CLASSICAL EMPIRES SSWH2 The student will identify the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from 1100 BCE to 500 CE. a. Describe the development of Indian civilization; include the rise and fall of the Maurya Empire, the “Golden Age” under Gupta, and the emperor Ashoka. MAURYA EMPIRE, RECALL FROM LAST UNIT

MAURYA EMPIRE  The Mauryas: Indian dynasty in the fourth-third centuries BCE, which unified the subcontinent for the first time and contributed to the spread of Buddhism.

MAURYA EMPIRE, EMPERORS  Chandragupta Maurya (c.321-c.297)  Bindusara Maurya (c.297-c.272)  Ashoka Maurya (c.272-c.232)

Ashoka Maurya (c.272-c.232)  great conqueror, and the first to unite the Indian subcontinent, except for the extreme south.  converted to Buddhism established dhamma, 'the law of justice', everywhere in India  Left rock edicts behind on several places in his realmrock edicts

 Ashoka was sincere when he proclaimed his belief in ahimsa (non- violence) and cooperation between religions ("contact between religions is good").

DECLINE  After the death of Ashoka, the Mauryan empire declined.

ASHOKA STUPA (STATUES)

VIDEO, ASHOKA 

GOLDEN AGE OF INDIA UNDER THE GUPTA 

CHANDRAGUPTA II  Chandragupta II The Great (Sanskrit: चन्द्रगुप्त विक्रमादित्य ; was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire in northern IndiaSanskritGupta empireIndia  rule spanned c. 380–413/415 CE  the Gupta Empire achieved its zenith, art, architecture, and sculpture flourished, and the cultural development of ancient India reached its climaxancient India

HINDUISM  WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

HINDUISM  Hinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinentreligionIndian subcontinent  includes a wide spectrum of laws and prescriptions of "daily morality" based on karma, dharma, and societal normskarmadharma  no single founder  oldest living major religionin the world

HINDUISM  Hindu texts INCLUDE TEXTS which discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, rituals, and temple building Hindu textstheologyphilosophy mythologytemple building  Major scriptures include the Vedas, Upanishads and othersVedas Upanishads  Hinduism, with about one billion followers, is the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.world's third largest religionChristianityIslam

 Hinduism  belief in reincarnation (samsara), determined by the law of karma, and the idea that salvation is freedom from this cycle of repeated birth and deathsamsarakarma  other religions of the region, such as Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, also believe in karma, outside the scope of Hinduism BuddhismJainismSikhism  beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheismmonotheism  caste system in India is a system of social stratification caste social stratification

 Brahminical texts grouped the four well-known caste categories  VARNAS  Brahmins PRIESTS Brahmins  Kshatriyas WARRIORS Kshatriyas  Vaishyas MERCHANTS Vaishyas  Shudras ARTISANS Shudras  untouchables

 Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs o), Dharma (ethics/duties) Dharma  Samsāra (the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth) Samsāra  Karma (action and subsequent reaction) Karma  Moksha (liberation from samsara) Moksha  Yogas (paths or practices) Yogas

HINDUISM  (Creation Hymn) of the Rig Veda thus says:]]  Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen?

BUDDHISM

 Buddhism  religion indigenous to the Indian subcontinent religionIndian subcontinent  based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama  known as the Buddha (meaning "the awakened one” or enlightened oneBuddha

 The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.Indian subcontinent

 Buddha, 1 st – 2 nd  century

 Two major branches of Buddhism  Theravada ("The School of the Elders") Theravada  Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle") Mahayana

 The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community)Three JewelsDharmaSanghathe community

Dharma Wheel : THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH

 1.Right view  2.Right intention  3.Right speech 4.Right action 5.Right livelihood 6.Right effort 7.Right mindfulness 8.Right concentration



DIFFUSION OF BUDDHISM

 Ashoka initially practiced Hinduism but later embraced BuddhismBuddhism  Ashoka sent many Buddhist missions to West Asia, Greece and South East Asia West AsiaGreeceSouth East Asia  Ashoka commissioned the construction of monasteries, schools and publication of Buddhist literature across the empire.  Ashoka built as many as 84,000 stupas across India  Ashoka sent a mission to Sri LankaSri Lanka

 Ashoka increased the popularity of Buddhism in Afghanistan, Thailand and North Asia including Siberia AfghanistanThailandNorth AsiaSiberia  Ashoka helped convene the Third Buddhist Council of India and South Asia's Buddhist orders, a council that undertook much work of reform and expansion of the Buddhist religion.Third Buddhist Council  Indian merchants embraced Buddhism and played a large role in spreading the religion across the Mauryan empire  The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to China is most commonly thought to have started in the late 2nd or the 1st century CESilk Road transmission of BuddhismChina

 SSWH2 The student will identify the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from 1100 BCE to 500 CE.  c. Describe the development of Chinese civilization under the Zhou and Qin. 

CHINESE CIVILIZATION

 Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River ChineseYellow RiverYangtze River  With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizationscivilizations  The written history of China can be found as early as the Shang Dynasty 1700–1046 BC)Shang Dynasty  ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian (ca. 100 BC) and Bamboo Annals assert the existence of a Xia Dynasty before the ShangRecords of the Grand HistorianBamboo AnnalsXia Dynasty  Much of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy further developed during the Zhou Dynasty (1045– 256 BC).cultureliteraturephilosophyZhou Dynasty

 the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC and its first emperor Qin Shi Huang united the various warring kingdoms and created the first Chinese empire. Successive dynasties in Chinese history developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the Emperor of China to directly control vast territories.Qin DynastyQin Shi Huangdynasties in Chinese historybureaucraticEmperor of China

Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC)  The Zhou Dynasty was the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, from 1066 BC to approximately 256 BC.  The king of Zhou at this time invoked the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to legitimize his rule, a concept that would be influential for almost every succeeding dynasty.Mandate of Heaven  Heaven (tian) ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China. It was believed that a ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for the people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule, having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.

ZHOU DYNASTY  the use of iron was introduced to Chinause of iron  zenith of Chinese bronze-ware makingbronze

MANDATE OF HEAVEN  ZHOU-legitimized their rule by invoking the "Mandate of Heaven," the notion that the ruler (the "Son of Heaven") governed by divine right and that his dethronement would prove that he had lost the Mandate. Disasters and successful rebellions would thus show that the ruling family had lost this Mandate.Mandate of HeavenSon of Heaven Disasters

 The Mandate of Heaven is based on four leading ideas:  The right to rule China is granted by Heaven.  There can be only one legitimate ruler of China.  The right to rule is based on the virtue of the ruler and his good performance as a steward for Heaven.  The right to rule may be passed down from father to son, but only on the conditions established above. Once the Mandate is lost, the will of Heaven towards a successor will only be known by the working out of the imponderable force of events in human history.

 Legitimization of the ruling house in the eyes of the people who come under its sway  Times of divided rule require some rationalization after the fact to establish which ruler can claim truly to have the Mandate  The rulers put checks on their own behavior, and are encouraged to invest in the well-being of their subjects.  The rulers necessarily fear rebellion, possibly because they believe in active intervention from Heaven, and/or possibly because they know that misbehavior will give positive sanction to attempts by others to overthrow them.