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Chapter 4
India and China
Section 1
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Hinduism and Buddhism
The Beliefs of Hinduism
It has no single founder and no single
sacred text
Due to that, it has become very complex
with countless Gods and Goddesses
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However all Hindu’s share certain basic
beliefs
The Beliefs of Hinduism (con’t)
Many Gods- or One?
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The universe is part of the unchanging, all powerful
spiritual force called Brahman
Most important God’s are:
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Brahma – Creator
Vishnu – Preserver
Shiva – Destroyer
Each represents parts of Brahman
Sacred Texts
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Hindu teachings recorded in Vedas and Upanishads
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Specifically the Bhagavad-Gita
The Beliefs of Hinduism (con’t)
The Goal of Life
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Everyone has an essential self, or Atman
Ultimately desire Moksha
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Achieved by discarding selfish desires
Believe in reincarnation
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Union with Brahman
Rebirth of the soul in another form
Allows people to work towards moksha
The Beliefs of Hinduism (con’t)
Karma and Dharma
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Must obey the law of Karma
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All the actions a person’s life that affect his or
her fate in the next life
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Live virtuously and earn higher level of existence
Live selfishly and earn suffering
They stress Dharma
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The religious and moral duties of an individual
Obey Dharma, a person acquires merit for the
next life
The Beliefs of Hinduism (con’t)
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Also believe in Ahimsa
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Nonviolence
Opposition to the Brahmins
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Emphasized meditation, self-denial, and an
extreme form of ahimsa
Gautama Buddha: The
Enlightened One
Foothill of Himalayas, Siddhartha Gautama
founded Buddhism
Early Life
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Signs predicted that Gautama would become a
wandering holy man
Gautama was in the high caste system
The Search
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When he discovered misery, he left home to seek
the cure to misery
Sought Hindu wisdom, but found no answer
He sat and meditated for 48 days, until he
understood the cure
He arose and became Buddha, “Enlightened One”
1
Spread of Buddhism
Followers
accompanied
the
Buddha as he
preached across
Northern India.
Some Buddhists set up
monasteries and
convents that grew
into centers of
learning.
Missionaries and
traders spread
Buddhism across India
to many parts of Asia.
Gautama Buddha: The
Enlightened One (con’t)
Four Noble Truths
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All life is full of suffering, pain and sorrow
The Cause of suffering is the desire for things that
are really illusions, such as riches, power, and long
life
The only cure for suffering is to overcome desire
The way to overcome desire is to follow the
Eightfold Path
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The Eightfold Path being “right views, right aspirations,
Right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort,
right mindfulness, and right contemplation.”
Final Goal is Nirvana
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Union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth
Gautama Buddha: The
Enlightened One (con’t)
Buddhism and Hinduism Compared
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Both stress nonviolence, believed in Karma,
Dharma, Moksha, and a cycle of rebirth
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Buddha rejects priests, formal rituals and many
gods of Hinduism
Spread of Buddhism
“Work out your own salvation with
diligence” Buddha
Sacred Text
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Tripitaka
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“Three Baskets of Wisdom
“Overcome anger by not growing angry.
Overcome evil with good. Overcome the liar by
truth”
Spread of Buddhism (con’t)
Two Sects
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Split into two major sects
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Theravada
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Smaller groups
Strict Buddha followers that believed only monks and nuns
could reach nirvana
Mahayana
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Easier for ordinary people to reach nirvana
Saw Buddha and others God’s as compassionate and more
personal
Described many heavens and hells
Decline in India
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Hinduism ultimately absorbed some Buddhist ideas
Buddhism generally driven out of India
Section 2
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Powerful Empires of India
The Maurya Empire
Rival Rajah’s fought over control of
Ganges Valley
Chandragupta
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Chandragupta Maurya forged the first great
Indian Empire
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After conquering the Ganges Valley, he
conquered north India
He had a well organized bureaucracy
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taxes, managed state owned factories and shipyards
Effective government, but harsh
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crack down on dissent
any differing or opposing ideas
The Maurya Empire (con’t)
Asoka
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Most honored Maurya emperor
Conquered much of the Deccan Plateau
Converted to Buddhism
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rejected violence, and resolved to rule by moral example
Sent missionaries to Sri Lanka
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People sent on a religious mission
Helped spread Buddhism to Asia
preached tolerance
Built temples, roads, hospitals, rest houses for
travelers
The Maurya Empire (con’t)
Division and Disunity
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After Asoka’s death Maurya power declined
by 185 B.C.
Ancient times, as today, people are divided
culturally in the south and the north
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Often the north was conquered by foreigners
Kingdoms of the Deccan
People of the Deccan were Dravidians
with different languages and traditions
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For example, women had high status and
economic power
Religiously tolerant
Trade was very important
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Improved harbors to support overseas trade
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Especially to the Roman Empire
Golden Age of the Guptas
Arose out of the north of India
Gupta emperors had a strong central
government that promoted peace and
prosperity
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Golden age between 320-550 A.D.
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period of great cultural achievements
Peace and Prosperity
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Generally a confederate style government
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locals having most power
Trade and Farming very bountiful
Exported to East Africa, Middle East and Southeast
Asia
Golden Age of the Guptas (con’t)
Advances in Learning
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Students educated in religious schools
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including math, medicine, physics, languages, literatures,
and other subjects
Created numerals
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including zero, decimal system of numbers based on 10
Architecture
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Hindus built stone temples
Buddhist built stupas
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large dome-shaped shrines that housed the sacred
remains of the Buddha or other holy people
Golden Age of the Guptas (con’t)
Magnificent Carvings
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Both temples and stupas, were covered in
magnificent carvings of gods and goddesses
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including Shiva, who is a four-armed God
Paintings at Ajanta
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Murals painted recalling Buddhist stories and
legends
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wall paintings
Literature
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Greatest Gupta poet and playwright was Kalidasa
Looking Ahead
Eventually Gupta India declines under
the pressure of weak rulers, civil war,
and foreign invaders.
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One group of invaders is the White Huns
from Central Asia
Section 3
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Pillars of Indian Life
The Complex Caste System
“It is better to do one’s own duty badly
than to do another’s duty well.” Krishna
from the Bhagavad-Gita
Many Castes
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As new groups of invaders were absorbed
into society, new caste systems were
created
The Complex Caste System (con’t)
Complex Rules
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Closely linked to Hindu beliefs
Brahmins were pure and therefore closer to Moksha
than lower class individuals
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Rules and dictations, regulated what, where, when
individuals in the each caste system could do
Lowest outcastes were called “Untouchables”
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impure jobs such as digging graves, cleaning streets, or
turning animal hides into leather
Upper classes avoided contact with untouchables
The Complex Caste System (con’t)
Effects
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Caste system ensured a stable social order
Karma determined their caste
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By doing their current duties, the could be rebirthed into a better caste system
Caste levels depended on each other, as
only certain jobs were done in each caste
Family Life
Structure
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Ideal Family was a joint family
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parents, children, grandchildren, uncles, and
their offspring shared a common dwelling
Patriarchal society
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father or oldest male headed the household
prosperity belonged to the whole family
Family Life (con’t)
Children and Parents
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Learned early their caste rules and duties
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Son learned the ritual duties of the males
Daughters to serve and obey husband
Parents duty was arranging good marriages
based on caste and family interests
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bride’s father offered dowry
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payment to the bridegroom
financed the costly wedding festivities
Daughter would leave family for husband’s family
Family Life (con’t)
Women’s Lives
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Generally had freedom to wonder freely
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Primary duty to marry, have kids and raise
them
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However through the years, the women began
to be restricted
However, few rights otherwise
High Caste widows were not allowed to
remarry
Village Life
Villages were filled with each level of the
caste system
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Feudal system in terms of farms
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Doing the duties necessary for the village to
survive
Generally self-sufficient
However there was periodic
communication between villages
Section 4

Philosophy and Religion in China
The Wisdom of Confucius
“Lead the people by virtue… and they will
have a sense of shame and moreover will
become good.”
Confucius is the western version of the name
Kong Fuzi, or Master Kong
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Born in 551 B.C. to a noble but poor family
Became a teacher
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Much like Gautama Buddha in India and Socrates in
Greece, he did not formally write down his sayings
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However his students collected them into the Analects
He cared very little for religion and “Salvation”
He developed a philosophy concerned with worldly goals,
specifically social order and a good government
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System of ideas
The Wisdom of Confucius (con’t)
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Five Relationships
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Harmony resulted when people accepted their
positions in life
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father to son
elder brother to younger brother
husband to wife
ruler to subject
friend to friend
Superiors should care for their inferiors
Correct Behavior would bring order and stability
Filial piety
respect for parents, above all other duties
The Wisdom of Confucius (con’t)
Government
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Ruler must provide a good government
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specifically by good example
Spread of Confucianism
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His ideas greatly influenced Chinese rulers,
especially filial piety
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Spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam, as they
were taken over by the Chinese Civilizations
The Harsh Ideas of Legalism
Philosopher Hanfeizi stressed that rulers
impose strict rules to control human
greed, the greatest evil
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Became known as legalism
Influences Chinese ideas that people are
required to work on government projects
and punish those who shirk their duties
Daoism: The Unspoken Way
Founder of Daoism was Laozi, or “Old
Master”
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Wrote the book The Way of Virtue
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Sought to live in harmony with nature
Seeking “They Way”
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Focus on Dao or “The Way” of the universe
Stress the virtue of yielding
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water the example most often used
Daoism: The Unspoken Way (con’t)
Government
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Viewed government as unnatural, there the cause
of many problems
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Best government governs the least
A Blend of Ideas
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Evolved into a religion involving many gods,
goddesses, and magical practices
Eventually Confucianism and Daoism were
combined by many
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Confucianism showed them how to behave
Daoism influenced their view of the natural world
Buddhism in China
By 100 A.D. Buddhist missionaries had spread
Mahayana Buddhism from India into China
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Became very popular, despite conflict with cultural
view of family
Offered escape from suffering
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Offered hope of eternal happiness and presented
Buddha as a compassionate, merciful God
Through prayer, good works and devotion, anyone
could hope to gain salvation
Buddhism in China (con’t)
By 400 A.D. Buddhism a prominent
religion, while absorbing some ideas
form Confucianism and Daoism
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Chinese Buddhist monks stressed filial piety
and honored Confucius
Section 5
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Strong Rulers Unite China
Shi Huangdi
Zeng rose to power and proclaimed
himself Shi Huangdi or “First Emperor”
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Using rewards for merit and punishments
for failure, he built the strong authoritarian
government of the Qin Dynasty
Became known as the “Classical Age”
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Patterns that are evident throughout Chinese
history
Shi Huangdi (con’t)
Unity Imposed
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Emperor abolished feudalism in China
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replaced it with military districts and appointed loyal
officials to administer them
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Then sent spies to report back to emperor about the officials
actions
High taxes paid to support armies and building projects
Standardized weights and measures
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created common coinage
extended roads and canals
had scholars create uniformity in Chinese writing
Shi Huangdi (con’t)
Crackdown on Dissent
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He jailed, tortured, and killed many who opposed
his rule
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destroyed all the works of literature and philosophy
The Great Wall
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Shi Huangdi’s most remarkable achievement
Built it to unite many walls already in place
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over the centuries the wall was extended
Became a very important symbol to the Chinese
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protecting their civilized world from the nomadic bands
from the north
Shi Huangdi (con’t)
Collapse
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Anger over heavy taxes, forced labor, and
cruel policies, Chin went into revolts
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As Qin Power collapsed Liu Bang arose, creating
the Han Dynasty
Bang Claimed the Mandate of Heaven
The Han Dynasty
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Bang took the title of Gao Zu
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Lowered taxes and eased harsh Legalist policies
Appointed Confucian scholars as advisers
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Lasted for nearly 400 years
The Han Dynasty (con’t)
Emperor Wudi
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Wudi was the most famous Han emperor
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Improved canals and roads
Built granaries in order to help stabilize grain prices
Imposed government monopoly on iron and salt
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Chose officials from Confucian wisdom and virtue
complete control of a product or business by one person
or group
Gave government a source of income other than taxes
Followed a policy of Expansionism
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increasing the amount of territory under Chinese rule
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Took over Manchuria, Korea, Northern Vietnam, Tibet and
Central Asia
The Han Dynasty (con’t)
Silk Road to the West
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Wudi opened the trade route that ended up
becoming called the Silk Road
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Goods traded from Rome to China, and parts in
between
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Stretched for nearly 4,000 miles
Scholar-Officials
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Confucianism was the official belief of the
governmental system
The Han Dynasty (con’t)
Civil Service Examination
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Positions gained by merit as opposed to family
background
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setup exams to determine someone’s capabilities
Women were closed out of governmental jobs
Dynasties rose and fell, but Confucian influence
survived
Collapse of the Han Empire
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Court intrigues undermined emperors who could no
long control powerful warlords
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local military rulers
Weak Emperors, rebellious peasants, and ambitious
warlords ended the Han Dynasty
Achievements of the Han Golden
Age
Science
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Wrote texts on chemistry, zoology, botany and other subjects
Observed stars and planets
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invented better timekeeping devices
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including a seismograph
Medicine
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Acupuncture
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doctor inserts needles under the skin at specific points to relieve
pain or treat various illnesses
Technology
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Made paper out of wood pulp
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still used to make paper today
Shipbuilding
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invented rudder to steer
The Arts
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Temples and Palaces
Looking Ahead
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The series of governments started during
the Han Dynasty, lasted up until 1912
Every new dynasty sought to recapture
the glory of the Han Dynasty