Chapter 1.3- India & China

1. Chapter 1.3-India & China Early Civilization in India Hinduism Buddhism New Empires in India Early Chinese Civilizations The Family in Ancient India The Importance of Confucius

2. Early Civilizations in India • The geography of India is very diverse • Its many core regions include mountain ranges, river valleys, a dry interior plateau, and fertile coastal plains

3. Early Civilizations in India • Early civilization in India developed in the Indus River valley • A civilization flourished there from 3000 to 1500 B.C • Archaeologists have found remains of over a thousand settlements in this area • Two sites have ruins of the major cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro • The advanced civilization that flourished for hundreds of years in these cities is called the Harappan or Indus civilization

4. Early Civilizations in India • The Aryans were a nomadic Indo-European people living in central Asia • Around 1500 B.C. • moved south across the Hindu Kush mountain range into northern India. • conquered the Harappans and ended the civilization of the Indus River valley • The Aryans created a new Indian society • excelled at war • advanced eastward and then southward into the Deccan Plateau • By 1000 B.C., they had extended their control throughout India

6. Early Civilizations in India • The Aryan conquest had a lasting effect on India • created a set of social institutions and class divisions that last to this day • caste system • one of the most important Indian social creations • set up a rigid hierarchy of classes that determined • a person’s occupation • economic potential • social status

7. Early Civilizations in India • There were five major classes, or castes, in ancient India • Brahmans- the priestly class • Kshatriyas- warriors • Vaisyas- commoners • Many members of this caste were merchants • Sudras, • made up most of the Indian population • peasants, artisans, or people who did other forms of manual labor • had limited rights • Untouchables- the lowest level of society and were not even considered a real part of the caste system • about 5 percent of ancient India’s population • had an extremely difficult life and performed tasks that other Indians would not accept • were not considered human, and members of the other classes considered their presence harmful

8. Hinduism • The religion of Hinduism is based on Aryan religious beliefs • the Vedas- collections of hymns and ceremonies that were passed down orally by Aryan priests and later written down • Early Hindus believed in an ultimate reality (God) called Brahman • It was the duty of the individual self, or atman, to seek to know this ultimate reality • Fulfilling its duty would allow the soul to merge with Brahman after death

9. Hinduism • The idea of reincarnation came into Hinduism by the sixth century B.C. • the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death • After many existences, the soul may fulfill its final goal and unite with Brahman. • Karma is an important part of this process • Karma refers to the idea that people’s actions determine their form of rebirth and the class into which they are reborn, if they are reborn as a person • The system of reincarnation thus provided a religious basis for the caste system • Higher caste members were worthy of their privileges because they had good karma • Members of the lower classes could hope to improve their social status in future lives if they behaved well in the present

10. Hinduism • Yoga (“union”) was developed as a practice to achieve oneness with God • This union was seen as a kind of dreamless sleep • The numerous Hindu gods and goddesses give ordinary Hindus a way to express their religious feelings • The three chief deities are • Brahma the Creator • Vishnu the Preserver • Siva the Destroyer • The vast majority of Indian people today are Hindus.

11. Buddhism • In the sixth century B.C., a new doctrine called Buddhism appeared in northern India and soon rivaled Hinduism. • Its founder was Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha (“Enlightened One”). • Siddhartha taught his many followers that the physical realm is an illusion • Attachment to worldly things causes individuals to suffer • Giving up these attachments stops suffering and leads to wisdom, or bodhi • Achieving wisdom is a key step in achieving nirvana, or ultimate reality, in a reunion with the Great World Soul.

12. Buddhism • The essential Buddhist teachings concern the Four Noble Truths and the way to achieve these truths by taking the Middle, or Eightfold, Path • Siddhartha accepted reincarnation but rejected the Hindu caste system • He instead taught that all individuals could reach nirvana as a result of their behavior in their current life

13. 4 Noble Truths

14. not carrying out harsh or mean thoughts eight Siddhartha Gautama’s Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the answers.

15. New Empires in India • Between 325 B.C. and A.D. 500, India was a land of many different states • Two major empires, however, did create unified Indian states during this period • The Mauryan Empire lasted from 324 to 183 B.C. • flourished under the reign of Asoka who ruled from 269 to 232 B.C. • most consider Asoka the greatest Indian ruler ever • He converted to Buddhism and governed in accordance with Buddhist ideals • He set up hospitals for both people and animals, and sent Buddhist missionaries to China and other parts of Asia

17. New Empires in India • India flourished economically under Asoka. • It became an important crossroads in commercial networks such as the Silk Road, which passed through the mountains northwest of India • The Silk Road was an extensive trade route • about 4,000 miles long • reached from the city of Changan in China across central Asia to Mesopotamia and then through to the city of Antioch on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea • At Antioch, luxury goods from the West were traded for luxury goods from the East, which were then shipped across the Mediterranean to Greece and Rome • The Mauryan Empire declined after Asoka’s death in 232 B.C. • The Gupta Empire then flourished from A.D. 320 to the end of the fifth century

19. Early Chinese Civilizations • The great Chinese civilizations developed later than the societies in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India • China’s virtual isolation from other emerging centers of culture could account for its late development. • China’s first flourishing civilization developed under the Shang dynasty, which ruled from about 1750 to 1122 B.C. • developments under the Shang: • An organized government • a system of writing • advanced skills in the making of bronze vessels

20. Early Chinese Civilizations • The Chinese believed that supernatural forces could help with worldly life. • Priests read oracle bones to communicate with the gods • A king’s question to the gods was etched on a bone • The bone was then heated until it cracked • Priests then interpreted the meaning of the cracks • These bones are a valuable source of information about the Shang period.

21. Early Chinese Civilizations • The Zhou dynasty ruled from 1045 to 256 B.C. • The Chinese began to develop a theory of government during this period • The Zhou dynasty claimed it ruled by the Mandate of Heaven • This view stated that Heaven, an impersonal law of nature, kept order in the world through the Zhou king. • Under the Mandate of Heaven, the king was expected to rule with goodness and efficiency by following the proper “Way,” called the Dao • If he ruled correctly, then the gods would be pleased • If the king ruled incorrectly, then the gods would signal their displeasure with bad harvests and other disasters • The king could then be overthrown and replaced with a new ruler

22. Early Chinese Civilizations • The Mandate of Heaven helped make legitimate the dynastic cycles that governed Chinese history from its beginning to A.D. 1912. • All of these dynasties went through a cycle of change • In this cycle, a new dynasty would establish its power, rule successfully for many years, and then begin to decline. • The collapse of central power would lead to rebellions or invasion and the eventual end of the dynasty. • Then a new dynasty would begin and start the cycle all over again • Two hundred years of civil war followed the collapse of the Zhou dynasty • Qin Shihuangdi then founded the Qin dynasty and unified the Chinese world

24. Early Chinese Civilizations • The Qin emperor was concerned with the Xiongnu, a nomadic people who lived in the north near the Gobi • To protect his people from these invaders, Qin Shihuangdi strengthened a system of walls in a project known today as the Great Wall of China • While some of these original walls remain standing, the Great Wall that we know today was actually built 1,500 years after the rule of Qin Shihuangdi.

25. Early Chinese Civilizations • Qin Shihuangdi • built the first phases of the Great Wall • he was buried with and “army” of terra cotta warriors • each was a unique work of art

26. Early Chinese Civilizations • The next dynasty, the Han dynasty, lasted over four hundred years from 202 B.C. to A.D. 220. • A large and efficient bureaucracy was created during this dynasty to handle the rapidly increasing Chinese population • China expanded westward into central Asia and southward into what is modern-day Vietnam • Many cultural, scientific, and technological achievements also occurred during this period

28. The Family in Ancient China • The Chinese had, and have, strong beliefs about the family • the family was both the basic economic and social unit and a symbol of the entire social order. • Most important to ancient Chinese family life was the concept of filial piety. • Filial piety refers to the duty of family members to subordinate their needs to the male head of the family • It also describes a system in which every member has his or her own place, an important Confucian concept

29. The Family in Ancient China • Families were important in ancient China because many people were needed to work the farms • Young children worked in the fields • Older sons were expected to undertake physical labor and to provide for their parents • Men dominated Chinese society • Men were responsible for providing food for their families • They also governed society and were warriors and scholars • Women raised children and stayed at home

30. The Importance of Confucius • Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who lived in the 500s B.C. • Confucianism, the system of Confucius’s ideas, was thus an important part of Chinese history. • Confucius believed that if humans acted in harmony with the universe, then their affairs would prosper • Behaving in accordance with the Dao (Way) was the key to proper behavior.

32. The Importance of Confucius • Confucius’s ideas of duty and humanity are perhaps his most important • individuals subordinate their needs to the needs of family and community • Five Constant Relationships • In these relationships, each individual has a duty to the other • Parent-child • Husband-wife • Older sibling-younger sibling • Older friend- younger friend • Ruler- subject(citizen)

33. The Importance of Confucius • Confucius taught that, if each individual worked hard to fulfill his or her duties, then society as a whole would prosper • rulers must set a good example and rule virtuously if society is to prosper • compassion and empathy toward others • “measure the feelings of others by one’s own.”