Compare India and China Economy History

							           Chapter 3 - India


AP World
The Framework for Indian History: Geography
          and a Formative Period

• Geography (including the mountainous northern region and
  agricultural regions along the Indus and Ganges Rivers) and
  climate were major influences on Indian civilization.
• The Aryan culture, which dominated India after the fall of
  the Indus River Valley civilization, also played a formative
  role. Among other things, the Aryans brought the rudiments
  of the caste system.
• The Vedas, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the
  Upanishads formed the basis of a great Aryan literary
  tradition.
          Patterns in Classical India

• Two major empires formed at the crucial periods in classical
  Indian history, the Mauryan and, later, the Gupta.
• The Greek conquest of the Indus and the exchange of ideas
  with the Mediterranean basin and southwest Asia
  influenced the rise of the Mauryan dynasty.
• Chandragupta Maurya was the first Mauryan ruler, and
  Ashoka the greatest. Ashoka expanded the empire and
  promoted Buddhism.
• The Guptas arose after a period of nomadic invasions, and
  created a long period of political stability.
              Political Institutions

• Regionalism and political diversity dominated classical
  Indian political life, so central authority was relatively weak
• The increasingly complex caste system promoted public
  order the way more conventional government structures did
  in many other cultures
               Religion and Culture

• Hinduism and Buddhism were integral parts of classical Indian life.
  They had great influence on the arts and sciences, and both tended to
  promote religious tolerance.
• Hinduism is a polytheistic faith that gradually became more complex.
  It stresses reincarnation, the shallowness of worldly concerns, and
  dharma, the moral path.
• Buddhism, founded by Siddhartha Gautama in the 6th century B.C.E.,
  scorned caste and the material world in favor of self control and the
  Eightfold Path to nirvana.
• By the last centuries B.C.E., the Indian civilization developed a written
  language, built cities, and produced art and literature, and nurtured
  two of the great world religions. Artistic patterns linked to religion
  and a significant scientific tradition developed.
            Economy and Society

• Dominated by the caste system, India developed extensive
  internal commercial and international maritime trade.
  However, India’s economy remained essentially agricultural.
• Family life combined patriarchy with an emphasis on
  mutual emotional support.
                Indian Influence

• Classical India had an enormous effect on other parts of the
  world. India emerged as the center of an Eurasian trade
  system, a source of great wealth and a means of exporting
  Indian culture abroad
                China and India

• China and India offer important contrasts in political
  emphases, social systems, and cultures
• They also resembled each other in seeking to build stable
  structures over large areas and in using culture to justify
  social inequality
              #1


• Compare and contrast the
  classical civilizations of India
  and China
• Both had cultural variety
• Radically different organizing forces: India = caste system, China:
  Confucian-influenced political structures
• Hinduism produced a sensual, otherworldly, and monolithic religious
  atmosphere in India, while the more secular Confucianism and Daoism
  competed for the attention of China.
• Each had an agriculturally-based economy, while merchants were
  valued in India and looked down on in China.
• Even in science and mathematics, Indians were more theoretical while
  the Chinese emphasized practical findings
• Perhaps the greatest similarity between the two cultures was the
  dominance of men in both India and China
             #2


• Trace the patterns of early
  Indian history
• India’s great diversity within and among
  religions, peoples, and political forms had its
  roots in Aryan dominance. Tight levels of social
  control, introduced by the Aryans, contributed to
  the development of the caste system. In addition,
  India’s geographic position between the other
  great societies of the East and West encouraged
  trade and other forms of cultural mixing.
             #3


• Assess the influence of Indian
  culture on the rest of the world
• In many ways, the Indian region was the most active
  link among several cultures. Buddhism became a
  bigger influence outside of India than inside. Indian
  artistic and architectural styles affected southeast Asia
  as well. Indian stories like “Sinbad the Sailor” were
  passed on to Arabs and then to Europeans. Probably
  the most universal effect was the introduction of
  “Arabic” numerals, today the world’s standard form of
  expressing mathematics.
            #4


• Trace the development of the
  caste system
• As new social groups had been added to the
  tribal social order of early Aryan invaders,
  the patterns of social stratification entered
  into a religiously sanctioned hierarchy of
  social groups based partially on occupation
  and how polluting the occupation was.
            #5


• Compare Buddhism and Hinduism
• Buddhism rejected the brahmin-dominated caste
  system and the idea that the Vedas were divinely
  inspired teachings that should be accepted as the
  ultimate authority.
• Buddhism also believed in introspection and self-
  mastery as opposed to ritual, which was the very heart
  of Hindu dominance.
• Buddhism was inclusive to everyone, even women, in
  the teachings of how to reach nirvana.
            #6


• What features of Indian and
  Chinese geography help
  explain each area’s social
  patterns?
• As settlements spread from the Indus
  region and Himalayan foothills to the
  plains of the Ganges River system,
  republics and religious skeptics gave
  way to kings and powerful brahmins
  who dominated the caste system.
             #7


• Compare the caste system with
  the organization of Chinese and
  Greek society.
• Both Chinese and Greek society had social
  stratifications. However, they differed from the
  caste system in how the class decisions were
  made as well as how many and how strictly they
  were enforced. The caste system was a more rigid
  form of the organizations of Chinese and Greek
  society.
            #8


• Compare the political
  implications of Hinduism and
  Confucianism
• Confucius stressed that the welfare of
  the people should be the concern of the
  emperor. In return, the people should
  be respectful of the status. In Hinduism,
  the caste system rules with brahmins on
  the top.
            #9


• Compare the family structures
  of India and China
• In India, the higher class could afford to
  house extended families like those in
  China. Indian families that were poor
  could only afford to house the
  immediate, or nuclear, family.
            #10


• Trace the development of
  Ashoka’s leadership approach
• His original approach to ruling was to
  conquer and enlarge his empire. But
  after he witnessed the horrible
  sufferings in Orissa, he converted to
  Buddhism and began to serve his
  people and promote their welfare.