Compare and contrast the Celts of Europe and the Zhou of China.

by akulmunjal (student)

Akul Munjal

Compare and Contrast Essay: The Zhou and the Celts

The Celts and the Zhou both had natural resources but both preferred different resources, The Celts preferred the use of wood and mud, while the Zhou used bronze and later on iron, The Natural environment in both of these places was similar, the Zhou were isolated because of the Himalayas and other natural barriers, while the Celts were also isolated because of the Alps, both of them relied on rivers, The Social structures in these societies was different in the social structure, but both societies treated women similarly.

The Celts and the Zhou both had tremendous access to natural resources. Continental Europe has wood timber metals and farmland. China had access to a variety of metals, timber, and productive farmland. The Zhou used their natural resources much more then the Celts. The Zhou used their resources to build temples buildings and also cities which we have found.. The Celts did not really create temples that we can find now and they built hill forts. However they did make houses out of wood and straw.

The Celts and Zhou were both influenced by their environment. Zhou China was isolated by the Himalayas, Pamir, the Tian mountains, and the Takla Makan and the Gobi Desert, as well as the Mongolian Steppes. Celtic Europe is also separated from Mediterranean Europe because of the alps. This isolationist mentality greatly impacted both of the civilizations. It made both of them develop an independent culture that was not based on other cultures. Both of the societies used rivers to their advantage. The Zhou used the Yangzhi and the Yellow river to their advantage. It helped them travel from East to West. It also provided them with fertile land because it was located in a river valley. The Celts took advantage of the rivers in continental Europe such as the Rhine the Danube. However they did not use the rivers as much as the Zhou did, but they still relied on it for transportation. That was the only reason why the Celts could diffuse so much, because of the rivers. Though continental Europe and China have similar terrains continental Europe has one big thing that China doesn’t; hills. The Celts relied on their hills to build hill fortresses. They used hill forts for defense and that is where they were based, so this one difference made a big impact on the Celts.

Password

Confirm Password

I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy

This is a preview of the whole essay

The Social System in both Zhou China and Celtic Europe were similar. Celtic Europe had classes. There were the commoners, the professionals, the warriors, the bards, and the Druid priests. The Zhou had commoners, professionals, the aristocracy, the warriors, and the wandering people that taught their views on government. The commoners in both of these civilizations were very similar, they were the farmers and the people who were dependant on the aristocracy. The professionals in both places were also very similar; ironworkers were an example of professionals. The Zhou and Celt warriors were very different. The Celtic warriors were the elite, they owned the land, and were very cruel and fighting was their main thing. The Zhou warriors thought a lot more. Sunzi’s “Art of War” had a huge impact on the way warriors fought. They felt the goal was not just to beat them, but also to take their resources. Thus they felt the best victories were the wars done when no or little fighting had taken place. The aristocracy of Zhou China was also similar to that of the Celts in Europe, in the sense that they were the ones who were rich and they were the ones who were the political leaders. They were different because the Zhou aristocracy did not fight, other people did that for them. The bards were a class that did not exist in Zhou China. The bards were the artists that created glorifying art of the past. The Zhou did not have a class that came close to that in function. The wandering people in China that taught their views on government were very similar to the Druids in Celtic Europe. The druids could cross tribal lines, and the wanderers could travel from state to state. The wanderers often held Confucist, Daosist or Legalist beliefs of government, because those were the two main political philosophies of Zhou China. The Druids also had political beliefs that were against Celtic vs. Celtic warfare ( we know this because they tried to stop wars between Celts). The Druids were religious figures though, while the wanderers had no real religious importance. Women in Zhou China were treated better then women in Celtic Europe. The Zhou held the belief in the Yin and the Yang. This meant that both the women and the men were equal. In practice this wasn’t the case. Male children had a higher value then female children (they could carry on the family name and be the heir to the fathers property). Males were also encouraged to have multiple sexual partners if his wife was not giving birth to a son. Females were also not encouraged to remarry if her husband died while if a man’s wife died he was encouraged to remarry. The husbands also had power over their wife. Celtic women were treated not as well. Their lives were focused on child rearing, food production and basic crafts. They had more sexual freedom though, and they could inherit property (this was not allowed in Zhou China). The Social structure at the time of the warring states was very similar. Both of the societies were based on large clan type of living. They also were not unified with the rest of their people, and they had wars with their people very often. The reason this happened was because the Celts were always war and conflict loving people, and the Chinese people were doomed to separate because of their varying ethnicities and lack of unity.