Qin Dynasty China

221 BC-205 BC

The First Real Empire

Zhou to Qin: Warring States

• Disorder or loose government of Later Zhou devolves into “Warring States Period”

• Autonomous smaller regions emerge as largely independent nations

• Periodic war ensues• One among the several emerges to

establish a new, far more centralized dynasty

• Qin Dynasty emerges as the first Chinese “Empire” 221 BC (pronounced “chin”)

Qin Shi Huang Di

Unifies China by brute force

Adopts Legalism as official governing ideology

Rules with ruthless, iron fist

Qin Dynasty and Legalism

Legalism as promoted by Han Fei Zi: 233 BCHumans are selfish and evil; can

not be reformed

Ruler must establish rule of law

Ruler must rule with force and violence

Confucian doctrine is misguided and corrupting

Qin Dynasty:Qin Shi Huang DiRejects Confucian

Governance Rules

Orders Slaughter of 400 Scholars

Orders ALL Confucian Documents/Books Burned

Qin Dynasty

Captures and unifies much of China

Builds first Great Wall

Builds Canal System

Qin Dynasty:Qin Shi Huang DiBuilds Great Tomb

Terracotta Warriors – 8000 + and still counting

Terracotta Army

Qin Dynasty: Brutality Pays(but only for a while)

Brutality of Legalist Governance alienates:Gentry

Not recognized as importantTraditional privileges stripped

ScholarsConfucian knowledge and skills distained

CommonersBrutal, forced labor and harsh law enforcement

Qin Dynasty: ProblemsLegalism Provides no Legitimating Myth

No Mandate of Heaven Claim

Legalism = rule of law --- but by force

Force as a source of Power???Generates HostilityRequires vigilant monitoringInevitably creates the revolution that destroys it

Qin Dynasty: Collapse 205 BC

First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, Dies

Son, heir not as capable or brutal

Alienation leads to revolt and collapse

Han Dynasty: 206 BC – 221 AD

Han Gaozu – First Emperor

• Originally a commoner

• Rose to prominence as a general in an army trying to overthrow the Qin

• Overthrows his own king to become Emperor when they succeed

Han Dynasty: Han Gaozu

Governing philosophy drawn from XunZi:

The prince is the boat; the common people are the water.

The water can support the boat, or the water can capsize the boat.

Han Dynasty: Han Gaozu

Government of Reconciliation:• Win over gentry by restoring privileges• Win over scholars by reinstating Confucian

advisors and Confucian court system• Win over commoners with reduced labor load

and more gentle system of government• Make peace with northern neighbors:

– Marriages of convenience -send his daughters

– Generous dowries– Lavish annual gifts to keep peace

Han DynastyCultural

Developments• Han period Poetry develops and gains in

elegance and complexity

• Confucian ideals codified• Confucian based civil service exam

developed but never used in official recruitment

Han Dynasty: Problem Becomes OpportunityTax System based on Land and Agriculture

Great Families are Tax Exempt

Major revenue problem

Iron, Salt, and Liquor Monopolies imposed to boost government revenue

Han Dynasty: Problem Becomes OpportunityGrain Storage and Arbitrage• Government buys grain in good times• Stores it• Government sells grain in shortage periodsIntent: Profit and Government RevenueOutcome: • Price Stabilization• Avoid Famine• Stabilize political system and support Rice

Recurring Dynastic Themes:

• Empress families– Empresses come from powerful families– She brings along brothers or uncles who are

appointed to powerful posts– Clash or power struggle between empress’

family and imperial family– Major power struggles– Solutions… Complex, sometimes violent

Recurring Dynastic Themes:

• Eunuchs: emasculated male servants– Ensure legitimacy of Imperial Heir

• (Empress can’t produce a bastard if she never sees any other men with reproductive equipment intact)

– Men without offspring (or testicles) were presumed to lack ambition – hence they were thought trustworthy

– Eunuchs sometimes adopted or worked to build inheritance for a nephew

Recurring Dynastic Themes:

• Eunuchs: Continued– Testicles apparently do not equal ambition (or

more precisely, the absence of testicles does not equal the absence of ambition)

– Eunuchs built alliances with Empresses

– Power battles between eunuchs and other factions, even the imperial family were common

Recurring Dynastic Themes:

Millenarian Movements ?? Millennium ??

Christian Millennium: heaven on earth, reign of Christ, 1000 years of peace

• Millenarian movements are social movements claiming the ability to lead their followers to some ideal world, some heaven on earth. Often also referred to as utopian movements.Tend to arise in times of economic or social

stress or chaos: flood, drought, famine, plague, etc.

Recurring Dynastic Themes:

• Disinterest in military oversight– Confucianism does not value military virtues– Confucian scholar officials avoid military

issues

– Generals frequently recruited from low status families or even as foreign mercenaries

Recurring Dynastic Themes:

• Factional fighting – Top families form factions in government and

feud for power– Feuding within government creates major

weaknesses and vulnerabilities

Han’s End

• Too-independent generals overthrow Han 221 AD

• No new, unified dynast succeeds Han period.

• Six Dynasties period until 589

The Indo-Europeans

Indo-Europeans Migrate

• The Indo-Europeans were a nomadic group coming from the steppes north of the Caucasus Mountains, between the Black and Caspian Seas. They were pastoral livestock herders.

• No one is completely sure why the migration happened, but the Indo-Europeans migrated outward in all directions between 1700-1200 BC.

The Hittites• By 2000 BC, and Indo-European

group called the Hittites occupied Anatolia, or Asia Minor. This empire also occupied Babylon, and struggled with Egypt for control of Northern Syria. Neither group won, so they signed a peace treaty offering to help fight off invaders.

• The Hittites used their own language with each other, but internationally they spoke Akkadian, taken from Babylon.

• Their superior weaponry skills and iron chariots to help conquer their empire.

• Despite their prowess, invaders attached and burned the Hittite capital around 1190 BC, ending the empire.

Hittite = Red

Egyptian = Green

Aryans Transform India

• Around the same time that the Hittites were establishing themselves in Anatolia, the Aryans were migrating through the Indus River Pass into India.

• They left little archaeological evidence, but their scriptures, the Vedas, gives an idea of their life through prayers, spells, and instructions for performing rituals.

• The Aryans called the people they found in India the dasas, or “dark,” which referred to the color of their skin. The Aryians were taller, lighter in skin color, and spoke a different language from the people that they found.

• They did not have a writing system and were more pastoral than the dasas, who lived in walled cities.

A Caste System Develops• Aryans were divided into three

social classes: Brahmins (priests), warriors, and farmers. They automatically considered the dasas beneath them, so they became the lower class, the sudras.

• Class restrictions were ridged – practically permanent. You were part of it for life, and the work they did and people they married were determined by the caste. Cleanliness was important – those considered unclean because of their profession (butchers, gravediggers, and collectors of refuse) were outside the caste system and became known as the “untouchables.” Their touch endangered the purity of everyone else.

Aryan Kingdoms Arise• Over the next few centuries,

Aryans extended their settlements east and south, Magadha, a major kingdom, emerged out of this expansion and struggle for power. It covered almost all of the Indian subcontinent.

• The great epic Mahabharata shows a blending of cultures as the Aryans moved southward. For example, Krishna, a semi-divine hero of the epic, is described as dark-faced. This suggests he is not Aryan.

• The Mahabharata’s violence and confusion leads one to speculate about the place of gods and humans in the world. Due to this, religion gradually changed…

Hinduism and Buddhism Develop

Hinduism Evolves over Centuries

• Hinduism is a collection of religious beliefs that developed over a long period of time – some aspects can be traced back to ancient times, but not one founder with one set of ideals.

• Hindus share a common belief that religion is a way of liberating the soul from the illusions, disappointments, and mistakes of everyday existence. The achievement of separation from these desires and suffering is detailed in the Upanishads.

Hinduism Evolves over Centuries

• When a person understands the relationship between atman (their soul) and Brahman (world soul), then they achieve perfect understanding and release from this world.

• This understanding does not come usually in one lifetime – reincarnation in necessary. A soul’s karma, or good and bad deeds, follows it from reincarnation to another.

• The karma influences life circumstances, such as caste, etc.

• Dharma is the religious and moral duties an individual must have.

Hinduism and Society

• Hindu ideas about karma and reincarnation strengthened the caste system – if someone was born as an upper-class male, it was said that he had good karma, or fortune. If he was born lower-class, it was said that he deserved it because of past misdeeds.

• With some exceptions, only men of the top 3 varnas were said to be able to reach moksha (enlightenment).

Who do Hindus worship? –

the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon

Brahma, the creator god

Who do Hindus worship? –

the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon

Vishnu, the preserver god

Incarnates as ten avatars (descents) including:Rama (featured in the Ramayana)Krishna (featured in the Mahabharata)

(Each shown with his consort, Sita and Radha, respectively)

Who do Hindus worship? –

the major gods of the Hindu PantheonShiva, god of constructive destruction

(the transformer)Appears as Shiva Nataraj,lord of the dance of creation…

and with his wife, Parvati, and son Ganesha

(the elephant headed remover of obstacles)

What about the goddesses?

Devi – the feminine divineSaraswati, goddess of wisdom, consort ofBrahma

What about the goddesses?

Devi – the feminine divineLakshmi, goddess of good fortune, consortof Vishnu

What about the goddesses?

Devi – the feminine divineParvati, divine mother, wife ofShiva

What about the goddesses?

Devi – the feminine divine

Durga, protectress

Kali, destroyer of demonsPlus about 330 million other deities

All these deities are butManifest forms

(attributesand functions) of theimpersonal Brahman

All these deities are butManifest forms

(attributesand functions) of theimpersonal Brahman

BuddhismIt has been said that “as Judaism is to Christianity, so is Hinduism is to Buddhism.” Buddhism arose out of Hinduism as a direct result of

the influence of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha or “Enlightened One; the religious worldview of the Buddhist is very similar to the Hindu worldview, but it is important to recognize that Buddhism is

very much distinct from Hinduism.

Buddhism is the world’s fourth largest religion, comprising around 6% of the world’s population. The 350,000,000 adherents to the religion are found mainly in China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand,

Indochina, Korea, and Tibet. There are around 800,000 Buddhists in the U.S.

Siddhartha Gautama

The Period of Enjoyment: Siddhartha was born into the warrior caste in the town of Kapilavastu, which at the time was in northeastern India but is now part of Nepal. Tradition says that Siddhartha’s father sought to shelter his son from the suffering of this world (sickness, old age, death, poverty) – for it was foretold that Siddhartha would be a great spiritual leader, and his father wanted to secure his son’s political future. One day however, Siddhartha ventured away from his family’s palace and encountered all four kinds of suffering – a man wracked by disease, a man decrepit with old age, a corpse, and a monk begging for money. This experience had a profound effect on Siddhartha, as it caused him to take a negative view of his wealth and social status and he became deeply concerned with the problem of suffering.

The Period of Enquiry: As a result of this experience, Siddhartha left his family (including a wife and a child); he sought to discover the source of suffering and how to eliminate it. Siddhartha took on the life of an ascetic; his meditation on the cessation of suffering was not successful. He then resolved to live on next to nothing. After almost drowning while bathing (he was so weak he could not resist the current of the river), he realized that one has to give the body what is natural and necessary, for while excess is an obstruction to the attainment of enlightenment, so to is self-deprecation. The “middle path” as he called it is the mean between excess and defect.

Siddhartha cont.

The Period of Enlightenment: After eating to regain his strength, Siddhartha walked to the city of Bodh Gaya, where he sat under a fig tree (the “Bodhi Tree”) and vowed that he would not rise again until he had attained enlightenment. During this deep state of meditation, Siddhartha was severely tempted by Mara, the evil one. After some period of time (some say one night, while others argue for as many as forty-nine), Siddhartha was awakened to the truth, or enlightened; Buddhists call this Nirvana. After sharing his findings with others, it became clear that what Siddhartha had discovered was truly revolutionary. In short, the teachings of Siddhartha challenged Hinduism in the following ways:

* Questioned the authority of the Brahmin class

* Rejected all caste divisions

* Condemned the developing philosophies regarding “religion” (according to Siddhartha, it is only what one does, not what one believes, that matters).

* No God, nor any specific ritual, can bring enlightenment

The Buddha Seeks Enlightenment

• Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism. He was locked in his palace by his father to fulfill a prophecy of him becoming a great king. He finally left the palace and understood that only religion offers freedom from the cycle of birth and death.

• He wandered through the forests of India for 6 years to find enlightenment. After 49 days of meditation under a fig tree he achieved an understanding of the causes of suffering in the world. From then on he became known as Buddha, or “Enlightened One.”

Origins & Beliefs of Buddhism

• In his first sermon, Buddha outlined the Four Noble Truths of his faith:– First Noble Truth: Life is filled with suffering & sorrow– Second Noble Truth: The Cause of all suffering is

people’s selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world

– Third Noble Truth: The way to end all suffering is to end all desire

– Fourth Noble Truth: The way to overcome such desires and attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path, which is called the Middle Way between desires & denial.

Origins & Beliefs of Buddhism

• Like Hinduism, Buddha accepted reincarnation, but he rejected the multiple gods. He shared the concept of enlightenment by a belief in nirvana, or a release from selfishness and pain.

• The final goals of both Hinduism and Buddhism are similar – both involve a perfect state of understanding and a break from the chain of reincarnation.

The Four Noble Truths

Suffering Exists (Life is Suffering): Humans sleep away their lives in senseless and self-centered preoccupations; this self-centeredness only leads to pain, misery, sorrow, and unfulfillment.

Desire Causes Suffering: The need to refer all things to ourselves causes suffering. We suffer because our ego dupes us into believing that we need that which is not permanent (body, perspective, emotion, feeling, impulse are all very real – it is our linking of these realities to a “self” that is incorrect).

Cessation of Desire Brings the Cessation of Suffering: One must see things as they really are, not simply as they are for ourselves. Rather than absorb everything into the ego for our own pleasure, we must allow our connection with reality to cause an outward flow – a universal compassion toward all living creatures. This is not a belief, it is an action.

The Cessation of Desire Is Found Through the Eightfold Path: The observance of the truths of the Eightfold Path is at the heart of the Buddhist life.

The Eightfold Path

• “What is the Middle Way? It is the Noble Eightfold Path – Right Views, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livlihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. This is the Middle Way.”

» Buddha, from Samyutta Nikaya

Dharma Wheel, often used to symbolize the Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path

Wisdom1) Right View – know the truth

2) Right Intention – resist self-centeredness

Ethical Conduct3) Right Speech – refrain from unkind, negative speech

4) Right Action – respect all life

5) Right Livelihood – work for the good of others

Mental Discipline6) Right Effort – exert oneself in freeing the mind of evil (egocentric thought)

7) Right Awareness – elevate one’s thoughts beyond the haze of emotion and mood

8) Right Meditation – practice the discipline of meditation

Nirvana: The Result of the Eightfold Path

Although Buddha’s immediate goal was to eliminate the cause of suffering, his ultimate goal was to become liberated from the cycle of death and rebirth. This was to be accomplished by teaching how we can cease craving and thereby eliminate our attachment to and beliefs in the existence of the illusory self (that is, the self tied to existence here on earth).

When we are successful in eliminating such attachment, then the effects of karma cease to matter because all is seen for what it is – no longer are we tied to the longings of the earth. At that moment, the moment of enlightenment, the person achieves the state of nirvana – the ultimate goal of the Buddhist, and Buddhism’s equivalent of salvation or heaven.

The Wheel of Life, otherwise called the Cycle of Samsara (material existence) explains this process of  death and rebirth. In the very center, there is a rooster chasing a pig chasing a snake chasing the rooster -- craving, hatred, and ignorance.  Around that are people ascending the white semicircle of life, and others descending the black semicircle of death.  The greatest portion of the Wheel is devoted to representations of the six realms -- the realm of the gods, the realm of the titans, the realm of humans, the realm of animals, the realm of the hungry ghosts, and the realm of demons -- each realm looked over by its own boddhisattva.  The outermost circle is the 12 steps of dependent origination.

Wheel of Samsara

India’s First Empires

The Mauryan Empire is Established• In 321 BC, Chandragupta

Maurya overthrew the Nanda king and established the Mauryan Empire.

• He defeated several of Alexander the Great’s generals to unite north India.

• He divided the empire into 4 provinces, each headed by a royal prince. Each province was divided into districts, where officials taxed & enforced the law.

Buddhism is Promoted

• Chandragupta’s grandson Asoka assumed the throne in 269 BC. He promoted Buddhism as the state religion to atone for a bloody battle he waged on Kalinga that killed over 100,000 people.

• Across the empire he erected stone pillars with his non-violent edicts and laws urging religious tolerance. He also built roads so he could visit the far corners of his empire.

• As noble as his intentions were, they failed to hold the empire together after his death in 232 BC.

A Period of Turmoil• Asoka’s death left a power

struggle – the kingdom of central India regained its independence under the Andhra Dynasty.

• Northern India had to face a flood of refugees from other areas of Asia that were in political turmoil. These people disrupted Indian society but also brought new elements to the culture. Southern India was home to three kingdoms that had not been conquered by the Mauryans: the Tamil people. They were often at war with each other and with other states.

The Gupta Empire is Established

• Chandra Gupta arose after 500 years of turmoil. He did not come to power through battle, but rather through marrying into an influential family.

• His empire included Magadha and the area north of it.

• His son, Samudra, expanded the empire through 40 years of conquest

• Chandra Gupta II added coastal territories to the empire, allowing them to trade with people to the west; he also strengthened the empire through peaceful means through weddings and diplomacy.

Spread of Indian Trade

• India has always been known for natural resources, especially spices, diamonds, sapphires, gold, pearls, and beautiful woods.

• Trade was carried out along routes that carried as far west as Turkey (map, p. 196). One of these routes was the Silk Road from China to Rome.

• Sea trade encouraged the spice trade to Europe – Indian success at sales was such that Roman leaders complained at the amount of gold that was spent on Indian luxuries.

• Increased trade led to the rise of banking in India, including credit accounts much like credit cards.

• Hinduism spread to Nepal and Sri Lanka; Buddhism to China.

The Origins of Judaism

The Search for a Promised Land

• Canaan (Palestine) was the ancient home of the Hebrews.

• Ancient Palestine’s location made it a crossroads of the ancient world, because it was located between Asia and Africa – Assyria and Babylonia to the east and Egypt to the west.

• According to the Bible, Canaan was the land that God had promised to the Hebrew People.

From Ur to Egypt

• The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or Torah, contain most of what people know of Hebrew history.

• In the Torah, God chose Abraham to be the father of the Hebrew people. He was a shepherd who lived in Ur, and God commanded him to move his people to Canaan around 1800 BC. Around 1650 BC, his descendants moved to Egypt.

Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great.

- Genesis 12:1-2

The God of Abraham

• The Bible tells how Abraham roamed for many years from Mesopotamia to Canaan to Egypt and back to Canaan. All the while, their God watched over them.

• The Hebrews were monotheists, or only believed in one God. God was not a physical being, and no images were to be made of him, nor was his name to be written or spoken.

• They asked God to watch over them, which God did because Abraham promised to honor Him. This promise between God and the Jews is called the Covenant.

Moses and the Exodus

• The Hebrews migrated to Egypt because of a drought and famine. At first, they had positions of honor… later the pharaoh forced them into slavery.

• Between 1300-1200 BC, the Jews fled Egypt in the Exodus, which is remembered yearly in the festival of Passover.

• The man who led the Jews out of Egypt was Moses. While he was leading the Jews out of the desert, he went to the top of Mt. Sinai to pray. While up there, he spoke with God, who gave His Commandments to him – God promised to protect the Hebrews if they promised to keep his Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments

• I. I am the Lord thy God… Thou shalt have no other gods before me

• II. Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image

• III. Though shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

• IV. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy

• V. Honor thy father and thy mother…

• VI. Thou shalt not kill• VII. Thou shalt not

commit adultery• VIII. Thou shalt not steal• XI. Thou shalt not bear

false witness against thy neighbor

• X Thou shall not covet… anything that is thy neighbor’s.

- Deuteronomy 5:6-22

The Land and People of the Bible

• The Torah states that the Hebrews wandered for 40 years in the Sinai Desert. After Moses’ death they returned to Canaan and became city dwellers. They were loosely organized into twelve tribes, who lived in separate areas and were self-governing.

• In times of emergency, God would raise up judges from these tribes. One of these, unusually, was a woman: Deborah.

Hebrew Law

• Deborah’s role was rare in Hebrew times. The roles of men & women were separate in Hebrew society – the woman’s most important role was to raise her children and to provide moral leadership for them.

• The prophets taught that the Hebrews had a duty to worship God and live justly with one another – the goal was a moral life.

• The emphasis on right conduct and one god is called “ethical monotheism” and laid the foundations for Christianity and Islam.

The Kingdom of Israel

• Canaan was a harsh region, with little water and arid desert. The Jews expanded south and north out of necessity.

• From 1020-922 BC, the Jews were united under three able kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. This new kingdom was called Israel, and for 100 years enjoyed a period of power and independence. King David was extremely popular and established a dynasty.

Solomon Builds the Kingdom

• Around 962 BC, David was succeeded by his son Solomon. He was the most powerful of the kings, who built a trading empire with Phoenicia. He was responsible for the beautification of Jerusalem, and built the Temple on the Mount, which was to be home to the Ark of the Covenant – this contained the Ten Commandments.

• These building projects required high taxes and strained finances. Also, men were forced to spend 1 of 3 months working on the Temple. This discontent caused a revolt in the northern part of the kingdom after Solomon’s death. By 922, Israel had divided in two – Israel to the north and Judah in the south.

The Babylonian Captivity

• In 738, both kingdoms began paying tribute, or peace money, to Assyria. By 725 the Assyrians attacked Israel anyway, and by 722 Israel had fallen.

• A hundred and fifty years later, Judah fell to the Babylonians. Solomon’s temple was destroyed in the Babylonian victory, and many survivors were forced to keep their faith alive in Mesopotamia.

• In 539 BC, the Persian king Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and he allowed 40,000 exiles to return and rebuild the temple.

• Work on the 2nd temple was completed in 515 BC, and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt in 445 BC.