Download HIS 112 Study Guide #2

HIS 112 Study Guide, Bentley & Ziegler Chapters 4­5, 8 (Early India, China) Professor Linda Bregstein Scherr Chapter 4: Early Societies in South Asia Terms for Identification (i.e., provide approximate date, importance, identity, contribution, and description, as appropriate) Harappan Civilization Mohenjo­Daro Indus seal stones The Vedic Age Aryans Dravidians Caste system Jati Rig Veda Hymn to Purusha Indra Samsara Upanishads Brahmin Asceticism Study Questions: 1. What evidence is there of interaction between the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley and other peoples (including interactions between the three civilizations themselves)? How important to you think that interaction with other peoples was for the development of these three civilizations? 2. Compare and contrast Harappan society to its counterparts in Mesopotamia and Egypt in regard to political, religious, and social factors. 3. Discuss some of the possible reasons for the decline and fall of the Indus civilization. What factors might explain the decline of civilizations in general? 4. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of a social system like the caste system? How would the caste system reflect Indian society? 5. What does the Hymn to Purusha from the Rig Veda tell us about the creation and nature of the different castes? How important was the caste system in ancient India? In what ways did it change over the centuries? Chapter 5, Early Society in East Asia Terms for Identification (i.e., provide approximate date, importance, identity, contribution, and description, as appropriate) Xia dynasty Oracle bones Huang He River Shang dynasty Mandate of Heaven Yangzi River Zhou dynasty Fu Hao Warring States Period Yangshao society Study Questions: 1. How did the physical features of the land and waters in East Asia influence the development of culture? 2. How did differences in the environment, geographical location, and natural resources affect the development of civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Nubia, the Indus Valley, and early China? 3. Examine Chinese political history from the Yangshao society through the decline of the Zhou dynasty. What were the major themes and turning points during this period?
4. How do early Chinese religious beliefs and practices differ from Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and early Indian societies? What do these differences imply about the societies’ structures and their most important values? 5. Compare and contrast the types of evidence historians have for the study of civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and early China. How have the differences in these sources affected our understanding of these civilizations? 6. Discuss the ideology of kingship during China’s Shang dynasty. How did it compare to that of the Zhou dynasty? 7. What does the Mandate of Heaven tell us about the intellectual, religious, and social worlds of the ancient Chinese? In what fundamental ways was the Mandate of Heaven different from other governmental systems common throughout the ancient world? What could be the limitations of the Mandate of Heaven? 8. What was the role of changing technology in early Chinese history? How were the Shang and Zhou dynasties shaped by technology? 9. Describe the relationship between the Chinese society under the dynasties and the people of the steppe lands. How did these cultures differ? How did they influence each other? Chapter 8: The Unification of China Terms for Identification (i.e., provide approximate date, importance, identity, contribution, and description, as appropriate) Zhou Empire Mandate of Heaven Warring States Period Confucianism Ren Mencius and Xunzi Daoism Laozi Wuwei Legalism Yin and Yang Qin Unification Shi Huangdi Han Dynasty Emperor Wudi Xiongnu Study Questions: 1. One of the famous quotes from the Analects of Confucius is, “When a prince’s personal conduct is correct, his government is effective without the issuing of orders. If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be followed.” What is Confucius’s point here? Why would the orders not be obeyed if the prince’s personal conduct is not correct? How is this quote representative of all Confucian thought? 2. The Chinese have, arguably, the longest­lasting and most stable political structure of any powerful state in world history. What factors might help to explain this fact? 3. Laozi stated in the Daodejing, “practice non­interference in order to win the empire.” What did he mean by these words? How does this quote demonstrate the fundamental difference between Confucianism and Daoism? 4. The Legalist held that the foundations of any state were agriculture and armed forces. Why would the Legalists believe this? Is there any truth to this statement? 5. What are the central ideas, similarities and differences between the three Chinese philosophies that developed in the Warring States Period, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism? Why would the political chaos of the time have given rise to these philosophies?
6. Discuss the role that Qin Shi Huangdi played in the unification of China. What were the foundations of his political philosophy? 7. Examine the reign of Han Wudi. What challenges did he face and how did he overcome them? How has he influenced Chinese history?