Foundations – Unit IAncient India & China

Pre-ClassicalIndia Harrapan – urban

planning Large Area Active trade with Sumer Strong Central Authority

(seals, weights/meas., irrigation, theocracy)

Social Structure – Dravidians relatively egalitarian, not as patriarchal

Slow decline – natural?, erosion?, salt in wells

Indo-European Arryans move in 1500 BC (rajahs, Sanskrit, iron)

China Huange-He – very isolated

(mts, deserts, flooding) Limited trade with SW Asia

and South Asia (especially bronze then iron for war)

Shang – dynasties, palaces, walled cities – aristocratic bureaucracy

Social Structure – stratified (elite to slaves), very patriarchal

Ancestor worship, oracle bones

Internal Change of Command w/mandate of heaven by Zhou (ca. 1027 BC)

Aryan Age of Decline

Rigveda describes the new dwellings as small hut dwellings clustered inside wooden palisades – suffers in comparison with Mohenjo-Daro during peak

Rigveda suggests “Aryans” were light-skinned favored over “dark-skinned” natives – prejudice in skin color still exists in India

Hinduism introduced – see constant upheavals in early centuries, possibly because only kshatriyas could fight – unlike China and Korea where peasants could.

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– Holy Books Vedas – four collections of hymns and religious

ceremonies Upanishads – commentaries on the Vedas

– Reincarnation Soul reborn a different form after death and

progresses through several existences on the wheel of life until reaching the final destination with the Great World Soul, Brahman

Karma – actions in this life; determines one’s rebirth in the next life

– Cosmic scale – Brahmins at the top; in animal kingdom the cow is at the top

Dharma governs karma Reincarnation provides compensation for those

lower on the ladder of life Multitude of gods (33,000) in Hinduism but only a

small number of primary gods– Trinity of gods (trimurti): Brahman the Creator,

Vishnu the Preserver, and Siva the Destroyer

Hinduism - basic tenents

Hinduism as a social concept

An issues of color– Varna (color or caste)– reflected informal division of labor and rigid social

classification for occupation and status• Brahmins – priestly caste• Kshatriyas – warriors • Vaisya (commoner) – merchant class• Sudras – peasants or artisans who were the bulk of the Indian

population• Pariahs (untouchable) – not considered part of the cast system;

groups outside of Indian society– Jati – kinship group, of a specific caste, living in a specific area, doing a

specific task Daily Life in Ancient India

– Family the basic unit of society, ancestors important– Father-son relationship, males inherit property– Woman is subordinate to men

• Sati – wife throws herself on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband

Becoming EmpireIndia Semi-nomadic Aryans – by

600 BC divide into 16 states, enslaved Dravidians; 500 BC Persian satrapy, 330-321 Alex the Great

Mauryan Empire (321-185 BCE), largest empire in India

Chandragupta & Ashoka The Arthasastra, a treatise on

politics– When law of dharma and

politics collide, the latter takes precedence

– Highly despotic gvmt. Provinces w/ governors

Public Works Economy – no more regional

payment to kings, national tax, single currency

Zhou China (1122 – 256 BC) Issues – flooding and northern

barbarians expanded territory to south,

feudal system (local warlords powerful)

Economy and Society “Well field system” – 9sq. Trade / manufacturing

– Silk, Iron introduced Agricultural advances

– Land fallow– wet rice

Money economy Writing evolving to

modern script

Chandragupta was surrounded by luxury, but

regime strictly ordered, only 4 ½ hours of sleep a day, route of progress marked off with ropes – anyone who set foot inside would be killed

Huge armies w/1000s of chariots and elephant-borne troops

Substantial bureaucracy, but network of spies

Converted to jainism – would not kill anything or possess property – ended up starving himself to death in jainist monastery in 297 BC

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•Buddhist after Battle of Kalinga, great stone builder (first since Harappa), capital with 4 lions in used as emblem of present government of India; sent missionaries as far as Egypt and Burma and Sri Lanka •Unify empire - created system of laws to protect sick, unarmed and helpless. Provided rest stops for travelers. Built hospitals, circuit magistrates for resolving disputes throughout empire •major change in Buddhism is that he rejects caste system

Ashoka(269-232 BC)

Towards CollapseIndia

Religious Changes – Chandragupta embraced Jainism, Ashoka converted to Buddhism– Mauryan Empire went

into decline after the death of Asoka

– Last Mauryan ruler overthrown, 183 B.C.E.

– A number of new kingdoms sprung up

– Weakness of the Mauryas was glorifying warfare for the king and aristocracy

China

Luxuries and abuses lead to philosophers wanting political reform (Legalism, Daoism, Confucianism)

Longest lasting dynasty, but collapse into Warring States (221-202 BCE)

China during the Period of the Warring States 403-221 B.C.E.

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Axial Age of Religion Period from 800 – 200 BC when new

religions/philosophies found in Greece, China, and India.

Greece India China

Platonism Jainism

Buddhism

Confucianism

Daoism

Legalism

Similarities – quest for human meaning in life/government

Buddhism: Siddhartha Gautama (c. 560-480 B.C.E.)

– Born in foothills of the Himalaya Mountains, son of a kshatriya family

– Denied the existence of the individual soul Nirvana (release from the wheel of life) Bodhi (wisdom)

– Four Noble Truths – life is suffering; suffering caused by desire; end suffering by ending desire; end desire by avoiding extremes of a life of materialism

– Middle Path (Eightfold Path) Rejection of division of humanity into castes

All human beings can aspire to Nirvana as a result of their behavior in this life

Jainism:– Founded by Mahavira, contemporary of Siddhartha– Doctrine of extreme simplicity; keep no possessions and rely on

begging for a living – No killing (vegetarians)

New Belief Systems in India

Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.)– Interest is politics and ethics– If humans act harmoniously in accordance with the universe, all

affairs will prosper– Dao (The Way)

• Duty and Compassion / empathy for others– Analects– Rule by merit– Obedience to government and family (filial piety)– Education is key (emperor rules by example)

Mencius (370-29- B.C.E.)– Human beings are by nature good– Ruler’s duty is to rule by compassion

Legalism– Human beings are by nature evil and follow the correct path only if

coerced by harsh laws and stiff penalties; Only firm action by the state can bring social order

New Belief Systems in China – “Hundred School”

– Daoism Lao Tzu (Lao Zi) – supposedly an

elder contemporary of Confucius Dao De Jing (The Way of the Tao)

– Proper forms for human behavior (Action by inaction, laissez-faire – condemned government action)

– Nature takes its course- Many rites involved alchemy,

animism, elixir of immortality (some ideas imported from India)

Classical EmpiresGolden Agesa comparison

India China

•Political – Gupta (320 CE – 550 CE) Ruled through central gov’t allowed

village gov’ts power (more decentralized)/ Control based on local lords – paid tribute to keep autonomy

Advantageous alliances and military conquests created political stability

450 CE northern invaders brought empire to slow end (same Hunas – White Huns as the Xiongnu Huns from Mongolia to Caucasus from NW)

Key Difference: political diversity and regionalism

Economic - Gupta Very vigorous trade – surpassing Mediterranean and

Chinese – major middle men between East and West. Cotton was largest industry. In southern India there were small colonies of Romans, Jews, Arabs, and Nestorian Christians from Syria and Persia (gold, slaves, glass, Egyptian cloth, Chinese silk, SE Asian spices)

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Key Difference: merchants relatively high caste status

Key – page 79

Religious - Gupta

Hinduism restored as central religion Helped keep social order in a time of

decentralized political power

Social - Gupta No one language for all subjects! (promoted Sanskrit for

language of educated) Caste system encouraged tolerance allowing widely different

people to live next to one another peacefully but with separate social strictures.

Loyalty to caste superseded loyalty to any one ruler. Initial 5 castes divided into 300 jati (could lower in castes if marry lower or take on work deemed inappropriate for caste)

Outright slavery was avoided Rights of women became more limited as agricultural

technology developed (one code of law requested women to worship husbands as gods)

Key Idea: all classical societies (except perhaps Athenian) played down role of individual and emphasized role of state, group and family – few challenged this “natural order”

Social Strictures meant that political

regulation less necessary

Intellectual/Technological - Gupta Universities built (4000 students in Nalanda – one

of them Chinese Faxian) to teach religion, medicine and architecture

Medicine (religious prohibition on disection – but still bone setting, plastic surgery, inoculation against small pox, sterilization of wounds)

Mathematics - algebra, zero (may have come from China), decimal system and “Arabic” numbers, table of sines, square roots, negative numbers, computed value of pi

Key Difference: some technology developed for its own sake, Chinese mostly pragmatic development

Art/Literature - Gupta

Exquisite paintings (Ajanta caves)

plays of Kalidasa (comparable to Shakespeare)

Kama Sutra written now

The Qin and Han Empires

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China – Qin Dynasty, 221-206 B.C.E.

– Qin Shi Huangdi (221-206 B.C.E.) founder• Unified the Chinese state; built a road system

(4000 miles); canal system (1200 miles from Yangzi to Canton), Great Wall (mostly Ming dynasty – instead he used trade, diplomacy and warfare to control nomads) standardized currency and written language.

• Feared subversions – banned books

Political – Han (202 BC – 220 CE)

Territorial expansion to central Asia (Korea, Indochina) – especially under Emperor Wu Ti (140-87 BCE)

•Govt. bureaucracy grew stronger (effective admin. – postal service, tax collecting)•Main goal – unification of China

Political – Han (202 BC – 220 CE)

Chinese civil service exam – open to everyone, but only wealthy could afford to prepare

Time of peace, govt. sponsored canals, irrigation Collapse due to high taxes, internal power struggle and

outside invaders – broke into Three Kingdoms (also inroads of Buddhism challenged Confucian government) [Parallels the inroads of Visigoths and Christianity into Europe]

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Economic - Han High taxation system – over time emperors would give

passes on land tax to retainers and maternal family of emperor – progressively smaller proportion of the land was expected to pay a progressively larger amount of revenue.

Only 10% of population lived in cities State monopoly on trade of salt and iron (so little profit in

trade), government set commodity prices and collected commercial taxes (black market merchants grew rich especially in gold and silk trade across Silk Road)

In order to pacify nomadic chieftains gave lavish gifts – expense caused peasant revolts

Increasing interest in ocean trade – rise of rudder and sails, conquest of Vietnam to establish ports

Trade was primarily directed by the Turkish speaking Uighurs. The Uighur caravans of two humped camels carried goods between China, South Asia, and the Middle East. Due to banditry, most of the caravans followed the southern route that passed the fringes of the Takiamakan Desert to Kashgar and down the into northwest India. Expanded under Wu TI.

Religious - Han

Revived Confucian doctrine – saw usefulness of Confucian emphasis on political virtue and social order.

Legalism saw growth as well, but never as wide spread – Confucian veneer combined with strong-armed tactics.

Confucian scholars disagreed with Daoist beliefs in mysteries and magic – but saw little reason for challenging it.

Social - Han Landowning aristocracy and educated

bureaucracy (Mandarins) – could participate in service to ancestors, hunting, warfare – privilege of eating meat

Laboring masses, peasants, urban artisans (force corvée in military and building)

Mean people – performing artists, merchants (punished more severely)

Household slaves (not a large group)

Social (Gender) - Han• Strong patriarchal laws (women had

power only indirectly – emperor’s widow had power to appoint husband’s successor from clan)

Chinese women suffered infanticide more, according to law father could sell children into slavery or execute them, secondary wives or concubines could be added to family especially if wife had no male heir;

had no economic independence, her labor brought no income, universally illiterate (farm women)

women were yin (dark, weak, passive) – men were yang (bright, strong, and active)

How sad it is to be a woman!! Nothing on earth is held so cheap. Boy stand leaning at the door Like Gods fallen out of Heaven. Their hearts brave the Four Oceans, The wind and dust of a thousand miles. No one is glad when a girl is born: By her the family sets no store. When she grows up, she hides in her room Afraid to look at a man in the face.

- Fu Xuan(c. 3rd Cent. CE)

Demographic - HanStrength of agrarian base has allowed China to carry about 1/5th of total human population from last centuries of BCE to present day.

6/7 of population lives on 1/3 of cultivatable land (2000 sq/mile in certain valleys), can not afford land for pasturage – only 2% of total (US – 1/2 of land); Rice growing is labor intensive – must be done by hand – so high population needed

Demographic Changes - Han

As land-hunger and pressure from the Xiongnu and the Tibetans on the northern border forced migration from the densely populated northeast, and as techniques for rice cultivation in the humid basin of the Yangzi improved, the lands to the south were mastered, and population clusters developed along the river valleys.

Intellectual/Technological - Han

Very practical Water-powered mills, iron mining (for iron

plow – 300 BCE) Paper (important for expanding bureaucracy) Chinese astronomy – to make celestial

phenomena predictable (wanted harmony btw heaven/earth)

Seismography Anatomical research, anesthesia,

acupuncture, hygiene Mathematics of music for acoustics abacus was so practical for general

accounting – not for algebra limited the development in other mathematical skills

No real monumental buildings except Great Wall –lack of unified religion discouraged notion of temples, built palaces

Art is based more on landscape than humans (no anthropomorphic gods, emphasis on group over individual)

Jade carving, silk Despite many ethnic

minorities – strong cultural unity (nationalism) to combat sense of “barbarians” in north.

Art/Literature - Han