Download Ancient India and China Section 1

Ancient India and China
Section 1
“Read no history; read nothing but
biography, for that is life without theory.”
- Benjamin Disraeli
If the government has no knowledge of
aliens, then why does Title 14, Section
1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
implemented on July 16, 1969 make it
illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact
with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?
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Early India
Main Idea
Early civilization arose in the Indus River Valley,
flourished, and then mysteriously died out. Later
India’s Vedic civilization developed a culture
based on old and new beliefs.
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India’s Geography
Indus River flows across northwest edge of Indian
subcontinent—large landmass, part of a continent
• Home of one of ancient world’s great river valley
civilizations
• Indian subcontinent includes three major geographic
zones
– Far north: Himalaya, Hindu Kush mountain
systems, separating India from rest of Asia
– South: Deccan Plateau, high plateau receiving
less rain than other parts of subcontinent
– Between mountains, plateau are Northern Plains,
where society first developed in India
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Floods and Annual Rainfall
Fertile Region
Monsoon Winds
• Flood deposits from Indus,
Ganges, Brahmaputra
rivers enrich soil of
Northern Plains, make it
very fertile
• Summer, monsoon winds
from southwest bring
warm air, heavy rains
from Indian Ocean; most
of annual rainfall at this
time
• Heavy rains also add to
fertility of plains
• Much of rain brought to
India by seasonal winds,
monsoons
• Winter, northeast
monsoons blow cool, dry
air from Central Asia,
drier months
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Water Critical Factor
The people of India’s first civilizations depended upon the monsoons
to bring the water that their crops needed.
Monsoon Rains
• Monsoon rains flooded
rivers; rivers deposited
fertile silt in which
farmers could grow
crops
• With abundance of
rainfall came threat of
devastation
Devastating Effects
• Monsoon rains too
heavy— crops, homes,
lives could be lost
• Monsoon rains too late,
did not last long
enough—people could
not grow crops; famine
became danger
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Question:
What problems could monsoons cause
for early Indians?
Answer(s): flooding or drought
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Indus Valley Civilization
People have lived in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent for
thousands of years. At first people lived as hunter-gatherers, but
slowly people began to settle down in farming communities.
First Civilization
Cities, Settlements
• Farm communities
gave rise to India’s
first civilization
• 1920s,remains of
two large cities first
ruins found
• Developed in valley
of Indus River
• Began 2500 BC,
when people first
developed writing
system
– Harappa
– Mohenjo Daro
• Civilization called
Harappan
• Other cities, towns
since uncovered
Indus Society
• Settlements well
planned, carefully
laid out
• Streets ran in grid
pattern; major
avenues twice as
wide as minor
streets
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Harappa
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Harappa
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Mohenjo Daro
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Mohenjo Daro
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Mohenjo
Daro
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Life in Towns and Cities
• Water came from community wells, smaller wells in courtyards of homes
• Public drainage systems carried away wastewater
• Walled, elevated citadel—fortress—enclosed buildings like granaries,
warehouses
• Homes, workshops, shrines built outside citadel
• Uniformity suggests central authority in power
Economy
• Economy likely based on agriculture, trade
• Most probably farmed, herded livestock
• In cities, many specialized in crafts like pottery, metalwork, jewelry
• Indus traded goods with people nearby, distant civilizations
• Traders from Indus Valley brought goods to locations as distant as Central
Asia, Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia
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Society
Few Details
• Archaeologists, historians not able to learn many details about Indus society
• Had writing system, but historians not able to read it
• Some say Indus civilization single society, rather than collection of city-states
Similarities
• People shared common tool designs, standard set of weights, measures
• Suggest single authority in control
• Civilization thrived from about 2500 BC to 2000 BC, then began to decline
Decline
• No one knows what led to decline, or if single cause
• Environmental damage suspected; flooding, disappearance of Sarasvati river
• Invasion, disease may also have helped end civilization
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Question:
Why do historians know relatively little
about Indus society?
Answer(s): have not deciphered Indus writing
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The Vedic Period
Sometime after 2000 BC, a new people took control of India. Historians
often refer to this group as the Aryans, from a Sanskrit word meaning
“noble.” Eventually the Aryans ruled over most of India, except for the
far south.
Origin of Aryans
• Historians not sure when Aryans
arrived, where they came from
• Some assume they moved from
area between Caspian, Black seas
• Others argue Aryans developed in
northern India, did not move into
area
Archaeological Evidence
• Little archaeological evidence
remains to document early Aryan
period in India
• Most comes from sacred writings
called the Vedas
• Include many details about Aryan
history, society
This period in Indian history is often called the Vedic period.
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Vedic Society
• According to the Vedas, people settled in villages smaller than cities of
Indus Valley
• Later groups of villages banded together under regional leaders known
as rajas
• Raja primarily war leader responsible for protecting people; received
payments of food, money in return
Social Structure
Varnas
• According to oldest of the Vedas, the
Rigveda, Vedic society divided into
four social classes, varnas
• Each played particular role in society
• Part of body from which each varna
created tied to its duties
• Brahmins came from mouth, source
of speech, wisdom; were priests
• People of four varnas created from
body of single being
• Kshatriyas: warriors, rulers
• Vaisyas: common people, farmers
• Sudras: servants
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Jobs and Privileges
Castes
Social Hierarchy
• Over centuries, four
varnas of Vedic period
divided into hundreds
of smaller castes
• Social hierarchy
developed, some castes
had more privileges than
others
• Membership in caste
determined what jobs
one could hold, whom
one could marry
• Not everyone belonged
to a caste
• Untouchables had no
protection of caste law,
could perform only jobs
that other castes did not
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Vedic Religion
Vedic Religion
Prayer
• Vedas consist mostly of hymns
in praise
• People prayed to many aspects
of single eternal spirit
• We know much about Vedic
religion as result
• One aspect was Indra, who
ruled over heaven
Fire Sacrifices
Complex
• People worshipped gods
through fire sacrifices, chanting
sacred hymns
• Rituals grew more complex
• Priests offered food, drink by
placing on roaring fire
• Brahmin varna gained more
influence in society
• Priests said order in universe
maintained only through rituals
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Indra
Agni
Yama
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Question:
How was Vedic society organized?
Answer(s): into four social classes called varnas
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China’s First Dynasties
Main Idea
China’s river valley civilizations built the
foundations of a long-shared Chinese culture.
The achievements of the Shang and Zhou
dynasties can be felt to this day.
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China’s Geography
The development of civilization in early China was aided by features
like long rivers, fertile soils, temperate climates, and isolated valleys.
Rivers, Soils, Climates
• China’s first civilizations
developed in river valleys
• Two major rivers supplied water
for earliest civilizations
– Chang Jiang, also called
Yangzi
– Huang He, or Yellow River
– Both flow east from Plateau
of Tibet to Yellow Sea
Loess
• Annual floods deposited
rich soil, loess, on flood
plains
• Valley of Huang He
particularly fertile due to
loess
– Fine dusty soil
– Carried into China by
desert winds
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Crops
• Most of eastern China covered with fertile soils; some regions better
suited than others for growing certain crops
• Southern China—warm, receives plenty of rainfall, excellent region
for growing rice
• Further north—climate cooler, drier; suitable for grains, wheat, millet
Isolation
• Combination of rivers for irrigation, fertile soil for planting allowed
Chinese to thrive, as did China’s relative isolation
• Mountains, hills, desert protected China from invasion
• Himalaya Mountains separate southern China from India, rest of
southern Asia; vast Gobi Desert prevented reaching China from west
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China’s Geography
Beginnings of Civilization
Xia
• Archaeological
discoveries suggest
Chinese civilization
began in Huang He
valley
• Legend says earliest
Chinese ruled by Xia
dynasty
• People started
growing crops there
9,000 years ago
• Most historians date
beginning of Chinese
civilization to rise of Shang
dynasty
• No written, archaeological
evidence Xia dynasty
existed
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Question:
What geographic features influenced
life in early China?
Answer(s): Rivers deposited rich soil for farming;
mountains, hills, and desert isolated the area.
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The Shang Dynasty
According to ancient Chinese records, the Shang dynasty formed
around 1766 BC, although many archaeologists believe it actually
began somewhat later than that.
Government and
Society
• China ruled by
strong monarchy
• At capital city,
Anyang, kings
surrounded by
court
• Rituals performed
to strengthen
kingdom, keep safe
Order
• King’s governors
ruled distant parts
of kingdom
• King also had large
army at disposal
• Prevented
rebellions, fought
outside opponents
Agricultural Society
• Shang China
largely agricultural
• Most tended crops
in fields
• Farmers called on
to fight in army,
work on building
projects—tombs,
palaces, walls
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Shang Elite
Leisure
• Ruling elite had free time to
pursue leisure activities, hunting
for sport
• Wealthy enjoyed collecting
expensive bronze, jade objects
Afterlife
• Tombs held remains of
sacrificed prisoners of war
• Believed in afterlife where ruler
would need riches, servants
Artifacts
• Much of what is known comes
from studying royal tombs
• Contained valuable items made
of bronze, jade
Ancestor Worship
• Shang offered gifts to deceased
ancestors to keep them happy
in afterlife
• Steam from ritual meals
nourished ancestors’ spirits
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Oracle Bones
As part of worship, Shang asked ancestors for
advice
• Sought advice through use of oracle bones
– Inscribed bits of animal bone, turtle shell
– Living person asked question of ancestor
– Hot piece of metal applied to oracle bone
resulting in cracks on bone’s surface
– Specially trained priests interpreted meaning of
cracks to learn answer
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Shang Achievements and Decline
Writing
• Development of Chinese writing closely tied to use of oracle bones
• Earliest examples of Chinese writing, questions written on bones themselves
• Early Shang texts used picture symbols to represent objects, ideas
Bronze
• Shang religion led to great advances in working with bronze
• Highly decorative bronze vessels, objects created for religious rituals
• Also built huge structures like tombs; created calendar, first money systems
End of Dynasty
• Shang ruled for more than 600 years, until about 1100 BC
• Ruling China’s growing population proved too much for Shang
• Armies from nearby tribe, Zhou, invaded, established new ruling dynasty
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Question:
How did religion influence other
aspects of Shang culture?
Answer(s): ritual meals for ancestors; oracle
bones connected to early writing; bronze work for
rituals; built stable tombs
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The Zhou Dynasty
Beginning around 1100 BC, the Zhou rules China for several centuries.
The Zhou dynasty is divided into two periods. During the Western
Zhou, kings ruled from Xian in a peaceful period. Later conflict arose,
kings moved east to Luoyang, beginning the Eastern Zhou period.
Government
• When Zhou conquered Shang,
leaders worried Chinese people
would not accept them
Dynastic Cycle
• Zhou said Shang overthrown
because they lost gods’ favor
• Introduced idea they ruled by
Mandate of Heaven
• Later rulers used Mandate of
Heaven to explain dynastic cycle,
rise and fall of dynasties in China
• gods would support just ruler, not
allow anyone corrupt to hold power
• If dynasty lost power, it obviously
had become corrupt
In that case, they said, it was the will of the gods that that dynasty be
overthrown and a new one take power.
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Zhou Achievements
• Before Zhou, Chinese metalwork done almost exclusively in bronze
• Zhou learned to use iron, became backbone of economy
• Iron was strong, could be cast more cheaply, quickly than bronze
• Iron weapons strengthened Zhou army, as did new weapons like
catapult and creation of China’s first cavalry
Growth
• Population grew under Zhou
• Farmers learned new techniques,
increased size of harvest, created
food surpluses; cities also grew
• Roads, canals allowed better
transportation, communication
• Introduced coins, use of chopsticks
Decline of the Zhou
• Conflict arose during latter part of
Zhou dynasty
• Clan leaders within China rose up
against king
• As time passed, more and more
local leaders turned against Zhou,
further weakening rule
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Small States Fight
Result of rebellions was Warring States Period
• 403 BC to 221 BC, number of small
states fought each other for land, power
• Zhou still nominally in charge, but
power almost nonexistent by mid-200s
BC
• Qin, new dynasty, arose to bring end to
Warring States Period, Zhou dynasty
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Question:
How did China change under the
Zhou?
Answer(s): iron technology, population grew, new
farm techniques, more food, cities grew, roads
and canals built, coins and chopsticks introduced
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New Philosophies
The conflicts of the late Zhou period led many Chinese thinkers to
question the nature of society and people’s roles in it.
Effort to make sense
of chaos led to
creation of many new
Chinese philosophies,
or ways of looking at
the world
Of many philosophies
created during late Zhou
period, two became
influential in later
Chinese history:
• Confucianism
• Daoism
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Confucianism
Confucius
• Confucianism based on teachings of scholar named Kongfuzi, better known
as Confucius, who thought people should treat one another humanely
• Should express love, respect for others, honor one’s ancestors
Love and Respect
• Believed that love, respect had disappeared and was responsible for
violence in society; restoring respect for tradition would make society stable
• Thoughts on how to improve society collected in book, Analects
Analects
• Ruler should treat subjects fairly; subjects reward ruler with respect, loyalty
• People should respect members of family, devote selves to public service
• Confucian ideas spread elsewhere in Asia, including Korea, Japan, Vietnam
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Daoism
Definition
• Unlike Confucianism, which
focuses on improving society,
Daoism encourages people to
retreat from laws of society, yield to
law of nature
• Heart of Daoism is concept of the
dao, or the way
• Dao is the limitless force that is part
of all creation
• Through the dao, all things in
nature connected
• Finding one’s place in nature
allows person to achieve harmony
with universe
Yin and Yang
• Daoism embraced Chinese
concept of yin and yang,
representing balancing aspect of
nature—male, female; dark, light;
hot, cold
• Neither can exist without other
• Important for two to remain
balanced for perfect harmony
• Origins of Daoist teachings
attributed to philosopher named
Laozi
• Wrote book called Dao De Jing
• Laozi worshipped by some as a
god
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Some Lasting Effects
Daoism eventually proved less influential than
Confucianism in Chinese history
• Still played major role in later dynasties
• Idea of balance key concept in China for
centuries as result of Daoist teaching
• Daoist philosophy led many followers to
work for preservation, protection of natural
environment
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Question:
What is one difference between
Confucianism and Daoism?
Answer(s): Daoism—retreat from society and
commune with nature; Confucianism—improve
society
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