Chapter 3

Shang

Ancestor worship began under this early Chinese dynasty. Also know for bronze casting and the reading of oracle bones.

Suttee

Ancient custom in India that required a wife to throw herself on her dead husband's flaming funeral pyre.

Aryans

Arrived in northern India around 2000 B.C. Started writing in Sanskrit around 1000 B.C.

Varnas

Aryan social structure. Priests at the top, then warriors, merchants and farmers, and peasants or servants at the bottom.

Untouchables

At the lowest level of Indian society, outside of the caste system completely.

Caste

Based on a Portuguese word (jati in Indian). The social structure of India. Everyone was born into a class and no one could move or marry out of their class. Technically illegal since the Constitution of 1950, but still in practice in some parts of India today.

Karma

Belief of both Hindus and Buddhists. The force generated by a person's actions that determines how the person will be reborn in the next life.

Reincarnation

Belief of both Hindus and Buddhists. The individual soul is reborn in a different form after death.

Confucius

Born around 550 B.C. His interest in philosophy was political and ethical, not spiritual. His sayings were recorded in the Analects. He believed everyone should be governed by the Five Constant Relationships. Believed that humans are basically good and in rule by merit.

Siddhartha Gautama

Buddha. Founded religion around 500 B.C. Accepted reincarnation, but rejected the caste system and gods of Hinduism.

Stupa

Buddhist architecture: a square base, a dome, a spire, a crescent moon, and a circular disc.

Han

Chinese dynasty founded by peasant Liu Pang (Bang). Replaced Legalism with Confucianism. Its beacon towers made the early Great Wall a fast communication system. The first people in the world to use steel. Invented paper.

Legalism

Chinese philosophy that believes humans are bad by nature and therefore need a strong ruler with harsh laws and strict punishments.

Four Noble Truths

Foundation of Buddhism: Life is suffering. Suffering is caused by desire. To end suffering, stop desiring things for yourself. The way to end desire is to follow the eightfold path.

Asoka

Generally considered to be the greatest ruler in the history of India, he ruled during the Mauryan Empire. He sponsored Buddhist missionaries who spread Buddhism throughout India and eventually to China.

Aryabhata

India named its first satellite after this Gupta Empire astronomer. He was one of the first to describe the rotation of Earth on its axis.

zero

Indian mathematicians introduced this concept and were the first to use a symbol for it.

Cow

Most sacred animal in Hinduism.

Himalayas

Mountains that separate India from China.

Dharma

Principle of Hinduism that requires all people to do their duty.

Indus

River that flows through ancient western India (today Pakistan). The ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were located here.

Monsoon

Seasonal wind patterns in India. Summers bring lots of rain to places like Cherrapunji. Winter months are drier.

Shihuangdi

The First Qin Emperor. His dynasty was short lived because his regime was so ruthless. Thousands died working on the Great Wall. Legalism was the official ideology. His tomb, yet to be excavated, is guarded by over 7,000 life-size terra cotta soldiers.

Huang He

The Yellow River. Along with the Yangtze, it is China's other major river.

Zhou

The longest lasting dynasty in Chinese history. Claimed that it ruled China because it possessed the Mandate of Heaven.

Kushan

This Indian empire benefited from trade between China and the Roman Empire. It came to an end when invaders from Persia overran it in the third century A.D.

Qin

Took control of China in 221 B.C. following the Period of the Warring States.

Daoism

Unlike Confucianism, this Chinese philosophy does not believe that it is the duty of human beings to improve life here on Earth. Nature should be allowed to run its course.

Buddhism

World's fourth largest religion. Theravada is the more conservative form and it is dominant in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. Mahayana is the more liberal version and is more popular in China, Tibet, Korea, and Japan. Does not believe in a god.

Hinduism

World's third largest religion, and the predominant religion in India. The world's oldest surviving religion, it has no known founder. Three chief gods and hundreds of minor gods.