India &

China

• Geography– Himalayas

• highest mountains in the world– Ganges River

• runs along the Ganges Plain to the south of the Himalayas

– Deccan Plateau• covers most of India• hilly and dry

– Coastal Regions• rain forests

India

• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro– Both cities had c. 30-40K people– Planned straight and perpendicular streets– Had sewage system (first in the world)– Had garbage chutes– Symbols used have lead historians and

scientists to believe that they were more advanced than the Mesopotamians• But no one knows exactly what happened to

them

India

• Aryans– from the Russian Steppes– came thru the Hindu Kush– were not a race, but Indo-Europeans– Settled in the Indus River valley

(Pakistan)– wrote and spoke Sanskrit– divided land into small kingdoms made

up of families ruled by rajas (princes)

India

• Aryans– Caste System (jati)

• Top four of the five castes are called varnas– Top is the Brahmans

» priests– Next is the Kshatriyas

» warriors and economic upper class– Vaisyas

» commoners – farmers and economic middle-lower class

– Sudras» most of pop.» lower class workers

India

• Aryans– Lowest jati level• Untouchables– about 5% of the population– not considered human– Mostly non-Aryans from the Southern most tip on the Indian sub-continent

India

• Aryans– Family Structure• Male dominant• divorce not allowed• Suttee – when a husband died, his body was burned and the wife usually threw herself into the fire and died with her husband

India

• Hinduism– Vedas, Bhagavad-Gita, and

Upanishads – holy books of Hinduism– Ultimate reality – Brahman– Believed in reincarnation, karma, dharma– The study of yoga– Gods

• Brahma the Creator• Vishnu the Preserver• Siva the Destroyer

India

• Buddhism– Siddhartha Gautama

• AKA Buddha, “Enlightened One”

• Rich guy who never felt pain, suffering, and hunger. When he did find it, he wanted to get rid of it forever.

• starved and mediated until he found the meaning of life

India

• Buddhism– Principles• The world is simply an illusion and all bad things were because we were attached to this world• Let go of the world and then you have wisdom• To achieve nirvana (ultimate reality) you must come to the end of your self and become one with the World Soul

India

• Buddhism– Four Noble Truths• I. Ordinary life is full of suffering• II. Suffering is caused by our desire to satisfy ourselves• III. End suffering is to end desire for selfish goals and to see others as extensions of ourselves• IV. To end desire is to follow the Middle Path

India

• Buddhism– Middle Path

• 1. Right View – Know the Four Noble Truths• 2. Right Intention – Decide what we really want• 3. Right Speech – Speak truth and to speak well of others• 4. Right Action – Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not

take drugs or drink alcohol.• 5. Right Effort• 6. Right Mindfulness – Keep our minds in control of our

senses• 7. Right Livelihood – Do work that uplifts our being• 8. Right Concentration – Meditate to see the world in a new

way

India

• Indian Empires– Mauryan Dynasty

• covered most of India and Pakistan• Large army and secret Police• Under Asoka, India became a great empire in the world– Became a Buddhist– Known as India’s Greatest Ruler (ever)

India

• Indian Empires– Kushan Kingdom

• Bactria (present day Afghanistan)• nomadic warriors• rich because of the Silk Road

– Silk Road• ran from Changan in China to Antioch in

Syria• Chinese silk was traded all over the eastern

hemisphere because of the road

India

• Indian Empires– Literature

• Vedas, Mahabharata—Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana, The Cloud Messenger

– Architecture• Pillars – with teachings of Buddha• Stupa – buildings to hold statutes or religious

relics– Science

• Algebra• Zero (0)

India

• Geography

–Rivers• Yellow River – from Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean• Yangtze River – from the Himalayas in Thailand to Shanghai

–Mostly mountainous terrain and deserts

China

• Dynasties– Shang

• King at the capital at Anyang• ruled by an aristocracy• used oracle bones read by priests to help them

govern• Three tiered society

– King and aristocrats (smallest)– artisans and merchants (still very small)– peasants and slaves

China

• Shang– Religion

• Ancestor Worship– believe that the dead ancestors can help or hurt situations, depending on how you treat them

China

• Dynasties– Zhou• longest lasting dynasty

(800 years)• King ruled over an

aristocratic bureaucracy• seen as link between

Heaven and Earth• Mandate of Heaven –

King is the voice and gives the direction of Heaven

China

• Dynasties– Zhou

• Mandate of Heaven (cont’d)– King was Heaven’s guy on earth– But he had to keep the “way” or the Dao– People could overthrow the king

– Technology• irrigation made it easier to farm and

increased the harvest– this helped the population grow to 50,000,000

(compared to 1,300,000,000 today)

China

• Language– pictographic/ideographic

• character symbolizes the meaning

• Confucianism– “Master Kung”– wrote Analects– political and ethical, not spiritual– Dao (Way)

• duty• humanity

China

• Confucianism (cont’d)– Five Constant Relationships

• parent and child• husband and wife• older sibling and younger sibling• older friend and younger friend• ruler and subject

– Way to Heaven is through action, good works

China

• Daoism– Laozi• the Old Master• friend of Confucius• Tao Te Ching (The Way of the Dao)• Does not get into theology• sets up good behavior• way to Heaven is not action but inaction

China

• More Dynasties–Qin Dynasty• Legalism is the official ideology• Legalism

– strong ruler– people inherently bad– need laws to control them

• built first part of the Great Wall of China

China

• More Dynasties–Han Dynasty• terra cotta soldiers• controlled more than other dynasties• height of ancient China

China