A Comparative Study of Traditional Ethics Between Ancient China and Ancient Greece

The differences in traditional ethics between ancient China and ancient Greece were primarily manifested in the following three aspects. First, the origins of moral civilization were different. The insular geographical setting and the preservation of familial ties in ancient China significantly influenced the development of a self-sufficient agrarian economy. Conversely, the open geographical landscape of ancient Greece and the disintegration of primordial kinship networks were pivotal factors in the emergence of an early commercial economy. Second, there was a distinction in values centered on family-based versus individual-based orientations. The subsistence farming economy served as the fundamental economic basis for family-oriented values in ancient China's patriarchal society. Ancient Greece initially formed an economic structure with equal emphasis on agriculture, handicraft and commerce, and nurtured the value of personal interests first. Third, the ethical attributes of patriarchal ethics and contractual ethics exhibited notable variations. The ancient slave society in China developed a patriarchal ethical system rooted in patrilineal lineage due to the preservation of the clan heritage system, which was bound by kinship. In contrast, the complete dissolution of clan-based kinship ties in ancient Greek city-states led to the emergence of a contractual ethical framework grounded in legal rights. These variations had profoundly influenced contemporary Chinese and Western moral structures, particularly within the realm of elderly care ethics.