Classical Civilizations II: India & China
Geography of Asia
* Made up of peninsulas and archipelagos
1. India
2. China
3. Japan
4. Korea
* Over 1/2 of the world’s population lives in Asia: (4+ billion Asia/ 7+billion world)
* Rivers in Asia were areas were great civilizations emerged:
IndiaChina
1.Indus River1. Huang He/Yellow R.
2.Ganges River2. Chang/Yangtze River
* Mountains act as barriers; reducing the amount of arable land, trade, and has isolated cultures.
Ex. Himalaya Mountains in India acted as a barrier & create subcontinent
Ex. Mountains in China have reduced arable land
* To increase food production, early cultures used intensive agriculture and later cultures started the Green Revolution.
Intensive agriculture = using terracing, irrigation, and
hand labor to increase amount of food yielded.
Green Revolution = using technology to increase amount of
food yielded.
Ex. Fertilizer, insecticides, improved seeds=
MORE FOOD
* Monsoons= seasonal winds
Have a great effect on Asian food production, especially in
India
India: Civilization on Indus River
* First farming civilizations emerged around 3200 BC.
* Largest Cities along Indus found are Kalibangan, Mohenjo-
Daro, & Harappa.
Major contributions of early civilizations:
1. City Planning: Cities laid out on precise grid system &
had citadels. (fortifiedarea containing major buildings
ofcity) Buildings made from bakedbricks.
2. Sophisticated Plumbing & Sewage Systems:
Comparable to systems built before 19th century! (1800’s)
3. Uniformity of cites SUGGESTS Indus people had strong
central gov’t.
Social Characteristics of Indus Civilizations:
1. Language: has not been translated yet.
Contains over 400 symbols that are believed to depict
objects and sounds. Similar to hieroglyphics.
2. Culture: Housing suggests social divisionsexisted
Artifacts suggest animals wereimportant & they
were prosperous.
3. Religion: Believed to be very religious.
Possibly had a theocracy, Hinduism possibly
Economic Characteristics of Indus Civilizations:
1. Trade: Prosperous trade existed along Indus River; traded
for gold, silver, semi-precious stones, & cotton
Indus Valley Culture Ends
* quality of city building ended
* satellite images in 1970”s suggest tectonic plates shifted causing earthquakes & floods
*ARYANS invade around 1500 BC
Aryan Influence on Indus River Culture
Aryans: Indo-European people that would invade and transform cultures in India along the Indus, Ganges & Yamuna River valleys in the 6th century BC.
Caste System develops….
Caste System: RIGID social class system created by Aryans to re-organize society based on occupation and skin color.
* Caste or Varnas: social class/rank in society.
* Vedas- sacred literature of Aryans that taught prayers,
rituals, & outlined 4 basic castes.
*Castes (Varnas)
1. Brahmins (priests) = 1%
2. Kshatriyas (rulers & warriors) = 9%
3. Vaishyas (landowners & traders)=10%
4. Shudras (laborers & peasants) = 30%
Untouchables: (butchers, gravediggers, trash collectors; “unclean”, “impure” darker skinned Indians) = 50% Not part of caste b/c thought to endanger the purity of others.
Draw social class triangle below and label with castes from previous page.
Rules of the castes
1. Live & die in same caste, a person may never change castes during their lifetime.
2. Expected to perform duties to the caste; dharma.
3. NEVER associate with untouchables.
4. Not allowed to marry outside of caste.
******THESE POLICIES LED TO GREAT DISCRIMINATION!!******
India’s First Empires
*Aryans overthrown by Alexander the Great & then Chandragupta Maurya seizes power to create India’s 1st empire.
The Mauryan Empire (India’s 1st Empire)
* Chandragupta’s empire stretched morethan 2000 miles
united Indiapolitically for 1st time
* Asoka; Chandragupta’s grandson, leadIndia to it’s
Golden Age.
* Accomplishments during Golden Age: Ruled by
Buddha’s teaching of being “peaceful”, built roads with
rest areas every 9 miles, treated subjects fairly &
humanely, improved communication within empire
* Asoka sent missionaries to spread Buddhism.
*After Asoka’s death, India faced 500 years of turmoil and
invasion.
The Gupta Empire (India’s 2nd Empire)
*Started by Chandra Gupta.
*India experienced great achievements in the arts,
religious thought, & science.
*Hindu culture was encouraged.
Two Religions Emerge in India:
Hinduism & Buddhism
Hinduism
*started in India around 750-550BC
* 85% of Indians practice this religion
Beliefs
1. No founder
2. No church, priests, or clergy
3. Scriptures are the Vedas and Upanishads
4. 3 Main Gods, 1000’s of minor gods
1. Brahma = Creator
2. Vishnu = Preserver
3. Shiva = Destroyer
5. Reincarnation occurs until moksha, thefreeing of the soul
6. Cow is sacred. (Holy Cow)
7. Ganges River is sacred
Practices
1. will not eat meat (vegetarians)
2. pray to personal gods
3. bathe in the Ganges to rid self of sin
4. followed rules of caste system (outlawed in1955)
5. work to have good karma (the balancebetween good and
evil) so the next life is better
6. follow rules of dharma, (duties to caste), to increase karma
7. cremate the dead
Buddhism
* started around 563-483 BC
* Outgrowth of Hinduism
* Founded by: Siddhartha Gautama= Buddha
* Buddha means: “enlightened one”
*20% of the world practices some form ofBuddhism
*diffused from India to Japan to South East Asia
Beliefs
1. reincarnation: reborn again & again
2. no caste system
3. no god (s)
4. 4 Noble Truths
1. all life is suffering
2. suffering is caused by desire
3. desire can be eliminated
4. there is a path to end desire
5. 8 Fold Path
1. know/recognize suffering
2. have good intentions
3. speak the truth & do not hurt others
with your words
4. act honestly & peacefully
5. do not harm others
6. learn useful things to mind of evil
7. control one’s feelings and thoughts
8. meditate (yoga)
Practices
1. Nuns & priests live in monasteries & helps others find the middle way through teaching & meditation
2. Karma and dharma decide the next life
3. reincarnation occurs until one reaches nirvana
4. read the Tripitaka, the sacred scriptures,and meditate
5. Dali Lama is the reincarnated Buddha today
Classical Civilizations II: China
* First civilizations emerged in China about 400 yrs ago; 100
yrs AFTER other river valley civ.’s
Geography of China
Somewhat isolated by natural barriors:
North: Gobi Desert & Mongolian Plateau
East: Yellow Sea, East China Sea, & Pacific Ocean
Southwest: Himalaya Mtns.
West: Taklimakan Desert & icy 15,000 foot Plateau of Tibet
* 2/3 of China’s landmass is dominated by deserts & mountains
Isolation will help the Chinese develop an ethnocentric view of the world. Called their country The Middle Kingdom. For centuries, they thought of their country as the center of the world and themselves as culturally superior to all other people.
Civilization in China began near two rivers:
1. Huang He (Yellow River): in Northern China
flows from Mountains in west, eastward to Pacific Ocean
deposits yellow silt called loess (fertile soil)
2. Chang Jiang (Yangtze): in Central China
flows from Mtns in west, eastward to Yellow Sea
Environmental Challenges
1. Huang He’s floods sometimes ruined entire cities
River earned nickname of “China’s Sorrow”
2. China’s geographic isolation forced early settlers to
become self-sufficient rather than trade with outsiders
3. China’s natural boundaries didn’t completely protect them
Invasions from west & north were constant
4. Only 10% of China’s land suitable for farming.
North China Plain (land between yellow & Yangtze rivers)
Is China’s heartland
Political Characteristics:
*Ruled by dynasties
Dynasty:succession of rulers from the same family.
Ruler of dynasty was believed to have Mandate of Heaven.
Mandate of Heaven: belief of the Emperor that their power to
rule comes from a divine source. (gods)
*Dynasties followed a rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties known as the dynastic cycle.
Dynastic Cycle
Economic Characteristics: based on a feudal system…nobles owned land & peasants worked the land.
Social Characteristics:
*Family was central to Chinese society.
*Patriarchal Society: Men in society were viewed as the head
of household, leaders of society.
* Women: treated as inferiors.
Expected to obey fathers, husbands, and their own sons
Marriages were arranged; having sons was only way
to HOPE to improve status
*Social Classes divided between nobles & peasants. (rich vs. poor)
Developed writing system:
*each character stands for one syllable
* possibility person could read it, but not speak it
*Advantage= people could learn same system of writing, even
if spoken languages were different
* Disadvantage: Person needed to know 1500+ characters to barely be literate, scholars needed to know 10,000+ = limited number of literate, educated people
Contributions from early Civilizations:
* roads & canals built= improved farming & trade
* Coined money introduced= more trade
* furnaces produces iron developed = better tools
Religion/philosophies of China:
Confucianism
Founded by Confucius 550 BC
Beliefs:Taught social order, harmony, & good gov’t. could be restored if society was organized around five basic relationships.
Five Relationships :the person listed firstexpected to be a good role model, teach
1. Ruler and subject
2. Father and son
3. Husband and wife
4. Older brother and younger brother
5. Friend and friend (only equal relationship)
Practices:
1. use five relationships as guideline to living
2. follow ideas in Analects (book of Confucius’s thoughts)
3. stress education
4. Follow Golden Rule: “Do not do unto others what you would
not want others to do unto you.”
5. Rulers should set good example for their people
6. set foundation for civil service
Daoism
* Founded by Laozi in 6th century BC
* Taught to search for: knowledge and understanding of
nature.
* Dao (tow)= “The Way” – a universal force that guides all
things.
* Rejects conflict
Legalism
*Founded by political thinkers in 6th century BC
* Disagreed with Confucianism and Daoists
*Taught:* powerful gov’t would keep order in society.
* Ruler should reward good people & severely punish
disobedient people.
ex. Travel outside village without permit= nose or ears
chopped off!!
China’s Greatest Dynasties
Qin Dynasty 221-206 BC
* leader assumes name of “First Emperor”
* Battles fought doubled the size of China
* Ruled with total power
* Made all noble families live in capital city so he could watch them
* to prevent criticism, leader murdered hundreds of Confucian scholars & ordered “useless” books to be
burned. Ex. Books written by thinkers, poets, etc. Books about medicine farming were spared.
Accomplishments:
* built highway 4000+ miles
*standardized writing, law, currency, weights & measures
throughout China
* irrigation projects increased farm production
* better trade = new merchant middle class
* peasants built Great Wall of China-
Qin dynasty unpopular: harsh taxes, repressive gov’t, book burnings, poor forced to build wall
Han Dynasty 206 BC- 220 AD (400 + years)
* highly structured society (copy social class pg. 202)
* Created civil service jobs: gov’t jobs that civilians got by
taking exam and scoring high.
* Silk Road becomes source of wealth: Trade route that
connected China to Europe.
* treacherous route through deserts and mountains
* Silk valuable because strong, lightweight
*Silk so valuable Chinese gov’t made it illegal to share
secret of how to make silk.
*Silk was symbol of wealth, soldiers used for armor
*Many goods traded along this route; silk, gold, ideas
Accomplishments:
* paper invented= increase of books
*invention of collar harness, wheel barrow, watermills,
iron tools, improved plows
Accomplishments led to: better education, improvements in
Record keeping, & ability to feed larger population.
Tang Dynasty 618-906 AD
* expands China
* Empress Wu: only woman Emperor to ever rule in China
* revived & expanded civil service exam
* strengthened gov’t
* helped China reach Golden Age
* population greatly increased
Accomplishments:
* completion of 1000-mile Grand Canal-waterway
connecting Huang He & Chang Joang Rivers. Provided
trade route.
* strengthened gov’t
*expanded roads & canals
*Invented porcelain, Mechanical clock, block printing,
& explosive powder
Song Dynasty 960-1225 AD
* population doubled during Tang & Song dynasties
* Population =100 million; 10 cities w/ 1 million people = most populated
* China became most advanced empire in world
* status of women declined, especially for upper class women
ex. Foot binding for upper class girls introduced. This symbolized wealth & prestige for husband, who could afford such a beautiful but impractical wife
* Accomplishments:
* movable type
* creation of explosive weapons- bombs, small rockets,
canons
* paper money
* use of magnetic compass for sailing
* advances in algebra- using negative numbers
*improvements in farming= could feed expanding
population
*invented acupuncture
*artistic prosperity; poems, paintings
Mongols Invade China
* Mongols: ruthless, nomadic invaders from Asian steppe
*Genghis Khan conquered much of Asia
-was brilliant organizer, strategist, & used terror/cruelty as a weapon.
* Mongols conquered from China to Poland; largest unified area in history.
* heavily taxed & humiliated Chinese
*Kublai Khan becomes “Great Khan” after Genghis’ death. Founded Yuan Dynasty.
* Marco Polo worked for Khan. He traveled to Chinese cities on gov’t missions because he could speak many Asian languages. Polo most famous for “stories” he told about China while a war prisoner. Nobody believed his stories. Ex. Use of “black stones”
* 1368 after Khan’s death Chinese rebels finally overthrow Mongols. China’s anger was fueled by years of famine, disease, growing economic problems & official corruption. China will eventually go in to isolation.