UNIT 5CHINA

UNIT 5 KEY TERMS

1. warlord 11. legalism

2. aristocrat 12. filial piety

3. ancestor 13. karma

4. subcontinent 14. Buddhism

5. caste 15. nirvana

6. hereditary 16. Jainism

7. Mandate of Heaven

8. Hinduism

9. Confucianism

10. Daoism

THE LAND OF CHINA

Two powerful rivers have helped shape Chinese history: the Huang He (Yellow River) and the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River).

Mountains and deserts cover much of China.

They were difficult to cross, acting like walls around the country.

These natural barriers limited contact between China and other civilizations.

THE FIRST CHINESE DYNASTY

A dynasty is a line of rulers who belong to the same family.

Historians believe the first Chinese dynasty was the Shang.

The Shang dynasty began about 1750 B.C.

The Shang’s built the first cities in China.

The King was the political, religious, and military leader of Shang China.

Warlords helped the Shang kings control territories throughout the country.

Warlords and other royal officers were aristocrats (people in an upper class of society).

Their wealth comes from the land they own.

Most Chinese people, however, were farmers.

They farmed the land owned by aristocrats.

People in Shang China: worshiped many gods, believed the gods could bring good or bad fortune, honored their ancestors, believed their ancestors would bring them good luck, and made offerings to the gods and their ancestors.

Kings looked to their ancestors for help in making decisions.

Early Chinese writing used pictographs and ideographs.

Pictographs are characters that represent objects.

Ideographs are another kind of character. They link two or more pictographs to express an idea.

THE ZHOU: CHINA’S LONGEST DYNASTY

According to legend, the last Shang ruler was a wicked tyrant.

Rebels overthrew the Shang government and declared a new dynasty called the Zhou.

The Zhou ruled China for more than 800 years.

Under Zhou rulers, China grew larger.

The King divided the country into territories controlled by an aristocrat.

Zhou kings believed that the gods gave them the right to rule China. This idea was known as the Mandate of Heaven.

CHINESE PHILOSOPHIES

Between 500 B.C. and 200 B.C. Chinese thinkers developed three major philosophies.

Confucianism: People should put the needs of their family and community first.

Daoism: People should give up worldly desires in favor of nature and the Dao, the force that guides all things.

Legalism: Society needs a system of harsh laws and strict punishment.

CHINESE LIFE

Chinese society was made up of four social classes:

Aristocrats: small in number, wealthy, owned large amounts of land.

Farmers: most people, worked on aristocrats land, paid rent and taxes, served as soldiers when needed, worked on public works projects one month per year.

Artisans: skilled workers, learned family skills.

Merchants: shopkeepers and traders, lived in towns, provided goods and services to aristocrats, not respected.

The family was at the center of Chinese society.

Chinese families practiced filial piety (the responsibility children have to respect, obey, and take care of their parents.

Men and women had very different roles in early China.

Men grew crops, ran the government, and fought wars.

Women raised children and saw to their education. They also managed the household and family finances.

THE QIN EMPEROR

In 221 B.C. the ruler of the Chinese state of Qin took control of China and ended the Zhou dynasty.

The new emperor called himself Qin Shihuangdi (“the First Qin Emperor”).

Qin unified China, ruled harshly, created a single currency, hired experts to simplify and set rules for the Chinese writing system, ordered farmers to build a canal connecting the Chang Jiang River to a city in southern china, began a project to connect a series of walls across northern China to keep invaders out.

When Qin died in 210 B.C., aristocrats and farmers revolted. By 206 B.C., the Qin dynasty was over.

HAN RULERS

In 202 B.C. a new dynasty in China called the Han dynasty came to power.

The Han dynasty would rule China for over 400 years.

During the Han dynasty, many farmers became tenant farmers.

A tenant farmer works land that belongs to someone else.

Han armies conquered lands to the north, and moved south into Southeast Asia.

The Chinese lived peacefully for nearly 150 years.

New technology helped Chinese farmers produce more food. Cast-iron plow was developed, waterwheels ground more grain, silk manufacturing improved, paper was used to keep written records, the rudder allowed the Chinese to travel further.

Doctors discovered that certain foods prevented disease.

Relieved patients pain with acupuncture (practice of inserting thin, short needles into a patient’s skin at certain points to relieve pain).

ON THE SILK ROAD

During the Han period, Chinese traders grew rich by delivering expensive goods to other parts of the world.

The trade route to the West would be known as the Silk Road.

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes.

When it was completed, it stretched from China to the Mediterranean.

BUDDHISM REACHES CHINA

Buddhism spread from India to China along the Silk Road.

Long years of civil war made many Chinese feel unsafe.

Many turned to Buddhism.

Buddhist ideas appealed to people dealing with fear and worry.

By the A.D. 400’s Buddhism had become one of China’s major religions.

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

India’s first civilization began in the Indus River valley where crops grew in the rich soil.

The Indus Valley people left no written records.

ANCIENT INDIA SOCIETY

In the Aryan society, social groups developed.

They became the caste system.

A person was born into one caste and could never change to any other.

The many different castes in Indian society were grouped into four classes called varnas.

Brahmins: priests.

Kshatriyas: warriors.

Vaisyas: common people.

Sudras: lower-class workers and servants.

One group was too low to be part of the caste system, the Untouchables.

Did work considered too dirty for caste members, such as collecting trash.

Men had many more rights than women. Only men went to school or could become priests.

When they were young, some boys studied with a guru.

Older boys went to schools in the cities.

Parents chose marriage partners for their children.

Divorce was not allowed.

ORIGINS OF HINDUISM

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world.

Hindus believe in one great spirit called Brahman. They also believe that all living things and even the gods are part of Brahman.

Hindus believe that a person’s soul will eventually join Brahman. Before that can happen a soul must live many lives (reincarnation).

If people do the duties of their caste, they will get a better next life.

RISE OF BUDDHISM

Siddhartha Gautama was born about 563 B.C.

Was shocked to see that people were poor.

He left his family and lived alone.

Came to understand that the meaning of life was called “enlightenment”.

People called him the Buddha.

Taught that everyone should stop wanting fame, money, and worldly things.

They would reach nirvana (feeling of peace and happiness).

Had to follow the Eightfold Path.

JAINISM

Never harm any living creature.

ORIGIN OF AN EMPIRE

Around 325 B.C., an Indian military leader named Chandra Gupta Maurya built a strong army.

In 321 B.C., the Mauryan dynasty began.

To keep control, Gupta also set up a strong army and a spy system to make sure his subjects were loyal.

Ashoka (Gupta’s grandson) was a strong military leader who grew to hate war.

After one bloody fight, he decided to follow the teachings of Buddha and spend his life making peace.

Ashoka died in 232 B.C., and the kings who followed him were not good leaders.

In 183 B.C., the last Mauryan king was killed by one of his own generals.

After that, the Mauryan Empire split into small warring kingdoms.

THE GUPTA EMPIRE

Another man named Chandra Gupta founded the Gupta dynasty in A.D. 320.

The Guptas practiced and supported Hinduism.

CULTURE IN ANCIENT INDIA

Artists, builders, scientists, and writers were busy under the Mauryan and Gupta empires.

Music was important in the religious and social lives of the ancient Indians.

Mathematicians invented a way to show nothing by using the number 0.

Indian scientists mapped the movements of the planets and stars.

Gupta doctors set broken bones and performed operations.