China Map

The Mountians on the west and the Gobi desert in the north gives China lots of protection from invaders. In the East there was fertile soil so population flourished there.

Religion/Philosophy and Main Beliefs                                                                                       11/17/14

Buddhism- Buddha is the means the enlightened one and the followers of Buddhism worship him. Buddha believed in the living in the moment and the Four Noble Truths. Buddha tries to achieve Nirvana which means that you are freed of human suffering, hatred, ignorance. The philosophies of Buddhism are prayer, teaching, meditation, and argumentation.

Confucianism- Confucius is the man that started Confucianism and he was mostly a teacher. Confucius believed in Universal Law which means that even if people were of different class they treated and respected each other equally. Confucius strongly believed in have a wise ruler lead his people with compassion and forethought. Confucius also believed that people should focus on their every day morals instead of the afterlife like some religions do.

Han Fei-Tzu- Han Fei-Tzu believed in Taoism which was a much political way to rule population. Han Fei-Tzu believed in law, method, legitimacy, power, and government. This was a much more totalitarian belief system which controlled its followers more than any of the other beliefs we've seen. Human nature was believed evil so the government tried to control people as much as possible.

Lao-Tzu- Lao-Tzu believed in Legalism which was the worship of nature, reduction of person desire, and never ending search of self purity. The followers of Lao-Tzu believed in seeking equilibrium in their life which includes the philosophy of balancing the hot force and the cold in their life to create equilibrium. 

1.) The difference between a religion and a philosophy is that in a religion there is a set God or gods that are worshiped and in a philosophy it is less about worshiping and more of following guidelines or beliefs to live a better life.   

2.) All of these beliefs are similar in the way that they all are ways of leading people, but some are more religious and others are more like philosophies. Buddhism and Legalism have both religious aspects and philosophy aspects because they both worship a higher power, but they also have strong everyday beliefs. Taoism and Confucianism are both much less religious and more like philosophies because they don't worship higher powers and are much more focused on how to treat people properly.    

Digital Scrapbook Entry #3: Egypt

Digital Scrapbook Entry: Egypt 

Link: http://www.wtc.com/about/freedom-tower

        http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/the-egyptian-pyramids

Jack S.

11/18/14

Per. 4

Pyramid Power

The pyramids are a wonder to our entire world for a few very obvious reasons, but there is a bigger reason that lies a little bit deeper beneath the surface. The pyramids were a huge project when they were being built and people worked voluntarily on them because it made them feel like part of the community and they felt like they were contributing to their country. This type of want to help your community for a greater cause is quite scarce in today's world. There are very few things that's could happen to pull a country together and make them feel like a family that is responsible for one another but a terrorist on your country's biggest city has the power to do that

The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was the worst terrorist attack in American history. It cost over 3 trillion dollars to repair the damages from 9/11. About 3 thousand people lost their lives in 9/11 as well. To honor the people that died and helped rescue others New York is spending 4 billion dollars to build a new tower called the Freedom Tower. Construction started in April of 2006 and finished in November or 2014. There is over 3 million square feet of floor space in this building and it is the tallest building in the westerner hemisphere, so it is quite big. Taking into consideration all of the damage that had to be cleaned up for this to be built, 8 years is quite fast for such a huge project to be completed.

During the construction of the Freedom Tower people worked countless hours and donated millions of dollars in support of the construction all for the similar reasons that the Egyptians worked on the pyramids, people want to contribute to the community and a major project that has a large meaning makes people want to contribute even more. The Pyramids and the Freedom Tower both have similar meanings and served similar purposes, they were built to remember people who have died and they both brought communities together. 

    

Jack S.

11/13/14

No Author Noted

Thoughts and Reflections on: The Indifference of Confucius

    Confucius was indifferent to the myths and mysteries of creation. Confucius believed that heaven was the cosmic region of ethic in man. A less complex way of thinking about confucianism is the traditional Chinese beliefs of family. Confucius believed that the virtue of man was based on his collective experiences in life. He also believed that one should treat people of higher moral value with more respect, and the people of higher moral value were expected to be good people and role models. Confucius can sometimes be mistaken as a social leader, but her is truly a teacher who gained fame over 2,000 years. All of Confucius's teachings were based on 

Analects which can be compared to the Rig-Vedas in Hinduism. Unlike some religions in this era, people of the Confuciust religion were less focused on creation and recreation, but they were more worried with their everyday morals. Morality, family, and rules were extremely important to Confucius. Family was important because the head of each family was the person who performed the religious rituals. Confucius also believed in a good ruler, which does not mean they are wealthy or politically strong, but people who had a strong set of morals that they follow and teach to others. Confucianism is not a religion nor a social practice, but more of a teaching of a good self-respecting life. Unlike most religions, Confucianism does not praise a higher power or focus on the after life very much, but they focus on being a good human being and making sure that you live every day in a respectful way to yourself and others. 

Jack S

11/5/14

Arrow of the Blue-Sinned God

Thoughts and Reflections on: The Caste System

The caste system is a social system that has been in India for a thousands of years. It was created by the god, Manu. The system is based on the body of Manu. The head represents the Brahmins or the priests, the biceps represents the Kshatriyas which are the Warriors, the thighs represent the vashyas which are the merchants, and the feet represent the sudras which are the slaves. The caste system in India untied India, but also divided it. Every person in India was part of a caste which brought them closer together with their caste and made it feel like more of a family or team. On the other hand, the caste system created social stratification. This meant that some people were treated better than other or some people were higher than others. The caste system was brought to India in the first place by the Aryans. The Aryans are a group of people from Central Asia who migrated into north India and conquered it. They brought new things to India like the caste system and the Vedas. The caste system was and continues to be one of the largest distinguishing characteristic of Indian society. The caste system continues to be around today because such a big part of a community does not just fade away over time. People in India have followed the caste system for their whole lives as well as their ancestors did, so it has always had such a drastic impact on people's lives and really what people are able to accomplish in their lives. A system with such a huge impact will not disappear very easily throughout time.  

China Map

The Mountians on the west and the Gobi desert in the north gives China lots of protection from invaders. In the East there was fertile soil so population flourished there.

Jack S.

11/7/14

Per 4.

Quiz Corrections

#2.) Love of cow affects life in many ways. Government agencies maintain old age homes for cows at which owners may board their dry and decrepit animals free of charge. In Madras, the police round up stray cattle that have fallen ill and nurse them back to health by letting them graze on small fields adjacent to the station house. Farmers regard their cows as members of the family, adorn them with garlands and tassels, pray for them when they get sick, and call in their neighbors and a priest to celebrate the birth of a new calf. Throughout India, Hindus hang on their walls calendars that portray beautiful, bejeweled young women who have the bodies of big fat white cows. Milk is shown jetting out of each teat of these half-woman, half-zebu goddesses.

#3-4.) Aside from the beautiful human face, cow pinups bear little resemblance to the typical cow one sees in the flesh. For most of the year their bones are their most prominent feature. Far from having milk gushing from every teat, the gaunt beasts barely manage to nurse a single calf to maturity. The average yield of whole milk from the typical humpbacked breed of zebu cow in India amounts to less than 500 pounds a year. Ordinary American dairy cattle produce over 5,000 pounds, while for champion milkers, 20,000 pounds is not unusual. But this comparison doesn't tell the whole story. In any given year about half of India's zebu cows give no milk at all-not a drop.

#7.)When Indian farmers want an animal primarily for milking purposes they turn to the female water buffalo, which has longer lactation periods and higher butterfat yields than zebu cattle. Male water buffalo are also superior animals for plowing in flooded rice paddies. But oxen are more versatile and are preferred for dry-field farming and road transport. Above all, zebu breeds are remarkably rugged, and can survive the long droughts that periodically afflict different parts of India.

#9.)Aside from the beautiful human face, cow pinups bear little resemblance to the typical cow one sees in the flesh. For most of the year their bones are their most prominent feature. Far from having milk gushing from every teat, the gaunt beasts barely manage to nurse a single calf to maturity. The average yield of whole milk from the typical humpbacked breed of zebu cow in India amounts to less than 500 pounds a year. Ordinary American dairy cattle produce over 5,000 pounds, while for champion milkers, 20,000 pounds is not unusual. But this comparison doesn't tell the whole story. In any given year about half of India's zebu cows give no milk at all-not a drop.

Jack and Allie

10/31/14

Per 4.

Ganges River

The Ganges River starts in the Himalayas and flows through India and into the Mouth of the Ganga and into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges River is important because it provides the daily needs of water for people who live near it and also leaves sediment for fertile land to grow crops. There were also many imperial capitals on the banks on the Ganga including Pataliputra, Kannauj, Kara, Kashi, and Allahabad. The Ganges is also the most sacred River to Hindus because they think of it as a goddess named Ganga.

Shiva

Shiva is one the primary Hindu gods. Shiva is also referred to as Mahadeva. Shiva is considered the destroyer among the Hindu gods. Vishnu and Ramen are the two gods of creation. There is also a separate religion dedicated to Shiva called Shivaism. Shiva is also considered the God of arts and yoga and is to believed to have different forms and to live on a mountain. Shiva himself is not necessarily important to India alone, but he is extremely important to Hinduism which is important to India.

Hinduism 

Hinduism is the dominant religion, or way of life in India today. There are many different forms of of Hinduism including Shaivism, Vaishnavism,and Shaktism. Karma and Dharma are two of the largest parts of Hinduism. Karma is the belief in that if you do good then good will come to you and if you do bad then bad will come to you. Dharma is the idea of fate that will change depending on your karma. Hinduism is important to India because it has been around for such a long time and is not just a religion, but is truly a way of life.    

Sanskrit 

        Sanskrit was the sacred and literary language of Hinduism. It also served as the philosophical language of Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Most importantly, however, it was the commonly spoken language that connected East and Southeast Asia, giving the region a means of communication. Sanskrit was essential to the communication of Greater India, a region that spread as far as ancient Indian culture. Sanskrit was the primary language used in Ancient India and provided a way of communication.

 Ganesha

         Ganesha, son of Shiva, is one of the most worshipped gods in the Hindu religion. Marked by his elephant head, Ganesha is easily identifiable and has large presence in the Hindu religion. Ganesha is the god of the arts and sciences as well as intellect and wisdom. He is also the god of beginnings. His largest role is as the god of (removing) obstacles. Because of his role, he was prayed to often by those seeking success in their endeavors. Because he had such a frequent and prominent role in the lives of many Hindu people, he became a large part of the Hindu religion, and subsequently, ancient India.

Jack S.

11/6/14

Source: Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches, by Marvin Harris

                                          Thoughts and Reflections on: Holy Cow

Cows are not usually looked at as holy in our day to day lives in America, but in India the cow is not only important but holy. The cow has so many different uses in everyday life that people in India would not be able to live without. For example, the cow makes fuel, flooring, fertilizer, milk, meat, leather, and traction all possible for the people in India. If one animal could give our community so much we would probably believe it was holy also. This is the real reason the cows are holy. They bring so much to the community and make so many things possible that they become a vital part of life there so people think of it as a holy animal. In America we use cows primarily for food like burgers or steak and also for milk. We use chemicals for fertilizer, wood or stone for flooring, gasoline for fuel, and have factories build huge tractors. All of these are much less environmentally friendly than what the Indians do. If we could have as many uses for cows as the Indians and use them as efficiently than we could save lots of money, energy, and even help make America more efficient in the things that we use. India uses their cows much more efficiently which also makes them for environmentally friendly because they don't use factories for tractors, they don't cut down trees for flooring, they don't use harmful chemicals for fertilizer, and they overall cherish what they have and what they are given more than we do in America.

Jack S

11/5/14

Arrow of the Blue-Sinned God

                                     Thoughts and Reflections on: The Caste System

The caste system is a social system that has been in India for a thousands of years. It was created by the god, Manu. The system is based on the body of Manu. The head represents the Brahmins or the priests, the biceps represents the Kshatriyas which are the Warriors, the thighs represent the vashyas which are the merchants, and the feet represent the sudras which are the slaves. There is another group of people called the untouchables which are people who are total outcasts in their communtiy. One may think that the untouchable are part of the caste system, but they are not. The caste system in India untied India, but also divided it. Every person in India was part of a caste which brought them closer together with their caste and made it feel like more of a family or team. On the other hand, the caste system created social stratification. This meant that some people were treated better than other or some people were higher than others. The caste system was brought to India in the first place by the Aryans. The Aryans are a group of people from Central Asia who migrated into north India and conquered it. They brought new things to India like the caste system and the Vedas. The caste system was and continues to be one of the largest distinguishing characteristic of Indian society. The caste system continues to be around today because such a big part of a community does not just fade away over time. People in India have followed the caste system for their whole lives as well as their ancestors did, so it has always had such a drastic impact on people's lives and really what people are able to accomplish in their lives. A system with such a huge impact will not disappear very easily throughout time.