Transcript Unit 3 - Classical Civilizations in the East

UNIT 3
THE CLASSICAL ERA IN THE
EAST
UNIT 3 VOCABULARY
 Caste system
 Dynasty
 Nirvana
 Inferior
 Superior
 Reincarnation
 Hinduism
 Mandate of Heaven
 Confucianism
 Buddhism
IDENTIFY
 Buddha
 Emperor Asoka
 Mauryan Empire
 Gupta Empire
 Zhou Dynasty
 Confucius
 Qin Dynasty
 Shih Huang-ti
 Han Dynasty
The Big Questions
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What were the major accomplishments of the
civilizations of India and China during the
“Classical Era”?
How did these civilizations compare with the ones
in the West?
What factors contributed to the rise and fall of
empires and dynasties in the East?
• R E A D P A G E S 7 4 T O 8 6 I N Y O U R T E X T B OO K
Introduction
 In the centuries when Persia, Greece, and Rome
dominated the West, a different series of empires
and dynasties flourished in the east.
 India witnessed a flowering of Hindu and Buddhist
cultures, influencing all of South and Southeast
Asia
 China saw the emergence of great philosophers,
who set the tone for much of Chinese thought and
tradition.
THE ARYAN
INVASION
 After the collapse of
Harappan civilization, the
Dravidian people living in
western India were
conquered by the Aryan
invaders (c.1500 B.C.)
 Some people believe they
came from central Asia
 Others believe Aryan
culture developed locally
THE ARYAN CULTURE
 Nomadic herders and warriors
 Developed iron weapons and horse-drawn chariots
 They continued to push native peoples farther
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south as they moved into the Ganges River valley
By 900 B.C., they had formed city-states (each
ruled by its own ruler)
Developed Sanskrit writing (only taught to
members of higher castes)
Introduced Hinduism
Developed a caste system (rigid social order)
Left Side
 The mixing of Aryan and
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native peoples led to a new
social order
The new rules allowed only
Aryans to occupy the higher
social classes
There were 5 castes
Caste lines were rigid and
based on birth
DRAW A DIAGRAM OF
THE CASTE SYSTEM
Priests
(Brahmins)
Warriors
(Kshatriyas)
Landowners (Vaisyas)
Peasants (Sudras)
Untouchables
Activity
FILL IN THE HINDUISM SECTION OF
YOUR RELIGIONS CHART
Major beliefs: believe in many deities, but each of these
gods is a manifestation of one Supreme Being.
Reincarnation – the belief that at death a person’s soul is
reborn as another living thing. Karma refers to a person’s
behavior in life which determines one’s form in the next life.
Sacred places and objects: The Ganges River – has the
power to wash away sin and evil. Temples – places of
worship. The cow – sacred and religious…Hindus do not eat
beef.
The Spread of Buddhism
 A new religion, Buddhism, began around 500 B.C.
 Spread quickly and attracted many followers
 Missionaries helped it spread throughout India and
other Southeast Asian countries (Sri Lanka, Burma,
Thailand, Indochina)
 It also spread to central Asia, China, Japan, and
Korea
 It was popular among many groups because it
rejected the caste system
Activity
 FILL IN THE BUDDHISM SECTION OF YOUR
RELIGIONS CHART
Basic philosophy: based on the idea of self-denial and
meditation
 Gods: do not believe in a supreme being
 Holy books: no major holy book, but teachings can be
found in the Sutras
 Major beliefs: Four Noble Truths – explain life’s
meaning. Eightfold Path – must be followed to achieve
Nirvana. Nirvana – a state of eternal peace and bliss and
release from the soul’s endless reincarnation.
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Left Side
 Create a venn diagram
showing what beliefs
Buddhism borrowed from
Hinduism (pgs. 77-79)
 Create a chart comparing
the spread of Buddhism
with the spread of
Christianity (pg. 79-171&172)
Hinduism
Religion
Buddhism
Christianity
Buddhism
How & Why it for spread
The Mauryan Empire (321 B.C. – 232 B.C.)
 Stretched from Afghanistan to the Ganges River
 Begun by King Chandragupta who challenged the Greeks
 His grandson, Asoka was the next great ruler of India
 Fought a series of wars to enlarge the empire
 After 8 years of warfare, he renounced violence and converted
to Buddhism
 Won his people’s loyalty by acts of kindness and promoting
welfare and happiness
 Promoted religious freedom
 Improved roads, built hospitals and promoted education
 Built Buddhist shrines and sent missionaries to other lands
 After his death, the empire began to fall apart
The Gupta Empire (320 A.D. – 535 A.D.)
 United the territory around the Ganges
 Emperors encouraged peace, prosperity, and trade
with foreign lands, especially China
 Had a “Golden Age” of Hindu Culture for nearly two
centuries
Built universities
 Supported learning, the arts (colorful murals), and literature
(poems and plays written in Sanskrit)
 Scholars excelled in math (concept of zero, idea of infinity, a
decimal system, Arabic numerals)
 Astronomy (Earth was round and rotated on its axis, solar
year, movement of heavenly bodies)
 Medicine (set bones, skin grafts)
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 Declined when invaded by the Huns
CHINA
CHINA
 Chinese
history is generally divided into periods
based upon the dynasty that governed China at
the time
 From 1027 B.C. to 220 A.D., China was ruled by
three main dynasties
 Like the flowering of Greek and Roman culture,
China also witnessed some of its greatest cultural
achievements in these centuries
 READ
PAGES 88-103 IN YOUR TEXTBOOK
Zhou Dynasty (1027 B.C. – 221 B.C)
 Conquered the Shang dynasty
 Justified rule as the Mandate of Heaven (ruler
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chosen by heaven and heaven would overthrow
bad rulers)
Gave land to nobles in exchange for military
service
Conquered neighboring peoples
6th century B.C., local nobles became too powerful
and China was plunged into civil war
Greatest legacy of Zhou was the work of two
philosophers, Confucius and Lao Tzu.
Activity
 Add Confucianism and Daoism to your Religions chart
 Confucius – taught ideas he believed were the basic order of
the universe. Stressed following traditional ways to achieve
peace and harmony. All was based on social obligations.
 Obedience and order
 Importance of family
 Family served as model for society (duty, good deeds,
civilized way of life)
 Lao Tzu (Daoism or Taoism) – believed that nature has a
“way” in which it moves. People should accept the way
rather than to try to resist it.
 Respect for nature and harmony
 Use contemplation and abandon earthly concerns
QIN DYNASTY (221 B.C. – 206 B.C. )
 Unified under the lord of Qin (Shih Huang-ti)
 First to call himself emperor
 All power should be in the hands of a single, absolute ruler
 Strong government was needed to punish bad acts
 Harsh ruler, rejected Confucianism (burned books and
persecuted scholars)
 Accomplishments
 Divided China into districts
 Constructed roads and canals (uniting distant parts of China)
 Uniform system of writing and measurement
 Joined a number of protective walls to create the Great Wall of
China
Left Side
 Create a cartoon about an accomplishment of the
Qin or Zhou dynasties
DYNASTIC CYCLE IN CHINA
New
dynasty
gains power,
restores
peace and
order
Dynasty
overthrown
(rebellion
and
bloodshed)
Strong
dynasty
establishes
peace
Old dynasty
loses Mandate
of Heaven
(rebellion is
justified)
Dynasty
declines,
corruption,
high taxes,
etc.
Disasters –
floods,
famines,
revolts,
invasions
HAN DYNASTY (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.)
 Unified China for over 400 years following years of civil
war
 Political achievements
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Established civil service examinations based on Confucian ideas
Strengthened the power of the emperor by weakening the
independence of nobles
Commoners could move up the social ladder
Spread Confucian ideals
 Innovations
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Paper
Lead-glazed ceramics
Improved silk-weaving
Continued…
 Economy
 Established overland trade routes, the Silk Road, connecting trade
with the Roman Empire and other regions
 Exported silk, iron, and bronze for gold, linen cloth, glass, ivory,
animal hides, horses and cattle
 Social and cultural
 Buddhism was introduced
 Wealthy families had many children (sons served in government
and daughters married into other wealthy families)
 Marriages were arranged
 Women were subordinate to men
 Boys went to public schools
 Old people were well taken care of by their families
FALL OF THE HAN DYANSTY
 Ruled an immense empire for 400 years
 Han emperors were weakened by a series of
rebellions
 Provincial governors raised taxes and raised their
own armies (some became local warlords)
 Economic hardship and population growth
 Emperor turned over power to a warlord and Han
China collapsed into a series of civil wars and split
into separate states
LEFT SIDE
Create a diagram for the reasons for the decline of the
Han Dynasty describing political, economic, and
military weaknesses.
Ex.
Fall of the Han Dynasty