Early India and China history study guide summary

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Early India and China history study guide summary

V. Early India & China

A. India

1. Early South Asia

third river valley civilization
- larger than both Egypt and Sumer in land area
- Indus River valley
- height at about the time of the Akkadian and Babylonian Empire
- 2500 BC - 1500 BC

a) The Subcontinent

Three modern nations – India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh – trace their roots to the Indus Valley civilizations
- countries lie on the subcontinent of South Asia
- large, triangular – shaped landmass that juts into the Indian Ocean

(1) Geography

Natural barriers separate the South Asian subcontinent from the rest of Asia
Water surrounds the landmass
- east and west
rise two lofty mountain ranges
- north
- Himalayas and the Hindu Kush
- invaders entering the subcontinent by land have had to cross the few high mountain passes of the Hindu Kush
Plains sweep across the landscape to the south of the mountains
- Across the plains flow three rivers
- fed by rain and melting mountain snows
- Indus River drains into the Arabian Sea
- Ganges and Brahmaputra River join and empty into the Bay of Bengal, forming a wide delta
Ganges – Brahmaputra Delta and the Indus – Ganges plain
- formed from soils left by the rivers
- Like the Nile Valley and Delta and the Tigris – Euphrates plains
- fertile river areas of South Asia have supported vast numbers of people over the ages

(2) Weather

northern mountains ensure generally warm weather in South Asia
- block blasts of cold air from central Asia
Two seasonal winds affect the climate
- Monsoons
northeast, or winter, monsoon
- November to March
- brings dry air from the mountains
- average winter temperatures of the Indus – Ganges plain remain mild
- about 70*
southwest, or summer, monsoon
- June to September
- temperatures have soared
- sometime exceeding 100* F
- rain - bearing southwest wind blowing off the ocean
rivers swell rapidly
- widen across the flat plains and rush to the sea
- flooding enriches the soil
- unusually heavy rains drown people and animals
- destroy whole villages
- monsoon arrives late or rainfall is light
- crops are poor and people go hungry

b) The Indus Valley Civilization

archaeologists working in the Indus River valley first identified an ancient civilization in South Asia
- dated this early civilization to about 2500 BC

(1) Centrally Planned Cities

Archaeologists named the Indus Valley settlements ‘the Harappan civilization’
- after one of its major cities, Harappa
- located in present – day Pakistan
Mohenjo – Daro
- another important Harrappan city
- lay nearer the Arabian Sea
- area of more than 500 acres
- city’s population may have been as high as 50,000.
- houses of the lower town were divided into blocks by regular streets
- city was a major center of both trade and manufacture
ruins of Harappa and Mohenjo – Daro are outstanding examples of urban planning
citadel, or fortress, built on a brick platform
- overlooked each city – possibly
- serving as a government and religious center.
Harappan engineers skillfully laid out each city in a grid pattern of straight streets
- Below the citadel
- crossing each other at right angles
used oven – baked bricks to build houses
- flat wooden roofs
- some houses rose to several stories and enclosed courtyards
- Almost every house had at least one bathroom
- drains and chutes connected to a brick sewer system beneath the streets

(2) Harappan Life

Harappan culture arose from agricultural and pastoral cultures
- hills of nearby Baluchistan
- during the late 4th millennium BCE
expanded from its core area on the Indus valley
- far east as the Ganges River
- south to present day Maharashtra
Weights, measures, and bricks were all standardized
- indicating a high level of cultural uniformity
demise of the Indus civilization may have been caused by environmental change
- disrupted the delicate balance between the cities and their agricultural base
Most of the Harappan people worked the land
- grew wheat, barley, rice and cotton
- planted at the beginning or end of the flood season
- relied on the drenched land to provide the necessary water for their crops
Harappan city dwellers engaged in industry and commerce
- food surplus
- Some artisans worked bronze and copper into tools,
- others made silver vessels and gold, shell, and ivory jewelry
- Harappans also mass – produced clay pots, spun and wove cotton cloth
Merchants who handled these goods used soapstone seals to identify bundles of merchandise
- discovery by archaeologists of Harappan seals in Mesopotamia
- Indus Valley people traded with people of Mesopotamia as early as 2300 BC

(3) Language and Religion

Harappans inscribed pictograms on the seals that placed on packages of goods
- have yet to decipher these inscriptions
- almost the only known examples of the written language of the Harappan civilization
Some believe that the Harappans made their pictograms after adopting the idea of writing from the people of Mesopotamia
lack of written records
- made it difficult to learn as much about the Harappan civilization as is known about Egypt and Mesoptoamia
- Artifacts found in the ruins have provided archaeologists with some clues
animal and humanlike figures
- suggest that the Harappans worshipped gods associated with natural forces

(4) Collapse of a Civilization

Harappan civilization had disappeared
- 1500 BC
- many theories for what caused this collapse.
Evidence of floods suggests possible climate changes
Mohenjo – Daro ruins are signs that some of its people may have met a violent end
- possibly at the hands of invaders

2. Aryans

Indo – European group
- from areas north of the Black and Caspian Seas
invasion began around 1500 BC
- horse-drawn chariots carrying tall, light – skinned warriors
- For several generations
- swept through passes in the mountains known as the Hindu Kush into the Indus River valley
- from there into northern India
After conquering the people of the Indus River valley
- Aryans moved southeast into the Ganges Plain
- subdued the local inhabitants
- developed a new civilization
- eventually spread over much of South Asia

a) Ways of Life

loosely organized into tribes of nomadic herders
Each tribe was led by a rajah, or chief
Ancient Aryan legends and hymns describe people
- delighted in waging war
- gambling on chariot races
- singing and dancing at festivals
Cattle were the basis of their diet and economy,
- serving as money
- Wealth was measured in cattle
- Aryans raided each other’s herds
- often at war
Dozens of Aryan words describe cattle
- indicating their continued prominence in Aryan life
- provided meat, fresh milk, and ghee, or liquid butter
fertile Indus valley was ideal for farming
- soon settled down into an agricultural way of life
- Aryans also hunted game and butchered sheep and goats from their herds
herds would be considered so sacred that a ban was placed on eating meat
Aryans also ate cucumbers, bananas, and barley cakes
Men dominated the Aryan world
- woman had some say in choosing a husband
- man she married expected no challenge to his authority.
women took part in religious ceremonies and social affairs,
- allowed to remarry if they were widowed
- freedoms they would lose in the centuries to come
girls and boys from families of high rank attended school
- learned Aryan traditions

b) Language and Traditions

Aryans had no written language
Sanskrit
- their spoken language
- evolved slowly and became one of the major languages of India
- same root words as English, Spanish, French, and German
Aryan warrior – herders sang rousing hymns and recited epics
- long poems celebrating their heroes
- hymns and poems were passed by word of mouth from generation to generation
- Families of warriors and priests were responsible for preventing this oral heritage
Eventually, the Aryans developed a written form of Sanskrit
Priests collected the hymns, books known as Vedas
- ‘Books of Knowledge’
- formed the basis of Aryan religious practices
Vedas are extremely valuable sources of knowledge
- historians would know little about the Aryans
- Aryans left no artifacts or structures
Indian history from 1200 BC - 500 BC is known as the Vedic Age
Rig – Veda
- oldest of the four Vedas
- dates from around 1000 BC
- completed c. 90 BCE
- records legends that tell us about Aryan life
- one of the world’s oldest religious texts still in use
religion of the ancient Aryan tribes is known largely from the hymns of the Rig Veda, the Vedas, Brahmanas, and Upanishads
- focused on sacrifices to a pantheon of deities and semigods.
Vedic Hinduism
- spread over much of India before the rise of Buddhism
Jainism
- developed in reaction to the excesses of Aryan religious practices
- emphasized ahimsa (nonviolence), meditation, and the suppression of desire for worldly possessions
Buddhist texts abound in geographic references and mention the 16 great domains of north and central India
- the Mahanjanapadas

c) India’s Two Epics

addressed the concepts of good and evil
- became the spiritual forebears of India’s main religions.
Mahabharata
- 100,000 verses in length
- as long as the first five books of the Bible
- collection of writings by several authors
- Some characters are historical
- others represent human ideals and various deities
- Woven into the story of two families’ struggle for power are discussions of religion and philosophy
Ramayana
- grew to 24,000 verses before it was written down
- presents the moving tale of Rama and Sita
- Rama was the ideal king
- Sita, his faithful wife
- describing the struggle between good and evil
- tells how the demon Ravana captures Sita

3. Mauryan Empire

India has never been completely cut off from other lands
- high mountain barriers in the north
- Aryans marched through the mountain passes to invade the Indus River Valley
- others followed
Persian ruler Darius I conquered lands in the Indus River valley
- 500s BC
Alexander the Great invaded the same area
- 327 BC
Indian merchants carried on a busy trade with the Roman Empire
no Indian king or foreign conqueror had ever succeeded in uniting the separate kingdoms into one Indian nation

a) Magadha

Ganges plain was dominated by 16 distinct political units
- c. 600 BCE
- all came under the control of the state of Magadha
Magadha
- one Indian kingdom
- expanding in the north
King Bimbisara added to its territory by conquest and marriage
- Ruled Magadha
- 542 BC - 495 BC
- Magadha declined after Bimbisara’s death
- to become the center of India’s first empire
military officer named Chandragupta Mauyra
- 321 BC
- overthrew the Magadhan king
- proclaimed himself ruler
Chandragupta Mauyra
- skilled administrator
- achievements included the development of an efficient postal system
kept control of his empire
- maintaining a strong army
- using an extensive spy network
founded a Mauryan kingdom
- included most of northern and central India
- lasted until 184 BC

b) Asoka’s Enlightened Rule

Indian civilization blossomed during the reign of Chandragupta’s grandson
- Asoka / Ashoka
rule began in 274 BC
- fierce wars of conquest
merciless armies hunted down and killed their enemies
built an empire that covered two – thirds of the Indian subcontinent
one particularly brutal battle
- Asoka rode out to view the battlefield
- Indian ruler was horrified
- Determined never again to rule by force and terror
- Asoka renounced war
he would follow the teachings of Buddha
- become a man of peace
- missionaries spread Buddhism throughout India and other parts of Asia
Asoka issued laws stressing concern for other human beings
- wrote them in the local languages rather than in Sanskrit.
known today as the Rock Edits
- carved on rocks and on tall stone pillars throughout the vast empire
Asoka’s public projects reflected the same care for people.
- provided free hospitals and veterinary clinics
- built fine roads, with rest houses and shade trees for the traveler’s comfort
permitted his subjects to practice Hinduism if they wished
- The Hindu cast system continued

c) Collapse of Mauryan Empire

Mauryan Empire declined after Asoka’s death
- 232 BC
successors
- levied heavy taxes on the goods sold by merchants
- seized large portions of crops grown by peasants
caused the people to turn against the Mauryas
last Mauryan ruler was murdered
- 184 BC
- northern India again split into many small warring kingdoms

B. China

1. Early China

Chinese lived in relative isolation from the rest of the world
- many centuries
- called their homeland Zhong Guo (Joong gwah), or ‘the Middle Kingdom.’
it was the center of the whole world
- one truly supreme civilization
lack of outside contacts allowed the Chinese to develop one culture across many regions
- strong sense of national identity as well

a) China’s Geography

varied geography has affected its historical development.
Mountains make up about one – third of China’s area
- Himalayas close off China to the southwest
- western border rise the Kunlun Shan and Tian Shan ranges
Gobi desert
- To the east of the Tian Shan
China’s coastline touches the Pacific Ocean
- mostly focused on developing the agriculture of eastern China’s fertile river valleys and plains
- east welcomed life
- large numbers of Chinese have farmed in the region’s North China Plain
Three major rivers drain easter China
- Huan He (Hwong Huh
- Chang Jiang (Chahng Jyahng), known also as the Yangtze (Yangsee)
- Xi Jiang (Shee jyahng), also called the West River
Huang He
- flows more than 2,900 miles from the northern highlands eastward to the Yellow Sea
- cuts through thick layers of loess (Lehs)
- rich yellow soil
- river carries away large amounts of loess
- deposits farther downstream
- abundance of yellow soil in the Huang’s waters gives it its name – Yellow River
- Chinese sometimes called the Huang He ‘the Great Sorrow’
- tragedy brought by its floods
- silt deposits brought by the flooding river have made the North China Plain a rich agricultural area
favorable climate also contributes to successful farming on the North China Plain
- Melting snow from the mountains
- monsoon rains between July and October
- feed the Huang He
- Farmers of the region have long depended on the seasonal rhythm of temperature and rainfall

b) The Shang Dynasty

little is known about the origins of Chinese civilization
archaeologists in the Huang He valley uncovered traces of Neolithic life in China
- AD 1920s
- magnificent painted pots of the Yang – shao (Yahng Show) culture date back to 3000 – 1500 BC
Archaeologists have discovered that the Lungshan culture
- 2500 – 2000 BC
- used potter’s wheel to make delicate pots and goblets
- These and other Neolithic finds dated to earlier than 5000 BC
dynasties ruled China
- beginning of its recorded history - early 1900s
- Western historians have followed the Chinese practice of dividing Chinese history into periods based on the reigns of these ruling families
Huang He valley
- like the river valleys of Egypt, the Fertile Crescent, and South Asia
- invited settlement from very early times
urban civilization of Shang China
- developed c.1800 BCE
- middle valley of the Yellow River
The Shang state was feudal
- core territory under the direct control of the kings
- outlying areas less securely attached
Shang kings used ancestor worship and divination to confirm their dynastic status
capitals were mainly ritual centers
- palace complexes
- elaborate royal burial places

(1) Chinese Myths

Chinese developed many myths to explain their remote past
One myth tells how the universe was created
- from the body of a giant named Pan Gu (Pahn Goo),
- hatched an egg
Other legends celebrate the deeds of hero – kings.
- larger – than – life rulers
- Yao (Yow), a person in the form of a mountain
- Shun, the master of elephants
Yu the Great, was a miraculous engineer.
- According to a myth about Yu: ‘When widespread waters swelled to Heaven and serpents and dragons did harm, Yao sent Yu to control the waters and to drive out the serpents and dragons. The waters were controlled and flowed to the east. The serpents and dragons plunged to their places.’
Yu the Great founded China’s first dynasty
- Xia (Syah), around 2000 BC
- Archaeologists, however, have yet to find evidence of the legendary Xia
first dynasty to be dated from written records in China is the Shang

(2) Early Religion

Shang kings were political leaders
- also performed religious duties
high priests
- communicate with nature deities on behalf of the people
- prayed, made offerings, and performed sacrifices to gain a good harvest, a change in the weather, or victory in battle
Kings had special powers for calling upon their ancestors
- priest scratch a question on an animal bone or sometime on a tortoise shell
- priest then applied intense heat to the bone
- bone would crack
- priest would interpret the splintered pattern of cracks as the answer to the kings to predict the future
- scratchings on the oracle bones… are the first known examples of writing in China

(3) Important Achievements

priests writing on the oracle bones used a script with many characters
- characters represented objects, ideas, or sounds
- written in vertical columns
- writer had to memorize each character
- few people in ancient China could read and write
perfected their metal – casting skills
- produced some of the finest bronze objects ever made
- included bronze daggers, figurines, and ritual urns
- built massive ceremonial cauldrons that stood on legs
- Bronze fittings adorned hunting chariots
- warriors carried bronze daggers
absolute power was based on the labor of farmers
- cultivated beans and millet with tools of wood and stone
Artisans
- carved beautiful ivory and jade statues
- wove silk into elegantly colored cloth for the upper class
- fashioned pottery from kaolin, a fine white clay
Archaeologists today have identified seven capital cities
- including the city of Anyang (Ahnyahng)
- excavations reveal the general layout of Anyang
- palace and temple stood at the center of the city
- public buildings and homes of government officials circled the royal sanctuary
- Beyond the city’s center stood various workshops and other homes

(4) Expansion and Decline

Shang kings at first ruled over a small area in northern China
their armies conquered more distant territories
- equipped with bronze weapons and chariots, and
- took over most of the Huang He valley
Shang dynasty lacked strong leaders
- in time grew weak
Wu
- c. 1000 BC
- ruler of a former Shang territory in the northwest
- marshaled his forces and marched on the capital.
- killed the Shang king
- established a new dynasty
- known as the Zhou (Joh)
- ruled China for 800 years

c) The Enduring Zhou

(1) Politics

Zhou (Joh) wrested political control from the Shang
- 1028 BC
- claiming the Mandate of Heaven, or heaven’s approval.
called their king the Son of Heaven
- saying that the Shang had lost the mandate by ruling poorly
under the Western Zhou
- greater political unity developed
royal family assigning territories to their vassals to create a proto – feudal state
- kings set up an agricultural system
- nobles owned the land and peasants worked it
- They appointed their relatives to govern
- giving each one a city – state
Constant rivalry and dissent gradually eroded centralized power
new capital was established at Luoyang
- 770 BCE
- under the eastern Zhou
looser political federation came about
- bound together by the need for defense against hostile neighbors
- common cultural values reflected in the use of coinage
- richly decorated tombs
- writings of Confucius
Zhou suffered a severe defeat in a conflict with their enemies
- 771 BC
- political power fell increasingly to local nobles
nobles fought small wars until the 200s BC
- several city – states were locked in a struggle that ended the Zhou era

(2) Culture

Human sacrifice declined
defensive walls began to be built
first literary records of Chinese history emerged
- elaborated the system of picture writing begun by the Shang
Zhou are remembered for many technological advances.
built roads
expanded foreign trade
obtained horses from western nomads
- forming a cavalry
- horse – drawn chariots
added a deadly weapon – the crossbow
iron plows were invented
irrigation systems were developed
- flood – control systems were initiated
led to population growth
- Zhou China became the world’s most densely populated country

2. Schools of Thought

scholars sought solutions to problems of political breakdown and social disorder
- late Zhou era
- efforts led to the rise of major philosophies
- Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism
philosophies dealt very little with the supernatural or with eternal life
- focused on life in this world and how it should be lived

a) Confucianism

China’s most influential scholar was Kongfuzi (Koong – Foo – Dzuh)
- known in the West as Confucius
- Born about 551 BC to a peasant family
- 551 – 479 BCE
at first sought a political post but later became a teacher
state that social harmony and good government would return to China
- if people lived according to principles of ethics
- good conduct and moral judgment
a student asked Confucius for a single world that could serve as a principle for conduct
- ‘Perhaps the word reciprocity will do. Do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you.’
- rule is similar to a family teaching of Judaism and Christianity, sometimes called the Golden Rule
promulgated a system of filial observance, learning, obedience, and selfishness
- became central to Chinese imperial policy and governance

(1) The Five Relationships

Confucius stressed the importance of moral behavior in five basic relationships
1. ruler and subject
2. parent and child
3. husband and wife
4. old and young
5. friend and friend
code of proper conduct governed each of these relationships
- rulers had a duty to rule justly and to set an example of right living
- subjects should be loyal and obey the law
Confucius cared especially about filial piety
- children’s respect for their parents and elders
- family represented society in miniature
Confucius died in 479 BC
teachings were collected in a work called Analects.
Han dynasty
- Confucian ethics provided the basis for the civil service system
- continue to shape Chinese society and government until the early 1900s

b) Legalism

Opposition to Confucian ideas
rejected the Confucian idea of learning by example
developed from the teachings of Hanfeizi (Hahn – Fay – Dzee)
- scholar who lived during the 200s BC
humans were by nature evil
- required a strong, forceful government
- make them attend to their duties
emphasized the importance of strict laws and harsh punishments
justification of force and power
- favored by many nobles
- became the official party of the Qin dynasty
- unified China during the 200s BC
influence was reflected in the harsh laws and punishments often inflicted on China’s peasant population

c) Daoism

(1) Daoist Ideas

see it also as Taoism
codified by Lao – tzu
- also see it as Laozi
- 605 BC – 520 BCE
- ideas were recorded in the Dao De Jing
developed during the Zhou dynasty
- most widespread of Chinese religions
emphasized living in harmony with nature
- people should renounce worldly ambitions
- turn to nature and the Dao, the universal force that’s guides all things
rejected formal social structures and the idea that people must fill specific roles in society
Based on the worship of ancestors, nature spirits, and sacred places
emphasizing harmony with nature
- Daoists deeply influenced Chinese paitings and poetry
Daoists simplicity seemed to opposed Confucian formalism
- person could be both a Confucianist and a Daoist.
- Confucianism provided the pattern for government and one’s place in the social order
- Daoism emphasized harmony within the individual attuned to nature
- emphasis of each was different, a person could easily be both

(2) Yin and Yang

Chinese theory related to Daoist ideas was the concept of yin and yang
- two opposing forces believed to be present in all nature
Yin
- cool, dark, female, and submissive
yang
- warm, light, male and aggressive
Everything had both elements
- two elements had to be in balance for harmony.
Human life and natural events resulted from the interplay between yin and yang

d) Buddhism

Buddhism reached China
- just as the Han empire was collapsing
emphasis on personal salvation in nirvana
appealed to many people seeking an escape from suffering.
- Confucianists could follow its Eightfold Path
- Daoists admired its use of meditation
Buddhism was widely embraced in China
- AD 400s
firm base established in India under Ashoka
taken root in many parts of Southeast Asia
- 5th century CE
- frequently in conjunction with Hinduism
- sponsored by increasingly Indianized states

3. Society and Culture

Confucian values governed all aspects of personal and social life in Han China
- ‘With harmony at home, there will be order in the nation, With order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.’
the family was supreme in Chinese society
- the focus of life
- bound together strongly by mutual love, loyalty, and dependence

a) Family Life

(1) Relationships

Family members did not relate to each other as equals
family was a strict hierarchy
- organized into different levels of importance
oldest male in the home, usually the father, was dominant
Next in rank was the oldest son
- followed by all the younger sons and all the females
mother came before the daughters
finally – at the bottom – the youngest daughter or childless daughter – in – law
Each family member expected obedience from those who were further down in the hierarchy
- each obeyed and respected those who were above

(2) Family Rules

Strict rules governed the relationship between husbands and wives, parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, and other relatives
Each family member knew his or her place and understood its duties
each was careful not to bring dishonor on the family by failing in those duties
the duty to family members did not stop at death
- all were expected to pay respect to departed ancestors
Typical homes in Han China did not have the extended families that would later be typical
- they had what we call today nuclear families
- each consisting of parents and their children
father did everything
- assigned his children’s careers
- determined their education
- arranged their marriages
- meted out rewards or punishments
- controlled the family finances
family also provided support for members who themselves could not contribute
- the aged, the young, the sick, and even the lazy
the system offered many opportunities for exploiting those further down in the hierarchy
- few fathers were tyrants
- practiced ethical principles of kindness and compassion
- either from genuine love or from fear of the disapproval of others and the scorn of their ancestors

(3) Status of Women

under the Confucian social system
- women were subordinate to men
- Confucius himself has little regard for women
Girls began life subservient to their fathers and brothers
- Later their husbands and in – laws were their superiors
- eventually even a mother came under the authority of her own sons
Parents valued baby girls far less than baby boys
- poor family had to work hard to raise and support a child
- she left home to become part of her husband’s family as soon as she married
- if that child was a daughter
Some women were able to gain respect in Chinese homes
- they became revered with marriage and motherhood
opportunities for women, such as education, were limited
women fared far better under the Han than they would in later centuries
- could inherit property
- even own it after they married
- could remarry after a husband’s death

(4) Society and Economy

Chinese society consisted of three main classes: landowners, peasants, and merchants
Landowning families were wealthy
- lived in tile – roofed mansions with courtyards and gardens
- surrounded their homes with walls to protect them from bandits
- filled their rooms with fine furniture
- adorned them with silk wall hangings and carpets
- feasted on a rich variety of foods
landholders’ wealth was generally limited
- families rarely kept their holdings for more than a few generations
- family’s land was divided, it went to all the sons, not just the oldest
- in time individual landowners had less and less property
90% of the Chinese people were peasants
- wealth that supported the lifestyles of the rich was gained from the hard labor of the peasants
- cultivated the land
- most Chinese peasants lived in rural villages
- worked fields outside their mud walls
- homes were simple
- ate a plain diet that featured millet, rice, beans, turnips, and fish
- faced constant threats from floods and from famines
- rent for the land, peasants turned over part of their produce to the landowner
- government required them to pay taxes
- work one month each year on public works projects such as road building
- peasants were drafted into the army as soldiers
the bottom of the social hierarchy were merchants
- included shopkeepers, traders, service workers, and even bankers
- merchants lived in towns and provided goods and services for the wealthy
- In spite of the great wealth that many merchants accumulated
- Chinese society generally held them in contempt.
- Confucianism taught that the pursuit of profit was an unworthy pastime for the ‘superior’ individual.
- Merchants were not allowed to take the civil service examinations and enter government service
all the people in Han society except merchants, the civil service system provided opportunities for advancement
- expense of education blocked most of the poor from competing
- poor but talented individuals sometimes rose to positions of power and influence

b) Literature

Particularly prized was a collection of books called the Five Classics
- some of which were written before Confucius
- All candidates for the civil service were required to master them
- According to tradition, they were compiled or edited by Confucius himself.
Classic of Changes or I Ching or Book of Changes
- presents a complex system for foretelling the future and choosing a course of action
- manual of divination based on the eight trigrams attributed to the mythical emperor Fu Xi
- By Confucius' time these eight trigrams had been multiplied to sixty-four hexagrams
- still used by adherents of folk religion
- trigram is three solid or interrupted lines used for writing
Classic of Poetry or The Book of Odes or Book of songs
- made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs
- written between 1000 BC and 600 BC
- 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities
- 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies
- 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house
- traditionally credited as a compilation from Confucius.
- oldest of the Five Classics
Classic of Rites or Book of Documents
- social forms and ceremonies (also spelled Liki),
- restoration of the original Lijing
- lost in the third century B.C.
- describes ancient rites and court ceremonies.
- records political speeches and documents from early in the Zhou dynasty
- including the earliest statement of the Mandate of Heaven
Classic of History
- alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early Zhou period and before
- Han Chinese encouraged literary pursuits and made literature available to everyone
- Written by Sima Qian during the reign of Wudi, it is the first true history of ancient China
- contains examples of early Chinese prose.
- collection of documents and speeches
Spring and Autumn Annals
- historical record of the state of Lu, Confucius' native state,
- 722 B.C. - 479 B.C.
- written (or edited) by Confucius
- implied condemnation of usurpations, murder, incest, etc.
Classic of Music
- sometime referred to as the sixth classic
- lost by the time of the Han dynasty

c) Science and Technology

(1) Astronomy

Chinese astronomers had calculated the length of the solar year as 365 ¼ days
- 300s BC
gazed through bronze tubes equipped with a device that divided the sky into measured segments
- allowing them to make accurate measurements
kept valuable records of solar and lunar eclipses and comet sightings
Chinese astronomers recorded the appearance of the object that would later be called Halley’s comet
- 240 BC

(2) Medicine

Chinese physicians recognized nutrition as vital
- realized that some diseases resulted from vitamin deficiencies
- did not identify vitamins as such
- discovered and prescribed foods that would correct some problems
- understood that many herbs had medicinal value
doctors treated ailments and relieved pain with acupuncture
- skin is pierced with thin needles at vital points
- believed acupuncture restored the balance between yin and yang in a person’s body

(3) Farming and Transport

Complex irrigation systems drained swamps and diverted rivers to quench parched fields
Fertilizing crops helped farmers produce enough to feed China’s population
Veterinary medicine helped save many farm animals
New canals and improved roadways reduced the cost of distributing food and spread ideas rapidly

(4) Inventions

silk was in great demand as a trade item
- worth was attested to by the name of one of the history’s greatest trade routes
- the Silk Road
- Caravans carried the precious cargo as far as Rome
Paper was probably invented by 100 BC
- officially credited to an inventor of about 200 years later
- Artisans pounded tree bark, hemp, or rags into a pulp
- treating it with gelatin
- could then make paper
- first for wrapping and clothing
- soon recognized as an ideal writing material
invention of paper benefited the bureaucratic Han government
- centralized structure resulted in an explosion in the number of documents
- Most were written on strips of wood
- fragile and cumbersome to work with
- use of paper had many obvious advantages
improved mining and construction
- Miners drilled boreholes to obtain salt from the earth
- using iron drill bits driven by workers on seesaw – like levers
wheelbarrow
- first used on building sites around 100 BC
first printed books
earliest technologies for casting bronze and iron
suspension bridge
compass
gunpowder

4. Chinese Dynasties

a) The Mighty Qin

Zhou confederation eventually collapsed into bitter civil war
Warring States period
- 403 – 221 BCE
- several small states were struggling for control in China.
State on the western border ruled by the Qin
- Qin had wiped out the Zhou and conquered the rest of northern China
- 221 BC
- uniting much of the nation under a strong central authority for the first time
gradually brought to an end by the Qin dynasty
- created by alliance, diplomacy, and conquest
- first unified Chinese empire

(1) 1st Emperor

series of ruthless campaigns by Shi Huangdi (Shur – Hwong – Dee)
- First Emperor
- extended Qin domains far to the north and to the south
- Yangtze valley to the borders of modern Vietnam
process of centralization and standardization was introduced
- minimize regional differences and tribal dissent
set out to create a government directly under his control.
reorganized the empire into military districts
- appointed educated men instead of nobles as officials to run his government
- system prevented local lords from becoming strong enough to challenge the power of the central government
other changes to further centralize his control
- devised a system of weights and measures to replace the various systems used in different regions
- standardized coins
- instituted a uniform writing system
- set up a law code throughout China.
used forced labor to accomplish them
- Gangs of Chinese peasants dug canals and built roads
imposed censorship
- clamping down on scholars who discussed books and ideas
- ordered all books burned except those about ‘practical’ subjects like agriculture, medicine, and magic
- 213 BC
- hoped to break people’s ties to the past
- so they would not criticize the present
- About 460 scholars resisted and were executed
subjects saw him as a cruel tyrant
- lost the Mandate of Heaven
- Nobles were angry because he had destroyed the aristocracy
- scholars detested him for the burning of books
- peasants hated his forced – labor gangs
Qin died
- 210 BC
- dynasty itself came to an end
rule of the Qin established foundations for the Chinese state that would last 2,000 years

(2) The Great Wall

area of the Qin state was effectively tripled in 16 years
- constant threat to the northern borders by nomadic steppe peoples such as the Xiongnu
- led to the construction of the first Great Wall
shoring up China’s defenses to the north
Earlier rules had built walls to prevent attacks by nomadic invaders
- Qin ordered those walls connected
Over several years
- some 300,000 peasants toiled
- thousands died
- to complete the more than 4,000 mi long wall.
- Rebuilt by later rulers
Great Wall of China
- monument to Qin’s ambition and to the peasants who carried out their emperor’s will

b) The Glorious Han

Liu Bang (Lyoh Bong) overthrew the Qin
- 207 BC
- military official from a peasant background
- declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Han
ruled China for over 400 years
- brief interuption under Wang Mang from 9 – 25 CE
- Han governed China until AD 220
established China as the most dominant cultural, political, and economic force in Asia
Trade was not regarded as an imperial concern
- desirable goods were drawn into Han markets by successive middlemen on the empire’s fringes
- along the great trans – Eurasian land routes and by sea
- spices from South and Southeast Asia
- trepang (dried sea cucumber) and mother – of – pearl from the East Indies and, with the extension of the empire into Central Asia, the
- swift cavalry horse of Ferghana (central Asia) became highly prized
- products such as silk and lacquerware commanded high prices across Asia.
constructed a new Great Wall to protect their northern borders
- established military garrisons from Korea in the east to Champa (Vietnam) in the south and Ferghana in the west
- to protect their expanding empire
Buddhism entered China during this period
- Han bureaucracy was structured on Confucian principles
First imperial census
- 2 CE
- revealed a Chinese population of over 57 million
- living mainly in the river valleys of the north
Han emperors used Qin forms of centralized power
- without the harshness of Qin rule
Han China rivaled the Roman Empire in its power and achievement

(1) Advances Under Wudi

Han dynasty reached its peak during the reign of Wudi (Woo – Dee)
- ruled from 141 BC to 87 BC
- one of the most talented and dynamic rulers in Chinese history
- personally supervised all aspects of his government
extended his empire
- sent huge armies against nomadic invaders and other non – Chinese peoples
- conquered lands to the north
- including Korea and Manchuria
- south into Southeast Asia
- west to northern India
Wudi sent out an expedition led by Zhang Qian (Jayng Chyen)
- 139 BC
- general and explorer
Zhang staggered back
- 13 years later
- had been nearly wiped out by barbarians attacks,
- general had endured more than 10 years of captivity
Zhang brought back amazing tales heard on his travels
- told of a great empire to the west
- huge cities full of people ‘who cut their hair short, wear embroidered garments, and ride in very small chariots.’
- describing Rome
- gave Han ruler their first hint of another civilization as advanced as their own
Wudi’s new interest in the West led to the expansion of trade routes later known as the Silk Road
- fed by news of Zhang Qian’s explorations
Silk Road
- Winding past deserts and through mountain passes
- linked East and West
- allowed traders to exchange China’s fine silk for Middle Eastern and European products
- such as gold, glassware, and wool and linen fabrics

(2) Pax Sinica

China enjoyed a 400 – year period of prosperity and stability
- Under the Han
- later referred to as the Pax Sinica
- Chinese Peace
- coincided with the Pax Romana in the West
Wudi adopted an economic policy designed to prevent food shortages and high prices
- Government agents stored surplus food during years of plenty
- sold it when harvests were poor
- China was able to feed its growing population
emperors had chosen as their officials members of their families or of the aristocracy
- practice that led easily to corruption in the government
Wudi wanted talented people to govern
- initiated changes
- asked people to recommend candidates
- took long, difficult written examinations
- official ‘graded’ the tests
- emperor evaluated the results and appointed those with the highest scores
evolved into the civil service
- system that, in theory
- allowed anyone with ability to attain public office
system favored the wealthy
- usually only they could afford to obtain enough education to pass the exams
civil service system made scholars the most respected members of society
- new class of educated civil servants
- called mandarins
- controlled the government
- would do so until the early 1900s
After Wudi’s reign
- Han power declined until the dynasty eventually fell
- AD 220
- Han achievements in government, technology, science, and the arts were lasting

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