Chapter Three – India and China: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order
A. Emerged somewhat later than Egypt and Mesopotamia
B. Significant contributions to the human tradition
1. literature, art, philosophy, music
2. great populations
C. Asian world view
1. differs from Western cultures
2. India: pantheism – belief all things in universe pervaded by an ineffable divine spirit
3. China: natural order of the universe central to all aspects of material and spiritual existence
n all aspects belong to larger organic whole
II. Ancient India
A. Indus Valley Civilization (ca. 2700 – 1500 B.C.E.)
1. Sind – words “India” and “Hindu” derived
a. Sindhu -- Sanskrit name for the river Indus
b. Hindu is a fairly new term (700 C.E.)
n from Muslim rulers of India who called those who did not convert to Islam
n British picked up and passed to European languages
2. Bronze Age culture of complexes of cities containing brick houses, grid street patterns, covered sewage systems, bathrooms w/running water,written language
n covered half million square miles
n found during archaelogical digs in 1920s
n at least 40,000 people per city
3. vigorous sculptural tradition in both bronze and stone
a. lost wax method of bronze working
b. meditative, introspective tradition??
B. The Vedic Era (ca. 1500 – 322 B.C.E.)
1. invasion of the Aryans from the north
a. light skinned, societal divisions pre-caste system
b. later rigid class stratification, first by occupation
c. development of the Untouchables
2. Aryans introduced Sanskrit, later classic language of India
a. came from what is now Iran
b. probably first to tame horses
c. Indo-European language distantly related to English
d. those who did not migrate became founders of Zorastrianism
e. these same people also later founded the Persian Empire
f. Iran means land of the Aryans
g. organized among nomadic tribal lines under rajas
h. subsequent divisions in society
3. two great epics: Mahabharata and Ramayana
a. treasured resources for poetry, drama, art
4. Vedas – sacred, devotional texts, prayers, hymns
5. gods: Indra, Rudra (later, Shiva), Agni, Vishnu
C. Hindu Pantheism
1. sacred is not a superhuman personality
2. objective, all-pervading cosmic Spirit
3. divinity in all things; the universe itself is sacred
4. venerates all forms of the all-pervasive Spirit
5. Upanishads – religious texts of enlightenment through meditation
n Brahman: single, all-pervading cosmic force, infinite, formless, unknowable
n within each person reside the individual manifestation of Brahman: the Self, Atman
n Atman seeks to be united with the Absolute Spirit, Brahman
n reunion of Brahman and Atman is nirvana
6. Law of Karma hold accumulated deeds determine one’s physical state in the next life
n reincarnation fate of Hindi until achieve nirvana
n at that point Atman is liberated and absorbed
D. The Bhagavad-Gita (Song of God)
1. episode from the Mahabharata
2. contains dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna (incarnation of god Vishnu)
3. Krishna’s answer represents Hindu thought, resignation
4. Hindu view differs from ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians
a. human beings are not separate from the gods
b. oneness of matter and spirit
c. emphasis on reabsorption into the spiritual infinite
d. Western thought and religion emphasizes imperishability of individual consciousness
5. a pantheon of gods in Hinduism
a. no institutional forms of worship
b. no doctrinal laws
c. holistic view of nature has influenced Western through and belief, especially since the 1800s
d. deep meditation practices and techniques have influenced the West since 1900s, especially in religion, philosophy, and medical science
A. Introduction
1. civilization emerged between Yellow and Yangtse
2. 3500 B.C.E., producing silk
3. urban centers, metallurgy, writing,1750 B.C.E.
4. pictographic – phonetic character script
a. each character represents an individual word
b. urban culture, Bronze Age, and Shang dynasty
B. Shang Dynasty (ca. 1520 – 1027 B.C.E.)
1. hereditary kings as intermediaries between people and the spirit world
2. authority from the Lord on High (Shang-ti); divine right
3. royal authority symbolized by dragon, hybrid beast
a. strength,fertility, and life-giving water
b. dragon throne: powerful bureaucracy, huge armies
c. king’s soldiers, consisted of peasants, farmed in peacetime with slaves captured in war
4. social system evidenced in royal tombs
5. treasures of jade, bronzes [bells, vessels, birds]
6. recent discoveries; still much to be discovered
7. use of jade: tools, musical, color, protective power
C. Zhou [Chou, pronounced “Joe”] Dynasty
1. sacred right to rule known as “Mandate of Heaven”
2. justified their assault on the Shang dynasty who had failed to rule virtuously
3. natural order determined intelligence and ability
4. natural hierarchy yet world’s first system wherein individuals selected for government service on basis of written examinations [merit and education]
5. aristocracy of merit characterized Chinese culture
D. Spirits, Gods, and the Natural Order
1. most powerful spirits: those of deceased ancestors
a. direct influence upon human affairs
b. buried the dead, regular sacrifices, food & offerings
2. dead and living share a cosmos
a. animated by nature
b. regulated by the natural order
3. harmony and order symbolized by the circle
a. Lord on High – Shang Ti; Heaven – Qian
b. qi -- substance of the universe, vital energy
c. inviolable natural order dominated China’s history
4. balance: four seasons, five elements, five powers
5. yin/yang inscribed in a circle: no beginning, no ending
1. as much a philosophy as a religion
2. Lao Zi [Lao-Tzu – “Old Master,” “Old Boy”]
a. born 50 years before Confucius?
b. keeper of royal archive in court of Chou dynasty
c. traveled to northwest China
3. Dao de jing [Tao Tê Ching] – sacred philosophical writings
Summary:
Ancient China: concepts of social and spiritual harmony were deeply rooted in the idea of an order governed by nature rather than by individual and personal gods.
Leaders ruled by Mandate of Heaven.
Holistic world view linked realm of the dead with all living descendants.
Natural order inseparable from the moral and spiritual order; governed natural equality and system of advancement based on merit.