2. Ancient Asian Civilizations
• Standard: Identify the major achievements of
Chinese and Indian societies from 1100 BCE to
500 CE.
• Essential Question: What were the major
achievements of Chinese and Indian societies
from 1100 BCE to 500 CE?
China
You are Here
India
India
• Element: Explain how geography of the Indian
Subcontinent contributed to the movement of
people and ideas.
India
• the geography of India is very diverse
• core regions include:
– mountain ranges
– river valleys
– dry interior plateau
– fertile coastal plains
Indian Subcontinent
• a large area of land that
is part of a continent
but is also separated
from the continent
• modern countries of
India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, and Bhutan
Indian subcontinent
Indian Mountains
• India is separated from
the rest of Asia by two
major mountain ranges
– Himalayas
– Hindu Kush
Indian subcontinent
Indian Mountains
• Himalayas
– the tallest mountains in
the world
– Northeast of India
• Hindu Kush
– Northwest of India
• Impact:
– mountains protected the
Indus valley from
invasion
Indian subcontinent
• Invaders can only enter
the Indian subcontinent
over water or through a
small number of
mountain passes
Khyber Pass
Indian subcontinent
•The most well-known
mountain pass is the
Khyber Pass.
Indian Rivers
• Plains stretch south from the mountains
• There are three major rivers on these plains
– Indus
– Ganges
– Brahmaputra
Brahmaputra
River
Indus
River
Ganges
River
Indian Rivers
• Indus: flows southwest from the Himalayas to
the Arabian Sea
• Ganges: drops from the Himalayas and flows
eastward across northern India to join the
Brahmaputra River as it flows into the Bay of
Bengal
• link interior to the sea
• irrigation and silt
India’s Climate
• Monsoon
– a wind that changes direction
– creates two seasons
– also can mean heavy rain
– dominates India’s climate
India’s Climate
• Winter or Northeast
(November to March)
– Brings dry air from mountains
• Summer or Southwest
(June to September)
– Brings wet air from the ocean
Indian Societies
• Element: Describe the development of Indian
civilization to include the rise and fall of the
Maurya Empire, the “Golden Age” under
Gupta, and the emperor Ashoka.
• Vocabulary: Mauryan Empire, Ashoka, Gupta
Empire
Early Civilizations
Description:
• developed in the Indus River valley
• known as Harappan or Indus civilization
• 3000 to 1500 B.C.
• ruins of two dominant cities at Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro
Early Civilizations
Achievement:
• planned cities
• sewer system
Aryans
Description:
• nomadic
• Indo-European
• living in central Asia
• 1500 B.C. moved south across the Hindu Kush
Aryans
Achievement:
• excelled at war
• conquered the Harappans
• Magadha: the first Aryan kingdom to control
almost all of India
• Caste System
Caste System
Description:
• hierarchy of classes
• determined a person’s occupation, economic
potential, and social status
• five major classes/castes
• Sudras
Major Caste
– most of the population
– peasants, artisans, manual labor
– had limited rights
• Untouchables (Pariah/Dalits)
– not considered part of the caste system
– 5 percent of the population
– had an extremely difficult life
– performed tasks that other would not accept
– not considered human
– other classes considered their presence harmful
Maurya Empire
Rise:
• 324 to 183 B.C.
• Unified by
Chandragupta Maurya
• Overthrew the king of
Magaha
• Skilled administrator
• Developed efficient
postal system
Maurya Empire
Asoka:
• 269 to 232 B.C.
• considered the greatest
Indian ruler
• converted to Buddhism
• governed in accordance
with Buddhist ideals
Mauryan Empire (321 - 184 B.C.)
Achievements:
• After the adoption of
Buddhism, Ashoka:
– Never again went to war
– Carved his laws on rocks
and placed them
throughout the kingdom
– Established free
hospitals
– veterinary clinics
– Built roads with rest
areas for travelers
connected to the Silk
Roads
Maurya Empire
Silk Roads:
• extensive trade route (about 4,000 miles)
• Changan in China to Mesopotamia, then to
Antioch, and finally to Greece and Rome
• luxury goods from West traded for luxury
goods to the East
Maurya Empire
Fall:
• declined after Asoka’s death in 232 B.C.
Gupta Empire
Development:
• AD 320 to the end of the fifth century
• Built by Chandragupta I
– no relation to Chandragupta Maurya
– Called the “Golden Age” of India
– Built many Hindu temples
• Reached height under Chandragupta II (A.D.
375 – 415)
Gupta Empire: Achievements
Folktales & Drama:
• Panchantantra – folktales to teach moral
lessons through stories of animals
• Kalidasa, famous playwright – wrote
Shakuntala – about the love between a king
and forest maiden
Gupta Empire: Achievements
Art and Architecture:
• Ajanta Caves
• Capital at Pataliputra
• Stupas
Gupta Empire: Achievements
Astronomy:
• Realized earth is round
Mathematics:
• Developed principles leading to algebra
• Invented concepts of infinity and zero
• Devised symbols for 1-9 (“Arabic Numerals”)
• Developed a decimal system
Gupta Empire: Achievements
Medicine:
• Vaccination
• Plastic Surgery
• Hospital System
Trade:
• Arabia (Persia and North Africa) – gems,
spices, cotton, teak and ebony
• China – silk
• Rome – gold
Indian Religion
• Element: Explain the development and impact
of Hinduism and Buddhism on India and
subsequent diffusion of Buddhism.
• Vocabulary: Hinduism, Brahman, atman,
Dharma, Karma, Samsara, moksha, Siddhartha
Gautama, Buddhism, Nirvana
Development of Religion
• Mahabharata: an epic Arayan tale that told of
the struggle to control the southern portion of
India
– Krishna: one hero from the epic
– Many believe that this struggle is what led the
founding of Hinduism and Buddhism
Hinduism
Founder:
• based on Aryan religious beliefs
• no single founder, added to over time
Homeland:
• India
• vast majority of Indian people are Hindus
Hinduism
God:
• Brahman = ultimate reality (God)
• Hindu gods and goddesses
– gave ordinary Hindus a way to express their
religious feelings
– three chief deities
• Brahma the Creator
• Vishnu the Preserver
• Siva the Destroyer
Hinduism
Sacred Writings:
• Vedas = collections of
hymns and ceremonies
passed down orally by
Aryan priests and later
written down
• knowledge comes from
the Vedas
Hinduism: Key Beliefs
• Henotheistic – recognize existence of many
gods but believe in only one supreme god
• Atman
– the duty of the individual self
– to seek to know this ultimate reality (Brahman)
• Fulfilling its duty would allow the soul to
merge with Brahman after death
Hinduism: Key Beliefs
• Dharma: duties you are expected to perform,
the ethical way in which you are supposed to
behave
• Ahimsa: non-violence towards all living things
Hinduism: Key Beliefs
• Reincarnation
– 500s B.C.
– the idea that 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
– you may be reborn into a higher or lower caste
Hinduism: Key Beliefs
• Karma
– an important part in reincarnation
– the idea that people’s actions determine:
• their form of rebirth
• the class into which they are reborn, if they are reborn
as a person
Hinduism: Key Beliefs
• caste system
– religious basis created by the system of
reincarnation
– higher caste members worthy of privileges
because of good karma
– lower classes hoped to improve their social status
in future lives if they behaved well in the present
Hinduism: Key Beliefs
• Yoga (“union”)
– developed as a practice to achieve oneness with
God
– seen as a kind of dreamless sleep
Hinduism: Key Beliefs
• Aum (or Om)
• represents Brahman,
everything that is
absolute in the universe
\
Hinduism: Key Beliefs
• Swastika
– Represents
everything that is
good in the world
– Means “it is well” or
“may good prevail”
• Color: Saffron
(Represents fire from
Brahman)
Buddhism
Description:
• sixth century B.C.
• new doctrine appeared in northern India
• rivaled Hinduism
Buddhism
Founder:
• Siddhartha Gautama
– known as the Buddha
– “Enlightened One”
Buddhism
Founder:
• Legend:
– Born into luxury, became shocked when he drove
around in his chariot and saw poverty and
sickness
– Left wife and newborn son to wander around
India at age 29
– Lived as hermit for 7 years until finally finding
enlightenment
Buddhism
Homeland:
• Northern India
God:
• rejects the idea of a deity
Buddhism
Sacred Writings:
• Mahayana Sutras
• The Tripitaka
Ceremonies:
• Buddha Day
Buddhism: Key Beliefs
• taught:
– the physical realm is an illusion
– attachment to worldly things causes suffering
– giving up attachments stops suffering
– leads to Bodhi (wisdom)
• More philosophy than religion, but can be
considered both or either
Buddhism: Key Beliefs
•
Four Noble Truths:
1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
• All people suffer and know sadness and sorrow
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
• People suffer because of their material desires
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
• Suffering could end by elimination desires
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering
(magga)
• By following the Eightfold Path one could eliminate desires
Buddhism
• Purpose: To reach nirvana (enlightenment)
– ultimate reality
– reunion with the Great World Soul
– achieving wisdom is a key step
• The Middle Way (eightfold path) is important
– Away from extremes
– Moderation
Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism
Right-coiled
White Conch
Precious
Umbrella
Dharma
Wheel
Auspicious
Drawing
Victory
Banner
Lotus
Flower
Golden
Fish
Vase of
Treasure
Color Symbolism in Buddhism
•
•
•
•
•
•
Blue = coolness, infinity
Black = hate, primordial darkness
White = knowledge, purity
Red = sacred blood, life
Green = balance, harmony
Yellow = earth, renunciation
Diffusion of Buddhism
•
•
•
•
The first “great missionary faith”
Spread into Afghanistan by A.D. 1
Spread into China during mid 1st century A.D.
Reached Japan and Korea by A.D. 500
Diffusion of Buddhism
• Ashoka was the first ruler to send out Buddhist missions to
convert other nations, helping the religion spread
Diffusion of Buddhism
Diffusion of Buddhism
• In some places, Buddhism merged with local
traditions
– Examples:
• Zen Buddhism in Japan
• Pure Land and Chan Buddhism in China
• Buddhism in Vietnam
Buddhism Throughout Asia
Japan
Buddhism Throughout Asia
China
Buddhism
Throughout
Asia
Vietnam
Buddhism Throughout Asia
Thailand
Afghanistan
Buddhism v. Hinduism
• Related to Hinduism
– Shares belief of:
• Karma
– (accumulation of good or bad deeds)
• Dharma
– (but in this case is the teachings of Buddha telling you how to
act/live)
• Reincarnation
– (rebirth)
– Differs: Rejection of caste system
• taught that all individuals could reach nirvana as a
result of their behavior in their current life
Chinese Societies
• Element: Describe the development of
Chinese civilization under the Zhou and Qin.
• Vocabulary: Mandate of Heaven, dynastic
cycle, Zhou Dynasty, Qin dynasty, Shi Huangdi,
autocracy, Great Wall of China, terra cota
army
Geography of China
Geographic China
• slightly larger than the United States
• rich in natural resources (tin, tungsten, coal,
iron, copper, lead and aluminum)
• Farming a challenge on 2/3 of the land surface
• East China is where 96% of population live
Demographic China
•
•
•
•
•
World’s largest population with 1.2 billion
94% are the Han (ethnic group)
6% are comprised of 55 minority groups
80% of the population are farmers
20% live in urban areas
Early Chinese Civilizations
• 5000-1700 BCE
• isolation from other emerging centers of
culture (Mesopotamia, Egypt & India)
• late development
• Yangshao began 7,000 years ago in Huang He
Valley
• Longshan developed 2,000 years later and
replaced the Yangshao
Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BCE)
Description:
• China’s first flourishing civilization
• ruled from about 1750 to 1122 B.C.emerged
from the Longshan culture
• ruled for 600 years
Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BCE)
Development:
• believed supernatural forces could help with
worldly life
• Priests read oracle bones to communicate
with the gods
Oracle Bones
• king’s question to the
gods was etched on a
bone
• bone was heated until
cracked
• Priests interpreted the
meaning of the cracks
Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BCE)
Achievements:
• organized government
• a system of writing: represented ideas not
sounds
• making of bronze vessels (made from copper
& tin)
Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 BCE)
Description:
• ruled from 1122 to 256 B.C.
• overthrew the Shang dynasty
• claimed Mandate of Heaven
• rule for 900 years
• developed feudalism in China
Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 BCE)
Mandate of Heaven:
• Divine (God) approval of the ruler
• Heaven/law of nature
• kept order in the world through the king
• helped make legitimate the dynastic cycles
• from beginning to A.D. 1912
Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 BCE)
Mandate of Heaven - How it works:
• king expected to rule with goodness and
efficiency
• following the proper “Way,” or Dao
• ruled correctly = gods would be pleased
• ruled incorrectly = gods would allow bad
harvests and/or other disasters
• king could then be overthrown and replaced
with a new ruler
Strong dynasty
establishes peace
and prosperity; it is
considered to have
Mandate of
Heaven.
New dynasty gains
power, restores
peace and order, and
claims to have
Mandate of Heaven.
In time, dynasty
declines and
becomes corrupt;
taxes are raised;
power grows
weaker
Dynastic Cycle
Dynasty is
overthrown through
rebellion and
bloodshed; new
dynasty emerges.
Disasters such as
floods, famines,
peasant revolts, and
invasions occur.
Old dynasty is seen
as having lost
Mandate of
Heaven; rebellion
is justified.
Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 BCE)
Dynastic Cycle:
• dynasties went through a cycle of change
• Pattern of rise, fall and replacement of
dynasties
– (Rise)a new dynasty would establish its power
– (Fall)then begin to decline which lead to rebellions
or invasion and end of the dynasty
– (Replacement)a new dynasty would begin and
start the cycle all over again
Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 BCE)
Decline:
• collapse of the Zhou Dynasty
• Rulers had difficulty controlling their territory
• Nobles gained more power than the ruler
• Age of the warring states
• a period of instability
• Confucius tried to develop a system for good
government
Qin Dynasty 221 - 206 B.C.
Description:
• Ying Zheng took the
throne in 246 B.C. at
age 13
• 221 B.C. unified a
collection of warring
kingdoms
• took the name of Qin
Shi Huang Di—the First
Emperor of Qin
Terra Cotta Army
• an elaborate
mausoleum created to
accompany the first
emperor of China into
the afterlife
Qin Dynasty
Description:
• standardized coins,
weights, and measures
• interlinked the states
with canals and roads
• credited for building the
first version of the
Great Wall
Great Wall of China
• concerned with the Xiongnu
– a nomadic people
– lived north near the Gobi dessert
• strengthened a system of walls
• some of the original walls remain standing
• much of what we know today was actually
built 1,500 years after the rule of Shi Huang Di
Han Dynasty 202 B.C. – A.D. 221
Description:
• lasted over four hundred years
Achievement:
• large & efficient bureaucracy
• created to handle rapidly increasing
population
• expanded westward into central Asia and
southward into Vietnam
• many cultural, scientific, and technological
achievements
Confucius
• Element: Explain the impact of Confucianism on
Chinese culture; include the examination system, the
Mandate of Heaven, the status of peasants, the
status of merchants, and the patriarchal family, and
explain diffusion to Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea.
• Vocabulary: Confucius, filial piety, bureaucracy,
examination system
Family in Ancient China
Family:
• the basic economic and social unit
• a symbol of the social order
Farm Life:
• made families important
• many people were needed to work the farms
Family in Ancient China
patriarchal family:
• important to ancient Chinese family life
• every member has his or her own place
• the needs of the family members comes
second to the head male
• an important Confucian concept
Family in Ancient China
Roles:
• Young children worked in the fields
• Older sons
– expected to undertake physical labor
– to provide for their parents
• Men
– responsible for providing food for their families
– governed society
– were warriors and scholars
• Women
– raised children
– stayed at home
Confucius
• Kung Fu Tzu (551-479 BCE)
• a Chinese philosopher
• his teachings were
recorded and studied by
his students
• Chinese pupils continued
to study Confucius’s
teachings until the
twentieth century
• developed a code of
ethical conduct
• wrote “The Analects”
Confucianism
• Confucius code of ethical conduct
– developed as a result of the time of Warring states
after the fall of the Zhou Dynasty
– to restore order and moral living in China
– society was organized by right relationships
• believed that if humans acted in harmony with
the universe, then their affairs would prosper
Confucianism
• Dao (Way) - key to proper behavior
– careful observance of ancient traditions
– reverence for learning
– cherishing of honesty
– devotion to parents, family, friends and obedient
to rule
• individual needs second to the needs of family
and community
• urged people to “measure the feelings of
others by one’s own” (Golden Rule)
Father & Son
Filial Piety
Older &
Younger
Brother
Husband &
Wife
Relationships
Ruler &
Subject
Friend &
Friend
Five Constant Relationships
• governed everybody
• each individual has a duty to all others
• relationships:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
father & son (filial piety)
husband & wife
older & younger brother
friend & friend
ruler & subject
Role of Government
• if each individual worked hard to fulfill his or
her duties, society would prosper
• rulers must set a good example and rule
virtuously if society is to prosper
• dominate relationship is the family
• strong, efficient government begins with the
family
Examination System
• civil service positions
were not to be chosen
through special or
inherited privilege, but
through an individual’s
own abilities
• began in the 6th
century
• required government
officials to pass tests
Examination System
• exams included civil laws, revenue and taxes,
agriculture and geography, military strategies,
and classics of Confucianism
• led to the development of a bureaucracy - a
trained civil service, or those who run the
government on day to day bases
Social Order
• “Let the ruler be a ruler,
the subject a subject”
• supports idea of the
Mandate of Heaven
• Devine Right Ruler
highest class in society
Social Order
• peasants made up the second-highest class
• Merchants occupied the lowest class because
they merely bought and sold what others had
made
• social division did not indicate wealth or
power
• Peasants were still poor and merchants were
still rich
Diffusion
• Confucian scholars opposed war and other
coercive measures
• lead by moral example
• not by conquest or conversion
• legacy of Chinese regimes in
Vietnam(southeast Asia) and Korea
• embraced in Japan