From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations

Qin Shi Huangdi

Silk Road

Analects

Patriarchalism

Daoism

Confucianism

Legalism

Han Dynasty

Qin Dynasty

Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 2, Quiz Questions
1) One difference between classical civilizations and river valley civilizations was that in classical civilizations

A) most people farmed the land.

B) political organizations were more elaborate.

C) trade was introduced.

D) writing was developed.

E) beliefs were widely held.

2) One difference between classical China and the earlier Huanghe river valley civilization was that

A) human sacrifices were suppressed.

B) traditions emphasized the harmony of nature.

C) irrigation was widely practiced.

D) China became relatively isolated.

E) farming was important.

3) The "Son of Heaven" concept promoted all of the following EXCEPT

A) loyalty to the emperor.

B) centralization of power in the state.

C) priests' control of the state.

D) the remoteness of emperor from subjects.

E) an explanation of the decline of dynasties.

4) Chinese views of nature emphasized

A) harmony and balance.

B) a powerful, all-seeing God.

C) that nature was uncontrollable.

D) that the key to understanding lay through scientific experiments.

E) deities that punished sinful people.

5) Which of the following was a Confucian belief?

A) Change should be encouraged and modeled by the emperor.

B) A good society has a hierarchy both in family and state.

C) Merchants must be valued for their money-making skills.

D) Governments must not interfere with individual rights.

E) People of all social classes and abilities should be actively involved in government.

6) Ceremony and hierarchy became an important part of upper-class Chinese life because

A) the Chinese believed that women should regulate the household.

B) the Chinese believed that it would help unify society and prevent greed.

C) the Chinese believed that polite behavior was a way to please the gods.

D) the Chinese believed that courtesy would win salvation in heaven.

E) the Chinese religion contained many public celebrations.

7) Daoists would agree with Confucianists on all of the following EXCEPT

A) the importance of political activity.

B) scorn for greed.

C) basic harmony of nature.

D) importance of restraint in personal life.

E) the importance of tradition.

8) The Chinese government accepted Daoism for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

A) Daoists did not have great political ambitions.

B) Daoists believed that nobles were holier than peasants.

C) Daoists came to acknowledge the Son of Heaven.

D) Daoists provided spiritual insights for many in the upper classes.

E) Daoism embraced traditional Chinese beliefs.

9) Chinese art featured

A) frequent shifts in style.

B) careful craftsmanship and detail work.

C) monumental temples and stadiums.

D) emphasis on God and the holy family.

E) images of perfectly proportioned humans.

10) One of China's key economic strengths was

A) extensive overseas trade.

B) government encouragement of the merchant class.

C) high levels of technological innovation.

D) early introduction of steam-powered equipment.

E) cheap slave labor.

11) Women in Han Chinese society

A) could rise to the level of the emperor but only if they had no children.

B) sometimes become quite powerful in a household.

C) tended to be poor and were sometimes sold into slavery.

D) tended to marry much younger men.

E) would not have children until much older.

12) A famous example of "cultural diffusion" in early Chinese history was

A) the spread of paper-making technology from the Middle East.

B) the use of the iron plow from Rome.

C) the development of written Mandarin Chinese characters.

D) the introduction and spread of Buddhism from India.

E) the use of the chariot, which was brought in by the Mongols.

Essay Questions:

Classical Civilization: China

1. 
   What kinds of political problems was the development of bureaucracy in Han China meant to solve?
   

2. 
   How does one explain why the early Chinese people were so creative yet their society was relatively isolated?
   

3. 
   How did Chinese culture, particularly Confucian philosophy, support the political structure of the empire?
   

4. 
   Why was China able to accept two different basic belief systems, Confucianism and Daoism?
   

5. 
   Aside from periods of outright political decline, what were the chief tensions in Chinese society and culture? How were they handled?
   

Chapter 3, Classical Civilization: India
Summary:
The oldest and most impressive civilizations of ancient India we know little beyond the archeological evidence. The exotic picture writing remains largely undecipherable. The Maurya and Gupta Empires were inheritors of the Aryan cast system. They expanded the cast system and promoted Buddhism to give their empires a loose control of India.
Key Concepts:
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 along 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 Buddhims 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 6^th 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 a 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.
  

Key Terms:

Kushans

Maurya Dynasty

Ashoka

Hinduism

Buddhism

Caste System

Vedas

Aryans

Chandragupta

Gupta

Chapter 3, Quiz Questions
1) Which of the following does NOT help explain why India was invaded more often than China?

A) Geographical position

B) Hostility to warfare

C) Regional diversities

D) Political tradition

E) Greater contact with other societies

2) The Aryan conquerors brought to India

A) its first civilization.

B) distinctive religious ideas.

C) admiration for India's earlier inhabitants.

D) new agricultural techniques.

E) political democracy.

3) India's political tradition

A) involved the renunciation of violence and warfare.

B) stressed the importance of regional and local units.

C) emphasized the emperor as Son of Heaven.

D) insisted on religious uniformity.

E) required frequent wars of expansion.

4) The Indian caste system served to an extent as a political institution by

A) enforcing rules about social behavior.

B) unifying the subcontinent under a single government.

C) creating widespread interest in constitutional issues.

D) promoting a belief in individual rights.

E) causing unrest and rebellion.

5) Confucian and Hindu values both

A) focused attention on the afterlife.

B) helped justify and preserve social inequality.

C) urged the importance of political activity.

D) tried to outlaw war.

E) resulted in the building of magnificent temples.

6) Hindu ethics involved

A) a detailed set of prohibitions on sexual activity.

B) emphasis on an individual carrying out the obligations of life.

C) attack on all opposing religious faiths.

D) condemnations of money-making.

E) finding ultimate happiness.

7) Buddhism differed from Hinduism by not believing

A) in the caste system.

B) in holy leaders.

C) in nirvana.

D) in the importance of moral obligations.

E) in spreading the faith.

8) Which of the following does NOT describe important features of Indian art?

A) Lively color

B) Linked to religious beliefs

C) Opposed to the use of animal figures

D) Influenced by styles from other cultures

E) Showed human figures

9) Compared to China, Indian social and economic structure

A) showed greater interest in technological innovation.

B) made it easier for a peasant to rise to higher status.

C) relied on conquest of foreign territories.

D) gave a stronger role to merchants.

E) tended to discourage commerce.

10) Compared to China, India

A) lacked regional diversity and was more centralized.

B) had greater contact with other societies and civilizations.

C) had a more flexible social structure that gave a greater role for women.

D) was more secular in outlook with a focus on commercial values.

E) had much more recent origins due to the invasion of the Aryans.

11) In the classical period, both China and India

A) showed considerable tolerance for different religions.

B) attempted to conquer the most territory possible.

C) developed a lasting tradition of strong, centralized government.

D) welcomed influences from other cultures.

E) created cultural traditions which rapidly died off.

12) In contrast to China, the social values that developed in classical India

A) promoted considerable equality between men and women.

B) encouraged greater emotional spontaneity.

C) urged that children not be required to work.

D) discouraged scientific research.

E) led to great political expansion.

Essay Questions:

Classical Civilization: India

1. 
   Why did the caste system develop and how was it perpetuated?
   

2. 
   What were the chief differences between Buddhism and the developing Hindu tradition?
   

3. 
   What differences between Indian and Chinese geography help explain differences in social and cultural patterns?
   

4. 
   Which society, Gupta India or Han China, was more successful?
   

5. 
   How did the Indian caste system differ from the organization of Chinese society?
   

6. 
   Compare the political implications of Hinduism and Confucianism. How does each belief system help explain the political history of its native society in the classical period?
   

7. 
   Compare the social and family structures of India and China in the classical period. What are the main differences? The main similarities?
   

Chapter 4, Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean: Greece and Rome
Summary:
The civilizations of Greece and Rome rivaled those of India and China in cultural richness and their effect on world history. Their institutions and values reverberated in the later histories of the Middle East and Europe and Europe’s colonies around the world. The study of classical Mediterranean civilization is complicated because it includes Greek and then Roman political, social, and economic institutions, which were sometimes shared but often unique.
Key Concepts:
The Persian Tradition:

• 
  Founded by Cyrus the Great, the Persian Empire was tolerant of local customs, developed iron technology, organized an effective government and military, developed a new religion (Zoroastrianism), and supported a great artistic tradition.
  

Patterns of Greek and Roman History:

• 
  The rise of the dynamic city – states of classical Greece began around 800 B.C.E, reaching a high point in the 5^th century B.C.E., when Pericles governed Athens.
  
• 
  Following the Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta, decline set in, but a new pattern of expansion occurred under Alexander the Great. Greek values spread widely in the ensuing Hellenistic period.
  
• 
  As Hellenism declined, Rome was emerging as an expanding republic, defeating Carthage in the Punic Wars and later becoming the Roman Empire after the death of Julius Caesar. For roughly 200 years, the Empire enjoyed great power and prosperity.
  
• 
  Despite the efforts of emperors like Diocletian and Constantine, the ensuing 250 years brought a slow but decisive fall.
  

Greek and Roman Political Institutions:

• 
  Greece and Rome featured an important variety of political forms. Both tended to emphasize aristocratic rule, but there were significant democratic elements as well.
  
• 
  In the Greek polis, those who were citizens participated actively in political life. In Athens, the system of direct democracy allowed citizens to shape policy in general assemblies.
  
• 
  In the Roman republic, the Senate was the main legislative body, but under the autocratic empire, the Senate’s influence waned.
  
• 
  Later, Rome added emphasis on law and created the institutions necessary to run a vast and decentralized empire.
  

Religion and Culture:

• 
  Greek and Roman culture did not directly generate a lasting major religion, though Christianity arose in the classical Mediterranean context. Greco – Roman religion used epic poems and mythology to explore human foibles and passions.
  
• 
  An emphasis on rationality, especially in philosophy, science, and strong artistic and architectural tradition, permeated classical Mediterranean culture.
  
• 
  Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are the most well – known Greek philosophers.
  

Economy and Society in the Mediterranean:

• 
  Greek and Roman societies mirrored many standard social features of an agricultural economy, including a large peasantry and a land – owning aristocracy and dependence on trade and commerce.
  
• 
  Differing versions of the patriarchal family structure existed in both Greek and Roman culture.
  
• 
  Distinctive features included slavery and a slightly less oppressive attitude towards women than was true in classical China.
  

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