Ancient India vs Ancient China India Geography North

Ancient India vs. Ancient China

India Geography North China South Asian Plain of Indus Periodic flooding=renewal of fertile soil Huang He (Yellow River) Floods carry loess=renewal of soil fertility Humid subtropical climate=difficulty storing food Much mountainous and semidesert land=settlement only along rivers Himalaya Mts. =shielded from winter cold and invasions Monsoons and snowmelt=abundant water supply and maritime trade (later) Passes in northwest=contact with Middle East Violent flooding=dike building for control Mountain, desert, and jungle barriers=cultural isolation=unique/homogeneous culture Climate split between arid, cool north and wet, warm south

India Political Patterns Centralized gov’t evident in prominence of logically planned cities with public buildings and services China Small feudal kingdoms later unified by Zhou Dynasty Expansion from Shang Zhou Qin Highly centralized autocracy and unification later under the Qin Dynasty Dynastic Cycle and idea of Mandate of Heaven

Mandate of Heaven

India Social/Economic Trade with Mesopotamia, South India, and Afghanistan Uncertainty about how society was organized; small republics, rule by priests, or early form of caste system(Minimal evidence=little definite knowledge) Undecipherable writing Elaborately planned cities, standardized weights and measures, architectural design Unlike other civilizations, it produced no palaces, temples, elaborate graves, kings, or warrior class China King, aristocratic ruling class, and bureaucracy made up of warrior families Peasant farmers and slaves Artisan/craft workers Merchants Patriarchal Impressive cultural continuity into modern times

India Religious Importance of fertility=worship of mother goddess Clay tablet images of gods=prototypes of Hindu deities? Clay animal figures=great respect for livestock such as cows? China King worshipped as mediator between people and gods=ruler was “son of heaven” Early written language with oracle bones as early documents Early worship of dead royalty set pattern for ancestor veneration Confucianism=secular belief in ethical conduct and social harmony Taoism=philosophy focusing on living in harmony with laws of nature

Interactions/technology Decline of Indus valley due to change in geographic patterns shifted people east Aryans migrate from Central Asia into northwest India (modern day Pakistan) bringing language and cultural traditions including the Vedas, caste system, and beliefs that would become Hinduism China is isolated due to geography=lack of outside contact=selfsufficiency, unique culture, ethnocentrism (middle kingdom) Gradually populations move to warmer, wetter climates that can sustain bigger populations on rice Crossbow, horses and the chariot from Central Asia will become essential to military victories Bronze used in weapons and religious vessels