World History
Chapter Three: India & China (3000 B.C. – A.D. 500)
Objectives
1. Explain how geography influenced the development in India & China
2. Identify characteristics of these civilizations
3. Explain political & social structures in these countries
4. Describe the role of religion
5. List the contributions of each civilization
Section One: Early Civilization in India
I. The Land of India
Indian subcontinent
Himalaya
Ganges River
Deccan
Monsoon – a seasonal wind pattern in Southern Asia the blows warm, moist air from the southwest during the
summer, bringing heavy rains, & cold, dry air from the northeast during the winter (p.72)
II. India’s First Civilization
A. Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro
B. Rulers & the Economy
Persian Gulf
III. The Arrival of the Aryans
A. Who Were the Aryans?
Aryans, A group of Indo-European nomadic peoples, who came out of central Asia
Hindu Kush
Created a new Indian society based on Aryan culture & institutions
B. Aryan Ways of Life
Sanskrit - the first writing system of the Aryans, developed around 1000 B.C. (p.74)
Rajas - An Aryan leader or prince (p.74)
IV. Society in Ancient India
A. The Caste System
Aryans social institutions
Caste system – a set of rigid categories in ancient India that determined a person’s occupation & economic
potential as well as his or her position in society, based partly on skin color (p.75)
Caste – on of the five major divisions of Indian classes in ancient times
1. Brahmans, priest class
2. Kshatriyas, warriors
3. Vaisyas, commoners
4. Sudras, peasants
5. Untouchables, trash collector & morticians
B. The Family in Ancient India
V. Hinduism
Hinduism – the major Indian religion system, which had its origins in the religious beliefs of the Aryans who
settled in India after 1500 B.C. (p.77)
Reincarnation – the rebirth of an individual’s soul in a different form after death (p.77)
Karma – in Hinduism, the force generated by a person’s actions that determines how the person will be reborn
in the next life (p.77)
Dharma – in Hinduism, the divine law that rules karma, it requires all people to do their duty based on their
status in society (p.77)
Yoga – a method of training developed by the Hindus that is supposed to lead to oneness with God (p.77)
VI. Buddhism
Buddhism – a religious doctrine introduced in northern India in the Sixth century B.C. by Siddartha Gautama,
known as the Buddha, or “Enlightened One” (p.78)
Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism
A. The Story of the Buddha
Ascetic – a person who practices self-denial to achieve an understanding of ultimate reality (p.78)
B. The Basic Principles of Buddhism
The pain, poverty & sorrow that afflict human beings are caused by their attachment to things of this world
Nirvana – in Buddhism, ultimate reality, the end of the self & a reunion with the Great World Soul (p.78)
Four Noble Truths
1. Ordinary life is full of suffering
2. This suffering is caused by our desire to satisfy ourselves
3. The way to end suffering is to end desire for selfish goals & to see others as extensions of ourselves
4. The way to end desire is to follow the Middle Path
The Eightfold Path
1. Right View
2. Right intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right concentration
Section Two: New Empires in India
I. The Mauryan Dynasty
Persia
A. The Founding of the Mauryan Dynasty
B. The Reign of Asoka
Asoka, grandson of Chandragupta Maurya
He is considered the greatest ruler in the history of India
II. The Kushan Kingdom & the Silk Road
Silk Road – a route between the Roman Empire & China, so called because silk was China’s most valuable
product (p. 83)
Stretched from the city of Changan in China to Antioch a port city in Syria on the Mediterranean Sea
III. The Kingdom of the Guptas
Faxian, a Buddhist monk
The Gupta Empire actively engaged in trade with China, Southeast Asia & the Mediterranean
Pilgrim – a person who travels to a shrine or other holy place (p.85)
Huns
IV. The World of Indian Culture
A. Literature: A Lasting Legacy
Vedas
Bhagavad Gita
The Ramayana was an account of the fictional ruler Rama
Kalidasa
B. Architecture
C. Science
Aryabhata, the most famous mathematician
Devised a decimal system of counting in tens
Created Algebra
Section Three: Early Chinese Civilizations
I. The Geography of China
Huang He or Yellow River
Mongolia
ChangJiang
Yellow Sea
II. The Shang Dynasty
Historians of China have traditionally dated the beginning of Chinese civilization to the founding of the Xia
Dynasty over 4000 years ago
Little is known about the dynasty
Shang Dynasty
Aristocracy – an upper class whose wealth is based on land & whose power is passed on from one generation
to another (p.89)
A. Political & Social Structures
B. Religion & Culture under the Shang
III. The Zhou Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty lasted for almost 900 years (1122 to 256 B.C.), making it the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese
history
A. Political Structure
B. The Mandate of Heaven
Mandate of Heaven – claim by Chinese kings of the Zhou dynasty that they had direct authority from heaven
to rule & to keep order in the universe (91)
Dao – “Way”, the key to proper behavior under Confucianism (p.92)
C. The Fall of the Zhou Dynasty
D. Life During the Zhou Dynasty
E. Economic & Technological Growth
F. The Family in Ancient China
Filial piety – the duty of family members to subordinate their needs & desires to those of the male head of the
family, a concept important in Confucianism (p.93)
G. The Chinese Written Language
IV. The Chinese Philosophies
A. Confucianism
Confucianism – the system of political & ethical ideas formulated by the Chinese philosopher Confucius toward
the end of the Zhou dynasty; it was intended to help restore order to a society that was in a state of confusion
(p.95)
Two elements stand out in the Confucian view of the Dao: duty & humanity
1. Concept of duty meant that all people had to subordinate their own interests to the broader needs of the
family & the community
2. Humanity consists of a sense of compassion & empathy for others
B. Daoism
Daosim – a system of ideas based on the teachings of Laozi; teaches that the will of Heaven is best followed
through inaction so that nature is allowed to take its course (p.96)
Laozi
C. Legalism
Legalism – a popular philosophy developed in China toward the end of the Zhou dynasty; it proposes that
human beings are evil by nature & can only be brought to the correct path by harsh laws (p.97)
Section Four: Rise & Fall of Chinese Empires
I. The Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 B.C.)
Qin Shihuangdi, ruler of the Qin, “the First Qin Emperor”
A. Changes under the Qin Dynasty
Qin dynasty
Regime – the government in power (p.99)
Central bureaucracy was divided into 3 parts:
1. civil division
2. the military division
3. the censorate
Censorate – part of the Chinese bureaucracy that made sure government officials were doing their jobs (p.99)
Qin Shihuangdi unified the Chinese world.
He created a single monetary system & ordered the building of a system of roads throughout the entire empire
B. The Great Wall
Xiongnu, a nomadic people that resided in the vicinity of the Gobi
Great Wall of China, system of walls to keep out the nomads (Xiongna)
C. The Fall of the Qin Dynasty
II. The Han Dynasty (202 – A.D. 220)
Han Dynasty, emerged in 202 B.C.
Liu Bang, founder of the Han Dynasty
Man of peasant origin
A. Political Structure
The first Han emperor discarded the harsh policies of the Qin dynasty.
Confucian principles, rather then Legalism, soon became the basis for the creation of a new state philosophy
Han rulers continued the Qin system of choosing government officials on the basis of merit rather than birth
Introduced the civil service examination & established a school to train these candidates
B. Expansion of the Empire
Han Wudi
South China Sea
C. Society in the Han Empire
D. Technology in the Han Empire
Textile manufacturing, water mills for grinding grain & iron casting
Paper was developed
Invention of the rudder & fore-and-aft rigging, ships could sail into the wind for the first time
Travel throughout the islands of Southeast Asia & into the Indian Ocean
Lead to major expansion of trade
E. The Fall of the Han Empire
III. Culture in Qin & Han China
Achievement of the Qin period
Digging a well in 1974, farmers discovered a vast army made of terra-cotta (hardened clay)