Indus Civilization -
1) 2500-1500 BCE.
2) Centered around the Indus River.
3) Large cities include Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.
4) Economy based on irrigation farming.
5) Decline caused by flooding due to earthquakes about 1700 BCE.
Vedic Ages -
1) Early Vedic Age was from 1500 to 1000 BCE.
2) Aryan invaders who ended Inus civilization left collections of hymns known as Vedas ("knowledge") to their gods.
3) Religion was unsophisticated and premoral.
4) Later Vedic Age was 1000 to 500 BCE.
5) Religious compositions of the Brahmin priests and two great epics form our basis of knowledge about this period.
Caste System -
1) Class system consisting of four castes.
2)
a) Nobles (Kshatriyas);
b) commoners (Vaishyas);
c) priests (Brahmins);
d) workers or serfs (Shudras).
3) Also divided into numerous subcastes.
4) Another division, the Untouchables, was formed, consisting of those with the most menial and degrading occupations.
5) System accepted by all, despite the inequalities which contributed to the wealth and influence of the upper castes.
Hinduism -
1) Formed when Upanishadic thought was incorporated into teachings of the Brahmin priests.
2) Maintains a trinity of Brahma the Creator; Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer.
3) Animals, especially cows, are also considered divine.
4) Not considered polytheistic because Hindus believe all gods and spirits are manifestations of Brahman.
5) Has no main book; no single founder; no precise body of authoritative doctrine.
Buddhism -
1) Breakoff movement from Hinduism.
2) Reached its height in India in the thrid century BCE.
3) Budda's simple followers eventually began worshipping him as a god and savior.
4) Believes in Four Noble Truths and Five Moral Rules.
5) Buddha emphasized ethics instead of performance of ritual.
Guatama -
1) Founder of Buddhism.
2) Called himself the Buddha ("Enlightened One").
3) Son of a leading noble.
4) Renounced his wealth, position and family to seek an answer to why human suffering.
5) Lived from 563 to 483 BCE.
Chandragupta Maurya -
1) India's first emperor.
2) His dynasty lasted from 322 BCE to 185 BCE.
3) He created an efficient administrative system and was also a brilliant general.
4) At its height, the empire included all the subcontinent except the extreme south.
5) Agriculture was chief source of wealth in empire.
Ashoka -
1) Considered to be India's greatest king.
2) Chandragupta's grandson.
3) Lived from 269 to 232 BCE.
4) Had only one military campaign; more committed to peace than to war.
5) Converted to Buddhism but practiced religious tolerance.
Shang Dynasty -
1) Began about 1700 BCE.
2) Most scholars believe it to be the first civilization in China.
3) Ruled by hereditary kings who were also priests.
4) Farming methods were primitive.
5) Bronze used only for weapons, not tools.
10. Chou Dynasty -
1) Began around 1122 BCE, when the Chous tribe overthrew the Shang ruler.
2) Lasted until 256 BCE and was the longest dynasty in Chinese history.
3) Established a feudal system of government.
4) Iron introduced during 6th Century BCE, allowing mass production of cast iron objects.
5) Core units of aristocratic society were the elementary family, the extended family, and the clan.
11. Confucianism -
1) Rational humanism.
2) Master was K'ung-fu-tzu, known as Confucius in the West.
3) His teachings have had a greater and longer-lasting influence on China and much of East Asia than any other philosopher.
4) Redefined tao as "moral personality" and "the highest goodness."
5) Emphasized a concern for the rights of others.
12. Taoism -
1) Intuitive mysticism.
2) Defined tao with a metaphysical meaning-the course of nature.
3) Goal of Taoism is a happy but simple life, existing in harmony with nature.
4) Main teacher was Lao-tzu ("Old Master").
5) More of a philosphy than a religion.
13. Legalism -
1) Emerged in the fourth and third centuries BCE.
2) Also known as the School of Law
3) Sought to establish stability in an age of turmoil.
4) Emphasized the importance of harsh and inflexible law as the means of achieving an orderly and prosperous society.
5) Believed human nature was basically bad and people would act good only if forced to do so.
14. Ch'in Dynasty -
1) Followed the legalist philosophy.
2) Ch'in's began rising to preeminence in 352 BCE with Lord Shang becoming chief minister.
3) Dynasty ended in 206 BCE, following the death of the First Emperor in 210 BC.
4) Ch'in Dynasty united and enlarged China through conquests.
5) Repaired and joined remnants of walls, turning then into the 1400 mile long Great Wall.
15. Han Dynasty -
1) Established in 202 BC by Liu Pang, a peasant.
2) Early Han lasted from 202 BC to 8CE.
3) Later Han existed from 23 CE to 220 CE.
4) Two periods separated by Wu Ti's death and a temporary usuration of the throne (9-23 CE).
5) Succeeded when Ch'in had failed because they were tactful and gradual in their approach.
16. Guptas -
1) Gupta state began with Chandra Gupta I assuming power in 320.
2) Monarchs in this dynasty ruled most of the fourth and fifth centuries.
3) Period known as India's classical age.
4) Rulers were Hindu but practiced religious toleration.
4) Much literature was written in Sanskrit.
5) Achievements in pure science were matched by practical applicated, including the finest tempered steel in the world.
17. Muslim Invasion (India) -
1) Constant battles occurred from 1022 to the mid 1300's.
2) Turkish Muslim invaders were most zealous in pursuing a holy crusade against infidels.
3) Many Hindus converted to Muslim faith.
4) Women's status was lowered due to assimiliation of Islamic values.
5) This period was known as the Delhi Sultanate.
18. T'ang & Sung Dynasties -
1) T'ang Dynasty lasted from 618 to 906.
2) Sung Dynasty lasted from 960 to 1279.
3) A woman empress, Empress Wu, led the T'ang Dynasty in its best period.
4) T'ang rules perfected a highly centralized government.
5) Sung rulers relied upon the civil service as opposed to using officials personally committed to the Emperor.
19. Jimmu -
1) Means "divine warrior."
2) According to Japanese folklore, Jimmu was a chieftain, descendent of the sun goddess, who began the current line of Japanese emperors in 660 BCE.
3) Historians believe the present imperial family began with the Yamato clan around the first century.
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20. Taika Reforms -
1) Means "Great Change."
2) Reforms came in a series of decrees in 645 and 646.
3) Asserted the absolute authority of the monarch at the expense of the former clan chieftains.
4) Reforms caused the construction of Japan's first city, Nara.
5) Established a centralized bureaucracy, a legal code, a tightly controlled provincial system, a standing army, and a land tax. Commercial break:
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21. Heian Period -
1) Lasted from 794 to 1185.
2) Primarily a feudal cultural and political system.
3) Imperial authority weakened and a court aristocracy flourished without much political power.
4) During this period, Japan developed a cultural perspective quite distinct from China's.
5) Peace and tranquility ("heian-kyo") reigned.
22. Mongol Empire -
1) Mongols began empire building at the beginning of the thirteenth century.
2) Within a century, they had the largest empire ever known.
3) Held military advantages due to their superior cavalry tactics and mobility.
4) Success largely due to Temujin, born in 1162.
5) He became known as "Genghis Khan" in 1206 when he was elected leader of all Mongols.
23. Kubla Khan -
1) Reigned from 1260 to 1294.
2) Proclaimed himself the founder of the Yuan dynasty.
3) Ruled a unified China.
4) Strain Mongol unity and led to the imperial decline after Kublai.
5) Caused China to gain new significance, albeit briefly, in the Mongol system.
24. Akber -
1) Great Mughul emperor.
2) Lived from 1556 to 1605; began his rule in 1569.
3) Warrior and hunter, but also an egomaniac with 5000 women in his harem.
4) Also concerned with morality and social justice.
5) Started a new religion, the Din Ilahi, by reinerpreting the Koran.
25. Ming -
1) Dynasty founded by Hung-wu in the mid-thirteenth century.
2) Early Ming Era had a poor economy and declining status of women.
4) Decline began after the middle of the fifteenth century.
4) Decline brought about largely from dynamic change.
5) Last Mind emperor killed himself in 1644, and the dynasty collapsed by 1683.
26. Daimyo, Samurai, Bushido -
1) Daimyo were feudal lords who fought among themselft for control of Japan.
2) Civil War broke out in 1467 and lasted over a century, reducing the number of daimyo from 260 to 45 by 1580.
3) Samurai were the fighting retainers of the daimyo.
4) Samurai women fought beside their men and expected to die with them or commit suicide.
5) Bushido - code emphasized civic duties over personal loyalties (from Confucian classics).
27. Tokugawas -
1) Tokugawa Shogunate began in 1615.
2) Molded Japanese culture for the next two and half centuries.
3) Strengthened central authority.
4) Brought a new social order headed by a rising merchant class.
5) Brought a dramatic end to most European influence.
28. Manchu -
1) Manchu armies took Peking in 1644.
2) Manchu emperors generally efficient and conscientious.
3) Regime reached its climax from about the 1720's to the 1770's.
4) Economy declined due to leaders' insistence on retaining China's ancient ways.
5) Korea forced to be a Manchu vassal state.
29. Sepoys -
1) British controlled Indian troops who formed the bulk of the company's armed forces.
2) Started a rebellion in 1857 when they learned chicken or cow fat was smeared on cartridges.
3) Rebellion marked the final collapse of the Mughuls.
4) British put down the rebellion and barnished the sepoy's leader to Burma.
5) Rebellion also put an end to the system of dual control of the British government and the East India Company.
30. Spheres of Influence -
31. Meiji Restoration -
1) "Enlightened Government"
2) Reigned from 1868 to 1912.
3) Japan became a dynamic, modern power under his rule.
3) The country learned to adapt the Europeans' strengths to successfully compete against the West.
4) Changes included abolition of feudal rights and restored the emperor's supreme authority.
5) New constitution and military formed.
32. Opium War -
1) Began in 1839 when Chinese authorities burned opium other countries were trying to import into China.
2) Chinese could not match superiority of British forces.
3) China surrendered in 1842.
4) Forced to cede Hong Kong as well as open up ports to the British.
5) Second opium war occured in 1856--China vs. France and British. China lost.
33. Boxer Rebellion -
1) Boxers was name westerners gave to members of secret societies in China.
2) Boxers started a campaign in 1899 to rid China of all "foreign devils."
3) Many Europeans in China were killed and other taken prisoners.
4) In 1900 China was forced to apologize for the murders and pay a large sum of money.
5) Symbolic of the degree the central government had lost power.
