Transcript Ancient India and China

Ancient India and China
Indus Valley
• India: fertile plain
between Indus and
Ganges rivers. Area
guarded by mountains
and desert
• Subject to monsoons-wet
and dry seasons
• Indus region was home
to the largest of the four
ancient urban
civilizations of Egypt,
Mesopotamia, South
Asia and China. It was
not discovered until the
1920's. Most of its ruins,
even its major cities,
remain to be excavated.
The ancient Indus script
click
has not been deciphered
• 2500 B.C.-began building
planned communities
(Kalibangan, MohenjoDaro, and Harappa)
• Indus valley sometimes
referred to as Harappan
civilization
• Indus Valley cities were laid
out on a precise grid system
with fortified areas called
citadels. They had separate
residential districts and
sophisticated plumbing and
swage systems
• TAKE A LOOK
http://www.mohenjodaro.net/
Harappan Religion
• Artifacts
reveal links
to modern
Hindu
culture
Hindus are polytheistic
religion
Around 1750 BC life in Indus
Valley began to decline ???
(river changed course, land
worn out, catastrophe, or
attack)
The Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro
show the advanced plumbing
system. The drain in the middle
would take all unwanted water to
the sewage system below
Indian Civilization
• Mohenjo-Daro had
plumbing and sewers!
• Water came into their
houses and was carried
away…very complex
• Most people here were
farmers. They grew wheat,
barley, melons, and dates.
They may have even been
the first people to cultivate
cotton
• Merchants and traderscoins from Mesopotamia
found
• After the decline of the
Indus River valley a new
group migrated into the
area from 2000-1500 BCE
–called the Aryans from
Central Asia
• These nomads
intermarried with locals to
form a group who called
themselves Aryans. They
combined their culture and
Indian culture
• Record from the Vedas or
teachings of ancient India.
This is known as the
Vedic Age b/c how it was
India
• Aryans began to settle into
villages and become
farmers
• They were led by their
local chief or rajahs. The
rajah was elected from the
warriors
• Over time some of these
rajahs built control over
many villages and became
hereditary rulers
• Created the caste system
or social hierarchy in India
• Brahmins = priests
• Kshatriyas or warriors
• Vaisyas or farmers/
artisans/ merchants
• Sudras- people with little
or no Aryan heritage (farm
workers, servants,
laborers)
• Dalits-untouchables
(performed work that
made them contaminated
like butchers or trash
collectors
Religion
• Aryans were polytheistic
• They worshipped gods
who embodied natural
forces like rain and fire
• Their chief god was Indra
or the god of war
• Some Aryans began to
focus on the idea of
mysticism or direct
communication with god
and began to meditate and
do yoga
• Over time the Aryan and
Indian gods melted
together to form thousands
of gods and the religion of
Hinduism
• Around 500 BCE
India was divided into
regional kingdoms
• Mahabharata-epic
poem in Indian history
about history and
warfare
• Ramayana –poem to
teach values and
behavior
2: Hinduism and Buddhism
• Aryan and non-Aryans blended religions together-resulting in
thousands of gods
• Hindus share a common view: religion liberates the soul from
everyday existence
• One Force underlies everything: “God is one, but wise people
know it by many names” Brahman= this spirit
• Therefore the religion is both polytheistic and technically
monotheistic
• Goal is to achieved perfect understand (moksha). Usually not
achieved in one life-time (reincarnation) and soul’s karma
determines the next life’s circumstances such as caste
• Goal: moksha or the union with brahman. To achieve the person
must free themselves from self desires that separate them from
the brahman. The believe in reincarnation or rebirth in order to
continue working towards achieving moksha b/c it is very
difficult to achieve in just one life
Hinduism
• Hindus believe that you can come closer to
moksha by obeying the law of Karma. Karma
refers to all the actions of a person’s life that affect
their fate in the next life
• People who live virtuously earns good karma and
are reborn at a higher level of existence while
those who do evil acquire bad karma and are born
into suffering at a lower level of existence. In
Indian art this image is made in the wheel
• Dharma- religious and moral duties of an
individual that helps to guide their karma. These
duties vary according to occupation/ gender/ class/
age
• Hinduism also stresses non-violence or ahimsa
Hinduism
The religion reinforces the
caste system. You deserve to
be in your position in society
because of your past karma.
The caste system becomes
more complex over time.
Rules were developed on what
you could eat, where you live,
dressed, job, and who you
could marry. Contact with
lower castes would pollute a
high-caste Brahmin.
Untouchables had to carry a
wooden instrument called a
clapper to warm of their
approach!
Brahman
Moksha
Humans
Animals
Plants
Objects-rocks and water
Jainism
• Jainism-Mahavira the founder of Jainism
• believed everything in the universe has a
soul and shouldn’t be harmed (doctrine
of non-violence)
• Jain monks sweep the sidewalks of
insects so as not to kill any. They carry
brooms.
Buddhism
• Siddhartha Gautama is the
founder
• He was born a prince about
563 BCE. It was predicted
that he would either be a
great king or wandering holy
man
• His father kept him in the
palace in the hopes of him
becoming a great ruler
• At 16 Gautama married
• At 29 Gautama left the
palace and his life changed.
He saw an old man, a sick
person, and a dead body. He
discovered human suffering
so he set out to discover the
“realm of life where there is
neither suffering or death
• Gautama wondered for 6
years
• He came upon a tree and
began to mediate on this
issue. He did so for 49
days…he also fasted. It
was set that by poking him
in the stomach that you
could touch his back!
• After the 49 days he
understood the cause and
cure for suffering and
sorrow. He then became
known as the enlightened
one or Buddha
Buddha
Buddhism
• Buddha then spent the rest of his life preaching on how to
achieve enlightenment
• Four Noble Truths –state of life
• Eight Fold Path to reach enlightenment
• Buddha died at age 80. Afterwards the religion divides into
various sects (Theravada Buddhism-original teachings of
Buddhism vs. Mahayana Buddhism-makes gods and
people worship to find salvation)
• Buddhism was from Hinduism. Differed b/c instead of
focusing on priests all could seek enlightenment through
meditation. Also Buddhism rejected the caste system
offering the hope of nirvana to all regardless of birth
• Grew and spread across Asia, but in India Buddhism
declined and was absorbed by Hinduism and Buddha
became one of its many gods
Four Noble Truths
First noble
truth
Everything in life is
suffering and sorrow
Eight Fold Path
Right Views
Right Livelihood
Second
The cause of all
noble truth suffering is people’s
selfish desire for the
temporary pleasures of
this world
Right aspirations
Right Effort
Third
The way to end all
noble truth suffering is to end all
desire
Right Speech
Right
Mindfulness
Fourth
The way to overcome
noble truth such desire and attain
enlightenment is to
follow the 8 fold path,
which is called the
Middle Way between
desires and self-denial
Right Conduct
Right
Contemplation
Goal= nirvana (union with the universe and release from the
cycle of life)
Indian Empires
• 1500 BCE the Indus River Valley disappeared
(classical age)
• Indo-Europeans began migrations, Aryans
• Internal fights between various Aryan kingdoms
• In 326 BCE Alexander the Great from Macedonia
conquers Persia and makes his way to India. He
conquerors northern India and brings with him
Hellenistic and Greek culture. By the time he has
made it to India many of his men are homesick
and force Alexander to go back home. Soon
afterwards Alexander the Great dies.
• His troops refused to fight the Magadha Empire in
India along the Ganges River.
Magadha Kingdom
Indian Empires
• The Mauryan Empire was created in the late 4th century (or late
300’s) by Chandragupta when he killed the last Magadha king
and took control of the territory. He also defeated the general
left in charge of the northern Indian territories following the
death of Alexander the Great. He and his successors expanded
the empire to cover of Deccan. He had a well organized
bureaucracy with royal officials overseeing projects and tax
collection. He also encouraged trade and had state owned
factories and shipyards. He had royal courts to settle disputes,
but was harsh in the fact that he had a secret police force to
report on corruption, crime, and dissentience. He also had a
specially trained group of warrior women to protect him at his
palace!
• Ashoka (269-232 BCE) : Chandragupta’s grandson and great
emperor. He continued to expanded and fought a very bloody
battle for Kalinga where he slaughtered more than 100,000
people. He was so horrified at the seen that he converted to
Buddhism and upheld its belief of non-violence. He then
brought much peace and prosperity to the people of India.
Ashoka
Mauryan Empire
Indian Empires
• After the death of Ashoka the Mauryan Empire
decline and fell apart
• Soon regional kingdoms and infighting spread
throughout India. They were then conquered by
foreign to the north, the Kushan invaders
• In the south on the Deccan various kingdoms
arose: Dravidians to the north who absorbed many
nrothern ideas such as language and religion and
were tolerant and the Tamil kingdoms to the south
focused on trade. Tamil rulers improved the
harbors and sent spices, fine textiles, and other
luxuries westward to Roman! When the Roman
empire declined they traded with China.
Gupta Empire
• About 500 years following the fall of the Mauryan
Empire the next strong empire arose in India, the
Gupta Empire
• The Gupta empire was founded by Chandra Gupta
and lasted from 320-540. It was called the Golden
Age of India because its rulers brought much
peace and prosperity to the people of India. The
Guptas supported Hinduism. Much of Indian rule
was based on village and city governments with
their local rulers claiming subservience to the
Gupta king. Trade flourished and this prosperity
supported art and learning which became very
important
Gupta Empire
Achievements/ Decline of Gupta
• Math: Arabic numerals, concept of zero, decimal
system
• Medicine: remedies to treat illnesses, setting bones
and simple surgery, and even some early version
of vaccinations
• Literature: many writers in the Sanskrit language.
Kalidasa the most famous playwright story of
Shakuntala
• Decline: Because of weak rulers, civil wars, and
invasion by the HUNS the Gupta Empire came to
an end. It split again into regional kingdoms
Everyday Life (India)
• Most people of India were poor peasant that lived in the
countryside in villages. Their lives were consumed with
work, caste system, family and village life, and their duties
to each
• The family structure was a joint family with parents,
children, and their offspring living in a common dwelling.
The culture was patriarchal with men having power. There
were traditions like consulting the wife and family on
important decisions. Property belonged to the family itself.
• Family interests came before individual interests! They
trained children, performed their caste duties, and learned
rituals to honor their ancestors.
• Women left the home after marriage to resident with their
husband’s family. (dowry)
• At first women enjoyed many freedoms in India, but by the
Gupta Empire they were restricted and couldn’t leave the
house without being covered from head to foot!
Culture (India)
• Women were believed to hold and specific energy that
needed to by channeled by her husband (shakti)
• Women were thought to only achieve a higher existence
(reincarnation) through being devoted to her husband.
Virtuous widows would even through themselves onto
their dead husbands funeral fires to join him.
• The village was the heart of daily life. It was run by a
headman and council that made important decisions (at
first women could be on the councils, but this changed).
They organized projects like road and irrigation projects.
The town was organized into a cluster of homes
surrounded by the fields
• Farming depended on the monsoons, too little or too much
rain could mean famine. The farmers rented their lands
from landlords and were required to pay a percentage of
their crops as payment leaving very little for the family.
They village people also traded some goods and
participated in trade across the continent
China
• Natural barriers isolated ancient China: Pacific
Ocean, Taklimakan desert, Plateaus of Tibet and
Mongolia, Gobi Desert, and the Himalayan
mountains
• Plain between Huang He (Yellow River) and
Yangtze is China heartland-farming’s
• Silt from yellow river overflowing-loess-also
called the “River of Sorrows”
• 2000 B.C. cities arose in China
• Xia dynasty: led by Yu (flood control and
irrigation projects)
The Yellow River gets its name
because of the yellow
windborne clay dust called
loess that is blown across the
north of China from the steppes
of Central Asia. The loess is
blown into the river and gives it
Shang Dynasty of China
• Shang: 1766-1122 BCE. invaders, written records,
created walled cities-protection, society sharply
divided by class (King, warrior-nobles, and
peasants) (118ft mounds)
• Culture placed importance on family and loyalty
to king/emperor
• Local princes and nobles governed most of the
lands controlled by the king
• Elite women may have enjoyed high status…some
have been found to own land and even lead armies
• Majority of people were peasants who lived in
small villages. They worked the fields or worked
on public projects. There was also trade and a
class of merchants and artisans
Shang Dynasty
• Religion-believed spirits of family members
could influence fortune (Chinese version of
Dracula!)
• Polytheistic-worshipped a supreme god, Shang
Di, and many lesser ones through the spirits of
their ancestors
• Shang kings consulted the gods through oracle
bones, which priest would break and then
interpret
• Writing system-(pictographs): no links between
China’s languages and writing system
Zhou Dynasty
• Zhou overthrow Shang around 1122 BCE
• Justified by Mandate of Heaven (bad rulers could
lose gods support and others could then overthrow
him)
• This began a patter of rise and fall in dynasties in
China-dynastic cycle. Floods, famine, and other
problems were sign that a dynasty had lost the
mandate
• Zhou began feudalism to control lands (nobles can
use kings land in return for loyalty and service)
• Technology-roads, coined money, government
workers, and iron
• Zhou lost power 256 BC and nobles began
fighting
Zhou Dynasty
• By 771 BCE the Zhou was very weak and the
monarch was killed in an invasion into the city he
lived in (nomadic invaders). Family moved to
another city and pretended to rule for the next 500
years. This was a chaotic time and much fighting
occurred between powerful vassal. The time of the
called the period of the warring states
• Extended land, banned human sacrifice, began to
standardize language
• By 256 BCE Zhou fell apart and a warlord took
control of the China and trimphed over the other
war lords, his name Qin Shi Huangdi. He started
the Qin Dynasty
• Confucius also lived during this time period
Religion
• Believed in many gods, but believed that humans
could not speak with them
• Only the ancestors of great people could speak to
the gods on behalf of people
• So Ancestor worship-people prayed to their
ancestors to help them with the harvest and even
war. The ancestor would then speak with the God.
At first only royal family and nobility were
thought of as having ancestors of enough power.
Over time this began to change and many prayed
to their ancestors for things like good fortune
Confucius 551BCE
• Ancient belief of peace and harmony: nature: yin/ yang.
Confucius created a philosophy or system of ideas that was
concerned with worldly matters, especially good
government. He thought that the government needed to be
centralized and that peace needed to be restored to China.
His local leaders refused to allow him to work for them b/c
he was too opinionated and so he traveled around looking
to be a chief advisor. Didn’t have much success, but had
disciples who wrote his idea in the Analects.
• He then became a very famous teacher. He had a strong
focus on patriarchy and respect for elders and country.
Know and accept your role/ position in society.
Relationships were to reflect this position (ruler to subject,
parent to child, and even husband to wife). Correct
behavior would bring stability and order. The most
important duty was respect to parents. “Do not do to
other…what you would not wish yourself”
Confucius
Daoism
• Laozi founded around the same time as Confucius
• Concerned with living in harmony with nature
• You should look beyond everyday cares and focus
on the Dao or “the way” of the universe
• Believed that one who truly understood the Dao
wouldn’t speak of it!
• Rejection of conflict and strife (water does not
resist, but yields to outside pressure, yet is an
unstoppable force)
• Believed that government was unnatural and cause
many problems. The best government was one that
governed the least!
Religion
• Daoism changed and evolved into a popular
religion with gods, goddesses, and magical
practices. People turned to priests for good
luck and cures
• Over time many Chinese mixed Daoist and
Confucian ideas because Confucianism
taught them how to behave while Daoism
influenced their view of the natural world
Achievements
• Shang astronomers studied the movement of the planets
and recorded eclipses. This helped them to make an
accurate calendar with 365 ¼ days
• Technology for bronze making: weapons
• 2640 BCE learned how to make silk. This became China’s
most valuable export and kept the technology secret for
many years
• Writing system: people across China spoke various
languages and dialects. Therefore having one language was
important for Chinese unification.
• Language –characters that represent words. Must
memorize thousands of characters in order to be successful
reading or writing. As you can imagine only the most
wealthy could afford tutors.
• Calligraphy became popular
• Zhou –first book written “book of songs”
Strong Rulers: section 5
• Qin dynasty rose up from the Zhou and the time of the
warring states
• Shi Huangdi or the “First Emperor” proclaimed himself
emperor after the fight for power in 221 BCE
• He spent 20 years conquering most of the warring states
and then needed to unify them
• He created a centralized government that was legalistic
• Legalism is based on the teachings of Hanfeizi who died in
233 BCE. He believed that the nature of man was evil and
that goodness was something acquired. Therefore, the only
way to achieve order was to pass very strict laws and
impose harsh consequences for crimes
• Shi Huangdi tortured, enslaved, or killed his critics many
whom were nobles and Confucian scholars
• In order to root out dissent, Shi Huangdi, also approved the
burning of books (exception was medicine and agriculture)
Shi Huangdi
•His Tomb
Shi Huangdi (tomb)
Qin Dynasty
• He started to standardize Chinese and created weights and
measurements to use throughout the country. He even required
all cart axles be the same size so that wheels could run through
the same ruts on Chinese roads!
• He abolished feudalism and replaced the various states with 36
military districts with loyal officials in charge
• He force noble families to move to the capital at Xianyang in
order to closely watch them
• He gave some of the lands taken from nobles to the peasants to
work
• He also built the Great Wall of China. This took the conscripted
labor of peasants and it took them toiling constantly for 25 years
to build the wall to protect the Chinese for northern invaders.
The wall took on the nickname “longest graveyard” due to all
the peasants that died building it.
• Shi Huangdi died in 210 BCE and after his death the empire fell.
People revolted due to high taxes, conscripted labor, and cruel
policies. In 206 BCE Gao Zu (a illiterate peasant leader)
defeated rival armies to find the next dynasty, the Han
Han Dynasty 202 BCE-220 CE
• Gao Zu restored order and justice. He lowered taxes and
ended curtailed Legalist policies. He also restored
Confucian scholars as government advisors
• Wudi (141-87 BCE) was a famous Han emperor who
strengthened the government by choosing Confucian
scholars and he even set up an imperial university. He built
roads and canals and set up granaries across China. He also
created a government monopoly on iron and salt thereby
creating an income for the government so they wouldn’t
have to increase taxes.
• Wudi was an expansionist and expanded the territory of
China. In doing this he also opened up a network of trade
routes called the Silk Roads that linked China eventually
all the way to the West! New foods and products flowed
into China and China exported much silk. The road was
eventually about 4,000 miles long (relay trade)
Wudi
Han Dynasty
• Under the Han dynasty, Confucianism became the official
belief of the state
• The state relied on well-educated Confucian bureaucrats to
run the government
• These Confucian scholars were civil servants or officials of
the government. They believed that someone should gain
their position by merit and not family ties. If someone
proved themselves then they were promoted through the
government ranks. Eventually, they might be recruited to
take a civil service exam to test their knowledge of
government and history (Five Classics). Later under the
Sui dynasty a formal civil service exam was established.
Only men from wealthy families could afford the training
needed in order to pass the test. Sometimes brilliant
peasant boys were paid for but that was unusual. Women
were excluded from this system due to the patriarchal
nature of the country.
• The test remained in use until 1912 in China!
Han Fall
• Court intrigues undermined powers of the emperor
and powerful warlords emerged
• Weak emperors let canals and roads fall into
disrepair while they increased taxes
• Taxes became so high that they send out tax
collectors. Peasants revolted by abandoning
villages and fleeing to the mountains where they
joined bandit groups with colorful names like the
Red Eyebrows or Green Woodsmen
• In 220 powerful warlords overthrew the last Han
emperor and China broke up into regional
kingdoms. Additionally, northern invaders purged
into the country (Huns)!
Achievements/ Golden Age
• Han dynasty: chemistry, zoology, botany, and astronomy.
Developed calendars, timekeeping devices, seismographs
to detect earthquakes, moon eclipses, acupuncture,
diagnosed diseases, and developed anesthetics and
remedies (drugs)
• China was the most advanced civilization in the world at
the time
• Cai Lun: invented a method for making paper of out of
wood pulp
• Ship building: rudder to steer
• Bronze and iron stirrups, fishing reel, wheelbarrows, and
suspension bridges
• Art expanded during this time, palaces and temples were
built, and large parks
• Silk makers improved, jade and ivory cravings improved
Buddhism
• By 100 missionaries and merchants from India
spread Buddhism to China
• Spread during times of trouble and did oppose
basic traditional Confucian Chinese values of the
family, hierarchy, and the patriarchy
• Personal salvation and hope to end suffering were
appeal: Neither Daoism or Confucianism
emphasized the idea of personal salvation
• By 400 Buddhism had spread throughout the
country and became somewhat popular