The Chinese classic Spring and Autumn Annals (Chun Qiu) Photo: TUCHONG 

With profound wisdom, rich artistic attainments, and outstanding sci-tech innovations, classical civilizations have provided precious spiritual resources and practical guidance for subsequent generations, nourishing humanity’s cultural foundations and inspiring numerous intellectual innovations and institutional developments. 

Diverse classical legacies

Ancient Greek civilization is renowned globally for its unique philosophical contributions, with figures like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle exerting a deep, lasting influence on Western and even global philosophy. Meanwhile, ancient Roman civilization achieved marked advancements in law, architecture, and military organization, with its legal system forming a cornerstone of modern legal institutions. 

In terms of politics, the democratic system of ancient Greece and the provincial, republican, and legal systems of ancient Rome laid the groundwork for later political institutions, particularly through the enduring legacy of Roman law as the foundation of Western legal systems. Culturally, the philosophical, artistic, literary, and scientific achievements of ancient Greece, as well as the architectural, engineering, and literary contributions of ancient Rome, have provided abundant resources and inspirations for later cultural development. 

Meanwhile, the large vocabularies of ancient Greek and Latin significantly shaped the evolution of European languages. In education, the Romans carried forward the Greek academy model, establishing a robust educational system that has endured to this day. It can be said that ancient Greek and Roman civilizations serve as vital sources and pillars of Western and even global civilization.

Similarly, classical Chinese civilization is known for its distinctive philosophical thought, political systems, and literary and artistic achievements. Confucianism’s benevolence, Taoism’s natural inaction, and Mohist’s ideas of love and non-aggression constitute the core of traditional Chinese culture. The concepts of yin and yang, the unity of heaven and humanity, and “qi,” which prevailed during the Warring States Period (476–221 BCE), were pivotal intellectual tools for understanding nature and humanity, maintaining their influence on Chinese thought for over two millennia. 

The rites and music system of the Xia (c. 21st century–16th century BCE) and Shang (c. 16th century–1046 BCE) dynasties was central to maintaining social order and moral norms, exerting a lasting impact on the development of later ritual systems in the nation. 

Moreover, literary works such as the Book of Songs (Shi Jing) and Songs of Chu (Chu Ci) provided valuable references for future literary creation, while the Book of Documents (Shang Shu), dubbed as the “ancestor of political documents and source of historical archives,” and the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chun Qiu), the first Chinese chronological history, profoundly influenced historiography in later ages with their innovative style and ethical guidance. 

In addition, the Chinese script and its written texts have not only preserved the wisdom of the ancient Chinese but also shaped the cultural genes of China, contributing to the Chinese people’s mindset of valuing imagery over abstraction, emphasizing synthesis over analysis, and sensing over expressing. 

Ancient Indian civilization is characterized by religious cultures such as Buddhism and Hinduism, and its philosophical ideas and artistic styles have also had a big impact on the world. Buddhism’s teachings of compassion and karma have not only influenced the religious beliefs of China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and other Asian regions, but also edified the West in philosophy and literature. The numerical system invented in ancient India, which spread to the East and the West through Arabia, is now universally known as Arabic numerals, and used ubiquitously worldwide. 

The civilizational achievements of the ancient Israelites also have had far-reaching implications for later generations. Judaism laid the religious foundation for Christianity and Islam, and profoundly influenced Western moral and legal systems, while permeating numerous fields of Western civilization, including politics, philosophy, literature, art, education, and science and technology.

Nourishments and inspirations

In summary, classical civilizations have nourished and inspired later generations in the following ways. 

In terms of intellectual enlightenment, the philosophical and religious legacies of classical civilizations provided profound insights for future generations. For instance, ancient Greek philosophy played a pivotal role in the development of Western philosophy, and Confucianism’s emphasis on benevolence became one of the core values of traditional Chinese culture. These ideas were not only instructive in their times but have been continuously interpreted and developed by later generations, becoming the shared resources of human wisdom.

Artistically, works from classical civilizations, such as sculptures from ancient Greece, architecture from ancient Rome, bronzes from pre-Qin (prior to 221 BCE) China, and murals from ancient India, have deeply influenced the art of later eras with their creative styles and aesthetic values. These works demonstrate the aesthetic pursuits of classical civilizations while providing abundant inspirations and references for artistic creation later on.

In science and technology, classical civilizations also scored remarkable achievements. For example, Greek achievements in geometry and astronomy paved the way for modern science, and China’s Four Great Inventions, namely papermaking, printing, gunpowder, and the compass, fueled the progress of world civilization. These technological advances, of practical value at that time, have been widely applied and developed, serving as drivers of human progress. 

The social systems of classical civilizations, such as the democratic system of ancient Greece and the legal system of ancient Rome, have provided valuable references for later generations. Already advanced at the time, these systems have been continuously referenced and refined, forming essential components of modern political institutions.

Li Fa is deputy director of the Center for Chinese and Greek Civilization and a research fellow from the Institute of Chinese Language and Text Studies at Southwest University.

Edited by CHEN MIRONG