India and China Creativity Continues to Flow

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India and ChinaCreativity Continues to Flow
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India Dravidians 2500-1500 B.C.

• Dravidians were the native people
• Settled the Indus River valley
• Pakistan/Western India
• Creativity included
• Pottery (oven dried)
• Writing system (standardized picture base)
• Weight and measurements for trade
• Large cities
• Polytheistic religion

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India Dravidians 2500-1500 B.C.

• Cities were well planned
• Two large cities Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
• 50,000 people
• City grid/size
• Oven-baked bricks (versus sun-dried of
  Mesopotamia)
• Sanitation
• Great baths
• No defense
• Isolation protected the Dravidians for a long
  time
• 1500 B.C. Aryans (nomadic barbarians) conquered
• Surrender seems possible

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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Dravidians conquered by the Aryans
• Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, became the
  dominant language of India
• Vedas (holy books) were written in Sanskrit
• Beliefs (religion) of the Aryans forced on the
  Dravidians (with some blending)
• Eventually became Hindu religion
• Villages became the principal societal unit
  (instead of large cities)
• More food was needed (number of mouths
  increased), villages allowed for more planting
• Aryans were nomadic and cities were likely
  uncomfortable for them

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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Ruler called raja (compare to rey)
• Extended rule over India and Pakistan
• Development of caste system
• Caste color
• 4 main castes Brahmans (priests) Aryan
• Aristocrats and warriors Aryan
• Peasants and craftsmen Drav.
• Untouchables, outcasts Drav.
• Religions created that reinforced the caste system

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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Hinduism
• Used the caste system
• An attempt to break out of the caste was very
  wrong and brought punishment in both the current
  and next life
• Reincarnation
• Righteous life brought you to a higher caste in
  the next and wickedness sent you lower in the
  caste system
• Communion with Nature

Shiva
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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Hinduism
• Adopted the Aryan gods
• The foremost god was Brahman
• Atman the manifestation of Braham in all men
• Nirvana union of Atman and Brahman
• Writings created for worship
• Poems (Mahabharata)
• Hymns
• Vedas

Vishnu on top of Garuda)
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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Jainism
• Jainism is closely related to Hinduism
• VardhamanaMahavira
• founder of Jainism (540-468 BC)
• Non-violence and strict vegetarianism
• Closed many occupations (soldiers, butchers, and
  even farmers)
• Became shopkeepers, bankers and other service
  providers
• Still represent a large portion of Indias
  business community today

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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Jainism
• History is repeating
• History divided into 6 repeating periods
• First three ages are descending simple, country
  life that is largely happy
• Last three are ascendingcomplex, city life that
  is largely unhappy
• After 6th stage the cycle repeats backwards
• Reincarnation
• 4th stage is height of human development

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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Buddhism
• Gautama Siddhartha (563-483 BC)
• Born in northern India
• Wealthy warrior caste family
• Never saw painful things
• 4 new things made him meditate
• An old man A sick man
• A corpse A monk

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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Buddhism
• At age 29 left his wife and joined 5 monks
• Lived in self-denial
• A woman suggested he wasnt reaching his full
  potential
• Sat beneath a Bo tree for 49 days and
  contemplated the meaning of life
• Formulated Buddhism and began preaching
• Buddhaenlightened one
• The Middle Way (avoid extremes)
• Vision of a pond of lotus flowers
• Realized his obligation to teach others

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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Buddhism
• Four Noble Truths
• Suffering is with us throughout life
• Suffering and conflict originate from craving for
  pleasure
• Cessation of suffering (Nirvana) comes from
  rooting out these desires
• Suffering ceases by observing the Eight Fold Path

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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Buddhism
• The Eight Fold Path
• Right understanding or views
• Right intention (aim) and thought
• Right speech
• Right conduct or action
• Right means of livelihood
• Right endeavor or effort
• Right mindfulness
• Right meditation or concentration

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India Aryan/Vedic Society 1500-500 B.C.

• Buddhism
• He preached for 40 years
• Hindu doctrine largely retained
• He was worshipped as a God
• Painted his reflection
• Missionaries carried Buddhism throughout Asia
• Persecuted by later leaders in India and has
  almost died-out there

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IndiaCreativity

• Dravidian urban societymuch creativity but lost
  to us
• Aryan village societysome creativity
• Vedas
• Caste system
• Religion
• Later Indian society
• Buddhism

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Chinese Civilizations
Map showing early Yellow River Societies (with
later expansion to Yangtze River area)
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Chinese Civilizations

• Yellow River
• High Silt content (40 of its volume)
• Rich topsoil when it floods
• Unpredictable flooding
• Isolated
• Deserts
• Distance
• The Great Wall (eventually)

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Chinese Civilizations Xia or Hsia Dynasty
(2200-1700 BC)

• Earliest Dynasty (compare to Egypt)
• Lasting Contributions
• Domestication of the horse
• Development of bronze weapons and tools
• Expansion of territory
• People were largely tribal

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Chinese Civilizations Shang Dynasty (1700-1000
B.C.)

• Chinese Writing System developed
• Uses logograms or pictographs
• Over 50,000 characters, but good literacy
  requires only 5,000.
• Horse-drawn chariots
• Bronze weapons improved
• Improvement occurred later than the
  Mesopotamians did, shows isolation

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Chinese Civilizations Zhou Dynasty (770-221
B.C.)

• Mandate of heaven concept introduced, Emperors
  were chosen by divine right
• Two most important thinkers of Chinese history
  lived during this dynasty
• Lao Tzu
• Confucius (Kung Fu-Tzu)

Confucius
Lao Tzu
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Chinese Civilizations Zhou Dynasty (770-221
B.C.)

• Confucius (551-479 BC)
• Kung Fu-Tzu, Master Kung
• Born to a family of bureaucrats (minor nobility)
• Received a good education
• Worked for several governments and developed a
  system of good government, which was based on
• Honesty
• Dependability
• Hard work
• Loyalty

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Chinese Civilizations Zhou Dynasty (770-221
B.C.)

• Confucius
• Had a small group of disciples during lifetime
• Teachings were recognized later during Han
  dynasty
• Humans are basically good but some traits need to
  be built and others diminished
• Society should be adapted to the goodness of
  people
• Status of a person should be decided upon merit
• Each person has a role to fill
• Family is the basic unit of society
• Confucianism is not a religion but a collection
  of moral teachings
• A clever tongue and a fine appearance are rarely
  the signs of goodness

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Chinese Civilizations Zhou Dynasty (770-221
B.C.)

• Lao-Tzu Taoism
• Lived about the same time as Confucius
• Teachings known as Tao Te Ching or The Way
• Nature is the great teacher
• By observing nature we can find the correct path
  in life.

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Taoism

• "The term wu wei is frequently used in Taoist
  philosophy and means literally "non-action."
  What the Chinese mean by wu wei is not abstaining
  from activity but abstaining from a certain kind
  of activity, activity that is out of harmony with
  the ongoing cosmic process. Perhaps a better
  definition of wu wei is refraining from action
  contrary to nature... This is the meaning of Lao
  Tzu's seemingly puzzling statement "By nonaction
  everything can be done."
• The Turning Point, Fritjof Capra

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• "Lao Tzu in his Tao Te Ching shares an
  invaluable piece of wisdom 'The world is ruled
  by letting things take their course. It cannot
  be ruled by interfering.'" Ray, Michael and
  Rochelle Myers, Creativity in Business, Broadway
  Books, 1986, p. 29.

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Taoism

• "When the effective leader is finished with his
  work, the people say it happened naturally."
• Lao Tzu, quoted in Thorpe, Scott, How to Think
  Like Einstein, Barnes Noble Books, Inc., 2000,
  p.172.

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Taoism

• Yin
• Feminine
• Earth
• Moon
• Night
• Winter
• Moisture
• Coolness
• Interior
• Intuition
• Contractive
• Conservative
• Responsive
• Cooperative
• Synthesizing

Yang Male Heaven Sun Day Summer Dryness Warmth Su
rface Rational Expansive Demanding Aggressive Comp
etitive Analytical
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• "Yin corresponds to all that is contractive,
  responsive, and conservative, whereas yang
  implies all that is expansive, aggressive, and
  demanding...In Chinese culture yin and yang have
  never been associated with moral values. What is
  good is not yin or yang but the dynamic balance
  between the two what is bad or harmful is
  imbalance."
• The Turning Point, Fritjof Capra

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Chinese Civilizations Zhou Dynasty (770-221
B.C.)
Comparison

• Taoism
• Governmentdo more by doing nothing
• Mans relationship to nature

• Confucianism
• Government-do more, but do it better
• Mans relationship to man

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Zhou Dynasty (770-221 B.C.)

• Later Zhou period
• Kings became weak and so kingdom fragmented
• Bureaucrats became powerful
• Society became fixed
• Many wars between kingdoms
• Creativity slowed

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Chinese Civilizations Qin/Chin Dynasty
(221-207 BC)

• First Sovereign emperor
• Powerful and feared
• All territory united for the first time
• Chin emperor knew value of
• Communication
• Unity for his empire
• Good roads for trade
• Silk Road went from the capital Xian to the
  Black Sea
• Principle route for trade between Europe and
  China
• Was expanded through history
• Used through Middle Ages

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Chinese Civilizations Qin/Chin Dynasty
(221-207 BC)
Movie Hero
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Chinese Civilizations Qin/ Chin Dynasty

• The Great Wall of China
• Improved in Chin dynasty to avoid revolt by
  keeping peasants busy
• Surpassed original expectations of Zhou dynasty
• 1500 miles
• Stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Tibetan
  mountains
• Large enough to march armies along the top

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Chinese Civilizations Qin/ Chin Dynasty

• Built terracotta warriors in the capital Xian

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Chinese Civilizations Qin/ Chin Dynasty
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Chinese Civilizations Qin/ Chin Dynasty
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Chinese Civilizations Qin/ Chin Dynasty
Silk Road
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Chinese Civilizations Qin/ Chin Dynasty
Control

• Attempted to destroy knowledge books
• Required all aristocracy to leave their land and
  come to the capital so he could watch them
• Distributed land to peasants, but heavily taxed

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• "Geographic connectedness and only modest
  internal barriers gave China an initial advantage
  by developing civilization over a wide area.
  But China's connectedness eventually became a
  disadvantage, because a decision by one despot
  could and repeatedly did halt innovation. In
  contrast, Europe's geographic balkanization
  resulted in dozens or hundreds of independent,
  competing statelets and centers of innovation.
• Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, 1999,
  414-416.

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Chinese Civilizations Han Dynasty (207 B.C.
200 A.D.)

• Golden age of China
• Strict rules were modified
• Confucian concepts were established
• Imperial-style government developed by the Chin
  dynasty was kept
• Han Dynasty was known for military prowess
• Creativity
• Paper was invented
• Great canals to link rivers for trade and
  transportation were created
• Art flourished

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Summary of River Societies

• Mesopotamia
• Strong Kings
• Invasions
• Creativity was continually sparked
• Egyptian
• Initally kings but later weak
• Isolated
• Creativity was strong in the beginning and
  sometimes seen later, but the society became
  stagnant when priests gained power
• Indian
• Initially progressive, but soon resisted change
• Creativity in religion flourished
• Chinese
• Slow development, but once started the creativity
  was astounding
• Isolated
• Like the Egyptians, creativity became stagnant
  when a conservative class gained power
  (bureaucrats)

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