The Spartans by Bettany Hughes

Ancient China Study Terms--Chapter Two

Ancient China & the “Three Schools”
(Chapter 2)

Huang Ho (Yellow) River
Yangtze River

Shang Dynasty
Family
Ancestor Worship
Education

Zhou Dynasty
“The Mandate of Heaven”
(Cosmos and Chaos)

The Three Schools:
Confucianism (Document pg. 49)
Confucius/Kong Fuzi
The Analects
Family/Patriarchy/Yin and Yang/Family & State
Education/Mandarins

Daoism (Taoism)
Lao Dai Daodejing (or the Laozi)
“Dao”
Confucius: Rational standard of ethics
Lao Dai: The way of nature, the order of the cosmos
Legalism (Document pg. 51)
The Era of Warring States
Han Fei Zi
Innate corruption of human nature


Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty
Shi Huangdi—“First Emperor”
Great Wall
Tomb at Xi’an

Ban Zhao
Lessons for Women
Respect for men, subordination, but also education for women

Legalism

Below is a brief but informative essay on the context and development of the Legalist School:
Legalism

Qin Dynasty

Here's a link about the Qin Dynasty, Shi Wang Ti, the capital at Xian, and the Qin Dynasty.
Qin Dynasty

Images of Ancient China & Brief "Great Schools" Essay

The Mandate of Heaven

Great Wall of China

Ban Zhao


Daoist Art

Ancient China

An "Oracle Bone"

Confucius

Lao tzu

Han Feizi

Shi Huangdi

The First Emperor's Terra Cotta Army


Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism

Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism constitute the essence of the traditional Chinese culture. The relationship among the three has been marked by both contention and complementation in history, with Confucianism playing a more dominant role.

Confucius (Kongzi, 551-479 B.C.), founder of Confucianism, stresses "Ren" (benevolence, love) and "Li" (rites), referring to respect for the system of social hierarchy. He attaches importance to education and was a pioneering advocate for private schools. He is particularly famous for teaching students according to their intellectual inclinations. His teachings were later recorded by his students in "The Analects."

Mencius also contributed a great part to Confucianism, lived in the Warring States Period (389-305 B.C.), advocating a policy of benign government and a philosophy that human beings are good by nature. Confucianism became the orthodox ideology in feudal China and, in the long course of history, it drew on Taoism and Buddhism. By the 12th century, Confucianism had evolved into a rigid philosophy that calls for preserving heavenly laws and repressing human desires.

Taoism was created by Lao Zi (around the sixth century B.C.), whose masterpiece is "The Classic of the Virtue of the Tao." He believes the dialectical philosophy of inaction. Chairman Mao Zedong once quoted Lao Zi: "Fortune lies in misfortune and vice versa." Zhuang Zhou, the main advocate of Taoism during the Warring States period, founded a relativism calling for the absolute freedom of the subjective mind. Taoism has greatly influenced Chinese thinkers, writers and artists.

Buddhism was created by Sakyamuni in India around the 6th century B.C. Believing that human life is miserable and spiritual emancipation is the highest goal to seek. It was introduced into China through Central Asia around the time Christ was born. After a few centuries of assimilation, Buddhism evolved into many sects in the Sui and Tang Dynasties and became localized. That was also a process when the ingenuous culture of Confucianism and Taoism were blended with Buddhism. Chinese Buddhism has played a very important role on traditional ideology and art.

India Study Terms

Ancient India (Chapter 3)

Indus River Valley
Mohenjo-Daro/Harappa
Nature & Animal Worship
Polytheism (esp. Fertility)/Shiva
Agricultural/Family Village
Aryan Invasion/Vedic Caste System:
Brahmins-Priesthood
(Classically two others)
Shudras-(Landless) workers and servants
Patriarchy
Rig-Veda Sanskrit
Indra vs. Vritra
Rita
Mitra/Mithras
(Cosmos and Chaos)
The Upanishads Revolution:
(Ritual/Formula/Sacrifice)
Brahman/The “Oversoul,” eternal and creative
Transmigration of the soul
Karma—action and their consequences
Dharma “law”
Samsara—Continual rebirth
Yoga
Moksha—Release/Escape
Jainism
Mahavira
The Emergence of Popular Hinduism
(“The Hindu Synthesis”)
Personal savior gods:
Vishnu (Caretaker, Protector) Krishna—Mahabharata
Shiva (Destroyer, Creator, “Becoming”)
Devi (“Goddess” Mother—Annapurna and the Black Warrior—Kali)
The Epics:
Bhagavad-Gita “The Lord’s Song”
Part of the Mahabharata
Arjuna and Krishna
Duty/Caste/Dharma
Siddhartha Gautama/The Buddha “Enlightened One”
Four Noble Truths
Suffering or Dukha
Selfish Desire or Tanha (or the “hungry ghost”)
Overcoming Desire is the Key to Life
The Middle Way (by the Eight-Fold Path) between self-denial and self-indulgence
Nirvana
Divinity of Buddha/Boddhisatva/Missionary Temples