Early Civilizations of India and China
2500 B.C. – 256 B.C.
Cities of the Indus Valley
India’s first civilization in the Indus River Valley
Subcontinent
• Large landmass that juts out from a continent• India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh,
& Bhutan
Mountains
• Hindu Kush• Himalaya
Monsoons
• Seasonal wind• Defining feature of Indian life• October– Hot, dry air that withers crops
• May– Wet summer rains– Daily downpours
• Each year monsoons are needed– Too much rain resulting in floods– Too little rain leading to famine
Cultural Diversity
• Many different people and languages• Hard to unify the subcontinent
Indus Valley Civilization
• 2500 B.C.• Urban civilization characterized by large cities
such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro• Uniformity of city planning and cultural
elements suggests presence of a strong central government
• Traded goods with people of Central Asia, Arabia, and Mesopotamia
• Writing system never translated
Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro
• High defensive walls• Large temples• Grain warehouses• Citadels– Fortress
• Carefully planned– Lain out on a grid– Uniform house construction– Modern plumbing– Community wells
Most were farmers
• Wheat, barley, melons, dates• Firsts to weave cotton into clothing
Merchants and Traders
• Traded along Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea
Religious Beliefs
• Polytheistic• Mother goddess• Holy animals– Veneration of cattle• Special regard for something
Decline & Disappearance
• 1750 B.C.• Quality of life declined– Damage to the environment?– Volcanic eruption and flood?– Earthquake?
• 1500 B.C.– Aryan invasion– Horse drawn chariot and superior weapons
Kingdoms of the Ganges
Aryan warriors invaded India
Aryan Civilization
• Unsure where they came from• Warlike people• Communities lead by rajas• Divided society into four varnas and hundreds
of smaller castes• Religious beliefs outlined in the Vedas
Vedas
• Collection of prayers, hymns, and religious teachings
• Not written down for 1,000s of years
Vedic Age
• 1500 – 500 B.C.• Warriors who fought from chariots with
bows/arrows• Loved eating, drinking, music, chariot races,
etc
Nomadic herders
• Valued cattle• Later became farmers
Aryans Society
• Aryans felt they were superior to the Dravidians– The people they conquered
• Divided people by occupation– Varnas (classes)– Subgroups you are born into and cannot change
Brahmins
• Highest ranking varna• Smallest group– Priests – Teachers
Kshatriyas (ksha-TREE-uhs)
• Warriors • Rulers• Had highest status in the beginning– Then priests moved up
Vaisyas (vysh-yuhs)
• Common people– Traders– Farmers– Herders– Artisans
Sudras
• Non-Aryans • Dravidians
Aryan religious beliefs
• Polytheistic• Gods were of natural forces– Sky, sun, storms, fire
• Brahmins offered sacrifices of food and drink to gods– Rituals and prayers
Indra
• Fierce god of war
Varuna
• God of order and creation
Agni
• God of fire• Messenger for the gods
Animal gods
• Monkey• Snake
Brahman
• Single spiritual power in all things
Mystics
• People devoted to seeking spiritual truth– Meditation– Yoga
Rajahs
• Aryans tribal chiefs• Elected by the warriors• Some rajahs rose to power and controlled
many cities
From nomads to farmers
• Gradually gave up nomadic lifestyle for farming
• Breeding cattle
Expansion
• Colonized Ganges basin• 800 B.C. learned to make iron tools
New Indian Civilization
• 500 B.C.• Acculturation– Blending of cultures• Aryan• Dravidian
• Sanskrit– Written language
Epic Literature
• Mahabharata• Ramayana– Long oral tradition before the creation of Sanskrit
Mahabharata
• India’s greatest epic– 100,000 verses
• Pandava brothers loose kingdom to cousins– After an 18 day battle they regain their kingdom– This brings peace back to India
• Bhagavad-Gita– One episode• The immortality of the soul• The importance of duty
Ramayana
• Shorter but just as important• Ravana
– Demon who kidnaps Sita• Rama rescues her with help from Hanuman, a monkey• Rama
– The hero– Model of virtue– Ideal ruler
• Sita– Rama’s bride– Ideal woman– Obedient and loyal to her husband
Early Civilization in China
Early Chinese developed a complex civilization
Zhongguo
• Middle Kingdom– Ancient name for China– Center of the Earth– Source of civilization
Geographic barriers
• West & Southwest– Mountains• Tien Shan• Himalayas
• North– Gobi Desert
• Southeast– Jungles
• East– Pacific Ocean
Isolated Civilization
• There was some contact with the outside world– Mainly nomadic raiders
Main Regions
• Huang He River Valley• Yangzi River Valley• Xinjiang– Harsh climate– Rugged terrain– Nomads and subsistence farmers
• Manchuria
• Mongolia– Harsh climate– Rugged terrain– Nomads and
subsistence farmers• Xizang– Tibet
“River of Sorrows”
• Chinese history began in the Huang He River Valley
• Loess– Fine, windblown yellow soil
• Nickname because of constant flooding due to the amount of loess
Shang Dynasty
• Started in Huang He River Valley• Ruled by emperors• Religion centered on ancestor worship• Skilled at working with bronze• Developed China’s first writing system & a
lunar calendar
Government
• Capital of Anyang• Shang kings only controlled a small area• Clans– Loyal princes and nobles– Groups of families with common ancestry
Social classes
• Emperor• Nobles• Warriors• Artisans & merchants• Peasants
Peasant life
• Small farming villages– Pit houses
• All family members worked in the fields– Stone tools
• Repairing dikes and irrigation system• Fight for the nobles if war broke out
Religious Beliefs
• Complex religion• Many gods and natural spirits• Shang Di– Heavenly teacher– King was a link to Shang Di
Ancestor Worship
• Praying to ancestors• Only spirits of the greatest mortals could talk
to the gods– At first only the upper class ancestors were worthy
of this honor– Eventually all classes began to pray to their
ancestors
Yin & Yang
Oracle bones
• Earliest form of Chinese writing– Animal bones and turtle shells
• Asked the gods a question– Heated bones or shell until it cracked– Look at cracks for answers from the gods
Writing
• 4,000 years ago• 10,000 characters• Only the well to do could afford the years of
study it took to master reading and writing• Calligraphy– Fine handwriting
• A Force of Unity
Zhou Dynasty
• 1027 B.C.– Overthrew the Shang
• The Mandate of Heaven– Divine right to rule– Used to justify the overthrow of the Shang• The gods had chosen to overthrow the Shang• Mandate was then passed to the Zhou
Feudal State
• Zhou rewarded supporters by granting them control over certain areas
• Feudalism– Local lords governed their own lands and owed
military service to the ruler• In theory Zhou ruled China– For 250 years this was true– After 771 B.C. the noble had the real power
Economic Growth
• 500 B.C. ironworking– Iron tools and farm implements led to more food
• New crops like soybeans• Large scale irrigation projects made farming
even more productive
Commerce Grows
• Began to use money• Merchants benefited from new roads and
canals built by the nobles
Yangzi Valley
• Increase in population• People expanded from the Huang He valley
into the Yangzi valley
Achievements
• Astronomy– Studied movement of planets– Recorded eclipses of the sun– Accurate 365¼ day calendar
• Silk making– 1000 B.C.– Silk worms and mulberry
trees– Women did the work of
harvesting the silk• Wove silk into cloth
– Only royalty could afford the silk
– China’s most valuable export• Kept process of silk making a
state secret
The First Books
• Thin strips of wood or bamboo• Book of Songs– Poems• Lives of farming people• Praising kings• Court ceremonies• Tender or sad love songs