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Who was more autocratic in ancient Europe or China?
Ancient Europe (except ancient Greece) was more autocratic than China. China Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty were actually ruled by emperors and literati. Of course, Manchu does not count.

Voltaire, a French enlightenment thinker, admired Confucius. In On Confucius, he wrote: "No legislator can declare useful truth to the world better than Confucius", and "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" is the purest morality beyond Christianity. 1793 French Constitution's Declaration on Human and Civil Rights and 1795 French Constitution's Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man and Citizen both wrote Confucius' famous saying, "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you", which are defined as the moral boundary of freedom and the principle of civic duty respectively. This is the first time that the aphorisms of foreign sages have been written into the Constitution. This shows the degree to which China civilization was respected in France at that time. ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you." This classic in The Analects of Confucius is now conspicuously engraved in the lobby of the United Nations Headquarters in new york, and is regarded as the "golden rule" in handling state relations. He spoke highly of China's ancient civilization with Confucianism as its noumenon, and believed that China was the most intelligent and civilized nation in the world, and that China's civilization had a long and far-reaching historical origin. "This country has a glorious history of more than 4,000 years, and its laws, fashion, language and even clothing have not changed significantly." He endowed Chinese civilization with a special position in the process of world history, and even thought that world history began with the history of China. The Five Classics, the oldest and most authoritative book in China, "is worthy of respect and is recognized as superior to all books of other nationalities' origin, just because there are no miracles, predictions and even political tricks adopted by the founders of other countries". In Voltaire's view, the essential stipulation of China civilization is ethical civilization. In China, "ethics is the primary science". Confucianism founded by Confucius is not a religion in the western sense, but an ethical maxim. Confucius "said no innovation, no new gifts;" He will not be inspired by God, nor will he become a prophet. He is a clever official who teaches ancient laws. We sometimes call his theory' Confucianism' inappropriately, but in fact, he has no religious belief. His religion is the religion of all emperors and ministers, that is, the religion of sages. Confucius only warned people with moral indoctrination, and did not preach any secret meaning. Voltaire was deeply attracted by the image of Confucius written by Jesuits, and, like Father Kinnig and Father Duhad, he greatly appreciated Confucius, thinking that "he only spoke as a saint, so China people only regarded him as a saint". The Chinese political system characterized by "benevolent governance and rule by virtue" advocated by Confucianism coincides with Voltaire's ideal political system model of "enlightened monarch".