Chapter 4: Culture and Religion

     The introduction to chapter four recalls a story of someone returning home to China and having a celebration in tribute to an ancestor's birthday. During 500 BCE, all of Eurasia came up with some certain form of cultural traditions that became well known throughout all of Eurasia.

     China, as one of the first civilizations, was, also, one of the first to come up with Mandate of Heaven. Mandate of Heaven was essentially this belief that people were appointed rulers by whatever God it is that they believed in. THey believed God allowed them to be the leader to the Empire and that people had to follow and do whatever it is that leader told them to. Unfortunately, the Chinese fell to an era of war and destruction.

     In response to this violence, many people, Legalist thinkers, believed that the only sensible way to resolve all the violence consuming their Empire was writing down and following laws. They would also try and come up with ways to enforce these written laws. Along with this, they would add a punishment and reward system.

     On the contrary, Confucius' answer was to treat everyone with a sense of kindness. Unlike enforcing punishments or rewards, he compared the many relationships that people may have. He then went on to say that, for example, a father should treat his children nicely and instead of commanding them in a harsh way, to be polite. In return, Confucius believed this would result in more obedience on the part of the kid. 

     Confucius believed that the only way that this was going to work was if people were much well more educated.

     Another solution that arose during this time was the belief of Daoism. Daoists essentially believed that one's actions had to be a result of the spur of the moment. They had to be natural and not planned out. Compared to how Confucius was more focused on society, Daoism was a bit more far fetched and was applied to things such as exploring and wandering the unknown. They believed that people should stray from society and social interaction with rulers and citizenship, and that they should "align themselves with the way of nature".

     The chapter goes on ahead to talk about how Christianity and Buddhism spread. We are told that neither Jesus Christ nor Buddha ever intended on creating a worldwide religion. They believed that they were humans just like everyone else and that any one who believed in the religion strong enough could replicate what they had accomplished.