Religion

Confucianism

During the Han Dynasty, China was announced to be a Confucian State. Confucianism is a religion/philosophy that defines proper conduct for people and government. Confucius believed that if everybody did their job and worked together as a society, they would gain peace. This was important for China because the Han Dynasty was able to establish a system based on morals and ethics. Confucius believed that you should lead by example. This meant that there were five key relationships to building a strong society: ruler and subject, parent and child, husband and wife, elder sibling and younger sibling (brother/sister), and friend and friend. Once these relationships we established, the bigger of the more superior of the two was taught to set good examples for the less superior, and be kind to them. The only one that is equal is the last relationship; friend and friend.

A different religion that the Han Dynasty followed until announced a Confucian state was Legalism. Legalism teaches you that if you want to achieve a strong society the emperor must create laws with clear punishments and rewards. This religion wouldn’t make a strong impact for the society because with everyone focused on acting the way they're told to, relationships won’t be built. Without relationships being built no one knows if the emperor is trustworthy, and they wouldn’t be able to tell if they’re being treated fairly. Also, with no one building relationships, no one is working together. To build a country, there must be a strong society supporting it and working together to come up with ways to improve the country.Confucianism is a better religion for China to follow because not only is it a religion that will help build relationships, but it is a religion that will help strengthen the country and will make a difference in growing the country.