ID's for Chapters 3.2 + 3.4 India / China

Brahman

• Unchanging, all-powerful force

• Very complex; different gods together form Brahman

Vishnu

The Preserver

Shiva

The Destroyer

Shakti

• The female divine

• Believed to be ruthless against evil

Vedas & Upanishad

• Vedas are sacred texts that were recorded in for hundreds of years

• Upanishads are questions about questions related to Hinduism

Bhagavad-Gita

• Representations of Hindu beliefs

• Revered by people

Atman

• An essential self

• Can be viewed in different ways; as being the same as Brahman or as being of the same nature as Brahman, but still different from Brahman

Moksha

• Union with Brahman

• This is the ultimate goal of existence

Reincarnation

• The rebirth of a soul in another form

• Allows people to work towards moksha in different lifetimes

Karma

• Both the action and the result

• A person will come closer to achieving moksha by obeying the law of karma

Darma

• The religious and moral duties of an individual

• Can vary due to a person's gender, age, and role in society

Ahimsa

• Nonviolence

• All people/things are part of Brahman and deserve to be respected

• Everyone should follow this rule

Jainism

• A religion founded in eastern Asia that is still practiced today

• Emphasized meditation, self-denial, and ahimsa

Untouchability

• People considered impure

• It was feared that these people would spread pollution

• This thinking is now outlawed

Zhongguo

• China’s isolation made them think they were in the center of the world, and the only source of civilization

• Zhongguo is “Middle Kingdom” as they thought they were the kingdom in the center

Loess

• Fine windblown yellow soil

• When loess settles to the river bottom it raises the water level

Shang Dynasty

• China’s first dynasty

• Were mainly in the Yellow River valley and were there until 1122 B.C.

Clans

• Groups of families that claim a common ancestor

• Nobles loyal to the Shang dynasty governed most of the land and were part of clans

Artisans

Produced goods for nobles

Merchants

Organized trade

Peasants

The majority of the people that led grueling lives

Mandate of Heaven

• The divine right to rule

• Meant to treat the people well

Dynastic cycle

• The rise and fall of dynasties

• If a dynasty provided a good government, it adhered by the mandate of heaven

Feudalism

• local lords governed their own lands but owed military service

• other forms of support to the ruler

Shang Di

• Chief among them

• A supreme being

Ancestor worship

• A practice mistakenly named

• When Chinese people offered gifts to their ancestors spirits

Confucius

• Western form of the name Kong Fuzi

• He wrote sayings that offered advice for living a good and honorable life

Analects

• A short collection of Confucius’s work

• Made by his students

5 Relationships

• ruler to subject

• parent to child

• husband to wife

• elder brother to younger brother

• friend to friend

Yin and yang

• the universe reflects a delicate balance

• the well-being of the universe depended on harmony

Daoism

• not concerned with bringing order to human affairs

• The founder is known as Laozi and much of his life is unknown

Lao-zi

• The founder of Daoism

• Lived at the time of Confucius

The way

• Way of the universe

• Look beyond it to be Dao

Yielding

• Daoists emphasized yielding

• Rejecting a world of conflict and strife

Alchemy

• Transform ordinary metals into gold

• These experiences led to advance is science

Castes

• Social groups into which people are born

• It is hard to change from one caste to another

• The rules of a caste depended on the level

What responsibility did Confucius place on any government?

• ruler’s responsibility to provide good government

• people would be respectful and loyal subjects

What geographic barriers set China apart from other lands?

• Brutal deserts

• High mountain ranges

• Thick rainforests

• Pacific ocean

What is the Eightfold Path?

The path one must follow to achieve nirvana

What are the 4 Noble Truths?

1. Life is full of pain, suffering, and sorrow

2. Suffering is rooted in evil

3. The only cure for suffering is to overcome desire

4. The way to overcome desire is to follow the eightfold path

In what ways might the caste system create social or economic inequality?

• Social - People didn’t associate with others in different castes

• Economic - Certain castes had more money than others

How did the caste system organize Indian society?

• The law of karma determined a person’s caste

• If they couldn’t reach a higher caste in one life, they could reach a higher caste in a future life