Group Activity-Chapter 5

Summary

In the several centuries around 500 B.C.E., a major transformation happened across Eurasia. Almost all at one, in China, India, the Middle East, and Greece, cultural traditions began that spread across the world and have continued in a variety of forms into this century.

In India, Hinduism arose, and the religious reformer, Siddhartha Guatama, taught the religion known as Buddhism. In the Middle East, a religion began that was derived from the teachings of the Persian prophet Zarathustra, known as Zoroastrianism. In Greece, a tradition began that was founded on the writings of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and others.

China was one of the first civilizations and during the eighth century B.C.E., China’s original peace and orderly society was gone. It was called the “age of warring states.” Because of this, Chinese philosophers began to wonder how order could be restored so China could be peaceful again. One answer was known as “Legalism,” which believed that China must be ruled by laws with a system of rewards and punishments. China honored two wise ancestors, or founders of its religions: Kong Fuzi (Confucius) and Laozi, whose teachings began Confucianism and Daoism. Confucius is the more widely known sage, who was probably alive at the time of the Buddha. Confucius emphasized sincerity and kindness between superiors and inferiors in order to bring harmony to society. He and his disciples had a prominent role in the life of China during the 6^th century B.C.E. Another school of thought arose, called Daoism, which disagreed with Confucius’ belief in kindness and sincerity and believed people should withdrawal into nature and encouraged people to be natural and individualistic.

In India, the religious tradition was called Hinduism, which thought was that attention must be paid to the gods, spirits. They embraced the divine in all things. Some Hindus branched out and expanded on the traditions of the Brahmins and Vedas. They concentrated on the universe and the reason humans are on earth. The gurus were teachers of the Upanishads. Gurus were thinkers whose understanding and reasoning led others to believe that they have been chosen by the gods. The gurus’ students thought that they were more than human and they saw the teacher’s presence as heavenly.

At approximately the time that Hinduism was beginning, Buddhism was taking shape. The Buddha was born about 563 B.C.E. His name was Siddhartha Gautama and he was born of a wealthy family. Even though he enjoyed a happy childhood, as he got older he became restless and wanted to see the world outside of his palace. He left home and wandered the world, reaching enlightenment at age thirty-five. Much of his teachings were based on the Hindu traditions.

The Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu book of 700 verses. This book gives a variety of options for people who do not want to be reborn. The Gita probably was written sometime during the fourth century B.C.E. The setting for the book is a battlefield in which the god Krishna is disguised as a human. Krishna is the driver for Arjuna and Krishna tells Arjuna it is his duty to fight in order to bring good out of a bad situation. He tells Arjuna that he would be rejecting his duty if he doesn’t fight.

During the evolution of Chinese and Indian cultural traditions, the movement toward a single religious tradition took shape. It was called Zoroastriansim, which became the basis for both Christianity and Islam, which have shaped much of history over the past 2,000 years. Zoroastrianism referred to a single, unique god, called Ahura Mazda, who ruled the world and was a source of light, truth and goodness.

Group Discussion Questions

1. _______ was one of the first civilizations and during the ________ century B.C.E.,

 China’s original peace and orderly society was gone.

China was one of the first civilizations and during the eighth century B.C.E., China’s original peace and orderly society was gone.

2. In India, the religious tradition was called_____?

In India, the religious tradition was called Hinduism

3. The ­­­____ probably was written sometime during the ______ century B.C.E.

The Gita probably was written sometime during the fourth century B.C.E. The setting for the book is a battlefield in which the god Krishna is disguised as a human.