INDIAN & CHINESE CULTURES.   Term Paper ID:19764 Click to get this paper

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Paper Abstract: Writing forms, religion in literature, poetry & language. Paper Introduction: Hindu and Chinese Writing Forms: Sanskrit and Ideograph Sanskrit, an archaic Hindu language, is the oldest of the Indo-European tongues, and therefore is related to English and Latin. The word, Sanskrit, means 'perfected'. It is the language of the religion, Hinduism, and classical Indian literature. The language is characterized by verbs in active, middle, and passive tenses, as well as very long compounded adjectives. For example, "the put-all-the-pie-he-could-eat-in-his-stomach man". When used in poetry Sanskrit does not have any use of parallelism (as in Jewish literature), or rhymes (as in English literature.) Instead it uses long and short syllables arranged metrically. The language is now considered dead except for religious and scholarly use. It has been replaced by Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Confucianism is summed up nicely in the following passage: Confucius nowhere encourages men to take independent flights into the realms of original thought. The ideographs define Chinese as a language of sight as opposed tothe language of sound that we have seen of Sanskrit. Brahman manifests himself in the form of severalother gods. These are abook of Changes, a book of history, a book of poetry, a book of rites, andan ancient history respectively. These gave the rules for sacrifice.[7] TheAranyaka were texts for hermit saints, and the Upanishads werephilosophical speculations.[8] The Upanishads also contained informationabout the treatment of disease, the use of all types of weapons,information about the arts, and astrological insights. Simple, defined,plain, and stark. The word,Sanskrit, means 'perfected'. [6]Ibid. In summation,China developed a language of sight, as India developed a language ofsound. For a long time I have lived in a cage; Now I have returned. The Chinese language is very simple in form; it ismonosyllabic. BibliographyDurant, William. They also took part in ritualistic sacrifice, the rules forwhich are all set aside in the Vedas. Veryfew new words could be introduced into the language through interactionwith outside sources. In these things there lies a deep meaning; Yet when we would express it, words suddenly fail us What folly to spend one's life like a dropped leaf Snared under the dust of streets. The language has changed little in hundreds of years.This is due to the extent of isolationism in Chinese foreign policy. The symbols for these are the Yin and theYang: Confucianism is yang: practical, masculine, dominant, active. These 'ideographs'become more complex depending on the complexity of the thought involved.This compactness, and efficiency of language defines the development ofancient Chinese literature. [9]Judy Jones, and William Wilson, An Incomplete Education (New York:Ballantine Books, 1987), 443-47. The language is characterized by verbs inactive, middle, and passive tenses, as well as very long compoundedadjectives.[1] For example, "the put-all-the-pie-he-could-eat-in-his-stomach man". [2]Ibid, 33. One Indian scholar wrote: Whatever is delightful in the modes of music, whatever is exquisite in the sweet art of love, whatever is graceful in the strains of poetry--all that let the happy and wise learn from the songs of Joyadeva.[5]This language of sound is also referred to by another Hindu who says, "Hewho sings and hears the epic poem continually has attained to the highestenjoyment, and will finally be equal to the gods."[6] Religion in Literature: Hinduism and Confucianism Hinduism is the oldest of the world religions. Chinese is considered the least developed of all languages. They believed in theimagination, and that Man should assert himself in new and creative ways.Only in this way could a Hindu slowly move himself up through the castesystem through incarnation into higher forms and eventually reach thespiritual goal. This is in vivid contrast to Indian literature that wasfull of life, color, and vividness. Confuciuswanted a perfect government where the rulers were guided by a sense ofjustice and order, and where the concern was for the welfare of the people. Taoism and Confucianism work togetherin a cosmic sort of synergy. The Yajur Veda are prayers, and theArtharva Veda are incantations and spells. Chinese words began as pictures representing a single syllable which inturn signified the thought, or signifier. He ignores the future, and exhausts the past. Hindu and Chinese Writing Forms: Sanskrit and Ideograph Sanskrit, an archaic Hindu language, is the oldest of the Indo-European tongues, and therefore is related to English and Latin. Confucius called for amovement to the past; he wanted the nation to envelope itself in itself. [11]Quakenbos, 8 -81. TheSama Veda which are chants and songs. Iandian and Chinese Poetry: A Comparison Though it is very difficult to fully grasp the differences betweenIndian and Chinese poetry when they are not spoken or read in their ownlanguage, we can find subtle differences in theme, and tone through Englishtranslations. The Rig Veda otherwise known as the knowledge of the stanzas. Beyond the old landmarks he could not even point the way.[11]Confucius set the standards for Chinese literature. It now manifests itself inModern Chinese. The Hindus believe that they can slowly attain divine statusthrough a multitude of incarnations. An Incomplete Education. [1 ]Ibid., 448. This simplicity of language has spawned a simplisticliterature (simplistic in form, not thought). The Hindus believed in allsorts of secret talismans that would ward off evil and protect the wearerfrom harm. . The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage. [5]Quakenbos, 43. A singlesyllable conveys an entire thought, as opposed to a syllable being only acomponent of words that compose thoughts within the specific contexts ofthe arrangement of those words. [3]William Durant, The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1935), 4 7. It has been replaced by Arabic.[2] Because of the even tempo ofreciting Sanskit poetry, the Hindus clung to their sense of oral traditionlong after they had begun to write poetry down. Each of the Vedas is broken down into four parts. [12]Ibid., 41. Confucianism, today, is a religion that boasts about 16 millionbelievers, as opposed to the 465 million believers in Hinduism.[9] It wasfounded in the sixth century B.C. It is the language of the religion, Hinduism,and classical Indian literature. The Hindus had a much different concern. [8]Durant, 4 7. The Five Kings is broken down into five books:Yih King, Shoo King, She King, Le King, and Spring and Autumn. 41. The Chinese, on the other hand, withdrew into themselves anddelighted in the quite circumspect of their ideographs. The first is themantras, the second is the Brahmanas, which is a manual for priests onritual and incantations. [13]Durant, 714.----------------------- 8 It is a very colorfulreligion with much pageantry. When used in poetry Sanskrit does not have any use ofparallelism (as in Jewish literature), or rhymes (as in Englishliterature.) Instead it uses long and short syllables arranged metrically. The language is now considered dead except for religious and scholarlyuse. The Chinese were trying to tone down agovernment that was running away with corruption. They delighted in the sound of the humanvoice. New York: Harper Brothers, 1984.----------------------- [1]John D. . Taoism is yin: Intuitive, feminine, yielding, passive. The Illustrated History of Ancient Literature: Oriental and Classical. His teachings can be found in three books: Five Kings, Four Shoo, andBooks of the Philosophers. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1935.Jones, Judy, and William Wilson. New York: Ballantine Books, 1987.Quakenbos, John D. Rama is the seventh incarnation of Vishnu thePreserver. The most prominent are Shiva the Destroyer, Vishnu thePreserver, and Shakti the Divine Mother. [7]Ibid., 35. The Vedas is broken up into fourparts. Quakenbos, Illustrated History of Ancient Literature (NewYork: Harper Brothers, 1984), 31. The Confucianist wanted to get the job done, keep the wheels greased, make sure the system held up for another few hundred generations; the Taoists to lead a perfectly balanced life in harmony with the tao, and to leave artifice and conformity in the dust.[1 ] Confucianism was conservatism at its extreme practice. about the same time that Taoism wasfounded, by a man named Confucius. The religious texts of Hinduismare a set of books called the Vedas. The first is a passage from the Ramayana, or Adventures ofRama, written by Valmiki. The passage is as follows: The forest life has fears and woes too many to be told: Thirst, hunger, burning heat by day, by night the bitter cold Each moment on some deadly thing the heedless step may fall Where serpents with their venomed fangs and poisonous scorpions crawl.[12]Compare this with a passage by T'ao Chien, a Chinese statesman: The flying birds two by two return. Chinese poems were asmuch a beauty to look at as to read. For example the Chinese word, sin, canmean honor, honorable, honorably, or to be honorable, depending on where itis located in the sentence. But for thirteen years it was so I lived . [4]Ibid, 67. For example, a fisherman could berepresented by a picture of a man in his boat at sea. For one must return To fulfill one's nature.[13]The language of the Indian passage is sensual, full of verve and life. "It was a language ofsight, not sound".[3] Ancient Chinese is far from archaic. His motto was not "Go up," but "Walk the trodden paths." He sought to reclaim from sin and folly, but only by winning to the purer practice of that venerable antiquity which he so blindingly admired. Hinduism preaches that there is a divinebeing named Brahman. Ithas a lusty vitality that is missing in the second where the language issimple, thoughtful, and timid. Word contexts become dependent on the positionof a word in a sentence and its relationship to other words, rather thaninflection or simply definition.[4] Written Chinese developed out of the one syllable-one thought format. The picture was often an actualdrawing of the signified itself. In this way, the Hindus thrived on their vocal tradition,as a means of sensual experience. Whereas the Hindus celebrated theword as music. 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