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Classical India and China. 221 B.C.- A.D. 450. Great interaction between Europe and Asia Civilizations experience a “Golden Age” Institutions are greatly developed Classical civilizations: India, China, Hellenistic Civilization, Rome. Overview of Classical Civilizations.
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Classical India and China 221 B.C.- A.D. 450
Great interaction between Europe and Asia • Civilizations experience a “Golden Age” • Institutions are greatly developed • Classical civilizations: India, China, Hellenistic Civilization, Rome Overview of Classical Civilizations
Mauryan Empire (303 BC-232 BC) • Chandragupta Maurya (had a large army and high taxes) • Unified the Northern part of India • Follows rules for governing a large empire---suggested a highly bureaucratic government, divided the empire, etc. (much like Rome) Empires in India
Mauryan Empire • Asoka’s Accomplishments (grandson of Chandragupta) • After a bloody war (100,000 civilians and soldiers dead) Asoka urges religious toleration and nonviolence in a diverse area (Hinduism and Buddhism) • Extensive roads built for transportation and communication, including rest stops India
After Asoka’s death: • Political instability • Power hungry regional leaders • 500 years of instability with Greeks, Persians, and Central Asians moving into India Decline of Mauryan Empire
Guptan Empire (320 AD-450 AD) • Chaundra Gupta (not to be confused with Chandragupta), Samudra Gupta, Chaundra Gupta II (empire reaches its height) (“Golden Age”) • Economy: • Farming: very important • Silk Roads: Indians acted as MIDDLE MEN, sea trade with Europe (Rome) and Africa, SE Asia • Effects of trade: Banking system, loans, cultural diffusion Empires in India
Society (most Indian families were patriarchal) • Role of women: in southern India, Tamil people were matriarchal • Social classes: caste system, small villages, craftspeople and merchants live in special districts • Religion: revival in Buddhism and Hinduism Guptan Empire
Chandra Gupta II death: • Invaders again threatened northern India Decline of the Guptan Empire
The Zhou people overthrew the Shang dynasty and seized power of the government • Mandate of Heaven • A just emperor has divine approval from the ancestral spirits to rule China. • Natural disasters, rebellions, and assassinations indicate that the emperor has lost the Mandate of Heaven. Zhou Dynasty 1046-256 BCE
Western Zhou • Era when Zhou rulers maintained control through feudal system, which ended when northern nomads invaded. • Feudalism • Political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the king. In return, nobles protect people on their land and give loyalty to the king. • Eastern Zhou • Period of Warring States • Nobles become more powerful than their ruler and begin to fight each other for territory and wealth. Zhou Politics
Confucius Lao Tzu 6th c. Chinese Philosophers
Qin Dynasty (221 BC-202 BC) led by Shi Huangdi • Legalism/autocracy form of government • Great Wall---constructed to keep out northern invaders (notice that both India and China are invaded from the north) Dynasties in China
Great Wall of China 1400 miles long Built to repel nomadic invasions
Social unrest • Peasant revolt • Weak ineffective rulers Decline of the Qin
Han Dynasty (202 BC-220AD) • Notable Rulers • Liu Bang and his wife Empress Lu (ruled for her son) • Unified • Centralized beauracratic government • Destroyed rivals and increased their power • Wu Di • Expanded empire through war • Colonized NE and SE China • Boundaries similar to present-day China Dynasties in China
Bureaucracy: way of organizing government, used civil servants (exams was based on Confucianism philosophy, mainly upper class) • Technology: improves government and economy: paper (more convenient for record keeping), harness, and plow • Monopoly: Chinese use this to protect their secret of silk making China’s Government and Economy
Chinese culture: assimilation is valued over toleration; helps to unify the empire China’s Government and Economy
Political instability • Rich vs. poor • Economic imbalance • Peasant revolt Decline of the Han