Empires of India and China

I. Mauryan Empire (India)

A. Chandragupta
i. we believe he was born into the Magadha kingdom
a) in 321 BCE, he killed the unpopular king and took the throne
ii. conquered into the northwest, eventually meeting and fighting Seleucus I, the general
who controlled the nearby region after Alexander the Great died
iii. after defeating Seleucus, he raised a massive army to control the region (north India)
a) created a highly bureaucratic government by dividing the empire into 4 regions, each
controlled by a royal prince
• these were then divided into local districts
B. Asoka (aka- Ashoka)
i. Chandragupta's grandson became king in 269 BCE
ii. he waged war to expand the empire
a) after a particularly bloody battle (100,000 soldiers dead, even more civilians), he
turned to Buddhism and pushed for peace, nonviolence, and religious toleration
iii. built extensive roads to improve trade and communication
iv. after his death, though, his nobles couldn't keep power
C. Turmoil
i. regional kings began to assume control of their territories after Asoka died
ii. in the north, refugees and immigrants fleeing violence in Asia poured in
a) while this disrupted Indian society, it added to the cultural development by
introducing new languages and customs
iii. in central India, the Andhra Dynasty took control
a) they became very wealthy due to trade with Rome, north and south India, Sri Lanka,
and Southeast Asia
iv. in the south, the region was fought over by three rival kingdoms and never fully
stabilized (Tamil kingdoms)
II. Gupta Empire (India)
A. Chandra Gupta (no relation to Chandragupta)
i. married the daughter of an influential royal family in 320 CE
a) took title “Great King of Kings”
b) through the marriage, he controlled the entire northern region of India and beyond
ii. Gupta's son was warlike and expanded the empire over a 40 year period
B. Daily Life
i. most people farmed in small villages and families were patriarchal
ii. in the Southern Tamil kingdoms, most families were matriarchal
C. Height of Gupta
i. the expansion during the third Gupta emperor allowed access to Mediterranean trade
a) this led to great riches
ii. the third emperor also strengthened his empire through diplomatic and marriage
alliances
III. Indian Trade and Culture
A. Buddhism and Hinduism
i. depending on the ruler, either religion could be the primary religion
a) Buddhism appealed to the people, especially the poor
b) Hinduism was only for the priest caste until a shift in belief happened
 • despite being made up of hundreds of gods, there was a general trend towards
monotheism
• the people began to choose a single god (usually one of the big three:
Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva) and devote themselves to their choice
• in this way, Hinduism became a more personal religion, and therefore
more popular
B. Culture
i. Literature and Performing Arts
a) prose and poetry became popular during the time of Kalidasa, a well known poet
b) many performances included drama and dance
• many classical performances today stem from these early forms
ii. Astronomy, Math, Medicine, and Technology
a) expansion of trade led to more advanced science
• sailors used the stars to navigate, so knowledge of astronomy increased
• determined the earth was round by observing a lunar eclipse
b) adopted Greek methods of telling time (from invasions of Alexander)
• calendar based on sun, not moon
• 7 day week, day divided into hours
c) modern numerals, the idea of zero, and decimals were invented in India
d) physicians described more than 1000 diseases and 500 medicinal plants
• also performed surgery
C. Trade
i. India is rich in precious resources
a) they traded spices, diamonds, sapphires, gold, pearls, and wood with areas of India,
China, and even as far as Africa and Europe
ii. over land
a) once Indians became aware of China's Silk Road, they began to establish trade
stations along the road to act as middlemen to China and the West
iii. over sea
a) traders used coastal routes up the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, connecting with Persia,
Arabia, Aksum, Egypt, and Rome
b) also imported African ivory and gold, Arabian rice and wheat, and Roman gold
iv. banking
a) due to the increase in trade, complex systems of banking were established to allow
merchants to borrow money and to charge them interest
IV. Han Empire (China)
A. Foundation
i. during the Qin Dynasty, there was a massive rebellion after years of high taxes, harsh
labor quotas, and a severe penal system
a) the leader of one of the most powerful factions was Xiang Yu
• one of his generals was Liu Bang, who eventually turned on him
ii. Liu Bang was ultimately victorious, establishing the Han Dynasty
a) he established central control, lowered taxes, and softened the harshest punishments
B. Empress Lu
i. after Liu Bang's death, his son took over the empire, but his widow truly ruled
a) she outlived her son, had a new baby and named him emperor, then had another
baby and named that one emperor instead
• since she kept naming babies to be emperor, she retained control because they
 were too young to rule
• when she finally died, her enemies put all of her new family members to
death and restored control to descendants of Liu Bang
ii. as Chinese emperors often had many wives, they would typically name their favorite as
the empress and her first-born as the next emperor
a) because of this, their families would often make alliances to gain more favor and
sometimes would actively assassinate rivals
• this would lead to instability
C. Martial Emperor
i. Liu Bang's great-grandson Wudi ruled the empire for the longest period (54 years)
a) during this time, he expanded China's borders through warfare
• one of his major enemies were nomadic raiders from Central Asia, and while he
was able to push them out, they would continue to raid China for hundreds of
years
• by his death, he conquered most of present-day China, Vietnam, and Korea
V. Han Structure
A. Government
i. the central government (led by the emperor) was supported by a complex bureaucracy
ii. all peasants and merchants had to pay taxes
a) in addition, peasants also had to give one month's labor or military service to the
government each year
• using this, Han emperors built a massive system of roads, canals, and irrigation
ditches
• they also were able to constantly be at war and expand the Great Wall as needed
B. Confucianism
i. during Wudi's reign, he pushed to have followers of Confucius serve in the highest
levels of government
a) Confucius' teachings said people should be honest, generous, diligent, etc- exactly
the qualities Wudi wanted
b) schools were started to teach Confucianism
• technically they were open to any man, but only sons of wealthy landowners
could afford to go
ii. this system of placing followers of Confucius in positions of power continued until 1912
VI. Han Technology and Commerce
A. Technology
i. paper is invented in 105 CE (that's over 1300 years before the printing press is invented)
a) before this books were written on silk or strips of wood
ii. a collar harness was also invented that allowed horses to pull much heavier loads
a) this especially helped with farming, which was also aided by a more advanced plow
than was used in Europe
B. Agriculture vs. Commerce
i. population rose to 60 million during this period
a) agriculture had to keep up, so the people considered farming to be the most
important and honored occupation
ii. commerce expanded greatly during the period
a) the Han Empire developed a monopoly on salt, iron forging, minting coins, and
brewing alcohol in the region
b) silk became one of the most valuable things China created, so the techniques of
 producing silk became a closely guarded secret
• silk reached as far as the Roman Empire
VII. Han Culture
A. Unification
i. since the Han conquered so many different people, they adopted a policy of assimilation
a) they wanted to make everyone in the region “Chinese”
ii. they sent Chinese farmers to settle newly conquered land, who then would marry locals
and produce children with Chinese lineage
a) they also set up Confucius schools to educate locals in Chinese thinking
iii. writers focused on recording Chinese history so that all in the area would know how the
Chinese came to be
B. Women
i. most women lived quiet lives in accordance with Confucius teachings
a) peasant women tended to work the fields and take care of the home
b) upper class women had more power- like the empresses
c) some women became nuns in Daoism and later Buddhism
d) a few were able to run shops, practice medicine, and pursue education
VIII. Fall of the Han, and then their Return
A. Rich vs. Poor
i. custom said fathers split their land among their sons
a) since few could gain the wealth to buy more land, as time went on the plots of land
given to sons got smaller and smaller
• eventually that meant many had difficulty growing enough food to do anything
but barely survive
• small farmers often went into debt to continue surviving in hard times from
wealthy landowners who charged massive interest rates
• when the poor farmer couldn't pay the debt, the wealthy took the land as
compensation
ii. large landowners didn't have to pay taxes
a) when they took over the poor farmers' land, that land and income no longer went to
paying taxes, and the government responded by requiring the poor to pay more in
taxes
• this led to a greater gap between the rich and poor
B. Wang Mang
i. due to the custom of emperors choosing their replacements based on their favorite wives
and the intricate plots the wives' families wove to gain power, emperor after emperor got
worse and worse as time went on
a) eventually this led to open rebellion
ii. Wang Mang was a Confucian scholar who overthrew the emperor after a series of
revolts
a) he minted new money, set up public granaries to feed the poor, and redistributed land
from the wealthy to poor
• his policies meant the poor had more money to spend, which led to merchants
raising their prices
iii. after a few years under Wang Mang, a massive flood killed thousands and left millions
homeless
a) the public granaries didn't have enough food to feed the suffering people
• people revolted, and were supported by wealthy landowners who were furious
 about losing their land
• eventually, Wang Mang was assassinated, and a member of the Han Dynasty
retook the throne and reestablished Han rule
C. Later Han Years
i. immediately after the revolts, order was restored and people were happy
a) the causes of the problems from earlier weren't fixed though, and 100 years later the
Han Dynasty collapsed into three rival kingdoms
• China would spend the next 700 years bouncing back and forth between rival
kingdoms, occasional emperors, and general instability until the Tang Dynasty
took control