INDIA AND CHINA
ABSTRACT
This lecture spans India and China and compares the emergent Vedic Tradition with the ritual shamanism Shang Dynasty ca. 1500 BCE. It focuses on Puri in India and Erlitou in China. 

KEY PEOPLES AND EMPIRES
•	Confucius  (551- 479 BCE
•	First Emperor (Qin Shi Huang)
•	Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE
•	Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC)
•	Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC)         
•	Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE)     

KEY CONCEPTS
•	Vedic Period (ca. 1500 BCE – 400 BCE)
•	Hinduism
•	Brahmins 
•	Ghat
•	Kumbh Mela
•	Ratha: Temple Chariot/ Ratha Yatra: the “journey of the chariot” 
•	Yagya
•	Rath Yatrai
•	Hang tu (rammed earth technique)
•	Li (Chinese: ritual)
•	Dong, Gui (ritual vessel types) 
•	Tiananmen- The Mandate from Heaven

KEY PLACES
•	Ganges River
•	Varanasi, India
•	Puri, India
•	Konorak Sun temple, India (ca. 1200 CE)
•	Erlitou, Chinese capital city (2000 BCE to 1500 BCE)
•	Zhengzhou: Shang capital (ca. 1500 BCE)
•	Xianyang, Qin Capital (ca. 200 BCE)
•	The Tomb of the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, 210 BCE

NOTES ON SELECT TERMS
Zoroastrianism 
- Unlike previous religions it was not just for the elites, but for all
- It organized society by economic activities
- A religion of inflexible, hierarchical social organization
- State Religion of the Persian Empire from about 400 BCE onward
- Mountain top altars and towers of silence

Vedic 
- Unlike previous religions it was not just for the elites, but for all
- It organized society by 4 economic activities headed by Brahmins, the fire ritual priests
- A religion of inflexible, hierarchical social organization
- State Religion of the Indian kingdoms from about 1200 BCE until 260 BCE
- Fire altars and sacred water

Puri 
The site of the four most important Hindu sites in India. The word "Puri" in Sanskrit means 'town', or 'city’ and is cognate with polis in Greek. Puri is the site of the annual Ratha Yatra, or "Festival of Chariots", when the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra, are brought out of the temple, and placed in a chariot procession. This festival occurs in the month of July.

Varanasi
According to legend, the city was founded by the Hindu deity, Lord Shiva, around 5,000 years ago, thus making it one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in the country. It is one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus. In Vedic time, 1000 BCE, it was a commercial and industrial center and the capital of the Kingdom of Kashi. By 600 BCE it was a religion center focused on purification rituals along the Ganges River.

Yagya 
A ritual of sacrifice derived from Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes. An essential element is the sacrificial fire - the divine Agni - into which oblations are poured, as everything that is offered into the fire is believed to reach the gods. A Vedic yagya is typically performed by a priest, with a number of additional priests playing a role along with their helpers, by reciting or singing Vedic verses. Usually, there will be one or three fires in the center of the offering ground and items are offered into the fire that include ghee, milk, grains, cakes, or soma. The duration of a yagya depends on the type; some can last a few minutes, hours or days and some even last for years, with priests continuously offering to the gods accompanied with sacred verses. Some yagyas are performed privately, others with a large number of people in attendance. Today, a typical Hindu marriage is a yagya, because Agni is supposed to be the witness of all marriages.