The emergence of South Asian Civilization. September 25, 2012

Review What was the impact on iron on the history of China? What is the difference between government in China in the centuries leading up to the Qin, and government from the Qin on? What are the main differences between Confucianism and Daoism? What was the relationship of Han China to Vietnam, and to Korea?

Chinese-style government legalistic Confucianism: proclaim rule by virtue and ritual, but keep force available for use when needed. The mandate of Heaven goes to a royal family- even women in such a royal family sometimes ruled as empress dowagers. Bureaucracy instead of feudalism Supported by gentry in the countryside. The theoretical social hierarchy: Scholars, peasants, artisans, and merchants (where are the soldiers?)

Ideological Legitimization The pattern perspective/ correlative cosmology: everything is related to everything else in dynamic interactions The Five phases/agents: earth, metal, water, wood, fire. cycle of production: wood⇒ fire⇒ earth⇒ metal⇒ water⇓ ⇑ ⇐ cycle of overcoming: fire ⇐water ⇐earth ⇐ wood ⇐metal ⇑ ⇓ ⇒ The magic square: 4 9 2 3 5 7 8 1 6

Han technology paper the compass the wheelbarrow the seismograph stern-post rudder shoulder-harness for horses ridge-furrow farming decimal system (with counting rods)

The Han legacy Centralized government, legitimized with Confucian rhetoric civilian rather than military rule Writing history as a state responsibility. The important of educated landlords as local leaders, and the official denigration of merchants.

India: Vedic Civilization Around 1,500 BCE to 600 BCE “Aryan culture” There probably was no Aryan invasion. But the Aryans had superior military technology, and a language which was not Dravidian. Their language was Sanskrit, one of the oldest identifiable Indo-European languages Worshipped fire (Agni), soma (an intoxicating drink), Indra, and Varuna Vishnu and Shiva are minor deities First references to varna (but not jati)

Vedic Religion A religion of ritual, which only later became a religion of moksa (salvation), and later devotion. Polytheism evolved into henotheism (the beginning of focus on particular deities) Dominated by brahmins, who alone knew how to perform essential rituals Sanskrit is the sacred language Vedas are sacred texts Brahminism rather than Hinduism Produced the monistic philosophy of the Upanishads. Probably did not have “sacred cows”

The first Indian States States arise around the Ganges from about 600 BCE. Why not earlier? Primary and secondary state formation aided by iron tools for cutting wood and for fighting What is a state: mechanism for extracting revenue from producers. Needs a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence. Ritual hegemony adds stability and legitimacy. Kingdoms and republics (no democracies) No real histories. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana are epics, not histories

The appearance of epics The Mahabharata and the Ramayana Should these be read as history or as myths? What do they tell us about South Asia 2,500 years ago? Represent a change toward more human-like gods. (At the same time, more ascetic religiosity appears-Buddhism and Jainism.

The Epics and Hinduism The Mahabharata featured Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna became a major deity in Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita, a part of the Mahabharata, emphasized the need for people to play their proper roles in society, even if they are warriors. the Ramayana featured Rama, another incarnation of Vishnu. He became another major deity in Hinduism, as did Sita, his consort. The Ramayana has many versions, and was very influential in Southeast Asia as well as in India.

South Asian religions Assumptions shared by traditional South Asian religious philosophies include: only that which is uncaused and unchanging is truly real diversity masks an underlying unity, which is more real than diversity the line between the human and the divine is not an unbridgeable chasm what we do and think affects what happens to us later. (karma) monism, monotheism, and polytheism are considered complementary rather than contradictory positions.

Buddhism: 4 Noble Truths To live is to suffer. Suffering is caused by desires and attachments, resulting from ignorance of what is real and what is not. We can stop suffering by stopping our desires and clearing up our ignorance. We can do this if we follow the Eight-fold path.

Basic Buddhist Terms Buddhists, like Hindus, believe in karma and in reincarnation Nirvana: escape from rebirth, extinction (or paradise, in some varieties of Buddhism) Sutras: the written records of the teachings of the Buddha The Three Jewels of Buddhism The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha The Dharma: Buddhist teachings The Sangha: the monastic community. Buddhists “take refuge” in those three jewels.

Theravada Buddhism The Buddhism of Sri Lanka and (now) much of mainland Southeast Asia Emphasis on salvation through our own efforts (accumulating good karma) Is non-theistic (in theory).Buddha (Sakyamuni) is seen as a teacher,not a god. Emphasis on insight meditation, and on donations to monks and temples Claims to be the original Buddhism

The Mauryan Empire The stimulus from Alexander the Great Founded by Chandragupta by 322 BCE with a capital in Pataliputra How is an empire different from a kingdom? Greatest ruler was Ashoka(269-231 BCE) Ashoka promoted Buddhism.