Asian Civilization
Asian Civilization
SY 2010-2011
Mr. Chris Mantillas
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THE NATURE AND DEFINITION OF
CIVILIZATION
O Civilize- to bring or come out of a primitive or
savage condition and into a state of
civilization. Improve in habits or manners.
O Civilization-the condition of being civilized;
social organization of a high order, mark by
the development and use of a written
language and by advances in the arts and
sciences, government, etc.
IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING ASIA
at 5,710 feet deep.
O The Guilippine Veep is
at 10,918 meters
below sea level.
O The 0
is Indiaǯs Bengal Bay with a shoreline of 2,250
miles.
O The 0
is the alacca Strait, located between
Indonesia and Malaysia (485 miles).
O The 0
0
is the San Juanico Strait between the
islands of Samar and Leyte in the Philippines.
Man-Made Wonders
O ue Great Wall o wuina. üuilt by Emperor Shih Huang Ti (220-
221 ü.C.). uith a length of 2,700 km. long across North China, it
took more than 10 years to finish, and more than 200,000 men
labored on the project.
O ue 6ugao Rice erraces o tue Guilippines. üuilt 2,000 years
ago, if placed end to end, they would extend more than 22,500
km., eight times longer than Chinaǯs reat uall or more than half
the circumference of the Earth.
O ue ai aual in Agra, 6ndia. Hailed by uestern writers as Dzthe
most beautiful and most perfect of all buildings in the worlddz.
O Borobudur emple in Java, 6ndonesia.
O ue Angor Wat in wambodia.
O ue Suwe Vagon, the fabulous golden pagoda in Rangoon,
üurma (Myanmar).
O ue Vome o tue Roc an Islamic Shrine in Jerusalem.
Peoples of Asia
Vedic Literature.
The Vedic literature reflects the life and
culture of the ancient Aryans of India. It
consist of four literary works:
1. Vedas. Composed of hymns, prayers, rituals,
magic and poetry. They were written about 1,000
ü.C. and were the earliest sacred books of
Hinduism.
2. ürahmanas. Prose texts containing observations
on religious rites. Also includes legends of the
exploits of ancient kings and heroes.
Indus Valley Civilization
Sanskrit Epic.
The two great Sanskrit epics of ancient India
were the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
According to tradition, the Mahabharata was
written by üyasa about 500 ü.C. It is the longest
epic poem in the world. The Mahabharata tells
the tale of the five brothersǯ struggle to recover
the throne from their wicked cousins.
The Hindu god Krishna helps them win the
bloody battle.
Indus Valley Civilization
Hinduism.
The Aryans, laid the foundation of Hinduism,
Indiaǯs main religion today and the source of
many modern cults.
Hinduism is the worldǯs oldest organized
religion. It began as nature worship (animism)
as the Aryans prayed to forces of nature for
favors. They have 300 million gods and
goddesses representing natural forces and
personified gods to fit human needs.
Indus Valley Civilization
The chief Hindu god is ürahma, the creator and world soul.
Lesser gods are Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer).
üetween these gods and man are bewildering number of other
gods- nine versions of the divine mother, an elephant god, a
good luck god, sun god, earth god, etc. These gods intercede for
man according to Hindus.
They also believe in the karma (destiny) and reincarnation (a
good soul is reborn after death into a higher status; a bad soul
into a lower status or animal).
After a cycle of births and deaths, the soul of a good man is
finally rewarded by being absorbed into ürahma, the creator and
source of true happiness.
Much of the beliefs and practices of Hinduism have been spread
worldwide by informal organizations led by gurus, spiritual
teachers.
Indus Valley Civilization
Caste System.
The caste (class) system has become part of
Indian life due to the religious approval given to
it by Hinduism. It divides people into rigid castes
or classes:
1. ürahmans, priests and scholars.
2. Kshatriyas, rulers or warriors.
3. Vaishyas, farmers, artists and merchants
4. Sudras, workers and slaves.
5. Untouchables, persons who do not belong to any
class and do the dirtiest work like cleaning toilets and
collecting garbage.
Indus Valley Civilization
üuddhism.
In the 6th century ü.C. a new religion started in the
Indian subcontinent which rejected Hinduism.
This was üuddhism named after its founder
autama üuddha.
üuddha taught all men the four DzNoble Truthsdz, and
these are:
1. Manǯs life is filled with suffering.
2. Manǯs suffering is caused by his selfish desires.
3. Man can end his suffering by conquering his selfish
desires.
4. After ridding himself of suffering, man attains the state of
Nirvana (perfect happiness).
Indus Valley Civilization
G
Ancient Chinese Civilization
u
u
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Ancient Chinese Civilization
Age of Philosophers.
Ë China produced three (3) outstanding
philosophers during the Úhou dynasty-
Confucius (551-479 ü.C.), Lao Tzu (604-517
ü.C.) and Mencius (373-289 ü.C.)
Ancient Chinese Civilization
On humanity:
The master said:
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Ancient Chinese Civilization
On Filial Piety:
On leadership:
The Master said:
encius
Ë Like Confucius travelled around offering
advice to rulers of various states.
Ë Human nature is fundamentally good, as
everyone is born with the capacity to
recognize what is right and act on it.
Ë People have the right to overthrow a
government by violent means.
Ancient Chinese Civilization