South and East Asia

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South and East Asia

• India, Korea Japan
• Ancient China

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India after the Harappans

• Vedic civilization was a change in Indian
  culture.
• The Aryans adopted almost nothing of Harappan
  culture. They built no cities, no states, no
  granaries, and used no writing.
• Instead they were a warlike people that organized
  themselves in individual tribal, kinship units,
  the Jana.

http//www.wsu.edu/dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
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Jana

• The jana was ruled over by a war-chief. These
  tribes spread quickly over northern India.
• The basic social unit of Aryan culture, the jana,
  slowly developed from an organization based on
  kinship to one based on geography.
• The jana became a janapada, or nation and the
  jana-rajya , or tribal kingdom, became the
  jana-rajyapada, or national kingdom.

http//www.wsu.edu/dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
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Rigvedic Period

• The earliest history of the Aryans in India is
  called the Rigvedic Period (1700-1000 BC) after
  the religious praise poems that are the oldest
  pieces of literature in India.
• These poems, the Rig Veda, are believed to
  represent the most primitive layer of
  Indo-European religion and have many
  characteristics in common with Persian religion
  since the two peoples are closely related in
  time.

http//www.wsu.edu/dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
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Rig Veda
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Vedic Architecture
Architecture built to conform to the natural
laws, known as Vastu Shastra.
http//www.gosai.com/chaitanya/saranagati/html/ved
ic-age_fs.html
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Architecture, cond
http//www.gosai.com/chaitanya/saranagati/html/ved
ic-age_fs.html
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Hindu Castes

• By the end of the Rigvedic period, social class
  had settled into four rigid castes the
  caturvarnas, or "four colors."
• At the top of the caturvarnas were the priests,
  or Brahmans. Below the priests were the warriors
  or nobles (Kshatriya), the craftspeople and
  merchants (Vaishya), and the servants (Shudra),
  who made up the bulk of society.
• These economic classes were supported by an
  elaborate religious system and would be
  eventually subdivided into a huge number of
  economic sub-classes which we call "castes.

http//www.wsu.edu/dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
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Brahmanic Period

• Later Vedic Period or Brahmanic Period (1000-500
  BC), the Aryans migrated across the Doab, which
  is a large plain which separates the Yamuna River
  from the Ganges.
• It was a difficult project, for the Doab was
  thickly forested the Aryans slowly burned and
  settled the Doab until they reached the Ganges.
• While the Rig Veda represents the most primitive
  religion of the Aryans during the Rigvedic
  Period, the religion of the Later Vedic period is
  dominated by the Brahmanas, or priestly book,
  which was composed sometime between 1000 and 850
  BC.

http//www.wsu.edu/dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM
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Ancient Korea

• Gojoseon was an ancient Korean kingdom
• Gojoseon was founded in 2333 BC by Dangun in the
  basins of the Liao and Taedong Rivers, ruling
  over northern Korean peninsula and southern
  Manchuria.
• Gojoseon was defeated by the Han dynasty of China
  in 108 BC.

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Gojoseon bronze artifacts
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Three Kingdoms of Korea

• The Three Kingdoms of Korea were Goguryeo, Baekje
  and Silla.

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms_of_Kor
ea
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Goguryeo tomb mural
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The brick chamber of the tomb of King Muryeong
(r. 501-523)
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Royal burial mounds at Gyeongju (capital of
Silla)
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Timeline Ancient China
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Neolithic China

• The Neolithic period began in China about 12,000
  B.C., with the Yangshao and the Lungshan cultures
• However, good evidence of Neolithic settlements
  exists from only about 4,000 B.C. The Neolithic
  lasted until about 2,000 B.C.
• It is defined by a spread of settled agricultural
  communities, but hunting and gathering was still
  practiced.
• The largest concentration of agriculture was
  below the southern bend of the Yellow River and
  millet was the main crop.

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Neolithic China
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Neolithic Pottery
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Xia Dynasty

• For many years, the Xia Dynasty was thought to
  be a part of a myth that the Chinese tell as part
  of their history.
• The Xia Dynasty was in oral histories, but no
  archaeological evidence was found of it until
  1959.
• The Xia were agrarian people, with bronze weapons
  and pottery.
• The ruling families used elaborate and dramatic
  rituals to confirm their power to govern.
• The rulers often acted as shamans, communicating
  with spirits for help and guidance.

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Erlitous

• Excavations at Erlitous, in the city of Yanshi,
  uncovered what was most likely a capital of the
  Xia Dynasty.
• The site showed that the people were direct
  ancestors of the Lungshan and were predecessors
  of the Shang.
• Radiocarbon dates from this site indicate that
  they existed from 2100 to 1800 B.C.
• Despite this new archaeological evidence of the
  Xia, they are not universally accepted as a true
  dynasty.

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http//www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancie
nt_china/xia.html
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Shang Dynasty

• The Shang, rather than the Xia, is considered by
  most to be the first true dynasty of China.
• Like the Xia, the Shang were originally
  considered to be a myth.
• They were discovered because Chinese pharmacists
  were selling oracle bones the Shang had created
  the pharmacists sold the bones as dragon bones.
• The bones were first noticed in 1899 and by the
  1920's were traced to Anyang, where the last
  Shang capital was found and excavated.

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Shang, cond

• In the 1950's an earlier Shang capital was found
  near present day Zhengzhou.
• Traditional Chinese history indicates that the
  Shang Dynasty consisted of 30 kings and seven
  different, successive, capitals.
• The Zhou, the dynasty that followed the Shang,
  are responsible for the recordings of the kings
  and capitals of the Shang Dynasty.

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Shang pottery
Earthenware that was almost porcelain, only
missing the glaze.
http//www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancie
nt_china/shang.html
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Shang Writing

• They are the first group of people from China of
  which written records are found.
• The most common place these writings are found is
  on oracle bones used for divination.
• The bones used for this purpose originally came
  from a number of animals, but were eventually
  done exclusively on turtle shells.
• A question was written on the bone, which was
  then fired and a T shaped crack was produced
  which was interpreted, and the interpretation was
  then written on the bone.
• After the predicted event occurred, the date of
  the occurrence was also written on the bone.
• Writing is also found on bronze and stone, but
  the majority of the records have decayed as they
  were recorded on bamboo strips.

http//www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancie
nt_china/shang.html
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Oracle Inscriptions
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Shang Religion

• The Shang worshipped the "Shang Ti."
• This god ruled as a supreme god over lesser gods,
  the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and other
  natural forces and places.
• Highly ritualized, ancestor worship became a part
  of the Shang religion.
• Sacrifice to the gods and the ancestors was also
  a major part of the Shang religion.
• When a king died, hundreds of slaves and
  prisoners were often sacrificed and buried with
  him. People were also sacrificed in lower numbers
  when important events, such as the founding of a
  palace or temple, occurred.

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Zhou Dynasty

• The Zhou began as a semi-nomadic tribe that
  lived to the west of the Shang kingdom.
• Due to their nomadic ways, they learned how to
  work with people of different cultures.
• After a time, they settled in the Wei River
  valley, where they became vassals of the Shang.
• The Zhou eventually became stronger than the
  Shang, and in about 1040 B.C. they defeated the
  Shang in warfare.
• They built their capital in Xi'an. Part of their
  success was the result of gaining the allegiance
  of disaffected city-states.

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Zhou Dynasty Art
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Qin Dynasty

• The Qin came to power in 221 B.C.
• They were one of the western states that existed
  during the Warring States Period.
• They conquered the other Warring States, unifying
  China for the first time.
• Their leader named himself the First Emperor, or
  Shi huangdi, thus beginning the tradition of
  having emperors for rulers.
• The Qin, while not the most culturally advanced
  of the Warring States was militarily the
  strongest.
• They utilized many new technologies in warfare,
  especially cavalry.
• The Qin are sometimes called the Ch'in, which is
  probably where the name China originated.

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Qin Achievements

• They standardized the language and writing of
  China, which had varied greatly from area to area
  during the Warring States Period.
• Also, currency became standardized as a circular
  copper coin with a square hole in the middle.
• Measurements and axle length were also made
  uniform. This was done because the cartwheels
  made ruts in the road, and the ruts had to all be
  the same width, or carts with a different axle
  length could not travel on them.
• Also, a huge palace was built for Shi Huangdi,
  the ruler.

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Shi Huangdi

• The Qin are also famous for the terra cotta army
  that was found at the burial site for Shi
  Huangdi.
• The army consisted of 6,000 pottery soldiers that
  protected the tomb. They may be a replacement for
  the actual people who had previously been buried
  with the rulers.

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Tomb of Shi Huangdi
http//www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early
_imperial_china/qin.html
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Shi Huangdi

• Located approximately 30 km outside of the
  present-day capital, X'ian (called Chang'an in
  ancient times), of the Shensi province of modern
  China, the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi remains a
  symbol of the power and ego of China's first
  Emperor.
• Ascending to the throne of his clan, the Qin, at
  the age of 13 in 246 BCE, Shi Huangdi immediately
  began construction of his extraordinary mausoleum
  which was completed soon after his death in 210
  BCE, 36 years after the work commenced.

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http//www.utexas.edu/courses/wilson/ant304/biogra
phy/arybios98/smithbio.html
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View of Pit 1
http//www.anniebees.com/China/China_42.htm
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Terra Cotta Soldiers
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Soldiers
http//www.anniebees.com/China/China_42.htm
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Calvalry
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Horses with Bronze Chariot
http//www.anniebees.com/China/China_42.htm
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Infantry
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Details
Archer from the tomb of Shi Huangdi
Archer from the Back
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Cavalryman, Tomb of Shi Huangdi
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Shi Huangdi

• Shi Huangdi longed for a long life, so he sent
  his ministers to go on quests to find a potion of
  immortality.
• The potions they brought back may have contained
  arsenic and/or lead which probably hastened his
  death.
• After his death, the Han dynasty came to power.

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Economy

• The expansion also led to trade with the people
  of inner Asia. Thereafter, the Silk Road was
  developed.
• The Silk Road actually consisted of more than one
  possible route through the mountains that the
  traders followed.
• Agriculture grew with the development of better
  tools. Iron tools were made of better quality,
  and oxen drawn ploughs were commonly used.
• Irrigation systems were increased to help develop
  the areas of North China. Crop rotation was also
  practiced from 85 B.C. onwards.

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Silk Road
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Chin Dynasty

• Ssu-ma Yen began the Chin Dynasty he ruled from
  265-289A.D. As an emperor, he was called Wu Ti.
• The Chin managed to reunify China when, in 280
  A.D., they conquered the Wu Kingdom, thus ending
  the period of The Three Kingdoms.
• After the death of Ssu-ma Yen, there was never
  again a strong leader.
• The leaders and princes were often assassinated
  in the struggle for power.
• During this time, the Chinese people surrounding
  the capital suffered due to the fighting and
  began a migration out from the center of the
  empire to the more peaceful frontier regions.

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Dynasties of the North and South

•  The Dynasties of the North and South were
  another lengthy period of disunity and internal
  strife for China.
• It lasted from 317-589 A.D. During this time
  period, the north and south were split and two
  separate successions of dynasties formed.
• In both the north and the south, there were
  different groups of rulers. Many of the dynasties
  overlapped each other in terms of time.

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Tang Dynasty

• The Tang dynasty lasted from 618-907 A.D.
• Much of their power was made possible through the
  canals built by the Sui. These canals allowed for
  communications to all parts of the empire. Also,
  the granaries the Sui built alongside the canals
  helped the Tang to transport goods from the
  south to the north. This especially was important
  in the transfer of rice to the north in times of
  famine. These canals were important in the
  economic development of the Tang empire.
• They first compiled the Tang Code in 624 A.D.
  This is the first complete Chinese code that
  still exists.
• It consists of a continuous scale of penalties
  that are applied based on both the crime and the
  degree of relation between the criminal and the
  offended person. The degree was based on the
  amount of time that would be spent in mourning if
  the person died. The Tang Code had more than
  five hundred articles divided into twelve
  sections.

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Tang Art
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Porcelain
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The Female Empress

• The Tang dynasty has the distinction of having
  had the only female empress.
• A concubine of the Tai-tsung and Kao-tsung,
  named Wu Chao reigned as emperor. She removed the
  legitimate heir in 690 A.D. and took the throne
  under the name Emperor Tse-tien.
• Her reign is actually a disruption of the Tang
  dynasty, as she called her dynasty the Chou. This
  dynasty lasted for 15 years.
• She was able to gain power largely as a result of
  the hidden support of the Buddhist church. They
  called her a reincarnation of the Bodhisattva
  Maitreya, a Buddhist savior.

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Great Walls of China

• Many public works projects were also undertaken.
• Several walls built as in the Zhou dynasty
• The Great Wall was built in the north, to
  protect against invasions. Roads and irrigation
  canals were built throughout the country.

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The Great Wall
Another accomplishment of the Ming was the
building of the Great Wall. While Great Walls had
been built in earlier times, most of what is seen
today was either built or repaired by the Ming.
The brick and granite work was enlarged, the
watch towers were redesigned and cannons were
placed along the wall.