Byzantine Empire vs China Essay example

Words: 1279
Pages: 6

Immediately after the Classical Era of World History, the period that came along was the Postclassical Period. This period, within the year 500 CE and 1450 CE, was built up by “third-wave civilizations”. In other words, it was built up by large empires characterized by constant patterns of change, trade, and considerable changes in technologies. In 1492 CE these civilizations got global, meaning that the interactions among these different societies stopped being regional. Two empires who were very important during the Postclassical Period were the Byzantine Empire and China. Geographically these civilizations were far apart, but as they developed, they became two of the most influential empires of the time. Also, as they developed they …show more content…
It is said that during this period of World History trade was not only the exchange of goods and merchandise; there existed the trade of ideas and culture. This was the case for changes in Chinese religion. During the Han dynasty in the Classical Era, Confucianism arose becoming the center of Chinese culture. Even so, along with the Silk and Sea Roads during the Song and Tang dynasty, Buddhism and other cultures began to make their way through China, making China a cosmopolitan society. Even though Muslim communities settled, Mahayana Buddhism was the religion that was mainly adopted by Chinese people because Tharaveda Buddhism was very strict to be blended in. Doubts about Confucianism after the fall of the Han arose, and this is why it was easier for Buddhism to settle. The way that Buddhism made its way into China was because Buddhists adapted the Mahayana Buddhism to similar principles of Confucianism, building up Chan Buddhism. It was clear that Buddhism had clearly settled when missionaries built temples and started to seek the conversion to Buddhism. On the other hand, Christianity had been the main religion of the Byzantine Empire until the fourth century; this was continuity with the west until the 11th century. In 1054 CE something in the Byzantine Empire happened: the Great Schism. This is that Christianity split into Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodoxy. Some