Transcript Early Civilizations in India and China

India
• Geography: The Indian
Subcontinent
– Indus valley is located in the
region India
– Subcontinent- large landmass
that juts out from a continent
• India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
– Mountain ranges, Hindu Kush
and Himalayas are at the
Northern border
• Limited contact with India and
other lands- Cultural Diversity
Three Regions
• Northern Plain
– Well watered, just south of the mountains
– Many rivers- Indus, Ganges, Brahma putra
• Carried melting snow down the mountains
• Deccan Plateau
– Dry and triangular shaped, juts into ocean
• Lacks snow that come from the mountains, land is dry
• Coastal Plains
– Separated from Deccan by low lying mountain
ranges-Eastern and Western Ghats
• Rivers and seasonal rains provide water
• Monsoons- Seasonal winds and rain
– In Oct. winds flow hot dry air
– In June, moisture flows over and drenches crops
• Cultural Diversity
– India’s big size & diverse landscapes made it hard
to unite
• Indus Valley Civilization
– Emerged in what is present day Pakistan (2500BC)
– Flourished for 1000 years
– Archeologists discovered the once prosperous
cities
• Have not uncovered all
• Indus Valley covered largest area of any civilization until
the rise of the Persian Empire
• Well Planned Cities
– Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, twin capitals
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Both large, 3 miles in circumference
Massive hilltop structure (fortress or temple)
Had warehouses to store food surplus
All houses built of uniform oven-fried clay bricks
Modern plumbing systems, with baths, drains, water chutes
that lead to sewer beneath streets
• Farming and Trade
– Grew wheat, barley, melons and dates
– First people to cultivate cotton and weave fibers
into cloth
– Merchants and traders
• Ships carried cargos of cotton, grain, copper, pearls and
ivory
• Religion
– Finding of many statues shows they were
polytheistic
– Mother goddess wildly honored
– Worshipped sacred animals, (bull), -Indian beliefs
• Decline and Disappearance
– 1750 BC, quality of life was declining, order
became unstable
• Causes- Ecological disasters- Volcanic eruptions,
earthquakes, deforestation
• Aryans, migrated and overtook land with horse drawn
carriages
Kingdom of the Ganges
• The Vedic Age
– Aryans migrated across
Europe and Asia seeking
water and pasture for
horses and cattle
– Early Aryans didn’t build
cities
– Most of what we know
comes from the VedasCollection of prayers,
hymns, and other
religious teachings
• Aryan priests
recited and
memorized the
Vedas 1000 years
before they were
written down
• 1500BC-500BC
known as Vedic
Age
• Aryan Society-Divided people by occupation
– Brahmins- Priests, claimed they alone could
conduct ceremonies needed to win favor of the
gods
– Kshatriyas- Warriors, first enjoyed highest
prestige, priests eventually gained most respect
– Vaisyas- Herders, farmers, artisans and merchants
• Aryans felt superior to the Dravidians, people
they conquered
– Dravidians descended from original inhabitants of
Indus Valley
– Non-Aryans, separated into fourth group, the Sudrasfarm workers, servants, laborers
• Class divisions came to reflect social and
economic roles more than racial differences
• Became castes, social groups into which people
are born and from which they cannot change
Varna (Social
Hierarchy)
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras
Pariahs [Harijan]  Untouchables
• Aryan Religious Beliefs
– Polytheistic
– Worshipped Gods and Goddesses that
embodied natural forces
– Honored animals
– Brahmins offered sacrifices of food and drink
– Eventually religious leaders wanted one
spiritual power
• Brahman-resided in all things
• Mystics- People who devote their lives to seeking
spiritual wealth
• Meditation and Yoga- Mystics looked for direct
communication with divine forces
• Expansion and
Change
– Aryans travelled over
mountain passages
into Northwest India
– Aryan tribes were
lead by chiefs called
rajahs, most skilled
war leader
• Colonization of
Ganges
– Made tools out
of Iron
– Made cities in
the jungle, rajahs
ruled them
– Developed
written language,
Sanskrit
• Priests began
writing sacred
texts
• Heroic Deeds and
Morals
– Mahabharata
– Ramayana
Early Civilization in China
• Geography: The Middle Kingdom
– Ancient Chinese called their land the Zhongguo,
the Middle Kingdom
– Very isolated
• Long distances and physical barriers kept it from Egypt,
the Middle East and India
• Isolation contributed to belief that China was the
center of the Earth
– Sole source of civilization
• Geographic
Barriers
– To the West and
Southwest of
China, high
mountains, Tien
Shan and
Himalayas
– Southeast, full of
thick jungles
divided China
from Southeast
China
– North, Gobi
Desert
– East, Pacific Ocean
• The barriers didn’t
stop the Chinese
from trading with
other people, the
Middle East
• Nomads and invaders
entered China and
accepted Chinese
superiority
• Main Regions
– Chinese heartland
lay along the east
coast and the
valleys of Huang He
(Yellow River) and
the Yangtze
• Fertile farming
region supported
large populations
• Other Regions:
– Xinjiang,
Mongolia,
Manchuria
– China also
extended
influence on
Himalayan
region Tibet and
Xizang
• River of Sorrows
– Huang He got its name
from the loess, fine
windblown yellow soil
– Earned nickname, “River
of Sorrows”, as loess
settles to the river
bottom, it raises water
level
• Overflowing river killed
many
• Shang Dynasty
– 1650BC, people
called the Shang
gained control of
Northern China,
near Huang He
– Dominated region
until 1027BC,
during this time
Chinese
civilization took
shape
– Government
• Archaeologists uncovered
large palaces and rich tombs
of Shang rulers
• Noble women had
considerable status
• King controlled small area,
princes and nobles loyal to
King governed most of the
land
• Heads of important clans,
groups of families that
claimed a common ancestor
– Social Classes
• Royal Family
• Shang warriors- used leather armor, bronze weapons,
and horse drawn chariots
• Artists and Merchants- Produced goods for nobles,
organized trade
• Peasants- Clustered together in farming villages, all
families worked in the fields, had to prepare damns for
the flooding rivers
• Religious Beliefs
– In Shang Dynasty the Chinese
developed complex religious
beliefs
– Prayed to many Gods and
nature spirits
• Shang Di- Mother Goddess
– Veneration of Ancestors
• Shang Di would not respond to
mere mortals, only to spirits of
greatest mortals
• Prayed to Ancestors to pray to
God
• Yin and Yang
– Delicate balance
between two forces
– Yin- Linked to Earth,
darkness and female
forces
– Yang- Stood for
Heaven, light and male
forces
• Forces were not in
opposition, depended
on harmony
• System of Writing
– Ideographs- Signs
that expressed
thoughts or ideas
– Consulted
ancestors with
Chinese writing
written on oracle
bones, used by
priests to predict
the future
– Written Chinese took
shape almost 4,000
years ago
– Over time, evolved to
include tens of
thousands of
characters
– Most difficult language
to learn
– Chinese scholars turn
to calligraphy, fine
handwriting, into an
art form
The Zhou Dynasty
• Around 1027BC, the Zhou people overthrew the
Shang dynasty
• Zhou dynasty lasted until 256BC
• Mandate of Heaven
– The Zhou justified their
takeover of the Shang by
declaring they had a divine
right to rule
– Declared cruelty of last
Shang ruler outraged the
gods
– Gods passed mandate of
heaven (Devine right to
rule)to the Zhou, who then
treated the people well
• Dynastic Cycle
– The rise and fall of
dynasties
– As long as a
dynasty provided
good government
it would enjoy the
mandate of
heaven
– If rulers became
corrupt, Chinese
believed Heaven
would withdraw
support
• Feudal State
– Rewarded supporters by granting them control over
different regions
– China became a feudal state
– Feudalism- a system of government in which local lords
governed their own lands but owed military service and
other forms of support to the ruler
– Zhou kings ruled China and enjoyed great power and
prestige for 250 years
– After 771 BC, feudal lords exercised the real power and
profited from the lands worked by peasants, within in
their domains (rule)
• Economic Growth
– China’s economy grew under the
Zhou period
– Learned ironworking in 500BC
• Iron axes, ox-drawn iron plows,
replaces wooden and stone tools
– Peasants grew new crops, such as
soybeans
• Feudal lords organized large-scale
irrigation works
– Chinese began to use money for the
first time
• Copper coins had holes in the center to
be strung on cords
• Merchants benefited from new roads
and canals
– Economic expansion lead to
an increase in population
– People from the Huang He
heartland overflowed into
central China and began to
farm the immense Yangzi
basin
– Feudal nobles expanded
their territories and
encouraged peasants to
settle there
– China increased in size,
population and prosperity
• Chinese Achievements
– Astronomers studied the
movements of planets and
recorded eclipses of the sun
• Developed an accurate 365 ¼
calendar
– Chinese discovered how to make
silk around 1000BC
• Became China’s most valuable
export, trade route between China
and Middle East was the Silk Road
– Chinese made the first books
• Bound thin strips of wood or
bamboo