed in 586 B.C.E. He was succeeded by Xerxes. Big supporter of Zoroastrianism.

Rome

Ends the Seleucid Dynasty.

King Wu

First emperor to rule by the Mandate of Heaven

Shang Ti

First identified major god of the Shang Dynasty--sky god--henotheistic.

Cyrus

First true Persian Emperor, conquered from the Indus to the Nile by the early 6th century. Founded the Achaemenid Empire. In 558 B.C.E. he became king of the Persian tribes, which he ruled from his mountain fortress at Pasargadae. In 553 B.C.E. he initiated a rebellion against his Median overlord, whom he crushed within three years. By 548 B.C.E. he had brought all of Iran under his control, and he began to look for opportunities to expand his influence. In 546 B.C.E. he conquered the powerful kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia (captured Sardis). Between 545 B.C.E. and 539 B.C.E., he campaigned in central Asia and Bactria (modern Afghanistan). In a swift campaign of 539 B.C.E., he seized Babylonia, whose vassal states immediately recognized him as their lord. Within twenty years he went from minor regional kingo to ruler of an empire that stretched from India to the borders of Egypt. In 530 B.C.E. he fell while protecting his norhteastern frontier from nomadic raiders. His troops recovered his body and placed it in a simple tomb, which still stands, that he had prepared for himself at his palace in Pasargadae. Father of Cambyses.

Legalism

Founded by Han Fezi. Philosophy that gained ground during the Zhou and was dominant during the Qin dynasty which was rooted in the belief that laws should replace morality and a ruler must provide discipline to maintain order. A philosophical system closely associated with the state of Qin during the Warring States period. Legalism was based on a system of rewards and punishments. Laws and regulations were established by the state, and anyone who violated them, whether high official or lowly peasant, would be punished equally. Government is right all of the time. Making the emperor look supreme.

Kong fuzi ("Master Kong")

Founder of Confucianism.

Lao-Tzu

Founder of Daoism. Semi-legendary philosopher of the Warring States period whose ideas became the foundation of Daoism He rejected the positivism of Confucian thought and encouraged a skeptical approach to knowledge and action; he also advocated seeing harmony with nature. Until the 19th century, Dao De Jing, (The Way of Virtue) was believed to have been written by Laozi, the founder of Daoism. According to Daoist legend, when Laozi was 80 years old he lost his faith and no longer believed that people would ever recognize the truth of his philosophy. He left the capital city and headed west toward Tibet. But at the frontier, a Chinese soldier urged Laozi to write down his teachings before he left China. Laozi agreed, and it was there that he wrote The Way of Virtue--Tao te Ching. Modern historians believe that this legend is a myth and that The Way of Virtue was probably written by many people.

Han Fezi

Founder of Legalism.

Zarathustra

Founder of the Zoroastrian Religion. Although he was undoubtably a historical figure, it is not clear when he lived. He came from an aristocratic family, and he probably was a priest who became disenchanted with the traditional religion and its concentration on bloody sacrifices and mechanical rituals. In any case, when he was about twenty years old, he left his family and home in search of wisdom. After about ten years of travel, he experienced a series of visions and became convinced with the supreme god, whom he called Ahura Mazda, had chosen him to serve as his prophet and spread his message.

Diadochi

Generals who took over Alexander the Great's empire and founded the Seleucid Dynasty.

Herodotus

Greek Historian who is often referred to as the "Father of History." His description of Persian magnificence remains a significant primary source about Classical Persia. It is through him that we know about the Royal Road.

Battle of Marathon

Greeks defeat Persians during the Persian Wars.

Parthians

Had occupied the region of eastern Iran around Khurasan since Achaemenid times. The retained many of the customs and traditions of nomadic peoples from the steppes of central Asia. They did not have a centralized government, but organized themselves politically through a federation of leaders who met in councils and jointly determined policy for all allied groups. They were skillful warriors, accustomed to defending themselves against constant threats from nomadic peoples farther east. They discovered that if they fed their horses on alfalfa during the winter, their animals would grow much larger and stronger than the small horses and ponies of the steppes. Theri larger animals could then support heavily armed warriors outfitted with metal armor, which served as an effective shield against the arrows of the steppe nomads. Well-trained forces of heavily armed cavalry could usually put nomadic raiding parties to flight. Their greatest conqueror: Mithradates I. They portrayed themselves as enemies of the foreign Seleucids, as restorers of rule in the Persian tradition. They largely followed the example of the Achaemenids in structuring their empire: they governed through satraps, employed Achaemenid techniques of administration and taxation, and built a capital city at Ctesiphon on the Euphrates River near modern Baghdad. But they also retained elements of their steppe traditions. They did not develop nearly so central a regime as the Achaemenids or the Seleucids but, rather, vested a great deal of authority and responsibility in their clan leaders. These men often served as satraps, and they regularly worked to build independent bases of power in their regions. They frequently mounted rebellions against the imperial government, though without much success.

Macedon

Homeland of Alexander--NOT GREECE.

Lydia

One of the first areas conquered by Cyrus. The Persians would famously adopt their innovation of standardized coinage. King: Croesus. Capital at Sardis. It conducted maritime trade with Greece, Egypt, and Phoenicia as well as overland trade with Mesopotamia and Persia. Its wealth and resources gave Cyrus tremendous momentum as he extended Persian authority to new lands and built the earliest of the vast imperial states of classical times.

Kush

Kingdom to the far East of Persia, rising to prominence during the Sassanids (formed the Eastern 'bookend, Rome was the Western).

Shaman

Medicine men/women. Straddle this world and the spirit world. Person capable of going from this world to the spirit world. Works as an intermediary between this world and the spirit world. A person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing. One concept that is true for all Chinese religion.

Manicheans

Messianic religion which was perhaps the closest to Zoroastrianism in terms of depicting the world as a battle between good and evil. Religion of salvation (along with Buddhism and Christianity). This and Christianity became extremely popular faiths in spite of intermittent rounds of persecution organized by Sassanid authorities.

Anatolia

Modern day Turkey and home of the Ionian Greeks; flashpoint between Greece and Persia.

Slaves

Most were prisoners of war who became slaves as the price of survival--these prisoners usually came from military units, but the Persians also enslaved civilians who resisted their advance or who rebelled against imperial authorities. Others came from the ranks of free subjects who accumulated debts that they could no satisfy--would have to sell their children, their spouses, or themselves into slavery. This status deprived individuals of their personal freedom. They became the property of an individual, the state, or an institution such as a temple community: they worked at tasks set by their owners, and they could not move or marry at will, although existing family units usually stayed together. Most probably worked as domestic servants or skilled laborers int eh households of the wealthy, but at least some slaves cultivated their owners' fields in the countryside. Those who were state-owned provided much of the manual labor for large-scale construction projects such as roads, irrigation systems, city walls, and palaces. They sometimes had administrative talents and took on tasks involving considerable responsibility. They sometimes enjoyed close relationships with powerful individuals who could protect them from potential enemies (Gimillu--slave who had administrative power).

Saffavid

One of the most significant ruling dynasties of Persia (modern Iran) after the fall of the Sassanian Empire - following the Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century A.D., and "is often considered the beginning of modern Persian history". The shahs ruled over one of the so-called gunpowder empires, and they ruled one of the greatest Persian empires after the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in Muslim history.

Gathas

Oral transmission of Zarathustra's works.

Zhou Dynasty

Originally a vassal family of Shang China; possibly Turkic in origin; overthrew the Shang and established second historical Chinese dynasty that flourished 1122 to 256 B.C.E.Zhou dynasty: 1122-256 B.C.E. First of Chinese classical civilizations. Ruled through alliances with regional princes. Extended territory to Yangzi River and promoted standard Mandarin Chinese language. The second historically authenticated dynasty in China. It was founded by We the Martial, who justified his overthrow of the Shang by claiming that its oppressive rule had led Heaven to transfer its mandate to a new "Son of Heaven", the title of the emperor of China. The same claim was made by all subsequent founders of dynasties. Western Zhou ruled over feudal vassal states in the Wei valley and far beyond from their capital at Hao near Xi'an until 771 BC. Eastern or Later Zhou , based in Luoyang, never exercised real power. While the emperor performed the ritual sacrifices, his vassals strove for mastery of the kingdom. In 403 BC the era of the Warring States began. In 256 BC the last Zhou sovereign was overwhelmed by the armies of his most powerful vassal, Prince Zheng of the state of Qin. Out of the turmoil of the Eastern Zhou came much that became identified with Chinese civilization. There was a flowering of philosophical thought whose prime exponents were Confucius and Mencius. Agriculture developed through the building of irrigation systems and trade grew, encouraged by demand for silk, the use of coins, and transport by canals. The use of bronze spread to southern China and iron was introduced first for weapons and then for ploughs.

Sassanids

Persian Empire who sought to reestablish the splendor of the Achaemenids--if not its predominance. They came from Persia and claimed direct descent from the Achaemenids. They toppled the Parthians in 224 C.E. and ruled until 651 C.E., re-creating much of the splendor of the Achaemenid empire. Capital at Ctesiphon. These merchants traded actively with peoples to both east and west, and they introduced into Iran the cultivation of crops such as rice, sugarcane, citrus fruits, eggplant, and cotton that came west over the trade routes from India and China. King: Shapur I.

Qanat

Persian canals (underground) used for trade and irrigation. During the Achaemenid Empire. They allowed cultivators to distribute water to fields without losing large quantities to evaporation through exposure to the sun and open air.

Xerxes (reigned 486-465 B.C.E.)

Persian emperor most famous for his defeats in the Greco-Persian wars (Persian Wars). Darius's successor. He harshly repressed rebellions and thereby gained a reputation for cruelty and insensitivity to the concerns of subject peoples.

Xerxes

Persian king, son of Darius, who initiated an invasion of Greece in 480 BC. Persian king 485-465 BC who led second invasion of Greece, 480 BC; reconquered Egypt. After Salamis he retired to Asia. Murdered by one of his own soldiers. Xerxes, 486-465 B.C. - Achaemenid king, son and successor of Darius I (486-465) began his reign by suppressing one uprising in Egypt and another in Babylon. He then split the large Babylonian province into two administrative districts and attempted to control his expansive dominions more effectively by redrawing boundaries. However, his rule marked a turning-point in Achaemenid history. The era of expansion ended. For much of his reign he engaged in an unsuccessful effort to conquer the mainland Greeks. Victor at Thermopylae. Defeats at Salamis in 480 and Plataea in 479 led to rebellions by the Greek cities in Ionia and the islands supported by the newly created Delian league, sponsored by Athens. The Greek victory at the Eurymedon river in 466 resulted in the subsequent loss of the Achaemenid holdings in the west. Xerxes had more success in suppressing the second Babylonian rebellion, which erupted in 479. He may not have punished Babylon by the destruction of its temples. "Xerxes was murdered, along with the crown-prince Darius, in a palace coup which brought Artaxerxes to the Persian throne." Xerxes: Persian king, son of Darius, who initiated an invasion of Greece in 480 BC. Persian king 485-465 BC who led second invasion of Greece, 480 BC; reconquered Egypt. After Salamis he retired to Asia. Murdered by one of his own soldiers.

Shapur I

Sassanid king. During his reign, the Sassanids stabilized their western frontier and created a series of buffer states between themselves and the Roman empire. He even defeated several Roman armies and settled the prisoners in Iran, where they devoted their famous engineering skills to the construction of roads and dams.

Concepts that are true for all Chinese religion

Shaman, ancestor worship, harmony, dualism

Wu Ding

Shang king. His consort was Fu How.

Feudalism

Power to aristocratic families who then paid tribute to the king. How larger empires were ruled. Characteristics: aristocratic families/warlords, taxation, private armies.

Steppe peoples

Proto-Mongols--had a vaguely symbiotic relationship with the Chinese (beneficial to both). They have hroses, which the Chinese want, and China has grain and agriculture, which they want.

Huang He (Yellow) River

River in the north of China. Floods destructively. Crop: wheat.

Yangtze River

River in the south of China. Floods peacefully. Crop: rice.

Seleucids

Ruling remnants of Alexander's Empire, the rulers of this empire fought many uprisings, most especially of the Parthians (who succeeded them). They retained the Achaemenid systems of administration and taxation as well as the imperial roads and postal service. They also founded new cities throghout the realm and attracted Greek colonists to occupy them. As foreigners, they faced opposition from native Persians and especially their ruling classes. Satraps often revolted against their rule, or at least worked to build power bases that would enable them to establish their independence. They soon lost their holdings in northern India, and the semi nomadic Parthians progressively took over Iran during the third century B.C.E. They continued to rule a truncated empire until 83 B.C.E., when Roman conquerors put an end to their empire.

Mandate of Heaven

Starts during the Zhou dynasty--King Wu is the first to rule by it. Heaven judged the harmony by which the emperor ruled--when something went wrong, heaven was decreeing that the emperor/family/dynasty is unfit to rule, so another dynasty begins--dynastic cycle. Confucian idea in which a good ruler was thought to have a divine right to rule. The central concept of legitimacy in the traditional political culture. Heaven, which is something like an organic operating system, bestows the Mandate on a particular individual and his descendants, as long as they rule in the general interests of society. If the rulers became cruel and abusive, Heaven would withdraw the Mandate, the dynasty would be overthrown, and a new dynasty would be established by whoever received the Mandate.

Shang Dynasty (1600-1050)

Succeeds the somewhat mythical Xia dynasty. Had writing (pictograms), horse drawn chariots (adopted from interactions with the west--the Hyksos), monopolization of bronze, agriculture. Maintained order by denying weaponry to commoners--anyone who had bronze was automatically upper-class. Significant wall building through slave labor (no slave trade--they were captured people). Controlled cities, fortified in magnificent ways under the emperor. Religion was polytheistic--Shang Ti, divination, oracle bones. Wu Ding and Fu How. Ends as an evil king is overthrown: sacrifice, cruelty, excess.

Mithradates I

The Parthians' greatest conqueror. He came to the throne about 171 B.C.E. and transformed his state into a mighty empire. By about 155 B.C.E. he had consolidated his hold on Iran and had also extended Parthian rule to Mesopotamia.

Avesta

The Zoroastrian holy book.

Persepolis

The capital of Darius' empire. He intended it to serve not only as an administrative center but also as a monument to the Achaemenid dynasty. Structures at the capital included vast reception halls, lavish royal residences, and a well-protected treasury. From the time of Darius to the end of the Achaemenid dynasty in 330 B.C.E., it served as the nerve center of the Persian empire--a resplendent capital bustling with advisors, ministers, diplomats, scribes, accountants, translators, and bureaucratic officers of all descriptions.

Fu How

The consort of Wu Ding (Shang emperor) and one of the greatest Chinese generals. We know about her because of her grave, which was packed with bronze (bronze is a symbol of class--the more bronze you had, the higher up you were). She was a brilliant recruiter who led troops in battle. Her preferred weapon was the bronze axe.

Achaemenid Empire

The first great Persian empire. Composed of Medes and Persians. Founded by Cyrus the Great (or Cyrus the Shepherd). Greatest emperor: Darius. The rulers of this empire presided over more than seventy distinct ethnic groups, including peoples who lived in widely scattered regions, spoke many different languages, and observed a profusion of religious and cultural traditions. Capital: Persepolis. The government of the empire depended on a finely tuned balance between central initiative and local administration. They appointed governors to serve as agents of the central administration and oversee affairs in the various regions. Darius divided his realm into twenty-three satrapies. They did not try to push direct rule on their subjects: most of the satraps were Persians, but the Achaemenids recruited local officials to fill almost all administrative posts below the level of the satrap. The rulers relied on two measures to discourage the possibility of satraps gaining power and rebelling. First, each satrapy had a contingent of military officers and tax collectors who served as checks on the satraps' power and independence. Second, the rulers created a new category of officials--essentially imperial spies--known as "the eyes and ears of the king." The Persian Royal Road was built during this time

Xia (2100-1600 BCE/1766-1122)

The first officially recognized Chinese dynasty. Precedes the Shang dynasty. Difficult to generalize at this stage of archaeology. Like most transitional cultures, leadership is defined by public works--canals, walls (things that lend themselves to trade), sewers.

Nepotism

The practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs. Seen in 9/8 land distribution--best land.

Croesus

Wealthy king of Lydia who received a prophecy from the Greek oracle at Delphi that said that an attack on Cyrus would destroy a great kingdom. It was from him that Darius got the concept of standardized coins. When Cyrus captured Sardis, he was not captured; rather, he became an advisor to Cyrus.

Middle Kingdom

What the Chinese refer to China as. Between heaven and earth.

Medes and Persians

Two closely related peoples known who migrated from central Asia to Persia, where they lived in loose subjection to the Babylonian and Assyrian empires. They spoke Indo-European languages, and their movements were part of the larger Indo-European migrations. They shared many cultural traits with their distant cousins, the Aryans, who migrated into India. They were mostly pastoralists, although they also practiced a limited amount of agriculture. They organized themselves by clans rather than by states or formal political institutions, but they recognized leaders who collected taxes and delivered tribute to their Mesopotamian overlords. Though not tightly organized politically, they were peoples of considerable military power. They possessed the equestrian skills common to many steppe peoples. They were expert archers, even when mounted on their horses, and they frequently raided the wealthy lands of Mesopotamia.

Hegemonic Rule

Type of rule epitomized by Darius. Allowed subject peoples to retain cultural identity in exchange for tribute and allegiance.

Territorial governors

Ultimately became quasi-independent warlords. Eventually led to the downfall of the Zhou.

Yin and Yang

Yin (female) and Yang (male) concept - designed to promote understanding human life - stressed the harmony of nature - every feature is balanced by an opposite. Two fundamental principle of Chinese philosophy involved into the concept of qi - energy or the life force which exists in all living things and in the earth itself. Yin represents the female principle and is associated with passivity, cold, darkness and the earth; yang is linked to male attributes, such as activity, light, heat and the heavens. xxiii. Yin and Yang - two elementary powers in constant operation xxiv. Yang represented the strong, radiant, dry, and male process xxv. Yin - weak, dark, moist, and female xxvi. Yang - dominated in spring and summer xxvii. Yin dominated in autumn and winter xxviii. Two complementary - neither could exist alone xxix. Yin-Yang concept accounted for changes in nature and climate and the place of humans I the natural cycle - helped people to think of themselves as a part of a natural order. Flow. Biologically there is male in tthe female and female in the male--males have estrogen, females have testosterone--shown in the dots in Yin and Yang.

Ahura Mazda

Zoroastrian monotheistic god, celebrated in the written Avesta and the oral Gathas. He was recognized by Zoroastrians as a supreme deity, an eternal and beneficent spirit, and the creator of all good things. He engaged in a cosmic conflict with an independent adversary, an evil and malign spirit known Angra Mainyu (Ahriman). Zoroastrians believed that he and the forces of good would ultimately prevail, and Angra Mainyu and the principle of evil would disappear forever.

Magi

Zoroastrian priests. They preserved Zarathustra's message.

Confucious

c. 551-478 B.C.E. Chinese philosopher who wrote an elaborate political philosophy that became the core of China's cultural and political thinking for centuries. Raised in small state of Lu by his mother, he aspired to great office, but held only minor posts, and spent much time in other states, either as an exile or looking for employment. Only when he returned to Lu was his poorly remunerated status as a licensed teacher secured. Those who adopted his teachings saw him not as a deity but as a master of ethics. Lived during Warring States period. Ideas about human relations, ritual, and learning came to be the core ideology of the imperial state. He emerged as a provider and an arbiter of opinion and taste. He taught what was right to think, and what was wrong. He taught the truth without explaining anything. Sincerely follow the correct behavioral forms at every level of society, and a well-ordered society would follow. A ruler must be benign as well as wise, or at least wisely counseled. Children must be filia, fathers strong, wives compliant, elder brothers accorded respect. Outside the family, relations should be conducted on the basis of consideration and reciprocity. Thus he enshrined the enduring values of Chinese society.