Amie Tran

4th period
September 13, 2010

Chapter 3 Guided Questions: Classical Civilization: India (AP)

1. How did geography and environment influence Indian civilization?

A: India was frequently open to influences from the Middle East and the
Mediterranean. Cultural diffusion allowed new artistic styles and political
concepts to be integrated from Persian empires, as well as permitting contact with
Hellenistic culture which was brought by Alexander the Great’s invasion of India.
Also, the Indian subcontinent is partially isolated from the rest of China by
mountain ranges. Passes through the mountains linked India to other cultures in
the Middle East. Meanwhile, divisions within the subcontinent made complete
political unity difficult. People living near the Indus and the Ganges farmed, while
a herding economy was formed in the mountainous regions to the north. Also, a
trading and seafaring economy arose near the southern coastal rim of the
subcontinent. These significant regions caused economic diversity, along with
racial and language differences in India. Plus, certain features of Indian
civilization may have resulted from a need to cope with the heat and the
monsoons. The extreme climate in India could produce an amazing harvest one
year and starvation the next.
2. Why do we know and understand more about early China than we do about
early India?
A: China was very isolated from the rest of the early civilizations, unlike India,
which was partially isolated, yet still open to influences from other places. India
was invaded many times, and therefore most of its history was lost, destroyed,
stolen or rewritten by the invaders. Its people were slaughtered or enslaved, never
able to pass down their knowledge to the next generation. China, on the other
hand, was almost never invaded, and thus, most of their history survived the test
of time.
3. Explain the beliefs of Hinduism and its evolution from the Aryans to the
Guptas.
A: Hinduism is a polytheistic religion and encourages political and economic
goals, along with worldly pleasures. It is also a tolerant religion, coexisting with
other beliefs such as Buddhism. It was brought to India by the Aryans who
conquered the indigenous people. At first, the Aryans offered hymns and
sacrifices to the gods. Certain animals were held sacred, such as cows and
monkeys. Gradually, this religion evolved into a vigorous and more complex
faith. Its epic poems express a belief in an afterlife and emphasize a religious
approach to nature. By the end of the Epic Age, Hinduism, which was the
dominant religion and the caste system, a means to establish relationships
between the conquerors and the natives, included many convictions, like prayers
and rituals. The religion also had a more mystical belief in a unifying divine force
and a want to seek a union with this force.
4. Why did the caste system develop and how was it perpetuated (continued)?
A: The caste system first developed as a means to establish relationships between
the Aryans and the conquered people, who the Aryans thought inferior. It was
perpetuated by Hinduism, whose followers believed that their gods first gave rise
Amie Tran
4th period
September 13, 2010
to the caste system. Eventually, this belief spread and the caste system was
implemented into their culture.
5. Describe the Hindu political hierarchy (government levels), caste structure
(social system), and gender relations.
A: The political hierarchy consisted of several kings and emperors, each ruler to
their own region. During the Mauryan and Gupta dynasties, the early kings
allowed local rulers that they had conquered to maintain control of their own
lands, with a representative of the king at each court to ensure loyalty. It was not
an extensive bureaucracy and had a very loose structure. Their caste system
consisted of five levels: the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaisyas, the Sudras,
and finally, the Untouchables. The Brahmins were their priests, the Kshatriyas
their warriors, the Vaisyas their farmers and traders, the Sudras their common
laborers, and the Untouchables, people who did jobs that were considered
unclean. This system was very rigid. No member could marry outside their caste
or ever hope to move up a level. What you were born as, you stayed. In this
patriarchal society, woman inequality was strong as few rights were allotted to
Indian women. However, this theory put into practice was less harsh as the Indian
culture stressed loving relations and close family ties. The husband and wife were
supposed to provide mutual emotional support as the marriage developed. Still,
women were inferior to men. One Indian code of law even recommended that a
wife treat her husband like a god.
6. What did Buddha teach and how did Buddhism challenge Hinduism?
A: Buddha believed in rewards after life, seeing the ultimate goal to be a state in
which a person was finally joined to the divine essence. This was called
“nirvana”. He greatly believed in self-control. He also thought that a holy life
could be achieved through effort from any caste level and protested elaborate
ceremonies. This is where Buddhism and Hinduism conflict as that last belief
attacked the Brahmins and the caste system itself. He downplayed the polytheistic
element of this religion and focused on a more supreme divinity over other lesser
gods.
7. What were the intellectual accomplishments of the Mauryas and Guptas?
A: Indian literature produced amazing stories, mythical and classical and their
drama flourished under the Guptas. Classical India also produced important
progress in science and mathematics. The Guptas supported one of the world’s
first university center that attracted students for all over Asia. They made
important strides in astronomy, calculating the daily rotation of the earth and the
length of the solar year, predicting eclipses and identified seven planets. Medical
research was hampered because of religious laws, but surgeons still managed to
make advances in bone setting and plastic surgery as well as produce an
inoculation against smallpox. The hospitals stressed cleanliness as well as
sterilization of wounds which led to higher ethical standards. Indian mathematics
also made a huge leap in discovery. They produced the number system that we
now use today, invented the concept of zero and developed the decimal system.
They also developed the concept of negative integers, calculated square roots, a
table of sines, and computed the value of pi. They also had beautiful shrines,
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September 13, 2010
statues, paintings and sculptures. Many discoveries were made during this time
period.
8. Which society, Gupta Indian or Han China, was more successful? Why?
A: I believe that Han China was more successful because unlike India, they had a
strong centralized government and had a lasting peace throughout the empire.
Each family was well-supplied with enough food to get along by and the
government was doing well in terms of money and economy. The state
bureaucracy of China was greatly improved plus they established civil service
examinations for testing would-be officials. New inventions were discovered and
immense progress was made in science and mathematics. But... I’m probably a bit
biased  It just depends on what criteria you are basing your judgment on. Both
classical China and India were successful in different ways.
9. How did the Indian caste system differ from the organization of Chinese
society?
A: Chinese society was nowhere as strict as the Indian caste system. Yes, they
had a social hierarchy, but peasants could become government officials, although
that was the rare exception, not the norm. The caste system is so rigid that where a
person is born in the caste is where they stay for the rest of their life. No marrying
outside of their level, on pain of death or exile, or chance of moving up in their
status.
10. How and where did Hinduism and Buddhism spread?
A: Buddhism diffused throughout other parts of Southeast Asia, such as China,
Korea, Japan and Sri Lanka. It was still practiced in India, but in small groups
because of the overwhelming opposition from Hinduism. It was spread and
retained coherence by the example and teachings of holy men, organized in
monasteries but preaching throughout the world and was given a huge boost when
Emperor Ashoka converted. He sent Buddhist missionaries to the kingdoms in the
Middle East and Sri Lanka to the south. Hinduism was spread by the Aryans who
had conquered India, and honored by both the Mauryan and Gupta emperors. This
greatly aided the stretch of Hinduism in the Indian subcontinent.
11. How did Hinduism respond to the various challenges of Buddhism?
A: Hinduism was very adaptable because it emphasized the mystical side of life,
thus retaining many Indian followers plus it also gained the approval and worship
of both the Gupta and Mauryan empires. The religion itself is tolerant of other
forms of worship and is able to coexist with other beliefs. However, Buddhism
was strongly opposed by the Brahmin priests and the Gupta emperors, therefore
shrinking the size of Buddhist followers in India.