The document provides an overview of ancient civilizations in India and China. It describes the Indus River civilization in India from 2300 BC, including the well-planned cities of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. It then discusses the Aryans who migrated to India and established Sanskrit and the Vedas, shaping Indian culture. Key features of Indian society discussed include the caste system, Hinduism and Buddhism as the main religions, and a lack of political unity over time. The document also summarizes the early civilizations along rivers in China, the influence of Confucianism and Taoism, and the major imperial dynasties that ruled such as the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han

1. Chapter 7
Ancient Asian Civilizations
India & China

2. The Land
Land of great diversity
Topography = physical features of land
Climate
Population
Has the highest mountain range in the
world!
Land of many people, customs and
languages

3. Indus River Civilization
2300 BC
Two cities
Mohenjo Daro & Harappa
Both had:
Careful planning
Sewer system
Drainage system
Straight streets
Trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia
Both cities ended suddenly
Flood or invasion

4. • Well organized cities • Standardized weights • Uniform bricks
and measures • High ceilings
Sample of writing
Statue of priest

5. Aryans
War-like people that
migrated into river
valley from central Asia
Fair skinned
Subdued non-Aryan people of north India
Herdsmen
Kept cows and horses
Established new language in India- Sanskrit
Wrote Vedas (“knowledge”)
Sacred writings about way of life
Became basis for Indian culture
Formative years of India 1500 BC – 500

6. Key Features Of Indian
Society
* These have not changed much from ancient times until now.

7. Joint Family
Includes children, grandchildren, wives
and others of close blood ties
Oldest male = authority figure
When son marries, his family becomes
part of father or grandfather‟s family unit
Interests of family comes before personal
individual
Arranged marriages
Benefit family‟s position and honor

9. Arranged Marriages Divorce 2-5 %
Love Marriages Divorce 50 %
WHY???

10. Village Life
 Most Indians live in villages
 8 out of 10 people
 Governed by headsman or group of elders
 Villages independent of each other
 Govern themselves

11. Where are the men?

12. Caste System
 Social status determined at birth
 Caste = rigid social group
 Rules about:
 Where to live
 Job
 What to wear
 What to eat/whom to eat with
Untouchables
 Marry only within caste
2,000-3,000 castes/sub castes
All of them fall in 4 categories

13. The Untouchables
 Those whose jobs or habits involved “polluting activities”
including:
 Any job that involved ending a life, such as fishing.
 Killing or disposing of dead cattle or working with their hides.
 Any contact with human emissions such as sweat, urine, or
feces.
 This included occupational groups such as sweepers and washermen.
 forbidden to enter temples, schools and wells where higher
castes drew water.
 ….even the sight of untouchables was thought to be
polluting.
 …..forced to sleep during the day and work at night.
 Many untouchables left their rigid social structure by
converting to Islam, Buddhism, or Christianity.
 The Caste System has been illegal in India for more than

14. Religions In India

15. Hinduism
Indian way of life (majority Indians=
Hindu)
Unified India‟s diverse society
No formal statement of doctrine
System of beliefs = many gods + many
religious concepts
Basic Tenets (Vedas & Upanishads)
god = Brahmin (“great soul” or “world soul”)
Permeates everything in universe
All gods are manifestations of Brahmin

16. Ultimate goal = reunite with world soul
This is done through reincarnations (rebirths)
Until released from cycle
Cycle of rebirths = wheel of life (samsara)
Deeds in this life determine status in next
life
Can move to higher caste
or lower caste
Release comes by:
Following rules of your casete
Observing religious rituals and oboigations

18. Buddhism
Started in India
Siddhartha Gautama (“Elightened One”
“Buddha”)
 Age 29- became troubled over suffering, poverty, death in world
 Devoted all his efforts to find a way of deliverance from
suffering
 Renounced his life of wealth, left his wife and child
 To find peace & true happiness
 Lived 6 years as a hermit (self sacrifice and meditation)
 Sat under a tree until became “enlightened”
 Four Noble Truths
1. Suffering is part of life
2. Cause of suffering is selfish desire
3. Suffering = destroying selfish desires

19. Buddhism is based on moral living
Works of people will save them, not help
from god
Once freed from desire
No more rebirth
Enter into nirvana (State of absolute peace)
Not
accepted
widely in
India, Priests
saw it as a
threat to
their social
status

21. Lack Of Political Unity
• History of constant political change
• Foreign invasions
• Rival kingdoms
• Powerful empires brought brief periods of stability

22. Mauryan Empire
 326 BC- Alexander the Great enters India
Conquers regions in north
Army refused to go further into India
 Chandragupta Maurya takes over Northern
region after Alexander the Great dies
Creates first strong empire in India
 Asoka (grandson of Chandragupta)
Conquered most of India
Sickened by war became Buddhist
Spent rest of his reign promoting Buddhism
Sent Buddhist missionaries abroad  Eastern Asia

23. Pompous
cruel
dictator
Traveled in litter
on top of Used
elephant military
force and
surrounded by spies
cages of wild
animals
Chandragupta
Strict
police
state
Women
bodyguards Paranoid that
someone was
going to kill
him

24. Sent
representatives to
hear people's
complaints
Built rest
Free
stops along hospitals
roads
Asoka
Pilgrimages Free
to Buddhist veterinary
shrines service
Traveled Public
throughout bathing
India
tanks

25. Period of Unrest and
Invasions
300s BC – 300s AD
Foreign Invasions
Small Kingdoms competing and
fighting for control
Traded with Rome and China

26. Gupta Empire
300s AD
Greatest era of Indian prosperity
Strong and effective government
Trade flourished
Culture spread throughout SE Asia
Universities
Textiles and iron work flourished
Accomplishments in
art, architecture, literature, and science

27. Notable Accomplishments
Literature
Kalidesa – poet & dramatist (Indian
Shakespeare)
 many western folktales inspired from his
stories
Math
Arabic numbers, zero
Negative numbers, decimal system
Science
Theories of gravity
Earth was round & rotated on its axis

28. 500s Gupta empire
collapsed
 Repeated attacks from White Huns
 Internal chaos, fighting, invasions
 Hinduism absorbed foreign influences into
religion

29. Muslim Invasion
Turning point in Indian history
Constant raids led to Muslim control over
northern region
1206- Built their capital in Delhi
Conflict between Hindu and Muslims
2 religions
Many gods, one god
Rigid caste system, all equal
Hostilities still remain today

30. EFFECTS OF ISLAM IN INDIA
• Islam minimized the importance of
birth and heredity and its influence
quickened in Hinduism the feelings
of social equality and brotherhood.
• Trade developed. …restoration of
contact with the outside world.
• Towns and cities prospered while
the peasants in the villages suffered
from excessive taxation and from
oppressive measures of collection.
• new system of education through
the media of Arabic and Persian.
Universities flourished. Only Muslim
converts allowed.

31. China- The Land
 “middle kingdom” they considered themselves the
center of the Earth
 Land area same as United States
 Population 4 times as much
 Earliest civilization around rivers
 Huang He (Yellow)
 Yang Tze
 Free from outside influences
 Blocked by
 Pacific Ocean
 Himalaya Mt. Range
 Gobi Desert

32. FEATURES OF SOCIETY

33. Strong Family Ties
 large multi generational family
 Including ancestors
 Center of Chinese life
 Major responsibility
 To bring honor to your family
 Ancestor worship- leading religion in ancient
China
 Every home has altar for ancestor worship
 Burn incense to dead relatives
 Wanted to receive guidance and blessings from
them

34. Language & Learning
 Tone is very important
 Tone variations can imply different meanings
 Spoken language varies by area in China
 Written language is the same
 Don‟t use letters, they use characters
 65,000 characters that
 each represents an idea, object or sound
 Very few people know all characters
 Scholars held a high position in society

35. CHINESE THOUGHT AND
LIFE

36. Confucianism
 Kung Futzu (“Confucius” “Master”)
 Grew up poor during time of unrest in China
 Not able to obtain government position
 Ideal job for any Chinese man
 Had to pass a hard examination
 Devoted his life to teaching others
 Proper conduct can:
 solve problems of society
 live in complete happiness
 His followers wrote down his teachings
 It became a system of ethics for Chinese society

37. 5 Main Relationships
1. Father/Son
2. Brothers
3. Husband/Wife
4. Friends
5. Ruler/Subject
 Maintaining proper relationships in these areas will
ensure your happiness
 He forgets the most important relationship of all:
Man/God
 “„Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind.‟ This is the first and
greatest commandment. And the second is like it: „Love your
neighbor as yourself.‟ - Matthew 22:37-39

38. Effected
educational
Social
Political systems

40. Taoism (Daoism)
 Lao Tzu = founder
 “tao” means “the way”
 All things are unified and connected in the Tao.
 One can find peace by living in harmony with
nature
 Cease striving for:
 Power
 Wealth
 Learning/knowledge
 Live a simple and inactive lifestyle

41. Meditation
Self
Feng shui
development
Being Fortune
virtuous telling
Many deities
Harmony
with nature Taoism worshipped
in temples

42. Shang Dynasty
 1500 BC along Yellow River
 United northern China
 Writing on tortoise shells tells us about them
 Used tortoise shells to ask ancestors guidance for
the future
 Valued bronze more than gold
 Ruthless kings
 Offered humans to ancestors to keep power
 Society addicted to hunting & warfare

43. Chou Dynasty
 Lasted over 800 years
 Longest in Chinese history
 “Classical” or “formative” years of China
 Confucianism and Taoism
 Family life
 Ancestor worship
 Writing system
 Decentralized government
 Allowed powerful nobles to rule in freedom
 Chou rulers unable to control nobles and fighting
among rival states

44. Chi‟in Dynasty
 Shih Huang Ti restored order
 First emperor of China
 Standardized Chinese:
 weight & measurements
 Coinage
 Writing system
 Construction of Great Wall
 25-30 ft high; 15 ft wide; 1,400 miles long
 Defense from Huns
 Road ran along the top to allow:
 Rapid movement of troops
 Communication route

46. Han Dynasty
 Established in 202 BC
 Most famouse ruler- Wu Ti
 Drove back Huns
 Extended China‟s territory
 Pax Sinica (Chinese Peace)
 Trade opened with the West (Silk Road)
 Contact with Greece and Rome
 Buddhism enters China

47. T‟ang Dynasty 618-907AD
 After 400 years of internal warfare
 Tang Rulers restored peace and order
 Expanded borders, stable
government, increased trade
 Advances in learning, art, and literature
 Li Po = prolific poet
 Wrote thousands of poems
 Self seeking rulers squandered most of
country‟s wealth; led to downfall

48. Sung Dynasty
 Established in 960 AD
 Politically weak dynasty
 Invasions from north barbaric tribes
 Excelled in painting, printing & porcelain
 Feet binding custom started
 Upper classes
 Big feet considered ugly
 Feet bound on girl children to shorten and narrow
foot
 Toes bend underneath to leave foot 3-6 inches long

49. Foot binding

50. Chinese influence on West
 viewed west with suspicion
 West eagerly profited from contact with China
 Silk and porcelain very popular in Europe
 Block printing = use blocks to stamp words on paper
 Movable type = smaller separate blocks for each character; can
rearrange them into words
 First made paper and ink
 First made compass
 First made gunpowder
 Used for their fireworks celebrations

52. Japan
4 main islands
From Maine to Florida
Only 20% is farmable
More isolated from
outsiders than China
Did not keep written
records about history
 legends and myths

53.  Clan = a group of families claiming ancestry
from a common ancestor
Basic unit of social, religious and political
organization
 Yamato Clan- 5th century AD
Rose to power above rival clans
On main island of Japan- Honshu
Unified Japan under one rule
 Used mythology to secure respect of subjects
 Jimmu Tenno – first emperor
Descendant of sun goddess
Next emperors claimed to be related to Jimmu Tenno
Therefore they are all descendants of gods
 Japan has had only 1 imperial familiy through its
history

54. Shintoism
“the way of the gods”
Belief in the divine origin of emperor
Nature worship
Anything that was awe-inspiring
Waterfall, fire, high mountain
Religion of feeling
 Loyalty to country
 Love for homeland
 Reverence for Emperor

55. Influence from China
 400s – 700s = China invaded Japan
China was in Golden Age of Tang Dynasty
Chinese ideas, learning & art
1. Writing System
1. Adopted from China, made into their own
2. First time were able to keep written record
2. Buddhism
1. Buddhist monks taught Japanese about art and
architecture from China
2. Prince Shoku- made Buddhism official religion of
Japan
1. 600s AD

56. Law &
Gov’t Weights &
Science
measures
Medical
Agriculture
practices
Way of life
(dress & Calendar
furniture)
Roads &
Buddhism China Bridges

57. Taika Reform “The Great Change”
Model govt after strong centralized govt of
China
New judicial code & tax system
First capital = Nara
Weaken power of chieftains, strengthen
power of emperor (theory)
Reality = gov‟t power in hands of a few powerful
families
Fujiwara- ruled in the name of infant emperor
Wealth and extravagance lead country to bankruptcy
Disorder and chaos followed

58. Rise of Samurai
Orimoto- leader of Minamoto clan
Supreme military leader over all clans
Emperor granted him title of shogun (great
general)
Held real power, emperor was there just for
show
State ruled by military not civilian officials
Warrior class became leading class in Japan
Japanese warrior = samurai

59. horsemanship
Art of Followed BUSHIDO
fencing “the way of the
writing warrior”
Military code of
conduct of samurai
Loyalty
Honor
Samurai Justice
Courage
Literature archery Sincerity
Politeness
Could end his life with
suicide according to
ceremonial practice of
hara kiri
History Jujitsu