India and China Establish Empires, 300 B.C.– A.D.550 In the 200s B.C. both India and China were governed by powerful rulers. The map at the right shows most of India under Mauryan rule. China’s Han Dynasty had two periods of power: the Former Han, shown on the map, and the Later Han, lasting from about A.D. 25 to 220. Use the map to answer the questions that follow. 1. What are the dates of the two empires shown on the map? 2. What portion of India remained outside Mauryan control? 3. What geographic factors might have made further expansion difficult for both empires? Connect History and Geography 321 B.C. Chandragupta Maurya founds Mauryan Empire. 202 B.C. Liu Bang establishes China’s Han Dynasty. 170 For more information about the early empires of India and China . . . CLASSZONE.COM By about A.D. 300, Shiva was one of the most revered Hindu gods in India. This statue shows Shiva dancing on the demon of ignorance. 170-171-0207co 10/11/02 3:41 PM Page 170
Transcript
India and China EstablishEmpires, 300 B.C.–A.D.550
In the 200s B.C. both India and China were governed by powerful
rulers. The map at the right shows most of India under Mauryan
rule. China’s Han Dynasty had two periods of power: the Former
Han, shown on the map, and the Later Han, lasting from about
A.D. 25 to 220. Use the map to answer the questions that follow.
1. What are the dates of the two empires shown on the map?
2. What portion of India remained outside Mauryan control?
3. What geographic factors might have made furtherexpansion difficult for both empires?
Connect History and Geography
321 B.C.Chandragupta Mauryafounds Mauryan Empire.
202 B.C. Liu Bang establishesChina’s Han Dynasty.
170
For more information about the early empires of India and China . . .
CLASSZONE.COM
By about A.D. 300, Shiva was one of the mostrevered Hindu gods in India. This statue showsShiva dancing on the demon of ignorance.
A.D. 320 Gupta Empireforms in India and encouragesa renewal of Hindu faith.
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Interact with History
You are a weaver working at your loom when a strangerenters your shop. You fear it is one of the emperor’s
inspectors, coming to check the quality of your cloth. The maneyes you sternly and then, in a whisper, asks if you will spy onother weavers in your neighborhood. If you take the job, you willbe paid the equivalent of four years’ earnings. But you wouldhave to turn in one of your friends, whom you suspect is notpaying enough sales tax to the government.
172 Chapter 7
Would yoube a spy?
This man sits by the win-dow and writes downwhat he sees. He may bea spy for the emperor.
This soldier’s job is tocheck that everyonepays taxes. He seems suspicious of the mancarrying bananas.
This person pointstoward somethingin the street. Hecomments on thescene to his friend. Two people duck
behind this woman togossip about theirneighbors
EXAMINING the ISSUES
• Do citizens have the responsibility toturn in people who are committingcrimes?
• What kinds of tensions might exist ina society where people spy on eachother?
• Is it right for a government to controlpeople by spying on them?
As a class, discuss these questions. In yourdiscussion, review what you know abouthow other emperors exercised power in places such as Persia and Rome.
As you read about the emperors of Indiaand China, notice how they try to controltheir subjects’ lives.
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SETTING THE STAGE By 600 B.C., almost 1,000 years after the Aryan migrations,many small kingdoms were scattered throughout India. In 326 B.C., Alexander theGreat brought the Indus Valley in the northwest under Greek control—but left theregion almost immediately. Soon after, a great Indian military leader, ChandraguptaMaurya (CHUHN•druh•GUP•tuh MAH•oor•yuh), seized power for himself.
Chandragupta Maurya Builds an EmpireChandragupta Maurya may have been born in the powerful kingdom of Magadha.Centered on the lower Ganges River, the kingdom had been ruled for centuries by theNanda family. Chandragupta gathered an army, killed the Nanda king, and in about321 B.C. claimed the throne. This began the Mauryan Empire.
Chandragupta Unifies North India Chandragupta moved northwest, seizing allthe land from Magadha to the Indus. Around 305 B.C., Chandragupta began to battleSeleucus I, one of Alexander the Great’s generals. Seleucus had inherited the easternpart of Alexander’s empire. He wanted to reestablish Greek control over the Indus Valley. After several years of fighting, however,Chandragupta defeated Seleucus, who gave up some of his terri-tory to Chandragupta. By 303 B.C., the Mauryan Empire stretched more than 2,000 miles, uniting north India politically for the first time. (See the map on page 175.)
To win his wars of conquest, Chandragupta raised a vast army:600,000 soldiers on foot, 30,000 soldiers on horseback, and 9,000elephants. To clothe, feed, and pay these troops, the governmentlevied high taxes. For example, farmers had to pay up to one half thevalue of their crops to the king. The government heavily taxedincome from trading, mining, and manufacturing.
Running the Empire Chandragupta relied on an adviser namedKautilya (kow•TIHL•yuh), who was a member of the priestly caste.Kautilya wrote a ruler’s handbook called the Arthasastra (AHR•thuh•
SHAHS•truh). This book teaches how to hold a vast empire together.Following Kautilya’s advice, Chandragupta created a highly
bureaucratic government. He carefully chose his officials and hadthem closely supervised. Chandragupta divided the empire into fourprovinces, each headed by a royal prince. Each province was thendivided into local districts, whose officials assessed taxes and enforcedthe law.
City Life and Country Life Eager to stay at peace with the Indianemperor, Seleucus sent an ambassador, Megasthenes (muh•GAS•
thuh•neez), to Chandragupta’s capital. In his diary, Megasthenes wroteglowing descriptions of Chandragupta’s palace. The palace was filled
BackgroundChandragupta may have been a younger son of the Nanda king.
THINK THROUGH HISTORYA. EvaluatingDecisionsExplain whetherChandragupta waswise to use heavytaxes to finance his army.A. PossibleAnswers Yes,because he neededthe army to defeatenemies. No, becausehe was hurting theeconomy.
First Empires of India
1TERMS & NAMES
• Mauryan Empire• Asoka• religious
toleration• Tamil• Gupta Empire• patriarchal• matriarchalMAIN IDEA
The Mauryas and the Guptasestablished Indian empires, but neitherunified India permanently.
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
The diversity of peoples, cultures, be-liefs, and languages in India continuesto pose challenges to Indian unity today.
India and China Establish Empires 173
Kautilya’s Arthasastra
The Arthasastra states, The welfare of the king doesnot lie in the fulfillment ofwhat is dear to him; whateveris dear to the subjectsconstitutes his welfare.
Although this sounds noble, theArthasastra is better known forproposing tough-minded policies.For example, the manual suggeststhat the king hire an army of spiesto gather information about hissubjects by posing as priests,students, beggars, or merchants.The Arthasastra also urges the kingto make war against neighboringkingdoms that are weak.
Although Kautilya began theArthasastra, other royal advisersadded to it for centuries to come.The manual is often compared to a 16th-century European book onhow to rule: The Prince byMachiavelli, which also offers hardheaded political advice.
SPOTLIGHTON
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174 Chapter 7
with gold-covered pillars, numerous fountains, and imposing thrones. His capitalcity featured beautiful parks and bustling markets.
Megasthenes also described the countryside and how farmers lived:
A V O I C E F R O M T H E P A S T[Farmers] are exempted from military service and cultivate their lands undisturbedby fear. They do not go to cities, either on business or to take part in their tumults.It therefore frequently happens that at the same time, and in the same part of thecountry, men may be seen marshaled for battle and risking their lives against theenemy, while other men are ploughing or digging in perfect security under theprotection of these soldiers.MEGASTHENES, in Geography by Strabo
In 301 B.C., Chandragupta’s son assumed the throne and ruled for 32 years.Then Chandragupta’s grandson, Asoka (uh•SOH•kuh), brought the MauryanEmpire to its greatest heights.
Asoka Promotes Buddhism Asoka became king of the Mauryan Empire in 269 B.C. At first, he followed Kautilya’s philosophy of waging war to expand hispower. He led a long campaign against his neighbors to the southeast in thestate of Kalinga. During this bloody war, 100,000 soldiers were slain and evenmore civilians perished.
Although victorious, Asoka felt sorrow over the slaughter at Kalinga. As aresult, he studied Buddhism and decided to rule by Buddha’s teaching of nonviolenceand “peace to all beings.” Throughout the empire, Asoka erected huge stone pillarsinscribed with his new policies. Some edicts guaranteed that Asoka would treat his sub-jects fairly and humanely. Others preached nonviolence. Still others urged religioustoleration—acceptance of people who held different beliefs—and acceptance of peo-
ple of all cultural backgrounds.Asoka had extensive roads built
so that he could visit the far cornersof India. He also improved condi-tions along these roads to maketravel easier for his officials and toimprove communication in the vastempire. For example, he had treesplanted to provide shade. Everynine miles, he had wells dug andrest houses built. This allowed trav-elers to stop and refresh them-selves. Asoka even ordered thecreation of watering places for ani-mals. Such actions demonstratedAsoka’s concern for his subjects’well-being.
Noble as Asoka’s policies of tol-eration and nonviolence were, theyfailed to hold the empire togetheronce Asoka was gone. Soon after hedied in 232 B.C., the empire beganto break up.
A Period of TurmoilAsoka’s death left a power vacuum that was felt through the entire subcontinent. Innorthern and central India, regional kings challenged the imperial government. Thekingdoms of central India, which had only been loosely held in the Mauryan Empire,
THINK THROUGH HISTORYC. Clarifying Whichof Asoka’s actionsshow the influence ofBuddha’s teaching of“peace to all beings”?C. Possible AnswerHe urged acceptanceof people of all beliefsand cultures; he prac-ticed nonviolence; hepromoted his subjectswelfare by makingtravel easier.
This carved set of three lionsappeared on top of one of Asoka’spillars. This trio oflions is still used asa symbol of India.
THINK THROUGH HISTORYB. MakingInferencesDid Mauryan Indiaplace a high value on agriculture? Whatinformation in thisquotation indicatesthat?B. Possible AnswerYes. Farmers wereexempt from militaryservice so they couldkeep growing food.
Chandragupta Maurya
?–298 B.C.
Chandragupta feared beingassassinated—maybe because he had killed a king to get histhrone. To avoid being poisoned,he made servants taste all hisfood. To avoid being murdered inbed, he slept in a different roomevery night. A guard of armedwomen surrounded him at alltimes and killed anyone who came inside their lines.
Although Chandragupta was afierce warrior for most of his life, in301 B.C., he voluntarily gave up histhrone and converted to Jainism.Jainists taught nonviolence andrespect for all life. With a group of monks, he traveled to southernIndia. There he followed the Jainistcustom of fasting until he starvedto death.
Asoka
?–232 B.C.
One of Asoka’s edicts states, If one hundredth part or one thousandth of those whodied in Kalinga . . . should nowsuffer similar fate, [that] would be a matter of pain to His Majesty.
Even though Asoka wanted to bea loving, peaceful ruler, he still hadto control a huge empire. To do so,he had to balance Kautilya’smethods of keeping power andBuddha’s urgings to be unselfish.
After converting to Buddhism,Asoka softened Chandragupta’sharsher policies. Instead of spies, heemployed officials to look out for hissubjects’ welfare. He kept his armybut sought to rule humanely. Inaddition, Asoka sent missionaries toSoutheast Asia to spread Buddhism.
regained their independence soonafter the death of Asoka. The Andhra(AHN•druh) Dynasty arose and domi-nated the region for hundreds of years.Because of their central position, theAndhras profited from the extensivetrade between north and south Indiaand also built up trade with Rome, SriLanka, and Southeast Asia.
At the same time, northern Indiahad to absorb a flood of new peoplefleeing political instability in otherregions of Asia. For 500 years, waveafter wave of Greeks, Persians, andCentral Asians poured through themountain passes into northern India.Without a doubt, these invaders dis-rupted Indian society. But they alsointroduced new languages and cus-toms that added to the already richblend of Indian culture.
Southern India also experiencedturmoil. Some rulers in southern Indiabroke away from the empire afterAsoka’s death. In addition, India’ssouthern tip was home to three king-doms that had never been conqueredby the Mauryans. The people wholived in this region spoke the Tamil(TAM•uhl) language and are called theTamil people. These three kingdoms oftenwere at war with one another and with other states.
The Gupta EmpireAfter 500 years of invasion and turmoil, a strong leader again arose in the northernstate of Magadha. His name was Chandra Gupta (GUP• tuh), but he was no relation toIndia’s first emperor, Chandragupta Maurya. India’s second empire, the GuptaEmpire, oversaw a great flowering of Indian civilization, especially Hindu culture.
Chandra Gupta Builds an Empire The first Gupta emperor came to power, notthrough battle, but by marrying the daughter of an old, influential royal family. Afterthis useful marriage, Chandra Gupta I took the title of “Great King of Kings” in A.D.320. His empire included Magadha and the area just to the north of it, with the cen-tral region of the Ganges River as a power base.
Chandra Gupta I’s son, Samudra (suh•MU•druh) Gupta, became king in A.D. 335.Although he was a lover of poetry and music, Samudra also had a warlike side. Heexpanded the empire with 40 years of war and conquest. This gave him control overmost of the lands immediately surrounding his father’s empire.
Daily Life in India The Gupta era is the first period about which historians havemuch information concerning daily life in India. Most Indians lived in small villages,where life followed a stable rhythm that beat steadily on for centuries. Craftspeopleand merchants clustered in specific districts. They had shops on the street level andlived in the rooms above.
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Mauryan Empire, 250 B.C.
Gupta Empire, A.D. 400Areas under Gupta influenceTamil kingdoms
Indian Empires,250 B.C.–A.D. 400
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GEOGRAPHY SKILLBU ILDER : Interpreting Maps 1. Region Compare the region occupied by the Gupta Empire to
that occupied by the Mauryan Empire. Discuss size, location, andphysical characteristics.
2. Place The two empires had one boundary—the northeastboundary—that was roughly the same. Explain why neitherempire expanded further in this direction.
BackgroundWhen the Aryansentered India about1500 B.C., they drovemany of the pre-Aryans south to this region.
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The majority of villagers, however, were farmers, who walked daily from theirhomes to the fields outlying the town. Most Indian families were patriarchal, headedby the eldest male. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and children all workedtogether to raise their crops. Because drought was common, farmers often had to irrigate their crops. There was a tax on water, and every month, people had to donatea day’s worth of labor to maintain wells, irrigation ditches, reservoirs, and dams. As inMauryan times, farmers owed a large part of their earnings to the king.
Southern India followed a different cultural pattern. Some Tamil groups werematriarchal, which meant that the mother, rather than the father, was head of thefamily. Property, and sometimes the throne, was passed through the female line. Onefamous Tamil ruler was the queen of the Pandyas, whom Megasthenes described ashaving an army of 500 elephants, 4,000 cavalry, and 13,000 infantry.
Height of the Gupta Empire While village life followed unchanging traditionalpatterns, the royal court of the third Gupta emperor was a place of excitement andgrowth. Many Indians consider this emperor, Chandra Gupta II, to be the prince ofprinces among the Guptas because of his heroic and gallant qualities.
Chandra Gupta II defeated the Shakas—an enemy kingdom to the west. He addedtheir west coast territory to his empire. This allowed the Guptas to take part in theprofitable trade between India and the Mediterranean world. Chandra Gupta II alsostrengthened his empire through peaceful means by negotiating diplomatic and mar-riage alliances. For example, he arranged for his daughter to marry a king who con-trolled the western Deccan (a plateau in south-central India).
Chandra Gupta II ruled for 40 years. Faxian, a Chinese Buddhist who traveled inIndia during Chandra Gupta II’s reign, recorded that his subjects seemed generallyhappy. During the reign of the first three Guptas, India experienced a period of greatachievement in art, literature, religious thought, science, and mathematics. These willbe discussed in Section 2. After the death of Chandra Gupta II, another wave ofinvaders again threatened northern India. These fierce fighters, called the Hunas,were cousins to the Huns who were disrupting the Roman Empire at the same time.Over the next 100 years, the Gupta Empire broke into small separate kingdoms.Many of these were overrun by the Huns and other Central Asian nomads.
THINK THROUGH HISTORYD. ContrastingHow were the familysystems of north andsouth India different?D. Answer In northIndia, men lead thefamily and inheritproperty. In someareas of the South,women do.
176 Chapter 7
2. TAKING NOTES
Create a Venn diagram comparingthe Mauryan and Gupta empires.
Which similarity do you considermost important? Explain.
3. SUPPORTING OPINIONS
Which of the Indian rulersdescribed in this section wouldyou rather live under? Explain your opinion.
THINK ABOUT• whether the ruler maintained
peace and order—and how• what methods the ruler used to
influence his subjects• developments in art and culture
during the ruler’s reign
4. THEME ACTIVITY
Power and Authority With apartner, prepare an exhibit called“Symbols of Power.” For three ofthe rulers described in thissection, choose an object orimage that symbolizes how thatruler exercised power. Writecaptions explaining why thesymbols are appropriate.
A.D. 375 Chandra Gupta IIbecomes king. GuptaEmpire reaches its height.
A.D. 415 Chandra Gupta II dies.232 B.C. Asoka dies.
500 years of turmoil followAsoka’s death.
Empires of India, 321 B.C.–A.D. 415
A.D. 420320 B.C.Mauryan Empire Gupta Empire
MauryanEmpireOnly
GuptaEmpireOnly
BothEmpires
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India and China Establish Empires 177
SETTING THE STAGE The 500 years between the Mauryan and Gupta empires was a time of upheaval. Invaders poured into India, bringing new ideas and customs. Inresponse, Indians began to change their own culture.
Changes in Religious ThoughtBy 250 B.C., Hinduism and Buddhism were India’s two main faiths. (See Chapter 3.)Hinduism is a complex polytheistic religion that blended Aryan and pre-Aryan beliefs.Buddhism teaches that desire causes suffering and that humans should overcomedesire by following the Eightfold Path. Over the centuries, both religions had becomeincreasingly removed from the people. Hinduism became dominated by priests, whilethe Buddhist ideal of self-denial was difficult to follow.
A More Popular Form of Buddhism The Buddha had stressed that each personcould reach a state of peace called nirvana. Nirvana was achieved by rejecting thesensory world and embracing spiritual discipline. After the Buddha died, his fol-lowers developed many different interpretations of his teachings.
Although the Buddha had forbidden people to worship him, some began toteach that he was a god. Some Buddhists also began to believe that many peo-ple could become Buddhas. These potential Buddhas, called bodhisattvas(BOH•dih•SUHT•vuhs), could choose to give up nirvana and work to savehumanity through good works and self-sacrifice. The new ideas changedBuddhism from a religion that emphasized individual discipline. It became amass religion that offered salvation to all and allowed popular worship. By thefirst century A.D., Buddhists had divided over the new doctrines. Those whoaccepted them belonged to the Mahayana (MAH•huh•YAH•nuh) sect. Thosewho held to the Buddha’s stricter, original teachings belonged to theTheravada (THEHR•uh•VAH•duh) sect. This is also called the Hinayana(HEE•nuh•YAH•nuh) sect, but Theravada is preferred.
These new trends in Buddhism inspired Indian art. For example, artistscarved huge statues of the Buddha for people to worship. Wealthy Buddhistmerchants who were eager to do good deeds paid for the construction of stupas—mounded stone structures built over holy relics. Buddhists walked thepaths circling the stupas as a part of their meditation. Merchants also commis-sioned the carving of cave temples out of solid rock. Artists then adorned thesetemples with beautiful sculptures and paintings.
A Hindu Rebirth Like Buddhism, Hinduism had become remote from the peo-ple. By the time of the Mauryan Empire, Hinduism had developed a complex setof sacrifices that could be performed only by the priests. People who weren’tpriests had less and less direct connection with the religion.
Gradually, through exposure to other cultures and in response to the popu-larity of Buddhism, Hinduism changed. Although the religion continued to
THINK THROUGH HISTORYA. MakingInferences Wouldthe Buddha haveapproved of the newart? Explain.A. Possible AnswerNo, because he hadtold people not toworship him.
This Buddha iscarved in theGandharan artisticstyle—a blend ofGreco-Roman andIndian styles. Forexample, theflowing robes aresimilar to thoseseen on Romanimperial statues.
Indian religions, culture, and scienceevolved and spread to other regionsthrough trade.
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
The influence of Indian culture andreligions is very evident throughoutSoutheast Asia today.
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embrace hundreds of gods, a trend toward monotheism was growing. Many peoplebegan to believe that there was only one divine force in the universe. The various godsrepresented parts of that force. The three most important gods were Brahma(BRAH•muh), creator of the world; Vishnu (VIHSH•noo), preserver of the world; andShiva (SHEE•vuh), destroyer of the world. Of the three, Vishnu and Shiva were by farthe favorites. Many Indians began to devote themselves to these two gods. As Hinduismevolved to a more personal religion, its appeal to the masses grew.
Flowering of Indian CultureJust as Hinduism and Buddhism underwent changes, so did Indian culture and learning.India entered a highly productive period in literature, art, science, and mathematics thatcontinued until roughly A.D. 500.
Literature and the Performing Arts One of India’s greatest writ-ers, Kalidasa (KAHL•ee•DAHS•uh), may have been the court poet forChandra Gupta II, who reigned from A.D. 375 to 415. Kalidasa’s mostfamous play is Shakuntala. It tells the story of a beautiful girl who fallsin love with and marries a middle-aged king. After Shakuntala and herhusband are separated, they suffer tragically because of a curse thatprevents the king from recognizing his wife when they meet again.Generations of Indians have continued to admire Kalidasa’s playsbecause they are skillfully written and emotionally stirring.
Southern India also has a rich literary tradition. In the secondcentury A.D., the city of Madurai in southern India became a site ofwriting academies. More than 2,000 Tamil poems from this periodstill exist. In the following excerpt from a third-century poem, ayoung man describes his sweetheart cooking him a meal:
A V O I C E F R O M T H E P A S TThere dwells my sweetheart, curving and lovely,languid of gaze, with big round earrings,and little rings on her tiny fingers.
She has cut the leaves of the garden plantainand split them in pieces down the stalkto serve as platters for the meal.Her eyes are filled with the smoke of cooking.Her brow, as fair as the crescent moon,is covered now with drops of sweat.
She wipes it away with the hem of her garmentand stands in the kitchen, and thinks of me.ANONYMOUS TAMIL POET, quoted in The Wonder That Was India
In addition to literature, drama was very popular. In southernIndia, traveling acting troupes put on performances in cities across the region. Women as well as men took part in these shows thatcombined drama and dance. Many of the classical dance forms
in India today are based on techniques explained in a book written between the first century B.C. and the first century A.D.
Astronomy, Mathematics, and Medicine The expansion of trade spurred theadvance of science. Because sailors on trading ships used the stars to help them figure their position at sea, knowledge of astronomy increased. From Greek invaders,Indians adapted Western methods of keeping time. They began to use a calendarbased on the cycles of the sun rather than the moon, adopted a seven-day week, anddivided each day into hours.
During the Gupta Empire (A.D. 320 to about 500), knowledge of astronomyincreased further. Almost 1,000 years before Columbus, Indian astronomers proved
THINK THROUGH HISTORYB. DrawingConclusionsWhy did the changesin Buddhism andHinduism make themmore popular?B. Possible AnswerBecause they allowedpeople to hope forsalvation and person-ally take part inworship
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Entertainment in India
Today, drama remains hugelypopular in India. India has thelargest movie industry in the world.About twice as many full-lengthfeature films are released yearly in India as in the United States.
India produces both popular and serious films. Indian popularfilms are often love stories thatblend music, dance, drama, andaction adventure. India’s seriousfilms have received worldwidecritical praise. In 1992, the Indiandirector Satyajit Ray received alifetime achievement AcademyAward for making artistic films. Hisfilms brought Indian culture to aworldwide audience.
CONNECT to TODAY
0100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
U.S. Movies
Indian Movies
Num
ber o
f new
mov
ies
prod
uced
in 1
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Source: International Motion Picture Almanac, 1997
that the earth was round by observing a lunar eclipse. During the eclipse, the earth’sshadow fell across the face of the moon. The astronomers noted that the earth’sshadow was curved, indicating that the earth itself was round.
Indian mathematics was among the most advanced in the world. Modern numerals,the zero, and the decimal system, were invented in India. Around A.D. 500, an Indiannamed Aryabhata (AHR•yuh• BUHT•uh) calculated the value of pi (Π) to four decimalplaces. He also calculated the length of the solar year as 365.3586805 days. This figureis very close to modern calculations made with an atomic clock.
In medicine, two important medical guides were compiled. These works classifiedmore than 1,000 diseases and described more than 500 medicinal plants. Hindu physiciansknew how to perform surgery—including plastic surgery—and possibly gave inoculations.
The Spread of Indian TradeIn addition to knowledge, India has always been rich in precious resources. Spices,diamonds, sapphires, gold, pearls, and beautiful woods—including ebony, teak, andfragrant sandalwood—have always been valuable items of exchange. Trade betweenIndia and regions as distant as Africa and Sumeria began more than 4,000 years ago.Trade continued to expand even after the Mauryan Empire ended around 185 B.C.
Overland Trade, East and West The groups who invaded India after the end ofMauryan rule helped to expand India’s trade to new regions. For example, CentralAsian nomads brought Indians information about the caravan routes that crisscrossedcentral Asia.
These caravan routes were known as Silk Roads because traders used them tobring silk from China to Western Asia and on to Rome. Once Indians learned of the SilkRoads, they realized that they could make great profits by acting as middlemen.
C. Possible AnswerTrade routes carriedpeople and new ideasalong with resourcesto other civilizations.THINK THROUGH HISTORYC. HypothesizingHow might the Asiantrade routes havespread Indian sciences and math to other civilizations?
179
GEOGRAPHY SKILLBU ILDER : Interpreting Maps 1. Movement Since people usually trade for goods they do not make themselves, which
products were most likely to travel from Gupta India to Arabia? 2. Movement How far did trade goods travel to get from Luoyang in China to
Alexandria in Egypt?
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Middlemen are go-betweens in business transactions. For example, Indian traderswould buy goods from traders coming out of China and sell those goods to traders whowere traveling to Rome. To aid their role as middlemen, Indians built trading stations atoases all along the Silk Roads.
Sea Trade, East and West Sea trade also increased. Traders used coastal routesaround the rim of the Arabian Sea and up the Persian Gulf to bring goods from Indiato Rome. In addition, traders from southern India would sail to Southeast Asia to collectspices. They bought the spices back to India and sold them to merchants from Rome.
Archaeologists have found hoards of Roman gold coins in southern India. Recordsshow that some Romans were upset about the amount of gold theircountrymen spent on Indian luxuries. They believed that a state with a healthy economy must collect gold rather than spend it.
Rome wasn’t India’s only trading partner. India imported Africanivory and gold and exported cotton cloth. Rice and wheat went toArabia in exchange for dates and horses. After trade with Romedeclined around the third century A.D., India’s sea trade with Chinaincreased. The Chinese imported Indian cotton cloth, monkeys, parrots, and elephants and sent India silk.
Effects of Indian Trade Increased trade led to the rise of bankingin India. Commerce was quite profitable. Bankers were willing tolend money to merchants and charge them interest on the loans.Interest rates varied, depending on how risky business was. DuringMauryan times, the annual interest rate on loans used for overseastrade had been 240 percent! During the Gupta Empire, bankers nolonger considered sea trade so dangerous, so they charged only 15 to20 percent interest a year.
A number of Indian merchants went to live abroad and broughtIndian culture with them. As a result, people throughout Asia pickedup and adapted a variety of Indian traditions. For example, Indianculture affected styles in art, architecture, and dance throughoutSoutheast Asia. Indian influence was especially strong in Thailand,Cambodia, and on the Indonesian island of Java.
Traders also brought Indian religions to new regions. Hinduismspread to Nepal, a region northeast of India; to Sri Lanka, an islandoff southeastern India; and to Borneo, an island in Indonesia.Buddhism spread because of traveling Buddhist merchants andmonks. In time, Buddhism even influenced China. You will learnabout this in Section 3.
Vocabularyoases: plural ofoasis, which is awatering place in a desert.
THINK THROUGH HISTORYD. AnalyzingCauses Why woulddangerous conditionsmake bankers chargehigher interest onloans for trade?D. Possible AnswerDangers cause shipments to be lost,so bankers chargehigh interest to payfor the losses.
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The Spread of Buddhism
Buddhism became a missionaryreligion during Asoka’s reign. Fromhis capital city (1), Asoka sent outBuddhist missionaries. After Indiansbegan trading along the Silk Roads,Buddhist monks travelled theseroutes and converted people on the way.
Buddhist monks from Indiaestablished their first monastery in China (2) in A.D. 65, and manyChinese became Buddhists. FromChina, Buddhism reached Korea in the fourth century and Japan inthe sixth century.
Today, Buddhism is a majorreligion throughout East andSoutheast Asia. The Theravadaschool is strong in Myanmar,Cambodia (3), Sri Lanka (4), andThailand. The Mahayana school is strong in Japan and Korea.
2. TAKING NOTES
Create a diagram like the oneshown. For each category, list oneor more specific developments inIndian culture.
3. RECOGNIZING EFFECTS
What do you think was the mostsignificant effect of the changes inBuddhism and Hinduism? Explain.
THINK ABOUT• the effect on people who
practiced the religion• the effect on art and culture• the effect on other countries
4. ANALYZING THEMES
Cultural Interaction Citethree of the cultures thatinteracted with India. Explain theresult of each cultural interaction.
THINK ABOUT• interaction because of trade• the influence of art, science,
SETTING THE STAGE Under Shi Huangdi, the Qin Dynasty had unified China. ShiHuangdi conquered the rival kings who ruled small states throughout China andestablished a strong government. After Shi Huangdi died in 210 B.C., his son provedto be a weak, ineffective leader. China’s government fell apart.
The Han Restore Unity to ChinaRumblings of discontent during the Qin Dynasty grew to roars in theyears after Shi Huangdi’s death. The peasants—bitter over years ofhigh taxes, harsh labor quotas, and a severe penal system—rebelled.The rival kings—eager to regain control of the regions they had heldbefore Shi Huangdi—raised armies and fought over territory.
The Founding of the Han Dynasty During the civil war that followed, two powerful leaders emerged. Xiang Yu (shee•ANG yoo)was an aristocratic general who was willing to allow the warlords tokeep their territories if they would acknowledge him as their feudallord. Liu Bang (LEE•oo bahng) was one of Xiang Yu’s generals.
Eventually, Liu Bang turned against Xiang Yu. The two foughttheir final battle in 202 B.C. Liu Bang won and declared himself thefirst emperor of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty, which ruledChina for more than 400 years, is divided into two periods. TheFormer Han ruled for about two centuries, until A.D. 9. After a briefperiod when the Han were out of power, the Later Han ruled foralmost another two centuries. The Han Dynasty so influenced Chinathat even today many Chinese call themselves “people of the Han.”
Liu Bang’s first goal was to destroy the rival kings’ power. He fol-lowed Shi Huangdi’s policy of establishing centralized govern-ment, in which a central authority controls the running of a state.Reporting to Liu Bang’s central government were hundreds of localofficials of provinces called commanderies.
To win popular support, Liu Bang departed from Shi Huangdi’sstrict legalism. He lowered taxes and softened harsh punishments.People throughout the empire appreciated the peace and stabilitythat Liu Bang brought to China.
The Empress Lü When Liu Bang died in 195 B.C., his son becameemperor—in name only. The real ruler was his mother, Empress Lü.Although Lü had not been Liu Bang’s only wife, she had powerfulfriends at court who helped her seize power. The empress outlived herson and retained control of the throne by naming first one infant andthen another as emperor. Because the infants were too young to rule, she remained incontrol. When Empress Lü died in 180 B.C., people who remained loyal to Liu Bang’s
BackgroundIn feudal societies,nobles receive land in exchange for service to a higher noble or king.
Han Emperors in China
3TERMS & NAMES
• Han Dynasty• centralized
government• civil service• monopoly• assimilation
MAIN IDEA
The Han Dynasty expanded China’sborders and developed a system ofgovernment that lasted for centuries.
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
The pattern of a strong centralgovernment has remained a permanentpart of Chinese life.
India and China Establish Empires 181
Liu Bang
256–195 B.C.
Although Liu Bang was born apeasant, legend says that dragonsattended his birth. According toChinese belief, this meant he wouldrise to great power.
Liu Bang was a village officialwho turned rebel general after ShiHuangdi died. He wasn’t a greatmilitary leader. According to onestory, nomads once captured himand held him for ransom.
However, Liu Bang had otherskills that made him a successfulemperor. Wisely, he chose educatedadvisers. He strengthened thecentral government. With foreignpowers, he knew when to negotiateand when to use force. He wassuch a strong leader that Chinesehistorians call him “Gaozu,” whichmeans exalted founder.
family, rather than to Lü’s family, came back into power. They rid the palace of the oldempress’s relatives by executing them.
Such palace plots occurred often throughout the Han Dynasty. Traditionally, theemperor chose the favorite among his wives as the empress and appointed one of her
sons as successor. Because of this, the palace women and their familiescompeted fiercely for the emperor’s notice. The families would makealliances with influential people in the court. The resulting power playsdistracted the emperor and his officials so much that they sometimescould not govern efficiently.
The Martial Emperor When Liu Bang’s great-grandson took thethrone, he continued Liu Bang’s centralizing policies. Wudi (woo•dee),who reigned from 141 to 87 B.C., held the throne longer than any otherHan emperor. He is called the martial emperor because he adopted thepolicy of expanding the Chinese empire through war.
Wudi’s first set of enemies were the Xiongnu (shee•UNG•noo), anomadic people known for their fierceness as arrow-shooting warriorson horseback. The Xiongnu roamed the steppes to the north and westof China. They made raids into China’s settled farmland and stole grain,farm animals, valuable items, and hostages. The early Han emperorstried to buy off the Xiongnu by sending them thousands of pounds ofsilk, rice, alcohol, and money. Usually, the Xiongnu just accepted thesegifts and continued their raids.
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Former Han, 200 B.C.
Han Dynasty, 202 B.C.–A.D. 220
G E O G R A P H Y S K I L L B U I L D E R : Interpreting Maps 1. Place What was the approximate size, in square miles, of the Han empire at its
greatest extent?2. Location Along which border did the Chinese build the Great Wall? Why did they
build it there and not in other places?
Xiongnu and the Huns
Eventually, Wudi defeated theXiongnu. After their defeat, thenomads moved deeper into Asia.This had long-range effects. As theXiongnu pushed south and west,they displaced other nomadicpeoples. Because of this, successivewaves of central Asian invaderspushed into northwestern India.
In addition, some historianstheorize that over the centuries, theXiongnu wandered thousands ofmiles westward across central Asiainto Europe. The fierce horse-ridingHuns who invaded the RomanEmpire may have been the distantgrandsons of the Xiongnu.
GlobalImpact
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India and China Establish Empires 183
When Wudi realized that the bribes were simply making the Xiongnu stronger, hesent more than 100,000 soldiers to fight them. To help defeat the Xiongnu, Wudi alsomade allies of their enemies:
A V O I C E F R O M T H E P A S TThe Xiongnu had defeated the king of the Yuezhi people and had made his skull into adrinking vessel. As a result the Yuezhi . . . bore a constant grudge against the Xiongnu,though as yet they had been unable to find anyone to join them in an attack on theirenemy. . . . When the emperor [Wudi] heard this, he decided to try to send an envoy toestablish relations with the Yuezhi.SIMA QIAN, Records of the Grand Historian
After his army forced the nomads to retreat into Central Asia, Wudi attempted tomake his northwest border safe by settling his troops on the Xiongnu’s former pas-tures. Although this tactic succeeded for a time, nomadic raiders continued to causeproblems during much of China’s later history.
Wudi also colonized areas to the northeast, now known as Manchuria and Korea.He sent his armies south, where they conquered mountain tribes and set up Chinesecolonies all the way into what is now Vietnam. By the end of Wudi’s reign, the empirehad expanded nearly to the bounds of present-day China.
A Highly Structured GovernmentJust as Han emperors tried to control the people they conquered,they exerted vast control over the Chinese themselves. Because theChinese considered their emperor to be semidivine, they accepted his exercise of power. He was in charge of keeping order on a cosmiclevel. If the emperor did his job well, China had peace and prosperity.If he failed, the heavens showed their displeasure with earthquakes,floods, and famines. However, the emperor did not rule alone.
Structures of Han Government The Chinese emperor relied ona complex bureaucracy to help him rule. Running the bureaucracyand maintaining the imperial army were expensive. To raise money,the government levied taxes. Like the farmers in India, Chinesepeasants owed part of their yearly crops to the government.Merchants also paid taxes.
Besides taxes, the peasants owed the government a month’s worthof labor or military service every year. With this source of labor, theHan emperors built roads, canals, and irrigation ditches. The emper-ors also filled the ranks of China’s vast armies and expanded theGreat Wall that stretched across the northern frontier.
Confucianism, the Road to Success Wudi’s governmentemployed more than 130,000 people. The bureaucracy included 18different ranks of civil service jobs—government jobs that civiliansobtained by taking examinations. At times, Chinese emperorsrewarded loyal followers with government posts. However, anotherway to fill government posts evolved under the Han. This methodinvolved testing applicants’ knowledge of Confucianism—the teach-ings of Confucius, who had lived 400 years before.
The early Han emperors had employed some Confucian scholars as court advisers,but it was Wudi who began actively to favor them. Confucius had taught that gentle-men should practice “reverence [respect], generosity, truthfulness, diligence [hardwork], and kindness.” Because these were exactly the qualities he wanted his govern-ment officials to have, Wudi set up a school where hopeful job applicants from allover China could come to study Confucius’s works.
A. Possible AnswerBecause people withthese qualities woulddo what was best forthe emperor and thepeople, rather than forthemselves.THINK THROUGH HISTORYA. MakingInferencesWhy would Wudiwant his officials tohave qualities such as diligence?
Chinese Bureaucracy
The Chinese bureaucracy reflectedtop-down rule. Each level ofofficials had authority over theofficials below them. The emperorhad authority over all.
BackgroundAccording to theMandate of Heaven,divine forces appoint-ed Chinese emperorsto rule—and wouldtake away the throneif they governed badly.
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To Europe
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Vocabularycommerce: the buying and selling of goods.
After their studies, job applicants took formal examinations in history, law, litera-ture, and Confucianism. In theory, anyone could take the exams. In practice, fewpeasants could afford to educate their sons. So only sons of wealthy landowners had achance at a government career. In spite of this flaw, the civil service system begun byWudi worked so efficiently that it continued in China until 1912.
Han Technology, Commerce, and CultureThe 400 years of Han rule saw not only improvements in education but also greatadvances in Chinese technology and culture. In addition, the centralized govern-ment began to exert more control over commerce and manufacturing.
Technology Revolutionizes Chinese Life Advances in technology influenced allaspects of Chinese life. Paper was invented in A.D. 105. Before that, books were usually written on silk. But paper was cheaper, so books became more readily avail-able. This helped spread education in China. The invention of paper also affectedChinese government. Formerly, all government documents had been recorded onstrips of wood. Paper was much more convenient to use for record-keeping, soChinese bureaucracy expanded.
Other technological advances included a collar harness that made it possible forhorses to pull heavy loads. The Chinese perfected a plow that was more efficientbecause it had two blades, improved iron tools, and invented the wheelbarrow. Inaddition, the Chinese began to use watermills to grind grain.
Agriculture Versus Commerce During the Han Dynasty, the population of Chinaswelled to 60 million. Because there were so many people to feed, Confucian schol-ars and ordinary Chinese people considered agriculture the most important and
THINK THROUGH HISTORYB. MakingInferencesWhich of the inven-tions discussed herehelped the task offeeding China’s hugepopulation?B. Possible AnswerThe collar harness, theplow, the iron tools,the wheel barrow, andthe watermill.
GlobalImpact: Trade Networks
Silk RoadsWhy would anyone struggle over mountains and across desertsto buy fabric? The ancients valued silk because it was strong,lightweight, and beautiful. Traders made fortunes carryingChinese silk to the West. Because of this, the caravan trails thatcrossed Asia were called Silk Roads, even though many othervaluable trade goods were also carried along these routes. TheSilk Roads also encouraged cultural diffusion.
From this point, ships carriedsilk and spices to Rome. TheRomans paid a pound of goldfor a pound of Chinese silk!
Camel CaravansNo trader traveled the whole Silk Road.Mediterranean merchants went part of the way, then traded with CentralAsian nomads. The nomads went eastuntil they met Chinese traders nearIndia. Many traders traveled in camelcaravans, as shown in this sculpture.
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To Japan
Huang H
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SHAN
SHANTAKLIMAKANDESERT
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Luoyang
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honored occupation. An imperial edict, written in 167 B.C., stated this philosophyquite plainly:
A V O I C E F R O M T H E P A S TAgriculture is the foundation of the world. No duty is greater. Now if [anyone] person-ally follows this pursuit diligently, he has yet [to pay] the impositions of the land tax andtax on produce. . . . Let there be abolished the land tax and the tax on produce leviedupon the cultivated fields.BAN GU and BAN ZHAO in History of the Former Han Dynasty
Although the same decree dismissed commerce as the least important occupation,manufacturing and commerce were actually very important to the Han empire. Thegovernment established monopolies on the mining of salt, the forging of iron, theminting of coins, and the brewing of alcohol. A monopoly occurs when a group hasexclusive control over the production and distribution of certain goods.
For a time, the government also ran huge silk mills—competing with private silkweavers in making this luxurious cloth. As contact with people from other landsincreased, the Chinese realized how valuable their silk was as an item of trade.Because of this, the techniques of silk production became a closely guarded statesecret. Spurred by the worldwide demand for silk, Chinese commerce expanded along the Silk Roads to most of Asia and, through India, all the way to Rome.
Unifying Chinese Culture As the Han empire expanded its trade networks, theChinese began to learn about the foods, animals, and fashions that were common inforeign lands. Similarly, the expansion of the Han empire through conquest broughtpeople of many different cultures under Chinese rule. To unify the empire, theChinese government encouraged assimilation, or the process of making these con-quered peoples part of Chinese culture. To accomplish this, the government sent
Hypothesizing If the Romans hadlearned the secret of making silk,how might patterns of trade andcultural diffusion have changed?
SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK, PAGE R11
Researching What are China’stop three exports today? Whatcountries buy those products? Citethe sources of your information.
Connect to Today
Connect to History
The Silk Road split in two to skirt theedges of the Taklimakan Desert. Bothroutes had oases along the way.
Silk sold for so much moneythat the Chinese were willing to go through a difficult processto make it. The cocoons of silkworms like these had to besoaked in water and unraveledto get silk thread. It took morethan 2,000 cocoons to make a pound of silk!
Traded GoldFirst-century traders near Samarkandtraded for these gold and turquoisebracelets. The lion heads showPersian influence. Many artifactsfound in the same site as the braceletsshow a mix of Greek, Central Asian,and Indian styles. This shows thatideas as well as objects traveled the Silk Roads.
Patterns of InteractionThroughout history, the desire formaterial goods led to the develop-ment of long-distance trade routeslike the Silk Roads. In turn, tradecaused cultural diffusion. Similarlytoday, trade in the Pacific Rim hashelped spread many productsacross the globe.
VIDEO Trade Connects the World:
Silk Roads and the Pacific Rim
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Chinese farmers to settle newly colonized areas. The govern-ment also encouraged them to intermarry with local peoples.
Government officials set up schools to train local people inthe Confucian philosophy and then appointed local schol-
ars to government posts.Several writers also helped to unify Chinese culture
by recording China’s history. Sima Qian (SU•MAHchee•YEHN), who lived from 145 to 85 B.C., is called the“Grand Historian” for his work in compiling a history of
China from the ancient dynasties to Wudi. To write accu-rately, Sima Qian visited historical sites, interviewed eyewit-
nesses, researched official records, and examined artifacts. Theresulting book is called Records of the Grand Historian.
Another famous Chinese book was the History of the Former Han Dynasty. BanBiao (BAHN bee•OW), who lived from A.D. 3 to 54, started the project. After hisdeath, his son Ban Gu (bahn goo) and later his daughter Ban Zhao (bahn jow)worked on it. Ban Zhao also wrote a guide called Lessons for Women.
Wives, Nuns, and Scholars Although Ban Zhao gained fame as a historian, mostwomen during the Han Dynasty led quiet lives at home. Confucian teachings dictatedthat women were to devote themselves to their families. They were supposed to obeytheir parents in childhood and their husband and husband’s parents after they married.To add to their family’s honor, women were to be faithful, pure, and modest.
A few upper-class women broke out of this mold. As explained earlier, some empress-es wielded great power. Daoist and later Buddhist nuns were able to gain an education and lead lives apart from their families. Women in aristocratic and land-owning families also sometimes pursued education and culture.
Rebellion and RestorationIn spite of economic and cultural advances, the Han emperors faced grave problems.One of the main problems was an economic imbalance caused by customs that allowedthe rich to gain more wealth at the expense of the poor.
The Rich Take Advantage of the Poor According to custom, a family’s land wasdivided equally among all of the father’s male heirs. Unless a farmer could afford to buymore land during his lifetime, each generation inherited smaller plots. With such smallplots of land, farmers had a hard time raising enough food to sell or even to feed thefamily. Because of this, small farmers often went into debt and had to borrow moneyfrom large landowners, who charged very high interest rates. If the farmer couldn’t payback the debt, the landowner took possession of the farmer’s land.
Large landowners were not required to pay taxes, so when their land holdingsincreased, the amount of land that was left for the government to tax decreased. Withless money coming in, the government pressed harder to collect money from the smallfarmers. As a result, the gap between rich and poor increased.
Wang Mang Overthrows the Han During this time of economic change, politicalinstability grew. At the palace, court advisers, palace servants, and rival influential familieswove complex plots to influence the emperor’s choice of who would succeed him as ruler.From about 32 B.C. until A.D. 9, one inexperienced emperor replaced another. Chaosreigned in the palace, and with peasant revolts, unrest spread across the land as well.
Finally, Wang Mang (wahng mahng), a Confucian scholar and member of the court,decided that a strong ruler was needed to restore order. For six years he had been actingas regent for the infant who had been crowned emperor. In A.D. 9, Wang Mang took theimperial title for himself and overthrew the Han, thus ending the first half of the HanDynasty known as the Former Han.
BackgroundIn China, the familyname comes first andthe personal namecomes second. Thesehistorians belong tothe Ban family.
Vocabularyregent: a person whorules temporarilywhile a monarch istoo young
186 Chapter 7
This is the lid of aChinese bronzevessel from Hantimes. The figureson top are womenwho are weavingcloth, perhaps silk.
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Wang Mang tried to bring the country under control. He minted new moneyto relieve the treasury’s shortage. He set up public granaries to help feedChina’s poor. He took away large landholdings from the rich and planned toredistribute the land to farmers who had lost their land. This plan angered pow-erful landholders. And Wang Mang’s larger supply of money disrupted theeconomy because it allowed people to increase their spending, which encour-aged merchants to raise prices.
Then, in A.D. 11, a great flood left thousands dead and millions homeless.The public granaries did not hold enough to feed the displaced, starving peo-ple. Huge peasant revolts rocked the land. The wealthy, opposed to WangMang’s land policies, joined in the rebellion. The rebels assassinated WangMang in A.D. 23. Within two years, a member of the old imperial family tookthe throne and began the second period of Han rule—called the Later Han.
The Later Han Years With peace restored to China, the first decades of theLater Han Dynasty were quite prosperous. The government sent soldiers and merchantswestward to regain control of posts along the Silk Roads. But this expansion couldn’tmake up for social, political, and economic weaknesses within the empire itself. Within acentury, China suffered from the same economic imbalances, political intrigues, andsocial unrest that had toppled the Former Han. By 220, the Later Han Dynasty haddisintegrated into three rival kingdoms.
THINK THROUGH HISTORYC. RecognizingEffects How didWang Mang’s policieshelp cause his owndownfall?C. Possible AnswerHis land reform turnedthe wealthy againsthim, his economicpolicies caused prob-lems, and his policiesto help the poor wereinadequate during theflood.
2. TAKING NOTES
Create a spider map like the oneshown to record the methods thatHan rulers used to centralize thegovernment.
Explain which method you thinkwas most important and why.
3. IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS
What problem do you think wasmost responsible for weakeningthe Han Dynasty’s power?
THINK ABOUT• problems at court• problems with non-Chinese
peoples• economic and social problems
4. THEME ACTIVITY
Religious and EthicalSystems Review the five qualitiesthat Confucius said all gentlemenshould practice (see page 183).Working with a small team, think ofactions that government officialscould take to demonstrate each ofthose qualities. Choose the bestactions and illustrate them on amotivational poster that could hangin a government office.
1. TERMS & NAMES
Identify• Han Dynasty• centralized
government• civil service• monopoly• assimilation
Section Assessment3
Two Great Empires: Han China and Rome
• Empire replaced republic
• Centralized, bureaucratic government
• Built roads and defensive walls
• Conquered many diverse peoples in regions of three continents
• At its height—area of 3,400,000 square milesand a population of 55,000,000
• Latin did not replace other written languages in empire
• Ongoing conflict with nomads
• Empire fell apart; never restored
• Empire replaced rival kingdoms
• Centralized, bureaucratic government
• Built roads and defensive walls
• Conquered many diverse peoples in regions bordering China
• At its height—area of 1,500,000 square miles and a population of 60,000,000
• Chinese became common written language throughout empire
• Ongoing conflict with nomads
• Empire fell apart; restored by Tang dynasty in 618
Roman Empire—27 B.C. to A.D. 476Han Dynasty—202 B.C. to A.D. 220
S K I L L B U I L D E R : Interpreting Charts1. How long did each empire last? During what years were they both in existence?2. How were Han China and the Roman Empire similar? How were they different?
Silk was the tradegood that linked theHan and RomanEmpires. Han artistsoften did beautifulpaintings on silk,such as this one.
Centralized Government
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7
1. Mauryan Empire
2. Asoka
3. religious toleration
4. Gupta Empire
5. Kalidasa
6. Silk Roads
7. Han Dynasty
8. centralized government
9. civil service
10. assimilation
REVIEW QUESTIONS
SECTION 1 (pages 173–176)
First Empires of India11. List three significant accomplishments of the Mauryan rulers.
12. How did India change during the 500 years between the decline of theMauryan Empire and the rise of the Gupta Empire?
13. How did the southern tip of India differ from the rest of India?
SECTION 2 (pages 177–180)
Trade Spreads Indian Religions and Culture14. How did changes in Buddhism influence art in India?
15. Summarize the main advances in science and mathematics by Indiansprior to A.D. 500.
16. Describe the economic and cultural links between India and Southeast Asia.
SECTION 3 (pages 181–187)
Han Emperors in China17. Explain why Wudi was one of China’s most significant rulers.
18. Under the Chinese civil service system, who could become governmentofficials?
19. How did silk influence China’s government, economy, and cultureduring the Han period?
20. How did economic problems lead to the decline of the Han?
Chapter Assessment
TERMS & NAMESBriefly explain the importance of each of the following to the empires inIndia and China between 321 B.C. and A.D. 550.
Interact with History
On page 172, you looked at a situa-tion in which a government hiredpeople to spy on each other. Nowthat you have read the chapter,reevaluate your decision aboutbeing a spy. What do you think arethe best methods for a governmentto use to control large numbers ofpeople? Consider the methods usedby Chandragupta, Asoka, and theHan emperors.
India and ChinaEstablish Empires
Mauryan Empire
• 321 B.C.—Chandragupta Mauryaseized throne and began Mauryan Empire
• 269 B.C.—Asoka began rule; conquered Kalinga;regretted slaughter andconverted to Buddhism; sent out missionaries
• 232 B.C.—Asoka died; empirestarted to break apart
• 185 B.C.—Greeks invaded India,beginning five centuries ofturmoil
Han Dynasty
• 202 B.C.—Liu Bang started Han Dynasty; strengthenedcentral government
• 141 B.C.—Wudi began reign;conquered neighboring regions; started civil service
• Chinese invented paper, collarharness, watermill
• A.D. 9—Wang Mang temporarilyoverthrew the Han
• 1st century A.D.— Later Hanrulers encouraged Silk Roadtrade with West
Gupta Empire
• Buddhism and Hinduismdeveloped more popular forms
• A.D. 320—Chandra Gupta beganempire
• A.D. 375—Chandra Gupta IIstarted reign; Indian art,literature, and dance flowered
• A.D. 500—Indian astronomersrealized earth was round;mathematician calculated valueof pi and length of solar year
• Trade spread Indian culture,Hinduism, and Buddhism
Visual SummaryM
au
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Gu
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321 B.C.
200 B.C.
100 B.C.
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CHAPTER ACTIVITIES1. LIVING HISTORY: Unit Portfolio Project
Your unit portfolio project focuses on peoplewho grab power and establish their authority (see page 107). For Chapter 7,you might use one of the following ideas.
• Draw a bar chart comparing how long five different rulers held power. In aparagraph below the bar chart, explain which three rulers you think weremost significant and why. Is length of rule the main element in decidinghow significant a ruler was?
• Create a collage of sketches and photocopies showing the methods ofexercising power used by rulers of the Mauryan, Gupta, and Han empires.
• Write a newspaper editorial either praising or criticizing Asoka and hismethods of governing. Use historical examples to show the wisdom or thefoolishness of his actions.
2. CONNECT TO TODAY: Cooperative Learning
Throughout its history, India has beenstrongly affected by the many cultural groups who migrated onto thesubcontinent. Work with a team to research the different peoples living inIndia today and how they interact with one another.
Using the Internet, reference books, or magazines, researchinformation about the different peoples of India. Look for statistics
and data that answer such questions as, How many different languages arespoken in India? How many different religions are practiced in India? Are anygroups of people in India currently in conflict with each other?
As a team, create an encyclopedia article about the peoples of India today.Include graphs to show how India’s population is distributed among variousgroups and text that describes those groups and how they interact today.
3. INTERPRETING A TIME LINE
Revisit the unit time line on pages 106-107. On the Chapter 7 time line,which events named reflect cultural achievements? Explain which of theseevents influenced India or China.
CRITICAL THINKING1. INFLUENCING GOVERNMENT
ContrastBuddhism’s influence on India’s government withConfucianism’s influence on China’s government.Contrast the teachings, the motive of the rulers whotried to implement those teachings, and how long the influence lasted.
2. COMPARING EMPIRES
Create a table such as the one below and fill in theinformation about each empire.
3. EVALUATING SUCCESS
Was the Mauryan, Gupta, or Han empire mostsuccessful? Identify the standards you used toevaluate success and how each empire measured up to these standards.
4. ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES
The following quotation, from one of Asoka’s edicts, describes Asoka’s reaction after he conquered Kalinga. Read the quotation and answer the questions below it.
A V O I C E F R O M T H E P A S TKalinga was conquered by his Sacred andGracious Majesty when he had been conse-crated eight years. 150,000 persons werethence carried away captive, 100,000 wereslain, and many times that number died. . . .Thus arose his Sacred Majesty’s remorse forhaving conquered the Kalingas, because theconquest of a country previously uncon-quered involves the slaughter, death, and car-rying away captive of the people.ASOKA, in A History of Modern India
by Percival Spear
• Judging from this edict, what did the conquest ofKalinga cause Asoka to realize about the nature of war?
• Why would this realization have motivated him toinvestigate Buddhism? Support your answer withdetails from the text.
• If more rulers had shared Asoka’s belief, howmight world history have been different?
FOCUS ON ART
Look carefully at this 16-inch high, bronze sculpture from Han China.
• Would you describe this sculpture as realistic or not? Why?
• Do you think the scene depicted by the sculpture was typical of Hanlife? Why or why not?
Connect to History Think about the different classes that made up Han society. Which do you think is most likely the subject of this sculpture? Explain.
THEME POWER AND AUTHORITY
THEME CULTURAL INTERACTION
THEME RELIGIOUS AND ETHICAL SYSTEMS
Empire Period of Key SignificantInfluence Leaders Achievements
MauryanGuptaHan
CLASSZONE .COMTEST PRACTICEAdditional Test Practice,
