The ancient rulers had outstanding qualities and achievements that made them exceptional from the subjects and across their territories. These rulers existed in the setting of the early civilizations and worked to establish their dynasties through mobilization of resources and maintenance of the rule of law. Among these leaders are Pericles of Greece and Shihuangdi of ancient China. These two rulers led in different eras but had similarities in their leadership and differences alike. This paper seeks to compare the leadership of the two rulers, their methods of rule, their ideals and achievements, as well as the circumstances surrounding their rule in terms of culture.
Pericles ruled Athens during the famous time commonly known as the Age of Pericles. He was born of a rich father, Xanthippus, who was a long serving statesman. The mother, Agariste, was also a daughter of a wealthy politician. Thus, Pericles was raised in nobility and he learned the Greek art from an early age. He also received formal education in mathematics through his instructor Zeno of Lea. Due to his highborn status, Pericles witnessed political events when he was growing. Among these were two Persian invasions into Greece while Pericles was still a boy. Shihuangdi on the other hand, was born in a wealthy family. His father was a former ruler in China but Shihuangdi did not receive formal education as Pericles did.
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Both Pericles and Shihuangdi arose to the glory of political rule through taming their opponents and consolidating their subjects. Pericles became the leader of Athens after the murder of his major rival Ephialtes. He was an established master of the law and he gained his political prominence through the courts. Shihuangdi rose to power as a conqueror who established the first empire in China. This empire got the name Qin Empire and was the first of its kind in the civilization of China. Several areas still maintained resistance to conquest after Shihuangdi became the leader.
During their rule, both Shihuangdi had great economic establishments during their rule. Shihuangdi strengthened the administrative powers of his officials in his thirty districts. He was hardworking, and determined to achieve agricultural prosperity. During the Qin Dynasty, Shihuangdi build monumental public buildings and palaces for his stay. He built canals that the nationals used for agriculture and transport. Shihuangdi also standardized weighing measures the laws governing his subjects (Peggy, 2003). In comparison, Pericles was also a great leader in Athens. He supervised the construction of a two major historical structures, the Acropolis and Parthenon. Pericles was also a master of war and successfully conquered Spartans and regained Delphi as a territory of Athens (Thomas, 2008). Pericles also marshalled the Samian War, where Athenians took control of Samos.
Both Shihuangdi and Pericles were religious rulers and constantly consulted for guidance. Before venturing in war, Pericles offered sacrifices to Zeus to ask for victory. Shihuangdi also sought to appease the gods. He constantly worried over the immorality of his subject. Shihuangdi feared that the wayward mannerisms of the people would soon lead to the crumbling of his kingdom due to the anger of the gods. Before he met his death after an illness, Shihuangdi was touring through the mountains, rivers and shores as searched for the location of the place where the Chinese linked with the origin of everlasting life.
Pericles was a democratic leader whose subjects admired and obeyed. From an early age of 17 years, Pericles extended his philanthropic actions towards sponsorship of education of arts to the young. He used the wealth he had gained as inheritance to enhance the works of art within his capital. He also allowed the misfortunate nationals to attend to the theatrical plays without pay as a way of showing his compassion to the poor. In addition to this, he used the proceeds from his jury charges and donations from his allies to improve the state of the Athenians.
Shihuangdi was an aristocratic leader whose subjects hated, unlike Pericles who was charismatic. Scholars and the enlightened loathed Shihuangdi for his act of burning the historical books that criticized aristocracy. He even killed some of the writers that expressed contrasting views to his rule. The poor and the peasants detested Shihuangdi for imposing heavy taxes on them and forcing them to overwork in the farms and his construction works. Shihuangdi used most of the proceeds from taxation to build a fancy palace that was scattered within his territory. He was supposedly to use these places as hiding place for fear of assassination and he randomly changed his residency to conceal his whereabouts (Perkins, 2013).
Pericles died after an attack by the plague while Shihuangdi met his death following an ailment while he trotted through his kingdom. The oppressed subjects were happy after Shihuangdi’s death and strife for power began, which led to killing of many of Shihuangdi’s compatriots. A war arose between the locals as the peasants sought for vengeance against the authority. Contrary to what happened after Shihuangdi’s death, the demise of Pericles was a major blow to Athens since he had established a legacy that no other leader had been able to. Maintenance of the domains of the kingdom was a major achievement for Pericles and his acts of patriotism made biographers to describe him as “the first citizen of Athens” (David, 2013).
In conclusion, the rule of Pericles and that of Shihuangdi offer great lessons to the leaders of today. They teach on the importance of establishing economic prosperity for the subjects. The leadership of Pericles is exemplary since it teaches the value of democracy, charisma and promotion of the lives of the less fortunate.
References
David, S. (2013). Pericles: Critical Essays . London: John Wiley
Thomas, L. D. (2008). City-state Civism in Ancient Athens: Its Real and Ideal Expressions . New York: Peter Lang
Peggy, P. (2003). Qin Shi Huangdi: First Emperor of China . Hong Kong: Heinemann Library
Perkins, D. (2013 ). Encyclopedia of China: History and Culture . New York: Routledge
