There are many similarities and differences between the kinship, religion, and social classes in Egypt, China, and India. It is very common for countries to borrow ideas from one another, and as a result, have a political system with many similarities. One of the major similarities in the three countries politically, was that emperors ruled them. All three countries had kings as their leaders (Antholis 15). Despite this fact, there political leadership was one of their major differences. In China, the kings were superior and had massive power in their hands. The leadership was centralized; naturally, the royal family ruled them. The royal family controlled the country through bureaucracy. India on the other hand was a republican government, the kings had limited power compared to China, the people were not controlled, and they had the power. Egypt had a centralized government that was led by the pharaoh (Ibrahim 17). They tended to be more lenient to the women unlike China, which was stricter regardless of the sexes.
There were many similarities and differences in the religious set up of the three countries. In India, Hinduism was the main religion and still is to date. However, it was not the only religion, Jain, and Sikh existed. Egypt on the other hand believed in gods. This is not the case today, they later switched to Christianity, and now the main religion is Islam. China had multiple religions, as well (Antholis 23). Some of them were Buddhism and Confucian, although in the present day China, there is almost no religion at all. Another major difference was life after death. In Egypt for instance, the pharaoh could resurrect after they died and live forever. Religion also affected the political system in Egypt (Ibrahim 22). The pharaoh was not only a political leader but also a religious one. These were the difference; but they have similarities, as well. Some of the similarities among them were the fact that they used idols. They all had statures, each represented a different kind of god and had a different role. Another similarity found in the mentioned countries from a religious perspective was that the gods were both in human form and in an animal form.
Another sector that had similarities and differences was the social classes of the three countries. They differed in many ways. In India for example, categories of people existed depending on how much wealth they had. These groups were known as the castes: people from different castes would not even talk to each other leave alone share food. Despite this, the people of castes that were poor had a chance to work hard and change into a better caste. In Egypt, the classes were like a pyramid, the top most part being that of the pharaoh (Ibrahim 59). The pharaoh was a god in human form; his people took care of him relentlessly. The poor were on the bottom of the pyramid. In China, one was born in the social class that they should be in (Antholis 37). If a person is born in a poor family then he was supposed to be there and could not change that, unlike in India where you belonged to the social class that you worked hard to attain.
Geography had a huge role in shaping the political, religious, and social factors of these three countries. Egypt was ruled by one leader who was the pharaoh ruled them. As a result, they emerged more powerful and economically stable because they did not have different leaders competing in anything. Their unity made them stronger. In India, geographical routes affected the country as a whole. India was divided into different regions and they all have different rulers systems (Antholis 56). These divisions affected the country not only politically, but also socially and religiously; thus making it weaker as compared to Egypt (Ibrahim 69). China today is a beautiful country, but this was not the case in the early years. The geographical formation of China did not favor them. The routes were unbearable and as a result, it was almost impossible to trade with other countries. This led to isolation. China, Egypt, and India today are all great countries with many similarities and differences as well. These factors exist in their political social and religious sectors, not only in the current times but also before.
- Antholis, William. Inside Out, India and China: Local Politics Go Global. , 2013. Print.
- Ibrahim, Fouad N, and Barbara Ibrahim. Egypt: An Economic Geography. London [u.a.: Tauris, 2003. Print.
