Fear A Good Thing Or Bad Thing Essays - The Great Gatsby

Fear: A Good Thing Or Bad Thing FEAR: A GOOD OR BAD THING? A whole new environment was thrown at the young boy all of a sudden. He had never seen such different people, or so many people altogether. He had reached high school. Before this, he had gone to a small public school, which only consisted of about the number of people in one class in high school, and some classes even surpassed the amount in the entire school. He wasnt sure what to do, where to go; his mind was in a state of blankness. His palms were sweating, along with the rest of his body because of all the beautiful girls he had never seen before; in addition, to make all these matters worse, he was a shy guy. This quiet young man decided to face the facts: he was going to be attending this school for four years, so he might as well make the best of the time being. He didnt know where to start making a good impression, so he started in the classroom. He was intimidated because he had heard the classes were much more arduous compared to the ones in elementary and middle school, but he finally gave it a shot. According to Websters New World Dictionary, fear is the anxiety caused by real or possible danger, pain, etc.; fright. There is a gargantuan amount of people who would like to avoid fear altogether, but it is a part of life and without it, life would be extremely boring. The fear people endure can be perceived positively because it can help people do things they never thought of doing; on the other hand, it can deter them from achieving the goals they have set for themselves. This notion is shown in the following pieces of work: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, and Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. Since the beginning of time, fear has been accompanying everybody that has walked on this planet and maybe even on other ones. As H.P. Lovecraft puts it, The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear (www.phobialist.com/fears). This quote reveals how everything people do is based on how strong the fear in somebody actually is, this determines if they are able to go out and achieve their goal, or just pay attention to the fear and chicken out. Fear can and should be conquered because it is the only thing hampering anybody from doing what he or she wants. Without fear, people would be able to do anything they want, which would allow people to achieve their goals. There are times that seem too impossible, too difficult to overcome, but all it is is fear holding people back in order to make one not achieve the objectives one has. As time flies by, everybody experiences these types of situations, even simultaneously. For example, in the dark trenches of the Great Depression, the nation as a whole, along with the president, was going through rough times. Franklin Delano Roosevelt made his inaugural presidential speech relating to fear. It states, The only thing we have to fear is fear itself- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance (www.phobialist.com/fears). Everything F.D.R. states in his speech, is absolutely true because in order to do something, all someone has to do is conquer their fear; therefore, the only thing one has to try not having is fear because without it, whomever wants to do something could. As in the lives of any human, the characters of books also go through situations that contain fear. These fears in them will either make them do something, or it can stop them from taking any action at all. In The Great Gatsby, many of the characters take part in many situations where their fear is brought out. One of the main examples of this, is when Daisy Fay gets as drunk as a monkey (Fitzgerald, 74) the day before her wedding with Tom Buchanan. She gets drunk because she had just received a letter from her former lover, Jay Gatsby, and she fears the marriage taking place the following day will be the

Humanities Nuclear War by Kahns On Thermonuclear War and Kubricks Dr. Strangelove

Humanities Nuclear War by Kahns On Thermonuclear War and Kubricks Dr. Strangelove Nuclear war is the issue that has been discussed for a long period of time by a number of writers and researchers. It is not always easy to give a clear definition whether nuclear war is a pure negative or a pure positive aspect in human life, this is why it is always interesting to offer new ideas and introduce some captivating perspectives.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Humanities: Nuclear War by Kahn’s On Thermonuclear War and Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this paper, the two works by different people will be analyzed in this paper to comprehend how nuclear war may influence the society. Herman Khan was an American futurist who promoted a lot the nuclear strategy that was spread in the United States of America. His On Thermonuclear is one of the most powerful books where the author makes an attempt to describe and evaluate the nature of nuclear war and its importance . Another powerful work is created by Stanley Kubrick; it is the movie Dr. Strangelove where the idea of nuclear war is perfectly satirized from a variety of perspectives. These two authors even cooperated to introduce one powerful and effective idea, still, their standpoints seem to be rather different as the movie introduces the nuclear war as something absurd, and the book aims at describing the war as something inevitable and not as dangerous as many people usually think. On Thermonuclear is the story about nuclear war and its possible effects on the society and the existing balance of power. In this book, the author underlines the fact that nuclear war is something that people could be ready for; still, when the time to experience the effects of the war comes, it turns out to be that people are not actually ready for such danger. Of course, society may recuperate after the war is over, however, it is so difficult to predict the outcomes and be sure about the true nature of war. The most powerful issue in the book is probably author’s argument that this type of war may be unwinnable for people still possible. Though the book does not aim to promote the war, a number of critics accept such message as a kind of threat to society and social inability to control the events. The author wants to prove that people’s possibilities are great indeed, however, they are not always powerful to gain the desired control. In his turn, Dr. Strangelove introduces another point of view where he admits that nuclear war is of accidental character and is considered to be a type of failure of deterrence. In spite of the possibility to explain that nuclear war does not have any positive outcomes and characteristic, this character tries to justify the creation of nuclear weapon and the necessity for the countries to have it in the arsenal. In comparison to Khan, Dr. Strangelove understands that it is not always possible to control nuclear war, that the results will b e dramatic for people, and that society should take more care of the conditions under which weapons are created and stored.Advertising Looking for essay on comparative literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In general, the positions of both authors are clear enough: it is not right to promote the idea of nuclear war, still, the activities of government in different countries seem to be that terrible truth that bother many people. There are no people who want to develop nuclear war, and each country tries to take the position with the help of which its citizens will be in safe; however, if someone makes a decision to start such kind of war, the vast majority of countries will be ready to use their nuclear weapon even without knowing how to use it properly. It is a comic as well as tragic situation that proves one thing: human possibilities are amazing, still, more control is required to benefit from these possibi lities and knowledge.

Contingency theory and Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Contingency theory and Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example An organization placed in the context of a globally interactive environment is in a position to reap huge profits through an efficient organization of its resources and effective coordination between its component elements. No one standard organizational method can be said to be the best way, rather every organization must determine the optimum fit between its component elements. As a result, the Contingency Theory is becoming increasingly relevant in the present day context, especially in maintaining ethical standards of corporate conduct and organizational integrity. The Contingency Theory may be applied in the analysis of the complex interactions occurring among the different dimensions of any particular phenomenon within an organization. As first mooted by Herbert Simon (1976), the contingency organizational theory revolves around the interaction of the organization with the environment and its impact upon the performance outcomes of the individuals within the organization. According to Zeithaml, Varadarajan and Zeithaml (1988), the existing situational factors play a significant role in how organizations are managed, and must be taken into account in order to arrive at one best way in which an organization can be managed for optimum performance and output. These authors suggest a three pronged approach in determining this best solution (a) the identification of important situational factors which function as contingency variables that provide the distinctions between the different situational contexts (b) grouping of these contingency variabl es on the basis of similarity of the contexts that they occur in and (c) analyze each group in order to arrive at the best possible solution and management style and method that is likely to produce the best results (Zeithaml, Varadarajan and Zeithaml, 1988). The Contingency Theory perspective first developed through

Symbolic interactions on homosexuality-a sociological perspective Research Paper

Symbolic interactions on homosexuality-a sociological perspective - Research Paper Example From the US General Social Record, Smelser (2002) indicates that the debate of homosexuality is not likely to be solved any time soon. An analysis of the questionnaires filled and records of interviews, it is evident, that many people have begun embracing homosexuality as a form of living. The blatant question of whether people of the same sex should marry recorded a tremendous 78% out of the 2000 respondents interviewed by Smelser (2002). These results were categorized on the degree of acceptance, and out of the 78%, majority were those that strongly agreed on homosexuality and legalization. Though Smelser (2002) did not find out the exact reasons why the majority agree to homosexuality, he argues that majority of the respondents were completely sure of their answers. He recommends the use of theoretical approach in an attempt to investigate the reasons behind the rising cases of homosexuality marriages. This case study will undertake a survey of the theoretical approach in an attempt to understand why so many people, especially the youth are violating the rule relating to violation on homosexuality. Among the theories that will put under study are the symbolic interaction theory on social deviance in regard to homosexuality, Kenneth’s labeling theory and the sexual stigma on homosexuality as well as Blumer, Cooley, Mead, and Kinsey’s theories. Survey on the contributions of these theories to homosexuality will be scrutinized at all points of view in an endeavor to find answers on the homosexuality issue. The symbolic interaction theory According to Benard and Mahood (2006), symbolic interaction theory is one of the best approaches in the study of marriages and relationships, especially controversial ones like homosexuality, its causes and effects in the society. A simple description of symbolic interaction theory may be explained as, beliefs that are created in relation to the symbols attached to them. These symbols may range from forms of language, objects, people, and perceptions of people amongst others. The symbolic interaction theory makes an initiative of defining how people shape realities in life and the effect of these symbols in their subsequent life. Ellis (1988) argues that the symbolic interaction theory renders people to attaching various connotations to symbols in the society, ultimately, majority end up acting in accordance to their own prejudiced interpretation of what the symbols mean in their lives. Other people will not undertake research to verify their course of action rather acts on what they think and feel is right. This is evident from the verbal discussions, whereby the uttered words play the role of symbols. Spoken words have specific meanings that are sent to the receivers of the message; the sender hopes that the message that he or she intended to send is received in its totality despite the various barriers to communication. This theory, however, intends to bring to light the fact that human beings are not static and that thy have innate feelings

Hiring Gets Off on the Right Foot Essay Example for Free

Hiring Gets Off on the Right Foot Essay Nike has adapted their employee selection techniques by using a computer-based interviewing system that aims to select suitable applicants for a specific job (Bohlander, 2007, p. 284). The said system can be very useful to the company’s human resources department since it makes their job a lot easier. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of the said process should still be proven. Generally, the said computer-generated interview can be very beneficial both to the applicant and human resource department. Nevertheless, it also has some setbacks although these setbacks are negligible and can be ironed out. The computer-based interviewing system is applicable especially to large companies like Nike; on the other hand, a company should not solely rely on this type of employee selection process. Other ways of employee selection should still be utilized such as accepting walk-ins in a personal interview rather than a computerized one. Analysis The computer-assisted interviewing system tries to narrow down the selection of qualified applicants to a minimum so that the human resource department need not spend time on all applicants (Bohlander, 2007, p. 285). This is successfully met by the said system since modern high technology usually reduces the clutter of office work. As in the case of Nike, computer-based interviews can be of great help if the number of applicants is really large. By doing so, few people are needed in the human resources department. Also, by subjecting the applicant’s to this computer interview, human resource managers will have the idea how the applicants cope or adapt with technology. Are they computer literate and able to keep up with the idea of a computer interviewing them? Do they easily understand instruction by merely looking and reading at a computer monitor? These are some of the questions that can be answered by employing such a process. In addition, the three customer-related scenarios in the computer-generated interview are very practical and realistic scenarios to test the applicant’s approach to the real job at hand. The system has many advantages as has been pointed out in the previous discussion, yet, it also has some weaknesses. One very important factor in choosing the right person for the job is his emotional health. Using the computer-generated interview, Nike cannot account the applicant’s emotions and feelings while the interview is going on. Thus, the computer cannot tell the company of the level of confidence an applicant has when the interview is done. Furthermore, there will always be Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) concerns when it comes to employment selection processes. In this case at hand, the company surely provides EEO since the computer is not programmed to unjustly cater to a selected group of applicants. Thus, discrimination that a human resource officer may unconsciously bring when interviewing an applicant may be eliminated. Recommendations On the whole, the computer-based interviewing system is beneficial if it is used hand in hand with other types or ways of employee selection. However, on its own, it is very inefficient. It can be suggested that personal interviews should still be employed by the company since this kind of interview are the most spontaneous and revealing. Also, to further develop the computer-based interviewing system, besides the printout, it will be better if the company will include a video camera that could record the features, facial expressions and gestures that an applicant may have while answering questions. By doing so, the applicants emotional aspect can also be observed. A psychology test can also be included in the computer-based interview to evaluate the person’s emotional health. Summary and Conclusion Positively, the computer-based interviewing system is a great innovative for the human resource department of the company. As the number of applicants for a particular job increases, the feasibility of this method also increases. However, it is still insisted that the computer-generated interview should not be the sole factor in selecting the right person for the job. Personal interviews will always be more helpful. Surely, Nike should be concerned that the interview they are doing is far from public relations. Public relations require people in the process, also, an interview is a conversation between two people, however, the computer is not a human being, and it is only a machine. Therefore, the computer-based interview is one of the means of employee selection but it is not the end. It is only one way of the many methods an effective complex employment selection may have. References Bohlander, G. , Snell, S. (2007). Managing Human Resources, 14th Ed. Mason, USA: Thomson South-Western.

Economic Policy in Downtown Development :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the Heer’s Tower closed down in the 1960's, the downtown area of Springfield, MO. lost a major economic and entertaining element. Since then, Springfield has been planning and working to get back a lot of the status that it once had. The city government had to bring attractions and business in the form of new business’s to spur development to accommodate the 151,580 citizens that reside in the small city. Mayor Tom Carlson and City Manager Tom Finnie have been heading the projects with the help of large developing firms such as the UDA or Urban District Alliance, and hope that projects such as the redevelopment of Heer’s Tower, SMSU’s Innovation center, and College Station will add not only attractions for the mass of people flooding into Springfield each year, but also bring in hundreds of new jobs to boost the economy and help support a growing society. Over the next couple of pages an analysis of the current and future projects, as well as the non-quantitative benefits and effects on the surrounding community will be looked at to further explain why the project is on the community’s agenda.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom Carlson calls the development of the downtown area, the â€Å"Center City.† â€Å"It will be a city within a city.† Not to long ago though Springfield was in a slump, after the huge factories of Zenith and GE went out of business, the only other major factory was Kraft. During the 1950's, These companies employed thousands of workers and once they were out of the picture the economy started to level out. The opportunity to have the Center City, started in the 1980's when sub-divisions around Springfield and surrounding towns, such as Nixa and Ozark, started booming. Since then, developer’s such as John Q. Hammons and new faces like Vaughn Post have sparked projects that have created a substantial buzz across the state. The developers took the idea of a new downtown and ran with it, using tax advantages such as state and historic tax credits, property tax abatement, gap financing and loans up to $40,000 to make facade improvements. Also, a low- interest loan program, using Community Development Block Grant Funds, has provided help for many business people. Since 1997, about $125 million has been invested in Center City.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of these tax breaks and policies have led to some astonishing developments in employment and economic gains.

Chinese History: The Han Dynasty Essay

The Han Dynasty was founded by Liu Bang in 206 BCE. He came of peasant stock and rose to power slowly from being a petty government official to the role of emperor. Liu Bang ruled China for eleven years with felicity and wisdom. He was intelligent and sought to win over the elder statesmen by promising to eliminate all the harsh laws of the Qin government. His experience as the â€Å"neighborhood head† (Hansen 114) had given him the opportunity to be familiar with the legal system of the Qin Dynasty and he made full use of this knowledge to establish a rule of prosperity and leave a long line of rulers who ruled for four hundred years in China. This paper will discuss such themes as have emerged from the research done of the Han Dynasty and will be divided into sections each dealing with one theme at a time. State and Succession: The state of China that Liu Bang wrested from the Qin ruler was in turmoil with several intrigues being hatched by the court officials against the cruelty of the Qin ruler. The rebels wanted to place the first son of the emperor to the throne but Liu Bang was able to defeat the rebels and ascended the throne as the founder of the Han dynasty. He used both stratagem and skill to either defeat his rivals or win them over with promises of sweeping changes in the administration and the legal system. The extent of his empire was divided between his nine brothers and one hundred and fifty loyal followers. The only region that was under direct control of the emperor was the western part of the empire with its capital at Changan and comprised about one-third of the total empire. His rule from 206- 195 BCE was not without troubles. He had to spend a lot of his time trying to suppress rebellions in different parts of his empire and at this time China was invaded several times by the powerful Xiongnu tribe. After being defeated by them Liu Bang concluded a humiliating treaty with the shanyu, leader of the Xiongnu, by which he had to grant equal status to the Xiongnu people and marry the Chinese Princess to the shanyu. As a result of this diplomatic gesture the Xiongnu people promised to leave China alone and not invade them any further. Liu Bang was followed by his fifteen year old son Huidi to the throne, who ruled for seven years from 195- 188 BCE. After his death the reigns of the kingdom was taken over by the widow of Liu Bang, Empress Lu who ruled in the name of Han dynasty for eight years between 188 and 180 BCE. She placed minor princes to the throne and ruled as their guardian and was able to bring peace and stability to the empire. After the death of Empress Lu intrigue again raised its head and senior court officials placed the son of Liu Bang’s concubine who was a puppet in their hands. The descendants of Liu Bang’s relative continued to rule two thirds of China while the Han Dynasty was directly in charge of only a third of the entire empire. Emperor Wu ascended the throne at the age of fifteen in 140 BCE. For the first few years of his reign he was under the control of his grandmother, the dowager Empress Dou and his uncle who was his chancellor. However, from 131 BCE, after the death of the chancellor, Emperor Wu took full charge of his kingdom and established an empire based on the principles of Confucius. He is credited with having extended the Han Empire in the southern districts and continued to maintain diplomatic relations with the Xiongnu people by paying them annuity in keeping with the treaty signed by Liu Bang. Emperor Wu was a follower of Dong Zhongshu, a student of Confucianism and under his influence established Confucian schools in every district. Emperor Wu strengthened the bureaucracy and curtailed the powers of the regional rulers who had been given kingdoms by Liu Bang (Hansen 127). He ruled as a despot with unlimited powers until his death in 87 BCE. He dissolved the position of the Chancellor and promoted his step brother-in-law to the position of regent who put minor princes on the throne and ruled in their name, thus weakening the power and influence of the Han dynasty. The influence of the Han dynasty was later restored by the support of some powerful consort families to which it remained beholden. The consort families wanted to marry their daughters to the emperor in the hope of becoming regents of minor princes and ruling in their names. One of the notable emperors of the later Han dynasty was Emperor Huan, who ruled from 146-168 A. D. Emperor Huan threw the yoke of dominance by the consort family by hatching a plot against them with the help of eunuchs. He managed to break free of the consort family’s stranglehold but set a precedence of encouragement of the eunuchs that did not augur well for the Han dynasty. The last of the Han rulers was a puppet ruler who had to abdicate and thus bring about the end of the Han dynasty in 220 A. D. Administration: Liu Bang had established some good norms of governance that were refined and made more effective by some of the other prominent Han emperors. The administration was carried out at two levels, the central government and the local governments. There were three major divisions of the central government; collection of taxes, maintaining the army and overseeing the work of the government officials. The three divisions of the local governments were later modified to include; registering population, collecting taxes, maintaining waterways, dispensing justice and recommending educated men for government positions. After becoming emperor, Liu Bang distributed his kingdom between his nine brothers and sons and gave them the titles of kings and named a hundred and fifty men from the nobility, marquis and gave them portions of the kingdom as well. These later became the regional kingdoms of China. The land directly under the control of the emperor was divided into one hundred commanderies which were further divided into one hundred and fifty counties. Under Emperor Wu the inheritance of land laws were changed and the land was divided equally between all the sons of the Emperor and did not go only to the eldest son after his death. He also altered the practice of appointing sons of the noble families to high official positions and started the practice of appointing his own nominated officials to government positions. The land revenue had been fixed at one fifteenth by Liu Bang and it was later reduced to one thirtieth by later emperors. However, with the introduction of reforms and establishment of schools and Confucian institutions Emperor Wu realized that the land revenue collected from taxes was not enough to finance his reform projects. So he issues government monopolies on salt and iron. The society under Han dynasty was divided broadly into two categories; the land owners and the slaves. The structure was not rigid and the emperor had the power to strip a land owner or noble of his land and powers and a slave could buy his freedom and become elevated in social stature. There was great disparity of wealth in the Han society. The rulers used to make grants of land to nobles who gradually made them very powerful and corrupt. They stopped paying land revenue and the revenue dropped considerably so that the emperor had to limit the size of the land holding and number of slaves in 7 BCE. The later Han rulers were able to hold on to their position of power and rule with the help of a few powerful consort families. They dare not challenge their power and gave in to most of their demands. In the third and fourth centuries of Han rule eunuchs became very powerful after the Han Emperor Huan enlisted their support to overthrow the yoke of the noble families and they played an important role in court intrigues. Crime and punishment: Liu Bang became familiar with the legal system of the Qin dynasty as a neighborhood head and realized that though the main tenets of law and justice in the Qin dynasty were good, some of the punishments meted out were harsh and barbaric. It was with a promise to change these laws that he was able to come into power in 206 BCE. Eventually, he ended up modifying some of the laws and relaxing punitive corporal punishments like beheading. Since he had to depend a lot on the support of the rich and noble families, members of these families were almost exempt from corporal punishment. Most offenders could get away with paying a huge fine or being confined to rigorous labor like masonry for men and pounding grains foe women were the most common punishments. More severe offenses were awarded amputation of a limb or cutting off of the nose. Shaving off the head and beard and tattooing were considered severe enough punishments for lesser crimes. In keeping with Laozi’s teachings, law was considered to be â€Å"the way† that emperors were supposed to rule their empire. Everyone was considered to be equal in the eyes of law. But in reality it remained a guideline and was not always implemented, the rich people usually got less rigorous punishments could pay their way out of serving punishment sentences. There was no law or power to curb the powers of the ruler. The framework for a good legal system was present and rulers like Emperor Wu made use of the law to curb the rising clout of the nobility. Role of women and eunuchs: Chinese society was male dominated and the position of women was not very enviable. The birth of a girl child was not very welcome. According to Ban Zhao, who was the scholarly and brilliant sister of court historian, Ban Gu, there were three things that had to be performed when a girl was born. The infant needed to be kept under the bed indicating that her position was lowly and weak. She would be given a potsherd to play with reminding her that she needed to work hard all her life and that the announcement of a girl child to the ancestors needed to be accompanied with an offering to remind the child that she was born to serve them. She mentions four virtues that women should practice; â€Å"womanly virtue, womanly words, womanly bearing and womanly work† (Hansen 139). Women were mostly relegated to the chores of cooking, sewing and weaving and hardly ever had the opportunity to voice their opinions. Ban Zhao advocated the education of women. She preached that both men and women must understand their respective duties and work together to make the marriage work well. She agreed that women must do the household chores but not be ignorant and serve as a slave. She must not be manhandled and treated badly and she should not argue as well. It was a poor man’s bad luck to have a daughter while the rich families could afford daughters and used them to their advantage by marrying them to emperors or nobility. Though the general condition of women in China was not encouraging there have been some powerful empresses like dowager Empress Dou who ruled in the name of the Han dynasty and brought peace and stability to the kingdom. The instances of the dowager empresses and that of Ban Zhao are examples of how women could break out of stereotypical roles if they wanted to. The Emperor had harems full of women concubines. Emperor Huan was said to have six thousand women in his harem. As the Han dynasty’s rule extended to the third or the fourth centuries the role of eunuchs became very important in the kingdoms. The eunuchs were usually kept along with womenfolk in the imperial households and played a part in the court intrigues. Like the women dowager empresses they would usually place a minor prince on the throne and rule in their names as their regents. It was during the reign of Emperor Huan that the eunuchs became very powerful because the Emperor hatched a coup to overthrow the influential consort families with the help of the eunuchs. A bitter conflict between the eunuchs and the consort families ensued only to be put down by General Cao Cao when he became regent. Philosophy and Society: Liu Bang was respectful of Confucian thought and philosophy but was not slavish to it. For example he did not allow personal ties to come between him and his ambitions (Hansen115). The Huang –Lao school of thought founded on the teachings of Laozi and Huang commended their teachings in the books, The Way and Integrity Classic and The Classic of Law. These books gave guidance in various aspects of life and living. However, they could not check the power of a ruler who did not abide by its laws and where there was poor governance. These teachings were contrary to what Confucians believed and taught Emperor Wu was greatly under the influence of Dong Zhongshu, who believed that the emperor was the link between heaven and his subjects. When Emperor Wu came to power he established Confucian academies in all the districts in order to centralize its power. As the Huang-Lao philosophy was contradictory to the Confucian philosophy Emperor Wu enforced the closure of these schools and established Confucian schools in every district. Emperor Wu was the first to establish the Confucian canon by had Confucian school of thought and institutions in all the counties. He believed in the Confucian principle that if a ruler ruled his kingdom well heaven would support him and if there were poor governance then the he would incur the wrath of the heavens and his kingdom would be afflicted with floods, droughts and other natural calamities. The tombs of the marquis of Mawangdui and his family bear testament to the Han dynasty’s belief in afterlife. It also demonstrates that people had two kinds of souls – one was the superior spirit soul or hun that was free to travel to the land of the immortals and the other the inferior body soul or po which had to reside in the tomb and if not taken care of in its tomb, it may have to travel to the netherworld. The tomb had to be supplied with replicas of gold and bronze coins, lacquer vessels, ceramics and bamboo suitcases. The food items that can be assumed to have been presented to Lady Dai, the wife of the marquis, are meat dishes and beer. The scenes depicted within the tomb provide an insight into their ideas of afterlife. The top section depicts two gods of destiny who keep records of the individual’s life and the moon and sun with their residents and the Queen Mother of the West. From the above study we see that the various themes that emerged during the course of Chinese history have shaped the philosophical and political destiny of China. The present day Chinese beliefs can trace their roots in this period of history. That history of a nation or people is dynamic and sustainable is borne out by the fact that many of the Chinese institutions and policies were shaped by the values and laws of the Han dynasty.