South and East Asia
India, Korea & Japan
Ancient China
India after the
Harappans
• Vedic civilization was a change in Indian
culture.
• The Aryans adopted almost nothing of
Harappan culture. They built no cities, no
states, no granaries, and used no writing.
• Instead they were a warlike people that
organized themselves in individual tribal,
kinship units, the Jana.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
Jana
• The jana was ruled over by a war-chief. These
tribes spread quickly over northern India.
• The basic social unit of Aryan culture, the jana,
slowly developed from an organization based on
kinship to one based on geography.
• The jana became a janapada, or nation and the
jana-rajya , or tribal kingdom, became the janarajyapada, or national kingdom.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
Rigvedic Period
• The earliest history of the Aryans in India is
called the Rigvedic Period (1700-1000 BC)
after the religious praise poems that are the
oldest pieces of literature in India.
• These poems, the Rig Veda, are believed to
represent the most primitive layer of IndoEuropean religion and have many
characteristics in common with Persian
religion since the two peoples are closely
related in time.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
Rig Veda
Vedic Architecture
Architecture built to conform to
the natural laws, known as
Vastu Shastra.
http://www.gosai.com/chait
anya/saranagati/html/vedicage_fs.html
Architecture, con’d
http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/saranagati/html/vedic-age_fs.html
Hindu Castes
• By the end of the Rigvedic period, social class
had settled into four rigid castes: the
caturvarnas, or "four colors."
• At the top of the caturvarnas were the priests, or
Brahmans. Below the priests were the warriors
or nobles (Kshatriya), the craftspeople and
merchants (Vaishya), and the servants
(Shudra), who made up the bulk of society.
• These economic classes were supported by an
elaborate religious system and would be
eventually subdivided into a huge number of
economic sub-classes which we call "castes”.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
Brahmanic Period
• Later Vedic Period or Brahmanic Period (1000-500 BC),
the Aryans migrated across the Doab, which is a large
plain which separates the Yamuna River from the
Ganges.
• It was a difficult project, for the Doab was thickly forested;
the Aryans slowly burned and settled the Doab until they
reached the Ganges.
• While the Rig Veda represents the most primitive religion
of the Aryans during the Rigvedic Period, the religion of
the Later Vedic period is dominated by the Brahmanas,
or priestly book, which was composed sometime
between 1000 and 850 BC.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
Ancient Korea
• Gojoseon was an ancient Korean kingdom
– Gojoseon was founded in 2333 BC by
Dangun in the basins of the Liao and
Taedong Rivers, ruling over northern Korean
peninsula and southern Manchuria.
• Gojoseon was defeated by the Han
dynasty of China in 108 BC.
Gojoseon bronze
artifacts
Three Kingdoms of
Korea
• The Three Kingdoms of Korea were
Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms_of_Korea
Goguryeo tomb mural
The brick chamber of the tomb
of King Muryeong (r. 501-523)
Royal burial mounds at
Gyeongju (capital of Silla)
Timeline: Ancient
China
Neolithic ca. 12000 - 2000 B.C.
Xia ca. 2100-1800 B.C.
Shang 1700-1027 B.C.
Western Zhou 1027-771 B.C.
Eastern Zhou 770-221 B.C.
770-476 B.C. -- Spring and Autumn period
475-221 B.C. -- Warring States period
Neolithic China
• The Neolithic period began in China about 12,000 B.C.,
with the Yangshao and the Lungshan cultures
• However, good evidence of Neolithic settlements exists
from only about 4,000 B.C. The Neolithic lasted until
about 2,000 B.C.
• It is defined by a spread of settled agricultural
communities, but hunting and gathering was still
practiced.
• The largest concentration of agriculture was below the
southern bend of the Yellow River and millet was the
main crop.
Neolithic China
Neolithic Pottery
Xia Dynasty
•
For many years, the Xia Dynasty was thought to be a
part of a myth that the Chinese tell as part of their
history.
• The Xia Dynasty was in oral histories, but no
archaeological evidence was found of it until 1959.
• The Xia were agrarian people, with bronze weapons and
pottery.
– The ruling families used elaborate and dramatic rituals to confirm
their power to govern.
– The rulers often acted as shamans, communicating with spirits
for help and guidance.
Erlitous
• Excavations at Erlitous, in the city of Yanshi,
uncovered what was most likely a capital of the
Xia Dynasty.
– The site showed that the people were direct
ancestors of the Lungshan and were predecessors of
the Shang.
– Radiocarbon dates from this site indicate that they
existed from 2100 to 1800 B.C.
– Despite this new archaeological evidence of the Xia,
they are not universally accepted as a true dynasty.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/xia.html
Shang Dynasty
•
The Shang, rather than the Xia, is considered by most to
be the first true dynasty of China.
• Like the Xia, the Shang were originally considered to be a
myth.
• They were discovered because Chinese pharmacists were
selling oracle bones the Shang had created; the
pharmacists sold the bones as dragon bones.
• The bones were first noticed in 1899 and by the 1920's
were traced to Anyang, where the last Shang capital was
found and excavated.
Shang, con’d
• In the 1950's an earlier Shang capital was
found near present day Zhengzhou.
• Traditional Chinese history indicates that
the Shang Dynasty consisted of 30 kings
and seven different, successive, capitals.
• The Zhou, the dynasty that followed the
Shang, are responsible for the recordings
of the kings and capitals of the Shang
Dynasty.
Shang pottery
Earthenware
that was almost
porcelain, only
missing the
glaze.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/shang.html
Shang Writing
• They are the first group of people from China of which
written records are found.
– The most common place these writings are found is on oracle
bones used for divination.
• The bones used for this purpose originally came from a
number of animals, but were eventually done exclusively
on turtle shells.
– A question was written on the bone, which was then fired and a T
shaped crack was produced which was interpreted, and the
interpretation was then written on the bone.
• After the predicted event occurred, the date of the
occurrence was also written on the bone.
– Writing is also found on bronze and stone, but the majority of the
records have decayed as they were recorded on bamboo strips.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/shang.html
Oracle Inscriptions
Shang Religion
• The Shang worshipped the "Shang Ti."
• This god ruled as a supreme god over lesser
gods, the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and
other natural forces and places.
• Highly ritualized, ancestor worship became a
part of the Shang religion.
• Sacrifice to the gods and the ancestors was also
a major part of the Shang religion.
• When a king died, hundreds of slaves and
prisoners were often sacrificed and buried with
him. People were also sacrificed in lower
numbers when important events, such as the
founding of a palace or temple, occurred.
Zhou Dynasty
•
•
•
•
•
The Zhou began as a semi-nomadic tribe that lived to
the west of the Shang kingdom.
Due to their nomadic ways, they learned how to work
with people of different cultures.
After a time, they settled in the Wei River valley, where
they became vassals of the Shang.
The Zhou eventually became stronger than the Shang,
and in about 1040 B.C. they defeated the Shang in
warfare.
They built their capital in Xi'an. Part of their success was
the result of gaining the allegiance of disaffected citystates.
Zhou Dynasty Art
Qin Dynasty
•
The Qin came to power in 221 B.C.
– They were one of the western states that existed during the
Warring States Period.
– They conquered the other Warring States, unifying China for the
first time.
• Their leader named himself the First Emperor, or Shi
huangdi, thus beginning the tradition of having emperors
for rulers.
• The Qin, while not the most culturally advanced of the
Warring States was militarily the strongest.
– They utilized many new technologies in warfare, especially
cavalry.
– The Qin are sometimes called the Ch'in, which is probably where
the name China originated.
Qin Achievements
• They standardized the language and writing of China,
which had varied greatly from area to area during the
Warring States Period.
• Also, currency became standardized as a circular copper
coin with a square hole in the middle.
• Measurements and axle length were also made uniform.
This was done because the cartwheels made ruts in
the road, and the ruts had to all be the same width, or
carts with a different axle length could not travel on them.
• Also, a huge palace was built for Shi Huangdi, the ruler.
Shi Huangdi
• The Qin are also famous for the terra
cotta army that was found at the burial site
for Shi Huangdi.
• The army consisted of 6,000 pottery
soldiers that protected the tomb. They
may be a replacement for the actual
people who had previously been buried
with the rulers.
Tomb of Shi Huangdi
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/qin.html
Shi Huangdi
• Located approximately 30 km outside of the
present-day capital, X'ian (called Chang'an in
ancient times), of the Shensi province of
modern China, the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi
remains a symbol of the power and ego of
China's first Emperor.
• Ascending to the throne of his clan, the Qin, at
the age of 13 in 246 BCE, Shi Huangdi
immediately began construction of his
extraordinary mausoleum which was completed
soon after his death in 210 BCE, 36 years after
the work commenced.
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/wilson/ant304/biography/arybios98/smithbio.html
View of Pit 1
http://www.anniebees.com/China/China_42.htm
Terra Cotta Soldiers
Soldiers
http://www.anniebees.com/China/China_42.htm
Calvalry
Horses with Bronze
Chariot
http://www.anniebees.com/China/China_42.htm
Infantry
Details
Archer from the tomb of Shi
Huangdi
Archer from the Back
Cavalryman, Tomb
of Shi Huangdi
Shi Huangdi
• Shi Huangdi longed for a long life, so he
sent his ministers to go on quests to find a
potion of immortality.
• The potions they brought back may have
contained arsenic and/or lead which
probably hastened his death.
• After his death, the Han dynasty came to
power.
Economy
• The expansion also led to trade with the people
of inner Asia. Thereafter, the Silk Road was
developed.
• The Silk Road actually consisted of more than
one possible route through the mountains that
the traders followed.
• Agriculture grew with the development of better
tools. Iron tools were made of better quality, and
oxen drawn ploughs were commonly used.
– Irrigation systems were increased to help develop the
areas of North China. Crop rotation was also
practiced from 85 B.C. onwards.
Silk Road
Chin Dynasty
• Ssu-ma Yen began the Chin Dynasty; he ruled
from 265-289A.D. As an emperor, he was called
Wu Ti.
• The Chin managed to reunify China when, in
280 A.D., they conquered the Wu Kingdom, thus
ending the period of The Three Kingdoms.
• After the death of Ssu-ma Yen, there was never
again a strong leader.
– The leaders and princes were often assassinated in
the struggle for power.
– During this time, the Chinese people surrounding the
capital suffered due to the fighting and began a
migration out from the center of the empire to the
more peaceful frontier regions.
Dynasties of the North
and South
• The Dynasties of the North and South
were another lengthy period of disunity
and internal strife for China.
• It lasted from 317-589 A.D. During this
time period, the north and south were split
and two separate successions of
dynasties formed.
• In both the north and the south, there were
different groups of rulers. Many of the
dynasties overlapped each other in terms
of time.
T’ang Dynasty
• The T’ang dynasty lasted from 618-907 A.D.
– Much of their power was made possible through the canals built
by the Sui. These canals allowed for communications to all parts
of the empire. Also, the granaries the Sui built alongside the
canals helped the T’ang to transport goods from the south to the
north. This especially was important in the transfer of rice to the
north in times of famine. These canals were important in the
economic development of the T’ang empire.
• They first compiled the T’ang Code in 624 A.D.
This is the first complete Chinese code that still
exists.
– It consists of a continuous scale of penalties that are applied
based on both the crime and the degree of relation between the
criminal and the offended person. The degree was based on the
amount of time that would be spent in mourning if the person
died. The T’ang Code had more than five hundred articles
divided into twelve sections.
T’ang Art
Porcelain
The Female Empress
• The T’ang dynasty has the distinction of having
had the only female empress.
• A concubine of the T’ai-tsung and Kao-tsung,
named Wu Chao reigned as emperor. She
removed the legitimate heir in 690 A.D. and took
the throne under the name Emperor Tse-t’ien.
• Her reign is actually a disruption of the T’ang
dynasty, as she called her dynasty the Chou.
This dynasty lasted for 15 years.
• She was able to gain power largely as a result of
the hidden support of the Buddhist church. They
called her a reincarnation of the Bodhisattva
Maitreya, a Buddhist savior.
Great Walls of China
• Many public works projects were also
undertaken.
• Several walls built as in the Zhou dynasty
• The “Great Wall” was built in the north, to
protect against invasions. Roads and
irrigation canals were built throughout the
country.
The Great Wall
Another accomplishment of the Ming was the building of the Great Wall. While Great Walls had been built in
earlier times, most of what is seen today was either built or repaired by the Ming. The brick and granite work
was enlarged, the watch towers were redesigned and cannons were placed along the wall.