Tag Archives: axial age

Great Ideas of the Zhou: Confuscianism

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Episode 7: Great Ideas of the Zhou: Confucianism

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

Dr Craig Benjamin (2013)

Film Review

The last 500 years of civil war under the Zhou Dynasty gave rise to more than 100 schools of philosophy as scholars searched for ways to end war. The three most important were Confucianism, Legalism and Daoism. According to Benjamin, the first millennium BC was one of extreme unrest in all civilized societies. He feels it’s no coincidence that most of humanity’s religious and philosophical foundations (including the Hebrew scriptures, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and the philosophy of Socrates) were laid down during this period (which some historians refer to as the Axial Age*).

Confucius (551 – 479 BC) spent most of his life visiting the courts of warring Chinese states seeking a job (as political advisor). To support himself, he accepted a number of disciples. Following his death, his disciples published his teachings in a book (The Analects). His philosophical teachings stressed the importance of ethical leadership and moral authority in rulers and the acceptance of one’s role in society. He taught that the primary obligation of all leaders was to dedicate themselves to the people they served and that they should be selected  based on knowledge and morality, rather than family background.

Confucius prescribed study five books as a prerequisite for wise and moral rule: the I-Ching (see The Mandate of Heaven and the Right to Overthrow Morally Unfit Rulers/), the Book of Odes, the Book of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals. These would serve as the basic texts of eastern philosophy for 2,500 years.

Confucianism identifies four important qualities of an effective government official:

  1. Benevolence and a deep understanding of the plight of humanity.
  2. Wisdom and courage.
  3. Sense of propriety and respect for superiors
  4. Filial piety – respect for parents and commitment to look after them in old age and after death.

*The ‘Axial Age’ (500–300 BCE) refers to the period during which most of the main religious and spiritual traditions emerged in Eurasian societies.

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/video/5808608/5808622

Persian Conquest and the End of the Neo-Babylonian Empire

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Episode 24: The End of the Neo-Babylonian Empire

Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization

Dr Amanda H Podany

Film Review

This final lecture concerns the collapse of the Babylonian empire, following conquest by King Cyrus of Persia in 593 BC. The clay tablets Cyrus  left behind claim the people of Babylonia welcomed him. This may be true. The last Babylonian king Nabonidus was quite unpopular, both for the mass imposition of forced labor and for his mandate requiring all local gods be relocated to the capitol (Babylon).

When Cyrus assumed control Babylonia he wrote (in Akkadian) that Marduk wanted him to take power because Nabonidus had abandoned the Babylonian god. Cyrus also released Babylonian slaves from forced labor and allowed captured Jews to return to Jerusalem.

For the first decade or so Babylonian life continued unchanged under Persian rule. Like former Assyrian kings, Persian kings returned to Babylon every year to renew their authority (under Marduk) at the New Year’s festival.

By 539 BC the Persian empire was the largest in history, extending from the Indus Valley to the Aegean Sea.

The Axial Age (700 – 200 BC) seems to have influenced Mesopotamia as much as other areas of the world. This period saw the rise of all the world’s great religions and many of its great philosophies, including Hinduism and Jainism in India and Confucianism and Taoism in China. In Persian and Mesopotamia, it  saw the rise of the prophet Zarathustra* and a growing trend towards monotheism. During this period, Babylonians came view some gods as as having greater wisdom and power than others. It was also during this period that Jewish monotheism became much more prevalent throughout the region.

By the year 1 AD, all Mesopotamian culture seems to have vanished. Yet the legacy of the Mesopotamian civilizations lives on to the current day, thanks to their many important innovations:

  • Invention of writing
  • World’s first cities
  • World’s first laws and judicial systems
  • Invention of international diplomacy
  • Mapping of constellations, planetary movements and ability to calculate future dates of eclipses
  • Mathematical calculations necessary to construct right angle triangles
  • Base 60 number system, still used in telling time and spherical geometry.

*Zarathustra had a revelation that all existence is a battle between good and evil gods, that it’s up to human beings to choose good and that good will eventually win out. He taught that all good gods are incarnations of Ahura Mazda.

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/video/5754238/5754286