India and China Ancient Civ

Subcontinent

Large landmass that juts out from a continent

Modern day countries located on the subcontinent of India

India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka

Monsoons

Seasonal winds that regularly blow from a certain direction for part of the year and is a defining feature of life that brings hurricanes.

What is the geography and impact of monsoons on the Indian Subcontinent?

Bring floods and droughts that can wipe out their crops and hurt populations.

Indus River Valley Civilization

They were enormous, on bid single society (dependent and uniformity, very advanced, super organized, agriculture, complex society, and were polytheistic.

who discovers Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro

Sir Mortimer Wheeler

What were they?

2 ancient cities found in 1920 when railroad construction uncovered their ruins

Where were they located?

along Indus River and was 400 miles apart (it is today Pakistan)

How long did it flourish and what happened to it?

Flourished for 700 years and disappeared without a trace- still being excavated

What was their first physical descriptions

large, urban cities with huge warehouses and 20-30 thousand people in each city.

What were their second physical descriptions

well organized grid system to build same houses

what was their third physical description

complex plumbing systems (first to have this)

What was their fourth physical description

uniform weight and measure system to build the same size things

What was their fifth physical description

dominated by a massive hilltop structure

Who were the Aryans

warlike, nomadic invaders who crossed Hindu Kush by mountain passes

what did they conquer

what was left of the Indus River Valley

What did they do to people they conquered

subjugated them (brought them under dominion/control)

What type of influence did they leave on the subcontinent? Short or long

long

Did they leave much archaeological evidence?

no, because they were nomadic

How do we know about them?

Sanskrit

What is Sanskrit

Language of India in which Hindu scriptures and epic poems are written in

→written language priests used for sacred texts

What is Vedas (the Vedic Age 1500-500 BCE)

Most ancient Hindu scriptures written in sanskrit that describes the Aryans

How does it describe the Aryans

Warriors who loved eating, drinking, fighting, chariot racing, and gambling. However, the eventually settle down and become small warring kingdoms that shift tribal alliances

What was the Aryans religion

polytheistic with nature gods/ animal deities but eventually shift to Hinduism

What was Rigveda

described Aryan social system based on 4 castes that created a way for Aryans to maintain supremacy over conquered people and become the basis for India’s caste system.

Who are Brahmins?

priests and academics that represented wisdom (top of the caste system)

Kshatriyas

Warriors and kings that symbolized strength

→ 2nd on caste system

→The arms

Vaishyas

business community (traders, merchants, commoners)

→3rd on caste system

→the legs

shudras

servants

→last on caste system

→ the feet

The Dalit

“untouchables”

→ not even considered part of the caste system

→ do all the unwanted jobs

Mahabharata

Battle of princes that is nearly 100,000 verses longs. Tells of the war between 2 Aryan rajas

What does it include

a mix of history, mythology, and religion

It is the ________ Indian Epic

Retold ________ for years

Until written down in _______

Greatest; orally; Vedas

Bhagavad Gita

An episode in the Mahabharata that reflects important religious beliefs- immortality of the soul and value of performing one’s duty and proper behavior for rulers, warriors, etc.

What is it about?

Immortality of the soul

Ramayana

Another epic story but much shorter

Very _______ story in India; well or not well

well

teaches what?

different lessons on morality and virtue

reflects what>

Indian ideas on the ideal man and ideal woman

what is the story about

Wife getting kidnapped and husband with monkey goes after her

What is Brahman

single spiritual power that exists beyond the many gods in vedas and resides in all things

Atman

essential self (your soul)

Moksha

union with Brahman

→ ultimate goal

→ release from earthly cycle

Reincarnation

soul in another form

→ born again (same soul but different physical appearance)

Karma

Everything you do in your life that affects your fate and dictates your soul level.

Dharma

moral and religious duties

→ depending on gender and status

ahimsa

non- violence

Samsara

Each life is meant to bring you closer to Brahman (Endless cycle of death and rebirth)

→ symbolized by the wheel

What are varnas

castes

what is jati

subcastes

Hinduism

A religion developed from Hinduism that also believed in reincarnation, but believed there were too many rituals

Who was the founder

Mahavira

Who is Siddhartha Gautama

Founder of Buddhism and Hindu prince from the Kshatriya class in Nepal

Buddha

The enlightened one

4 Noble Truths

1. there is suffering in the world
2. suffering is caused by selfish desires
3. suffering can be removed if we do away with our selfish desires
4. The way to overcome selfish desire is to follow the 8-fold-path

What did it stress?

virtuous conduct and compassion for all living things

Eight-Fold Path

Middle way between a life devoted to pleasure and self-denial

Nirvana

Union with Brahman

→ achieved by accepting and following 4 Noble Truths and the 8-Fold-Path

Mahayana

Split In Buddhism for ordinary people that knew they shouldn’t worship Buddha, but continued to worship him as a compassionate god.

Why did they turn to Buddha

daily problems and salvation

Knew little about ______________

Afterlife with many ________________

nature of nirvana; heavens and hells

Where was this popular?

Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan

Bodhisattvas

virtuous adults in Mahayana that guided others; delays their nirvana to help others

Theravada

hardcore, original teachings that required hard, spiritual work and taught only dedicated seekers could achieve nirvana.

Where was this popular?

Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia

Where are places Buddhist?

SE Asia, China, Korea, Tibet, and China

Maurya Empire founder

Chandragupta

Who is Ashoka

* Chandragupta’s grandson
* Greatest ruler of all India
* Expanded and traded
* gets in a bloody battle and vows to never conquer again
* Converts from Hinduism to Buddhism
* Created stone pillars with advice for rulers
* makes rest-stops and hospitals
* spreads Buddhism through trade

What was the period between Mauryan and Gupta

400-year period of division and regional kingdoms

Gupta Empire

“Golden Age” and was a time of vigorous economic pursuits (like merchants, artisans, and farmers flourished)

Why was it so significant

* Hinduism come back
* central government
* many cultural achievements

How did they end?

Brought down by Huns and India was then conquered by Muslims (arabs, turkish, and Mughal)

What was Gupta like in their Golden Age?

* education and literature valued
* Arts, astronomy, decimal system, science and technology, Hindu-Arabic numerals, and medicine (bone assembly, surgeries, herbs, and vaccines)
* Most advanced of all civilizations
* first to use zero

Indian society was centered around what?

Village, family, castes and NOT individual

Village= ?

heart of daily life

ideal family= ?

joint family

→ patriarchal

→ responsibilities of a parent= arranging marriages and teaching their children

Women must follow what

Laws of Manu

→ men take care of women

→ women are confined to the home

→ lower castes work more

→ Restricts women

Laws of Manu

legal code written in ancient India defining dharma and proper behavior for people based on caste and gender

Dowry

The women’s family pays groom to take the girl for marriage

Sati

“Virtuous women”

→ a wife must throw herself into a fire when her husband dies (lower-caste women didn’t have to)

→ it was their dharma

Shakti

creative energy that men lack

→ like a fire

What is the capital of China

Bejing

What did China believe about their location

is was special

What was China isolated by

forbidden landscape, far distances, and natural barriers

What were their natural barriers

Gobi Desert, seas, Himalayas, and plateaus

What was the natural barriers’ impact

They had no contact or cultural diffusion

→ developed in isolation

→ developed distinct culture that was unchanged

→ created strong sense of identity

→ Resulted in ethnocentric attitude

What were the similarities geographically with China and India

* natural barriers
* advanced
* educated
* large
* monsoons

Differences?

* India has more cultural diffusion
* China is ethnocentric because they have no cultural diffusion due to their natural barriers

Similarities of Egypt?

* no cultural diffusion
* natural barriers
* eventually get conquered and have cultural diffusion
* ethnocentric

differences?

* China flooding is unpredictable
* Egypt flooding is predictable

Mesopotamia similarities?

* unpredictable flooding
* pessimistic

differenes?

* cultural diffusion in mesopotamia
* Mesopotamia has no natural barriers
* Mesopotamia is diverse

Loess

loosely compacted yellow deposit of windblown sediment

Ethnocentrism

believing one’s own ways are better than another’s

→ evaluation of another culture based on how close it is to their own

Zhong Guo

Middle Kingdom

Tomb of Fu Hao

A warrior with an untouched tomb

→ like King Tut

What was the ballad about her called

“Ballad of Mulan”

What were the items she was burried with

jade, pottery, and food

What did she believe in?

No reincarnation and high status