Chapter Five: Ancient Civilizations of India and China

Chapter Five:

Ancient Civilizations of India and China

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Map 5.1

Indian Civilization

The Indus River Valley Civilization

? Mohenjo-daro ? Agriculture-based society (cotton) ? Centralization ? Ecological disasters ? Aryan invasions

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The Aryans

Indus Valley settlements c. 1500 B.C.E. Uncertain origins Sanskrit Caste System Agricultural / Pastoral Culture Tribal structure Epics: Ramayana, Mahabharata

Hinduism

Complex, precise ceremonies and rituals Upanishads

? Philosophical focus

The Vedas (Rig Veda)

? Core text of Hindu temple worship ? Brahman and Atman: "Tat tvam asi."

Hinduism

Priest and temple + meditation and study Path to ultimate reality, Brahman

? Path of Asceticism ? Path of Karma ? Path of Devotion (bhakti)

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Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.E.)

? Inescapability of suffering and death ? "Enlightened One"

Four Noble Truths

? Eightfold Path ? Emphasis on ethical, moderate living

Liberation through knowledge

? Truth lies within

Emperor Ashoka

Unified all of India Buddhism as state religion

? Doctrine of Non-violence

Rock Edicts Buddhist monks as missionaries

5.7 Lion capital, from a column erected by King Ashoka, 242?232 bce. Polished sandstone, 84" (213cm). Sarnath Museum, Uttar Pradesh, India

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Hindu and Buddhist Art

Hindu Art Religious in spirit Eroticism Naturalism Unity in all life forms

? Avatars

Buddhist Art

Focus on spirituality

Calm, transcendent images

? Buddha, Bodhisattvas ? Renunciation of

worldly pleasures

5.10 Wooden figures representing the first four avatars (incarnations) of the god Vishnu (from left): the fish Matsya, the tortoise Kurma, the boar Varaha, and the lion Narasimha

5.11 Krishna

and Radha on a canopy, 1825. Indian miniature,

gouache on paper, 9" x 7" (22.8 x 18.0 cm). Musee national

des arts asiatiques Guimet, Paris,

France.

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5.13 Buddha calling on earth to witness, 9th century ce (Pala period, 7501197 cd). Bihar, India. Basalt, 18 7/8" (48 cm) high. Musee national des

arts asiatiques Guimet, Paris, France

The Gupta Empire and Its Aftermath

Chandra Gupta I (C.E. 320) Chandra Gupta II (ruled 380-415)

? "The Sun of Power" ? Decline of Buddhism, rise of Hinduism

Gupta Literature

? Kalidasa's Sakuntala ? Sudraka's The Little Clay Cart

The Gupta Empire and Its Aftermath

Gupta Science

? Foundation of large universities ? Mechanics, medicine, mathematics

Collapse of Gupta Rule

? The White Huns ? Religion vs. Secular Politics

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