Classical+India

Main Idea for the Comparisons and Contrasts between Chinese and Indian Classical Societies -

Whilst both India and China developed highly **patriachal** societies and families, both societies developed very different social structures. In both Chinese and Indian families, women were subordinated and men dominated the family unit, while the Indian family unit in particular required wives to literally worship their husbands as Gods. The **Indian caste system** placed merchants underneath the priests (**Brahamans**) and warriors, unlike its Chinese counterpart, which placed the peasants underneath the wealthy and educated. Indian merchants were capable of far sea trade, which gave them a greater impact on the Indian economy than their Chinese counterparts. The Indian social hierarchy was basically more firmly rooted and established the Chinese hierarchy, and this actually made social mobility in Indian society much more difficult than in the more flexible Chinese society.

ESPIRIT chart on Han China:

Green is to identify the main idea. Red is to identify corrections.


 * E || The Indian economy was very prosperous due to lucrative industries and an affinity to trading.

Texiles – unique products; Artisans and craft guilds;  highly actice active traders than boosted the economy through sea trade; the family unit was critical to the economy – b/c to child labor,   assisting relatives to arrange marriage;   Agricultural based society  ||
 * S || The Indian caste system placed a higher emphasis on merchant rather than peasants. Women were highly subordinated and worshiped their husbands.

Women were assigned to marry the men their family chose and thought was right for her, so they had no freedom to choose who they married. • Low caste individuals had few legal rights, and servants were very often abused by masters • Masters were restrained only by religion toward kindly treatment. • If a Brahman killed servant, he would simply face little consequences such just killing an animal (uncommon) • Peasants had very little contact with higher class people. • Dominance of husbands and men in general still remained strong like the Dynast of China (wife should worship husband as a God). • Although women made economic contributions, remained in positions. • Parents arranged for their child to be married at a young age (someone they never met). • Indian culture was different from China because it involved strong will for women, and believed in Goddesses. Untouchables a class outside of the caste system considered inhuman and expected to remain that way. || - Main Gods included Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer). - Religion maintained by mystics (gurus) and brahman priests that topped the caste system. - People expected to lead good lives, in hopes of one day being reincarnated as higher-level beings. - Placed value of spiritual life (people wanted to reach state of nirvana) and the unity of the spirits within the soul. || Created engaging art - Spherical shrines to Buddha = stupas - - ex. of literature = Panchatantra (includes Sinbad the Sailor, Jack the Giant Killer, and the Seven League boots) Kamasutra - book that discusses the relationship between men and women - Universities built in Nalanda, whose curriculums included religion, philosophy, medicine, architecture, and agriculture ||  Classical India Key Terms 
 * P || Political system was not very elaborate, there was little formal political theory and few political values or institutions carried over between Dynasties.
 * Politics took a back seat to religion and social structure.
 * India’s diverse regions had many separate political customs from monarchy to democratic assemblies.
 * The lack of antidisestablishmentarianism was due to the strong Hindu religion.
 * Though Indian politics varied, they never created a central bureaucracy. ||
 * I || India served as the "middle man" between China and the West, and increased trading routes helped further increasing social interactions. * India traded with all civilizations and it traded textiles.
 * By trading with the Middle East and the Mediterranean, they brought back goods like pottery, wine and slaves.
 * Spread their culture through trade rather than political dominance.
 * India had control of the seas and trade routes not only giving them control of trade but power.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">India and China developed a caravan trade where they traded by land. ||
 * R || <span style="color: #008000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Religion consisted of both Hinduism and Buddhism
 * I || <span style="color: #008000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Classical India harbored much of the arts and humanities, and higher education began to be developed.
 * T || * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sanskrit - written language
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Arabic numbering system
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Steel - India produced the world's finest steel because of advances in chemistry.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Made important strides in astronomy (calculated length of solar year, calculated daily rotation of earth, predicted eclipses)- Also made important strides in medicine (bone setting, plastic surgery, inoculation against smallpox, stressed cleanliness) ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Aryans ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Indo-European migrants that came to India from central Asia during the ** Vedic ** and ** Epic Ages **. Expanded Indian agriculture during the Vedic Age (1500 to 1000 BCE) using ** iron tools **. Because of highly agricultural basis, Aryans emphasized tight village and family structures; reflected on Indian society.   ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Ashoka ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The grandson of Chandragupta; greater figure in Indian history because of accomplishments of extending Mauryan conquests and terrirories to the southern tip of India via bloodthirsty and vicious slaughter; was heavily influenced by the strong spiritualism in Hinduism and later Buddhism. Ultimately converted to Buddhism and accepted the idea of Dharma.  ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Gupta ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The line of kings after the Kushan state (who followed the Mauryan state.) Establish large empire in 320 CE, the Guptas did not produce highly effective leaders, but as a dynasty, there were able to effectively maintain political stability for 2 centuries; one through negotiations with regional leaders   ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Caste system ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The social heiracrchy reinfornced by Hindu India; was composed of brahamans (priests), then merchants, then peasants. Another caste group was the untouchables, and that was a group ** outside ** of the caste system and was the most inferior to all. This system was strengthened by Hinduism and the principle of reincarnation into a different caste, therefore usually social status was hereditary. .   ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Hinduism ** || ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Polytheistic  **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> religion that developed gradually throughout preclassical and classical Indian history, ** Hinduism ** was able to reinforce ** the caste system ** to ensure political and social stability; it was also able to make people work harder within their castes through the principle of ** reincarnation **; Hinduism focus more on spirituality and mysticism than its ** Confucius ** counterpart.   ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Sanskirt ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Originally passes down orally, the Aryans created Sanskirt, the first literary language of the Indian culture. This new language was used to pass down narratives of the history of Classical India. These books were called the ** Vedas **.   ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Upanishads ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Was written during the ** Epic Age **; was an epic poem with heavier leaning towards mysticism and religion. Signified how the Epic Age was sort of a revival of ** Hindu ** China, as also seen in the placement of ** priests (Brahmans **) at the top of the caste during this age.   ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Dharma (Law of Moral Consequences) ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">An ethical/moral guide that Ashoka planned to use to unite and discipline the many “peoples” under his command. A list of moral obligations, Ashoka emphases the treatment of people with kindness, the respect of the elderly, respect for animals, and basically all-around benevolence.... []   ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Buddhism ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Originally began with a Hindu mystic, Buddhism was proliferated after the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama spread throughout India. He tought of self-discipline, righteous morals and ethics, spirituality and salvation. This religion was founded based on the hate of the caste system and the Indian social structure.  ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Tamils ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">An interrelated faction of Indian peoples who share a language and ethnicity in the south of India and also took advantage of trade in the Indian Ocean.  ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Chandragupta Maurya ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Young Indian soldier who seized power along the Ganges River in 322 BCE. Became first ruler of the Mauryan Dynasty of Classical India. Maintained a highly autocratic rule, relying heavily on military power. Creation of new political dynasty was the reaction to the invasions under Alexander the Great.  ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Gurus ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Another word for mystics; they began agreeing on certain doctrines as Hinduism was shaping itself into a religion.   ||
 * ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Bhagavad Gita ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">A sacred hymn focused on a soldier in battle against his relatives; and the philosophy of Dharma is widely reinforced and strengthened with the principle of reincarnation effectively in play.   ||

Classical India Summary: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">

Collaborative text

Classical India was a very loosely structured society in which the central government was very weak and most of the power laid in the hands of the

village leaders. . From 1500- 600 B.C.E., the **Vedic and Epic ages** (the formative ages of Indian history) were the eras in which Indians were able to settle down around the Ganges River. The social hierarchy was organized into a **caste system** in which the priests and warriors were the ultimate class and a decentralized, regional theocracy with a prosperous trading economy that expanded throughout the known world. Indian society was deeply intertwined with its religion. The main religion of India was **Hinduism**, but dissident beliefs, primarily **Buddhism**, have rose to challenge this "mystifying" religion. Buddhism contributed to the formation of the **Mauryan Empire.** This empire was short lived as the successors of its most prominent leader, **Ashoka,** the grandson of the founder **Chandragupta Maurya,** had succumbed to regional states. Following the Mauryan empire was the Kushan state and then the Guptas. Under the Guptas, India experienced its golden age as the culture and intellectual life of India prospered.