Rise of Empires in India

By about 500 BC kingdoms had emerged in the Ganges Valley and by 322 BC, Chandragupta Maurya gave birth to the first “true” empire in India. He became the first head of the Mauryan empire that covered the whole of Hindustan and most of the northwest.
[The image on the right shows Chandragupta Maurya being saluted by his women bodyguards]

Pataliputra became capital of the empire from which further consolidation of the Mauryan empire would ensue. When Chandragupta died in 297BC he was succeeded by his son Bindusara who continued with his father’s empire building activities in the Indian sub-continent. However, their accomplishments are often overshadowed by Ashoka (grandson of Chandragupta) who assumed the Mauryan throne in 269BC.

Ashoka embraced Buddhism after realizing the devastation and suffering his empire-building campaigns wrought on his people. Upon conversion he sought to spread Buddhism and advocated the indian ideal of non-violence. Consequently, his reign became known for its humanity and vision.

With Ashoka’s death in 232BC, the Mauryan empire disintegrated into the much more normal regionalistic patterns of the Indian subcontinent. By 180BC the Greeks again began invading the northwest, while other groups forayed into the north. It was one of the outsider groups – the Kushans – who would again unify most of the north into another empire.

The kushans restored much of what the Mauryans had established and even ruled from Pataliputra like the Mauryans. The Kushan dynasty lasted for about three centuries and by 200AD the north reverted to the regionalistic pattern.

The southern part of India had a different story though. With the north-south distinction that began at the time of the aryan invasion and the vedic period, the south went their own way. They had thriving and flourishing kingdoms as rich and sophisticated as the arya-influenced north. The three largest kindgoms in the south were: Chola, Pandya, and Pallava. The south was able to resist the early empire building efforts of the northerners, but by the third and second century BC, they already shared a common indian civilization.

There would be a last revival of the Mauryan model of empire in the north with the Gupta Dynasty (320AD to about 550). Pataliputra became the imperial capital again and cultural center of the empire. Gupta rule became a renaissance for the north as well as the south. Sanskrit literature flourished as well as indian sculpture and monumental building. Interestingly, it is only under the Gupta that Hinduism became a much more coherent and codified religion with the efforts of the Guptan kings at fusing elements of Buddhism with Hinduism.

The Gupta dynasty was destroyed by the White Huns in 550AD but another indigenous effort at unification began with Harsha from 606 to 648. Harsha died in 648 and with him his empire; India again dissolved into its regionalistic pattern.
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Origins of Civilization in India

Commonly when we refer to India we are describing the country as a political entity with distinct political boundaries from the rest of the Asian continent and the world. On the other hand if we consider Indian civilization it would be more in reference to the Indian sub-continent (which includes present day Pakista, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) rather than to the political entity. It is in this light that we approach the origins of civilization in India.

Historians (and anthropologists?) consider writing, metalworking and settlement in cities as major elements of civilization. If it is along these lines that we define civilization, then it appears that urban culture emerged along these lines in India by about 3000 B.C. This literate urban culture is known as Indus Civilization, which is roughly the area where present-day Pakistan is.

Its three major urban centers (so far discovered) were: Kalibangan in modern Rajasthan; Harappa in what is now the Pakistani part of Punjab; and, Mohenjo Daro on the lower course of the Indus river. These cities were remarkable for their planned layouts as well as a water and sewage system that had no equivalent in the ancient world.

Their chief food crop was wheat and they were (perhaps) the earliest to weave cotton into cloth. However, towards the end of the third millenium B.C. Indus civilization began to decline most likely due to continued irrigation. This hurt their agricultural production base rapidly depleting the population.

The Aryans

The decline of Indus civilization made it easy for another group of people (the Aryans) to dominate India when they arrived after 1800 B.C.. The Aryans had superior martial technology and strength compared to the now weakened (and peaceful) Indus civilization so that by 1000 B.C. they had conquered most of India north of the Vindhya range. They were unable to cross southwards resulting to a clear north-south distinction in Indian culture that persists even today.

Aryan domination evolved a new culture that was a mixture of harappan, Aryan and other indigenous practices. Thus, the period between c. 1000 B.C. to c.500 B.C. is referred to as the Vedic Period Culture. It is during this period that major elements and details of Indian culture evolved and from which a highly sophisticated culture emerged.

Vedic culture was exceptional for the times. Their engagement in philosophy and metaphysics was ahead of its time and they had the most advanced knowledge in several fields including medicine, mathematics, as well as in iron and steel work.

Check out this post on EnFourSi for a some more details, especially on the geography and people of India. On the other hand, "Lost Civilization" (N4B) is a deeper look into the nature of Indus civilization and more detailed on the emergence of major cultural elements of Indian civilization.
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Initial Blog Ratings

Over the past few days, i have taken the time to look at your blogs and give my initial assessment. Each of the blogs has a post on the rating that i gave you as well as some comments explaining the rating. Check out the blog rubric in the sharebox if you need a guide for improving your blog.

Here are the initial ratings:

BSN4-A-methystians = 10 out of 20
N4B = 9-11 out of 20
EnFourSi = 10-11 out of 20

Again, you still have time to review your blogs so that you can improve your ratings. Read through the blog rubric in the sharebox (its downloadable) so that you will have some idea of how you can improve your blogs. You can also check out other blogs for some tips (and tricks).

So far, the most common pitfall across the blogs are very long posts that are entire copies of other web pages. Only N4C has a couple of posts that are good content-wise (click here to see what i mean).

So far the most difficult blog to navigate is EnFourSi. It's hard to get back to your "home" page without having to scroll to the bottom of the post where you will find a "home" link below the "post comments" link.

You all have good layouts but still have to take advantage of them by presenting more concise and interesting content that keeps the reader on your blog longer.
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Asian Studies Exhibit

Today i had the opportunity to talk to our Dean of College. I asked permission from him if we could do the "Asian Extravaganza" exhibit for our culminating activity.

HE HAS GIVEN US TENTATIVE PERMISSION!

This means that Dr. Lim agrees with the idea (in general) but we have to present him with a much more complete proposal/plan for the exhibit. We can hammer out the details during class "face time" and hopefully, you have ideas to share already by next week. If this project is going to happen, then you must work hard on it especially on the planning.

I have blogged on this and the two concerns i have about it. It seems one concern is already addressed; the second one is now up to you (i.e. are you up to the task of doing the exhibit?)

This does not mean, however, that there will no longer be a major exam after the midterms. There will be one more; we are having a pre-final examination that we will schedule several weeks before our exhibit schedule.
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Midterm Asian Studies Learning Goals

I went through the class learning goals that were posted on the three blogs. I have tried to integrate all of your learning goals into just one that will be common to all sections. But I’m too lazy. So instead, I decided to create a PDF file (which is downloadable through the “box” below the “archives” section). All groups will abide by these learning goals since you were the ones who thought them up after reading through our reference material. Each class is not limited to the learning goals put up by classmates. Each group is responsible for accomplishing all the learning goals posted by the other groups from the other sections. For example: N4A-India Group should also be able to accomplish the learning goals posted by N4B’s and N4C’s India group. The same goes for the other groups.

I will leave it up to you to hammer out a plan (and implement it) for accomplishing these goals. Remember that we agreed to have these learning goals for the midterm; we have to abide by them! You may consult with me on the logistics i.e. if you need to play a video, bring some things, etc. Or check with me if I already have some content (e.g. videos, audio files, etc) relevant to a learning goal. But, as much as possible, you will be responsible for doing the work of accomplishing these learning goals.

Here’s a summary of the learning goals plus my thoughts on them. Take note, that we will follow what is written in the “Class Learning Goals” matrix. The following summary is only to give you a snapshot and is not meant to replace what is in the matrix.

Learning Goals for India

Geography - Take note that when we use the term “India” we are roughly referring to the entire Indian sub-continent of Asia (roughly South Asia). So for India Group, please include the rest of South Asia in whatever output and activities you line up for the class to accomplish these learning goals. The focus, however, is really Indian civilization because of its tremendous influence in South Asia.

History and Culture - This is a common learning goal accoross the three sections. N4A and N4C, however, included a wider scope compared to N4B. Thus, for history and culture, all the sections will have to cover the history of India (i.e. South Asia) until modern times. Noteworthy is the last learning goal of N4C’s India Group: a look at Indians (south asians) in the Philippines. This last learning goal is a good challenge for all the India Groups.

Modern India - N4A would like to find out about the “economic status” of India as well as the role of women in Indian society. These learning goals will be integrated into a much broader exploration into modern Indian society, especially its socio-economic status in modern times.

Learning Goals for China

Geography – Only N4A and N4B included this in their learning goals; N4B, in particular, wants to know the source of the term “China”.

History and culture - Again, all China groups would like for the class to learn about the history and culture of China. China group will cover all the dynasties until the collapse of dynastic rule as well as into the modern era. In particular, N4A wants to look at Mao’s cultural revolution which ties in neatly with N4C’s goal of looking at “China today”. In general, the learning goal, in terms of history and culture, shall cover topics from the origin of chinese civilization until modern china.

An important aspect of the challenge for the China group is to take up N4A’s goal to compare religious and philosophical systems that gained prominence in Chinese civilization. N4B includes contributions of Chinese civilization which would also cover N4A’s goal of looking at important chinese philosophers.

The Great Wall of China - N4A and N4B want to look at the history and significance of the Great Wall of China. I think I have this covered with a short film documentary on the “Secrets of the Great Wall”.

Learning Goals for Japan – Korea

I only found the learning goals of N4A for this region. Admittedly, I assumed that you would post it in your blogs after my instructions for you to “post” it instead of adding it as a “comment”. In any case, the goals from N4A are more than sufficient. After the midterm examinations, we will formulate more learning goals for Japan-Korea to cover the period from the arrival of westerners in Asia up to modern times.

Learning Goals for Southeast Asia

For Southeast Asia, only N4B’s and N4C’s learning goals could be found in the posts.

Geography - N4B pointed out an interesting tidbit about SEA, specifically its two “regions”: Indochina and the Malay archipelago.

History and Culture - N4B and N4A would like to cover history and culture until modern times, but N4B specifically identifies Southeast Asia’s experience with colonization. Admittedly, I don’t know anything about the “Golden Triangle” or even “SEA as economic rival and four origin tigers” – this will be interesting to learn about.

Religious practices, language and other aspects of culture will also be covered. What I’m looking forward to is N4C’s goal of looking at tourism and the “touristy” places to go in Southeast Asia. On tourism, I think I have a book on “Ubud” one of the great tourist places in Southeast Asia. There’s also a blog about “ubud” that you might want to look for.
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Class Requirements and Grading

I know that all of you are wondering how each of you will be graded in our class. Grading will be a mixture of individual and group grades. In general, your grade will be comprised of:

Major Examination (40%)
Tasks and others (30%)
Class Blog (30%)

There will be two major examinations: a midterm and finals. However, I am considering having a culminating activity instead of a final examination. Perhaps a two-day exhibit about Asia to show our class output and activities. I am hoping that the school administration will permit this (cross your fingers) and that (if ever they do) you are up to the task of putting up a two-day “Asian extravaganza” for the school.

The task part of your grade includes the activities (and output) that we will have in class. This will also cover everything else not covered by the other two criteria. Quizzes, writing assignments, class presentations, etc. will be included here as well with each item having equal weight as the others.

For the class blog you will be graded using a rubric that I will make available in our “sharebox” (the one below the “archives” section). Your class blog will be graded in four areas: content, interest, navigation, layout. There are a couple of websites and blogs that make it their business to rate blogs; I’m considering asking them to rate your blogs and base your grades on their rating and comments. Note that I’m just considering the idea and am not yet fully sold to it.

I hope this sufficiently clarifies the grade requirements for the class.
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About plagiarism and making myself clear

Maybe a some of you don't have the time to go through all the comments made in all of the class blogs so I'll repeat what i said in one of my comments in this post:

PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SOURCES WHEN YOU COPY SOMETHING AND POST IT IN YOUR BLOG! If its from hard-copy reference material say so. If its from another website, provide a link to that website and then write your input.

GO THROUGH THE RUBRIC FOR THE CLASS BLOG PROJECT! It's found (and downloadable) in the share box below the archive section. It would also be good for you to note the other criteria in the rubric so that you can review your class blog and align it with the rubric.

JUST TO EMPHASIZE MY OPINION ABOUT PLAGIARISM - IF I FIND THAT YOU HAVE POSTED SOMETHING IN YOUR CLASS BLOG THAT IS SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK BUT YOU CLAIM IT AS YOUR OWN ... YOUR ENTIRE CLASS WILL GET A FAILING GRADE FOR THE CLASS BLOG PROJECT.

I HOPE THIS IS UNDERSTOOD BY EVERYONE.

Why am i being particular about plagiarism in your blogs? There are many "netizens" who make a living looking for copied/plagiarized content in websites and reporting them to the authors of the copied/plagiarized content. What happens is that your blog might be shut down or attacked!

On the issue of posting versus commenting: note that long comments make it difficult for others to navigate your site. Non-sense comments also clutter up the comments section of your posts. A blog is not a forum so (at least) try to keep comments concise and relevant to the purpose or topic of the post.
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