LEADERS, ANIMALS, AND THEIR STRANGE INTERACTIONS
This leader conquered Kalinga, then felt bad about it. He converted to Buddhism and renounced wars of conquest.
Supposedly he massively reduced the amount of meat served in his empire, and ate none in his palace because vegetarianism was a part of his religion.
Ashoka the Great
This state's government had a policy of spreading a belief system called Dhamma through inscriptions and steles throughout its empire.
What is the Maurya Empire?
Historians still have not decoded this society's writing system. We have a remarkably large number of seals from their society, and we are not 100% certain what they were used for but they may have been used for trade or identification. This society was in modern day India and Pakistan.
What is the Indus River Valley Civilization / Harrapans?
This was the capital city on the Indus River of the Harappans, a society known primarily for their baths and hygiene, excellent craftsmanship, trade, indoor plumbing (IN THE BRONZE AGE!), and remarkably uniform brick buildings.
What is Mohenjo Daro?
An idea in Confucianism that emphasizes respect and love for your parents, those older than you, and your ancestors.
What is Filial Piety?
This leader cut a deal with Seleucus (Alexander the Great's successor) where he gave him 500 war elephants in exchange for land.
Who is Chandragupta?
An idea in China that said that the favor of the gods was instrumental to the continuation of a dynasty of rulers.
What is the Mandate of Heaven?
The earliest Chinese writing we have was found on these objects, used to determine the will of the gods.
What are Oracle Bones?
This period in Chinese history saw a lot of conflict among rival kingdoms, and the weakening of the power of the emperor.
However, lots of new philosophies and religions emerged such as Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism.
What is the Spring and Autumn period?
This philosophy was promoted by an emperor and emphasized compassion, tolerance, obedience to parents, courtesy regardless of religion, fair treatment of those below you, generosity, honesty, pure mindedness, self control, honoring your teachers, and more
What is Dhamma?
The leader was harsh but effective at bringing this state under a unified government for the first time using a philosophy known as Legalism.
He created a a huge mausoleum for himself and filled it with an army of statues made out of terracotta.
He also began uniting many smaller walls into an unusually large wall.
After this leader died, his descendants were so inept that his dynasty fell apart.
The word 馬鹿 (baka, literally horse deer) in Japanese comes from an anecdote about this leader's son. Supposedly, an advisor to the emperor brought a deer to court as a test to see whether the other advisors were more loyal to the emperor, or to him. He called the deer a horse. The emperor laughed and said "Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse?“
Most of the other advisors did not laugh, and the advisor knew he had their support.
Who is Qin Shi Huang?
A system used in China where people were put in power based on their skill and talent, rather than birth.
What is meritocracy?
The Zhou dynasty used this system of government and administration. It was decentralized and local kings held more power.
Fengjian
This period in Chinese history was unusually prosperous and stable. It led to lots of new inventions and was overall pretty great.
What is the Han Dynasty?
This philosophy advocated strong and clear laws that govern men, because men are fundamentally evil. It often led to cruelty and the burning of books that had opposing ideas.
What is Legalism?
This leader was a particularly bad ruler, known for torturing his subjects. He was overthrown by another leader who went on to found the Maurya Empire.
3000 war elephants were instrumental in scaring off Alexander the Great's men during their battle.
Who is Dhana Nanda?
The longest dynasty in Chinese history.
This dynasty in China was the first to use the idea of the Mandate of Heaven.
What is the Zhou Dynasty?
This was the first Chinese dynasty we have decent archaeological evidence for. Many bronze artifacts survive, including vessels for veneration of ancestors, which would go on to be a core part of Chinese society.
The Shang Dynasty
This Chinese philosopher from the Spring and Autumn period wasn't a particularly good advisor, but he was a great teacher. He came up with a philosophy that endured to today and emphasized filial piety, recognizing one's own biases, honorable and unhypocritical action, and many more excellent ideas.
Who was Confucius?
This famous leader once said:
"The advancement of Dhamma has been promoted in two ways: by legislation and by persuasion. Of these two, legislation has been less effective than persuasion.”
Who is Ashoka the Great?
After the Qin dynasty fell, this peasant rose up and eventually became emperor.
According to legends, him drunkenly killing a white serpent raised his reputation among the people.
Who is Liu Pang?
This empire had viceroys that acted in the name of the king and was divided into provinces. Cities had committees that oversaw different elements of city life. At the lowest level, villages had rajukas (rural officers) that acted as judge, collected taxes, and was the face of the government in their village.
How was the Maurya Empire organized?
The prosperous part of the longest dynasty in Chinese history was determined by where the capital was during their period. This period is often referred to as this.
What is the Western Zhou?
This founder of a Chinese religion who lived in the Spring and Autumn period emphasized oneness with nature, not going against the grain of the natural world, yin and yang (balance), and wu wei (inaction).
Who is Laozi / Lao Tzu?
This philosopher advocated for the wisest people leading, and for everyone accepting their role in society and working to the best of their ability within that role.
Who is Kong Fuzi / Confucius?