SS8 Test 2

Himalayas

Himalayas

mountains in the north of Ancient India

Ganges River

a river that formed valley for Indian culture

Indus River

a river that formed Indus Valley which was known as the “cradle of civilization”

Deccan Plateau

hilly and dry plateau in Ancient India

Monsoon

seasonal wind pattern where moist air and rain came from the southwest in the summer and cold, dry air came from the northeast in the winter.

Farmers needed the rain but it also destroyed crops

Ancient Indian Geography

Diverse - mountains, river valleys, plateau, coast

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

Well planned cities in Ancient India that had public wells, garbage chutes and plumbing. Religion was linked to politics in these places and rulers were connected to the divine. Their economy was based on farming and they traded with city states in Mesopotamia and in the Persian Gulf.

Aryans

Nomadic people who eventually settled in India and started farming and using iron for irrigation. They grew wheat, barley, millet, rice, grain, vegetables, cotton and spice and had many small kingdoms that often fought with each other.

Sanskrit

Aryan writing system

Caste System

• Strict social structure

• Jati: caste

• Determined by job and family

• Thousands of jati

Varnas

four major social classes

Brahmans

highest social class made up of priests who were charge of religious ceremonies

Kshatriyas

warrior class (could sometimes become warrior from other families)

Vaisyas

class of commoners who were usually merchants or farmers

Sudras

class of peasants who did manual labor, had limited rights and made up most of the population

Untouchables

the lowest social class, which is outside the Varna system. They were not seen as human, other classes would not touch or go near them and they had the worst jobs such as trash collection or dealing with the dead.

Aryan Family

• Extended family living together

• Patriarch

• Divorce was not allowed

  • Men could have a second wife if the first was not able to have children

• Children were important - they took care of parents when they grew old

• Girls married at a young age

Dowry

money that a wife's family pays so that the husband will marry her

Suttee

woman throws herself on a funeral pyre and burns to death when her husband dies

Hinduism

A religion focused on unifying with Brahman after being reincarnated many times, and the concepts of karma and dharma. It has many human like deities.

Vedas

collections of hymns and religious ceremonies in Hinduism

Brahman

singular force in the universe in Hinduism

Reincarnation

when the soul is reborn into different form after death

Karma

a person’s actions in their current lives affects their future situations in future lives

Dharma

divine law that tells people to do their duty

Yoga

a kind of training to achieve unity with God

Brahma

The creator, one of the three main deities in Hinduism

Vishnu

The preserver, one of the three main deities in Hinduism

Siva

The destroyer, one of the three main deities in Hinduism

Atman

individual self; duty to know Brahman

Buddhism

• Believes that physical things in the human world are illusions and cause suffering

• Didn’t accept strict social structure

• A simple religion with no complicated gods

Siddhartha Gautama

• Founder of Buddhism

• a wealthy, shelter prince who became aware of human suffering

• Meditated and reached enlightenment

• Shared this discovery with the world

• Called the Buddha or “Enlightened One”

Four Noble Truths

• Ordinary life is full of suffering

• This suffering is caused by our desire to satisfy ourselves

• The way to end suffering is to end desire for selfish goals and to see others as extensions of ourselves

• The way to end desire is to follow the Middle Path

The Middle Path

The way to end desire

Right View(Middle Path)

need to know the four noble truths

Right Intention(Middle Path)

choose what we really want

Right Speech(Middle Path)

don’t tell lies or speak poorly about people

Right Action(Middle Path)

follow five precepts from the Buddha - don’t kill, steal, lie, be unchaste, drink alcohol, or take drugs

Right Livelihood(Middle Path)

do things that improves our being

Right Effort(Middle Path)

keep trying even if it is hard

Right Mindfulness(Middle Path)

keep thoughts and senses under control

Right Concentration(Middle Path)

meditate in order to have a different world view

Nirvana

the ultimate reality (reunion with the great world soul)

Mauryan Dynasty

• India conquered by Persia and then Macedonia

• Macedonians left in 327 BCE, leaving opportunity for a new empire - the Mauryan Empire

Chandragupta Maurya

• Mauryan Leader

• Very controlling government

• Divided into provinces ruled by governors appointed by the king

Asoka

• Mauryan Leader(grandson of Chandragupta Maurya)

• Greatest ruler

• Influenced by Buddhism

• A kind ruler

• Major trade center

Kushan Kingdom

• Benefitted from the Roman Empire’s trade with China via the Silk Road - in the middle

• Ended due to Persian invasion

Silk Road

land trade route from Changan China to Antioch, Syria

Gupta Empire

A new state created in Ganges Valley that expanded empire through war and controlled northern and central India. It was tolerant of Buddhism, had prosperous trade, famous temples and pilgrimage trade and had many riches. It was invaded by the Huns.

Literature(Ancient India)

Vedas, Mahabharata - Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, the Cloud Messenger

Architecture(Ancient India)

pillar, stupa, rock chamber - religious

Science(Ancient India)

• Astronomy - earth rotated on axis and revolved around the sun

• Mathematics - Algebra, the concept of zero, Indian - arabic numerical system

Huang He/Yellow River

a river that flows across China

Chang Jiang/Yangtze River

a river that flows across China and is longer than the Yellow River

Ancient Chinese Geography

• Fertile land in valleys between these rivers

  • 10% of land used for farming

• Mountains and deserts isolated China

• Conflicts in northern frontier created by these barriers

• Yellow Sea

Xia Dynasty

first Chinese dynasty that there is little known about

Shang Dynasty

• 2nd Dynasty

• Farming society led by aristocracy that was concerned with war

• Territory broken up and led by warlords, chosen by the king

• The king was in charge of a large army and was honored with sacrifice at his death

• Ended with a greedy tyrant, which led to revolt and establishment of the Zhou dynasty

Aristocracy

Upper class that gets wealth from the land and passes power down through the generations

Anyang

The capital, where the king ruled during the Shang dynasty

Oracle Bones

Used to communicate with gods and ask questions about the future

Shang Social Structure

• The king and his family was at the top of the social structure along with aristocrats who were warlords, officials and main landowners

• Most people were farming peasants

• Some merchants, artisans and slaves

Shang Afterlife Beliefs

They had afterlife beliefs and would sacrifice people in rulers’ tombs in order to please the gods and give the rulers company. They would also put bronze in tombs.

Venerate Ancestor

believed that ancestors could bring good or bad to their family

Zhou Dynasty

• Continued Shang political structure but expanded the bureaucracy to assist the king

• The king was seen as the connection between heaven and earth

• During this dynasty, the Chinese economy and social life began to form

• Peasants worked for their lords but also owned land

• Artisans and merchants(who were seen as belonging to the local lord) lived in towns

• Farmers started using irrigation, different farming methods and better iron tools to grow more crops, such as silk

• Eventually Zhou leaders became less wise and morally correct, which led to a civil war and the Qin Dynasty

Mandate of Heaven

• Said the Zhou king ruled because of an order from heaven and that he was chosen because of his talent and virtue

• The king is expected to rule with goodness and efficiency, follow the Dao and keep the gods pleased

• Said that a king can be overthrown if he is a poor leader

• Connected to the dynastic cycle

The Dao

the “Way”

Family(Zhou Dynasty)

• Family was important to farming because many people were needed

  • Sons would take over running family land and care for their parents

• Patriarchy

  • men provide food, governed, fought and studied

  • Women raised kids and cared for the home

  • Women could sometimes influence politics

Filial Piety

Every member of the family has their place and duties

Shang Writing

By the Shang Dynasty, writing in the form of Pictographs developed, which influenced other languages

Confucianism

• Focused on political and ethical, not spiritual philosophy

• Focused on human behavior and the Dao - duty and humanity

• Every person has a duty to their family and community

• Focused on 5 key relationships - parent/child, husband/wife, older sibling/younger sibling, older friend/younger friend, ruler/subject

• Believed that if everyone fulfills their duties, then society will succeed

• A leader must be good and set an example

• Has ideas of humanity, empathy and compassion that are similar to Christian beliefs

• Believed that government should be led by the talent instead of just the noble born

Confucius

saw violence, chaos and war in China and came up with rules and teachings, called Confucianism, about how to keep order

Daoism

• Focused on earth and humanity and not spiritual beliefs

• Different from Confucianism beliefs about how humans must work to make life on earth better

• Believed that humans should live in balance with the universe and not try to change things

Laozi

founder of Daoism

Tao Te Ching

writing discussing Daoism, translates to “The Way of the Dao”

Legalism

• Believed humans were evil by nature

• Believed that strict laws, punishments and humans ourselves could put humans on the right path

• Believed strong leaders were necessary

  • Leaders didn’t have compassion and got power through fear

Qin Dynasty

• Qin state defeated all others during the “Time of Warring States”

• Centralized state: civil, military and censorate division

• Had provinces and counties

• Burned books that went against the government

• Dynasty overthrown, which led to a civil war and a new dynasty

Qin Shihuangdi

The first Qin Emperor who took over at 13 years old and was a harsh ruler with a ruthless military who used legalism

Censorate

Inspectors checked on government officials

Appointed Officials

officials were chosen by the emperor

Qin Dynasty Unification

• Central Roads

• Common currency

• Common writing

• Common weight

• Common measure

Qin Dynsaty Innovations

• Lingqu Canal

• Beginnings of the Great Wall of China, which was meant to defend the north against the Xiongnu(nomadic people)

• Terracotta Army

Han Dynasty

• Used Confucian principles

• Created a civil service exam and school to train candidates

• Confucian teachings were written down and read by school children to this day

• Population tripled during this dynasty

• Kept many parts of the Qin Dynasty including the military/civil/censorate and the elected official

• In Han society, poor peasants became tenant farmers

• Land owning farmers did military service or forced labor

• The central government weakened and there was a peasant uprising, giving room to invasion by northern people

Liu Bang

• founder of the Han dynasty

• Had peasant origin

• “Han Gaozu” “Exalted Emperor of Han”

Han Wudi

Han leader who added southern and western regions to China

Han Empire Technology

• Textile manufacturing

• Water mills for farming

• Iron led to steel

• Paper

• Rudder and new sails which led to major trade expansion

Theocracy

rulers and priests tied to religion