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Chapter 3
Early India & China
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The Aryans were
Indo-European
nomadic peoples
who created a new
Indian society.
The Aryans created
India’s caste
system.
The caste system
was a social class
system split into 5
categories.
Caste
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The priests or Brahmans were
at
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the top.
The second class was the
warriors or Kshatriyas.
Third, was the Vaisyas or
commoners.
The fourth class called the
Sudras made up a bulk of the
Indian peasant population.
The lowest class was called the
Untouchables
Untouchable…
Caste: Untouchables
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The Untouchables were
given menial, degrading
tasks such as trash
collection, sewer cleaner,
handling of dead bodies, etc.
To the other classes,
untouchables were not
considered human and were
not to be treated as such.
Untouchables
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To a certain extent,
this unofficially
continues to this
day in parts of
India.
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Hinduism
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Hinduism has its origins
with the Aryan peoples.
Hinduism teaches that
one’s role in life is defined
by one’s birth into a certain
class, or caste.
Hindus worship a multitude
of gods and believe in
reincarnation to achieve a
higher social status.
Hinduism
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Dharma is the set of
divine rules.
Karma is the force
generated by one’s
actions that determines
where one will be
socially in his next life.
Following the dharma
will get you good
karma!
Buddhism
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Siddhartha Gautama was
the founder of Buddhism.
The Buddha (Guatama)
believed that suffering is
caused by attachment to
the things of this world.
Buddhists are forbidden
from worshipping any god,
even Buddha himself.
Buddhism
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For this reason, many consider
Buddhism to be more of a
philosophy than a religion.
Buddhism rejects the Hindu
division of human beings into
rigidly defined castes.
Instead, Buddhism teaches that
all human beings can reach
nirvana, or ultimate reality, as a
result of their behavior in this
life.
New Empires in India
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The Gupta Empire
traded with China,
Southeast Asia, and the
Mediterranean.
Asoka is generally
considered to be the
greatest ruler in the
history of India.
Silk Road
The Silk Road was a trade route started during
this time period.
 It ran between the Roman Empire and China
that ran through India’s Kushan Kingdom.
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Science
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Ancient Indians
possessed an
impressive amount
of scientific
knowledge.
Science
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In astronomy, they
charted the
movements of the
heavenly bodies
and recognized that
the earth was a
sphere that rotated
on its axis and
revolved around the
sun.
Math
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In mathematics,
they were the first
scientists known to
have used algebra.
Aryabhata was one
of the first scientists
known to have used
algebra.
Math
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Indian mathematicians
also introduced the
concept of zero and
used a symbol (0) for
it.
This system was
adopted by Arab
scholars and
eventually spread
through Europe.
Early Chinese
Civilizations
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Historians of China have
traditionally dated the
beginning of Chinese
civilization to the
founding of the Xia
(SHE-A) dynasty, about
which little is known.
Mandate of Heaven
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The Zhou (JOH)
dynasty claimed it
ruled China because it
had the Mandate of
Heaven.
The Mandate said that
the king ruled because
his authority comes
directly from Heaven.
Mandate of Heaven
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But, the Mandate
was a doubleedged sword. The
ruler could be
overthrown by the
will of Heaven if he
did not rule
according to the
Dao or the “Way”.
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One element of the
Confucian view of
the Dao is the idea
of humanity,
consisting of a
sense of
compassion and
empathy for others.
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Daoism was a system
of ideas based on the
teachings of Laozi
(LOW DZUH).
Daoists believed the
duty of human beings
was to work hard and
improve life here on
earth.
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Legalism was a third
philosophy unlike either
Confucianism or Daoism.
It proposed that humans
were evil by nature and
they could only be brought
to follow the correct path
by harsh laws and stiff
punishment.
I am “Evil”
Rise and Fall of
Chinese Empires
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After a bloody civil
war, the Qin (CHIN)
dynasty emerged
based on Legalism
beliefs.
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The central
bureaucracy of the
Qin dynasty was
divided into the civil
division, the military
division, and the
censorate.
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The Qin dynasty
created the censorate
as a part of the central
bureaucracy that had
inspectors who
checked on
government officials to
make sure they were
doing their job.
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Qin Shihuangdi (SHEHOO-ANG-DEE) unified
the Chinese world in part
by creating a single
monetary system and
ordering the building of a
system of roads.
Qin Shihuangdi also was
instrumental in starting the
building the Great Wall.
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The founder of the
Han dynasty was
Liu Bang, a man of
peasant origin.
He discarded
Legalism and
adopted
Confucianism.
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An important concept that
became a crucial part of
Chinese history was the
Confucian belief that the
government should be
open to all men of superior
talent.
Liu Bang started civil
service exams and
established schools to train
these candidates.
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Soon the Empire
expanded and new
technology prospered.
One of the
technological
advances of the Han
dynasty was the
invention of water
mills, for grinding grain.
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The invention that
led to major
expansion of trade
in the Han period
was the
development of
fore-and-aft rigging
and rudders on
ships.
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In 1974, farmers
digging a well about 35
miles east of Xian
discovered an army of
terra-cotta warriors
who were buried in Qin
Shihuangdi’s tomb
showing a modern day
glimpse into ancient
Chinese culture.