Ancient India and ChinaAncient India

The Vedas are Aryan religious books. The area where the Indus Valley was located was on The Indian

sub-continent. The Ganges and Indus Rivers were the two great rivers that ran

through the Indus Valley Region.

When the river flooded in the Indus Valley, what natural

substance was left behind when the waters receded?

o Silt

A monsoon is a wind from the Indian Ocean blows moist air over

the Indus Valley bringing heavy rains.

Over time, some farming villages in the Indus River valley grew

into cities, and the most powerful cities became city-states. The following statements were a possible reason for the decline

of the Harappans:

o They used up all of their natural resources.

o Harappan farmers tried to raise more and more crops on the

same plots.

o The Indus River Valley was invaded and the Harappans

were killed.

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Ancient China

Rivers were important to the development of civilization

throughout ancient China.

Because of its flooding, the Huang River was known as China's Sorrow.

People in ancient China felt that Dragons brought good luck. Death was the penalty for revealing the secrets of making silk.

The Silk Road was a trade route between Europe and China. The first known civilization in China was the Shang dynasty. The Chinese believed rulers came to power because of fate. The Han Dynasty lasted for 400 years. Shi Huangdi ordered all of the following:

o using the same weights and measures.

o building roads for his armies.

o dividing China into districts.

Rulers during the Han Dynasty created the civil service system

based on Confucianism.

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Religion in Ancient India

Unlike other major world religions, Hinduism had no single founder.

The Hindus believe in one single spiritual power which lives in

everything, called Brahman. Avatar is the name of a representation of a Hindu god or

goddess. To think deeply about sacred things is to meditate. Rebirth of a soul in the body of another living thing defines

reincarnation. Buddhism was brought to China by missionaries from India.

Religion in Ancient China

All of the following are a religion or philosophy of life practiced in

ancient China:

o Taoism

o Buddhism

o Confucianism

The teachings of Confucius were based on the forgotten teachings of people who lived before him.

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher. Confucius was self-taught. Before his death, Confucius felt as if he had failed. A system of beliefs and values is called a Philosophy.

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The geography of Ancient India was important to the spread of Buddhism. The large land mass without many impossible to cross natural

barriers allowed for the widespread growth of Buddhism. It originated

southeast of what is now known as Nepal where Buddha was born—from

here it spread easily in all directions, first across India and to Sri Lanka,

then throughout Asia, and from there missionaries followed trade routes

east into China. Eventually, Buddhism spread from China to Korea, Japan,

and Tibet.

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ANCIENT INDIA'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WORLD

India is one of the oldest and richest civilizations in the world. It is home to the world's first planned cities, where every house had its own

bathroom and toilet five thousand years ago. The Ancient Indians have not only given us yoga, meditation and

complementary medicines, but they have furthered our knowledge of science, maths -- and invented Chaturanga, which became the game of chess.

According to Albert Einstein, they "taught us how to count", as they invented the numbers 1-9 and 'zero', without which there would be no computers or digital age. Unfairly we call this system of counting Arabic numbers -- a misplaced credit.

Two thousand years ago the Indians pioneered plastic surgery, reconstructing the noses and ears on the faces of people who had been disfigured through punishment or warfare.

They performed eye operations such as cataract removal and invented inoculation to protect their population from Smallpox, saving thousands of lives.

6.26 Outline the social structure of the caste system and explain its effect on everyday life in Indian society. **THE INDIAN CASTE SYSTEM**

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6.27 Siddhartha Gautama’s (Buddha) life experiences influenced his moral teachings and how those teachings became a new religion that spread throughout India and Central Asia as a new religion.

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni,, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.A native of the ancient Shakya republic in the Himalayan foothills, Gautama Buddha taught primarily in northeastern India.Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in an era.In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of our age.Siddhartha was born in a royal Hindu family. He was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati.By tradition, he is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) built for him. Although more recent scholarship doubts this status, his father, said to be King Śuddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human suffering.When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of the same age named Yaśodharā (Pāli: Yasodharā).According to the traditional account, she gave birth to a son, named Rāhula.Siddhartha is said to have spent 29 years as a prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that material wealth was not life's ultimate goal.

6.28 Describe the growth of the Maurya Empire and the political and moral achievements of the Emperor Asoka.

The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 322 to 185 BCE.

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Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the Indo-Gangetic plains (modern Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh) in the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent, the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra (modern Patna).The Empire was founded in 322 BCE by Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the Nanda Dynasty and rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western India, taking advantage of the disruptions of local powers in the wake of the withdrawal westward by Alexander the Great's Greek armies.By 320 BCE the empire had fully occupied Northwestern India, defeating and conquering the satraps left by Alexander.The Maurya Empire was one of the world's largest empires in its time, and the largest ever in the Indian subcontinent.At its greatest extent, the empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas, and to the east stretching into what is now Assam.To the west, it conquered beyond modern Pakistan, annexing Khorasan, Balochistan, south eastern parts of Iran and much of what is now Afghanistan, including the modern Herat and Kandahar provinces.The Empire was expanded into India's central and southern regions by the emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara, but it excluded a small portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga (modern Odisha), until it was conquered by Ashoka.Its decline began 60 years after Ashoka's rule ended, and it dissolved in 185 BCE with the foundation of the Sunga Dynasty in Magadha.Under Chandragupta, the Mauryan Empire conquered the trans-Indus region, which was under Macedonian rule.Chandragupta then defeated the invasion led by Seleucus I, a Greek general from Alexander's army.Under Chandragupta and his successors, internal and external trade, agriculture and economic activities, all thrived and expanded across India thanks to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance, administration, and security.After the Kalinga War, the Empire experienced half a century of peace and security under Ashoka.Mauryan India also enjoyed an era of social harmony, religious transformation, and expansion of the sciences and of knowledge. Chandragupta Maurya's embrace of Jainism increased social and religious renewal and reform across his society, while Ashoka's embrace of Buddhism has been said to have been the foundation of the reign of social and political peace and non-violence across all of India.7 | P a g e

Ashoka sponsored the spreading of Buddhist ideals into Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Mediterranean Europe.The population of the empire has been estimated to be about 50 - 60 million making the Mauryan Empire one of the most populous empires of all time.Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW).The Arthashastra and the Edicts of Ashoka are the primary sources of written records of Mauryan times. The Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath has been made the national emblem of India.

Dynasties of Ancient China

The Shang Dynasty

The Shang dynasty began between 1760 bc and 1500 bc. The exact year is not known. To gain power, the Shang defeated the XIA people to create China’s First Dynasty. The way of life for the Shang included rice, raising animals and producing cloth such as flax and silk. During the Shang dynasty, the Bronze Age was a time when many things were made such as tools, weapons, cups, etc. This greatly improved the farming methods, living conditions, and warfare. Tools made out of bronze are much better than tools made out of bones or branches. To predict the future, the Shang used Oracle Bones. On these oracle bones, the shang would write questions such as what crops to plant, when to travel, and when to hunt. The questions the Shang put on these oracle bones were questions they wanted to know the answers to help them in their daily lives. After the questions were written on the bones, they were heated. Then the bones were examined for cracks. These cracks were used to predict the future. Under the Shang dynasty, the first Written Records were recorded. Also, the Shang discovered Mars. Pretty cool, huh.

Zhou Dynasty

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As the Zhou people moved east, they came into contact with the Shang Dynasty. The Zhou people thought they were the best and wanted to be the new dynasty. In 1150 B.C., Zhou defeated Shang in a huge battle that lasted a long time. In 1050 B.C. King Wu claimed victory for the Zhou. The Zhou claimed the Mandate of Heaven, which means god wanted them to rule. The result of this battle and Zhou victory was that the Zhou dynasty becomes the second dynasty of China. This dynasty of China was the longest dynasty of china, which lasted 800 years. The Zhou dynasty was broken up into two parts: the western Zhou and the eastern Zhou. In the west, the Zhou farmed things such as beans, wheat, rice, and fruit. Silk was also very important, which women produced. The eastern Zhou was known as the Golden Age because of all the advancements like a new system of money, government projects, more scholars, and the use of iron tools. Not only was the Zhou broken up into east and west, the Zhou also had a division of social class. At the bottom of the social class “pyramid” was the Peasants. Above them were the Nobles and at the top was the King. Each of the three levels would do something for the level above them. Also, each level would do something for the level below them. So actually, all groups were helping each other out. The peasants would farm and serve the nobles. The nobles would provide military service for the king since the Nobles were the ones who controlled the military. The king would give land to the nobles in exchange for protection. The nobles would protect the peasants in exchange for the peasants farming for them. The Zhou declined due to a collapse marked by the beginning of Great Warfare in China.

Qin Dynasty

After the Zhou dynasty fell, the Qin dynasty rose to become China’s third dynasty of China. This occurred in 221 b.c. Although the Qin was the third dynasty of China, the Qin dynasty had the very first emperor, which is one guy in charge. The first emperor of China was Shi Huangdi. He united China and was very

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powerful and cruel. He split his empire into 36 provinces. Despite the fact that Shi Huangdi was very mean and cruel, there were some important accomplishments under his rule. One of those is the Standardization of money, weights, and measurement. The result of Standardization was everyone used the same system, which made Communication better. A big project during the Qin dynasty was the Great Wall of China. This wall connected existing walls that had been built earlier for protection. This wall protected empire from invasion. Shi Huangdi punished anyone who spoke out against China. He controlled what people studied and talked about. The result was many revolts. The Qin dynasty lasted only 20 years. The Qin rejected the teachings of Confucianism, which taught respect and fairness. The type of ruling under the Qin was legalism. Legalism taught people to obey rulers out of fear. If people obeyed the ruler, they were rewarded. If they did not obey the ruler, they were punished. The Qin also built 4,000 miles of road. The Qin burned Zhou and confucianist books. The end of the Qin came when Shi Huangdi killed himself while trying to live forever. (How ironic) Shi Huangdi’s son took over but he was a weak ruler. Civil war broke out and Han defeated all enemies.

Han Dynasty

The people of the Han come into power when Han defeated the Qin dynasty. The result of this victory was Han becomes China’s fourth dynasty. The Han dynasty lasted from 206 bc. Until 220 AD. The first ruler of the Han Dynasty was Gaozu. He lifted the ban on books that the Qin dynasty had imposed. The Han dynasty is considered to be China’s great time period in history. The Han makes changes starting with rejecting legalism. The Han established a Confucianism style of rule. Using skills and talents to work in government is called Civil Service. The Han prospered domestically with agriculture, handcrafts, and commerce. The population of China reached 55 million during the Han. The Han also made technological advancements such as paper and the seismograph, which alerts people of an on coming earthquake. A new religion also emerged called Daoism, or Taoism. The most famous Chinese historian is a guy named Sima Qian. The Silk

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Road became an enormously important route to trade silk to other parts of the world. The Silk Road was the path caravans would use to export Chinese silk

The Shang Dynasty - China's First Recorded History

List the policies and achievements of the emperor Shi Huang and explain how these contributed to the unification of northern China under the Qin Dynasty and the construction of the Great Wall of China.

The Qin or Ch'in Dynasty [221-206 B.C.]

The monarch known now as Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 秦始皇; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huáng; Wade-Giles: Ch'in Shih-huang) (259 BCE -- September 10, 210 BCE),[1] personal name Yíng Zhèng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BCE to 221 BCE (officially still under the Zhou Dynasty), and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BCE to 210 BCE, ruling under the name the First Emperor (Chinese: 始皇帝; pinyin: Shǐ Huáng Dì; Wade-Giles: Shih Huang-Ti). As the ruler of the Great Qin, he was known for the introduction of Legalism and also for unifying China.

Qin Shi Huang remains a controversial figure in Chinese history. Having unified China, he and his chief adviser Li Si passed a series of major reforms aimed at cementing unification, and they undertook some gigantic projects, most notably the precursor version of the current Great Wall of China, a city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, at the expense of numerous human lives. To ensure stability, he outlawed Confucianism and buried many of its scholars alive, banning and burning all books other than those officially decreed.For all the tyranny of his autocratic rule, Qin Shi Huang is still regarded by many today as a pivotal figure in Chinese history whose unification of China has endured for more than two millennia.

Today, when speaking of traditional Chinese culture, Confucius can be seen as one of the most influential figures from ancient times till the present day. His teachings are at the very heart of China's traditional

culture of self-cultivation and emphasis on virtue.

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