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The Indian Subcontinent. Ch. 3 sections 1 & 2. The Physical Characteristics . Mountains: The Hindu Kush (the Khyber pass), the Himalayas, the Eastern & Western Ghats Rivers: Indus & Ganges The Deccan Plateau Plains (where most people live)
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The Indian Subcontinent Ch. 3 sections 1 & 2
The Physical Characteristics • Mountains: • The Hindu Kush (the Khyber pass), the Himalayas, the Eastern & Western Ghats • Rivers: • Indus & Ganges • The Deccan Plateau • Plains (where most people live) • Monsoons (winds that reverse directions every 6 months) • Summer = warm & moist • Winter = cool & dry
Harappa (the Indus Civilization) • 3000-1500 B.C. people began to build settlements along the Indus River (thousands) • Harappa & Mohenjo – Daro were the largest • 35,000-40,000 people • All the cities : • Grid system of roads & houses • Oven baked mud bricks • Walled neighborhoods (house had a square courtyard surrounded by rooms) • Public wells • Bathrooms with drainage & sewage • Garbage chutes
Society • Theocracy • Citadel = Royal palace & holy temple combined • Farmers (annual flooding of the river) • Traded with the city- states of Mesopotamia
The Aryan Invasion • The Aryans = pastoral nomads that immigrated into the region through the Kyber pass that eventually controlled most of India • Indo-European • Strong warrior tradition • Didn’t invent writing until 1000 B.C. (Sanskrit) • Began to settle & farm when the iron plow was introduced to the region (turned the jungle around the Ganges into farmland) • Developed the Caste system & Hinduism • 1500-400 B.C. Divided the area into small principalities that were ruled by Rajas • Never unified • .
Aryan Family Life • extended families (3 or more generations living under 1 roof) • patriarchal (the oldest male had legal authority over the entire family) • Only men could inherit property, be priests, or be educated • Marriage • Arranged (divorce was not allowed) • Men would marry after they had 12 years of schooling • Women would marry very young & her family would give the groom a dowry (bride price) • Suttee = the practice of wives throwing themselves into the flames of their husband’s funeral pyre
The Caste System • Social hierarchy established by the Aryans (based on occupation & extended family network) • Was reinforced by the idea of reincarnation (soul recycling)
The Untouchables • Make up about 5% of the population • Not part of the caste system • Considered inferior to all other people • Required to perform all the “dirty” jobs in society • anything that would pollute the body or the soul • Collecting trash, disposing of dead bodies, making leather
Hinduism • Developed over thousands of years • 3 main components of a single creation force (Brahman): • Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) , Siva (the destroyer) • Vedas = a book of hymns & ceremonies • Goal = the end to a series of lives (Moksha) • Reincarnation = a cycle of birth, death, & rebirth • Karma = deeds that determine how you will be reborn (what goes around comes around!) • Dharma = divine law (duty) • Yoga = physical training used to help bring together Brahman & man
Buddhism • Founded by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) • A Prince who went searching for the “the cure to human suffering” • Goal = for a person to reach Enlightenment • A release from suffering • Believed that the material world was not real, but an illusion • Believed all suffering was caused by people’s attachment to the material world • Bodhi = wisdom or enlightenment • Nirvana = ultimate reality & oneness with the Great World Soul • Believed in reincarnation, but ejected the belief in Hindu gods • Did not believe “Buddha” was a god!!!!!!!
Basic Principles of Buddhism • 4 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 & to see others as extensions of ourselves • The way to end desire is to follow the Middle path • The 8-fold path (the middle path): • Right view – know the 4 truths • Right intention – decide what you really want • Right speech – speak only the truth & speak well of others • Right action – do not: kill, steal, lie, be unchaste, or take drugs • Right livelihood – do work that uplifts our being • Right effort – try! • Right mindfulness – control your instincts • Right concentration - meditate
The South Asian view of Buddha is much different than the Chinese interpretation
Mauryan Dynasty • The Persians, Greeks & Macedonians all invaded from the west (327 B.C. Alexander the Great) • 324-341 B.C. Chandragupta Mauryadrove the foreigners out & established an empire (paranoid of assassination) • Divided the territory into provinces with local governors • Asoka is often considered to be the greatest leader in the history of India • Used Buddhist ideals • Established India as a major trade crossroads (the silk road) • 183 B.C the last Mauryan king was killed by one of his military commanders & India broke up into smaller kingdoms
The Kushan Kingdom • 1st century A.D • Bactria = Afghanistan • Nomadic warriors • 320 A.D. defeated by invaders • Controlled trade through the Kyber pass • The silk road connected China & the Roman world (4,000 miles) • The camel caravans only transported luxury goods
The Kingdom of the Guptas • Prince Chandragupta (no relation to the first one) • Took over the old Mauryan territory • Traded with China (Faxian was a Buddhist monk who visited & praised the kingdom) • Most of their wealth came from religious trade (pilgrims) • The Huns invaded in the 5th century
Indian Literature • Vedas (once passed down orally) • Historical epics (religious & moral lessons) • Mahabharata (longest poem in the world) • Bhagavad Gita (most famous section) • In taking action, one must not worry about success or failure. One should only be aware of the moral rightness of the act itself • Ramayana • Kalidasa was a poet • The Cloud Messenger
Architecture • The Pillar • Erected along the roads during Asoka’s reign to mark sites related to events in Buddha’s life • The Stupa • Was originally a house for relics of the Buddha • Built in the shape of burial mounds • The Rock Chamber • Developed by Asoka to provide rooms for monks & religious services (carved into cliffs)
Science • Astronomy • Charted the movement of the “heavenly bodies” • Recognized the Earth was a sphere that rotated on an axis & revolved around the sun • Mathematics • Aryabhata created algebra • Introduced the concept of zero • Created the number system we use today
China Chapter 3 sections 3 & 4
Geography of China • The Huang He (Yellow) & Chang Jaing (Yangtze) Rivers were some of the greatest food producing areas of the ancient world • The Huang He is often referred to as “China’s sorrow” because of its devastating floods (sometimes killing up to 1,000,000 people) • Only 10% of land is arable • Gobi Desert • Himalayas
The First Dynasties • 2,000 B.C.: Xia (SYAH) Dynasty • 1750-1045 B.C.: Shang Dynasty • Capital @ Anyang (built out of wood) • Aristocracy held the power (the territories were governed by warlords) • Early kings were buried with corpses of faithful servants in the royal tombs • Oracle bones (first Chinese writing) were used to communicate with the gods • The belief in an afterlife mutated into “ancestor worship” • Known for their bronze casting
Chinese Society • The peasants worked the land for their warlords, but they also had land for their own use • Merchants were considered the property of the local lord & were not very well thought of • Family served as the basic economic & social unit • finial piety = duty of the members of the family to subordinate their needs & desires to those of the male head of the family • Male supremacy, but women did have influence in politics
