China, a place for the Mandate of Heaven

Let's see. We covered two big civilizations. I did not start to explain the Hebrew or Mohenjo Daro at India. Yet, I will cover China first, since some of you might have heard the history of whole china. Those might even know the Chinese history by heart. That's not the point.

Don't worry, though. I will cover the Indian history and African history in later posting. And, I won't forget there was magnificent civilization in South America.

So, China.

What do you know about China? The Shang dynasty? Watch the Discovery Channel carefully cause it covered its religious ceremony. For chronological order, the Shang appeared far later than the others, 1000 years after the Indus and Egypt civilization arose the Chinese history.

Let's look at the geography. What can you infer from? From the Yellow Sea, two great rivers were formed to flow dipper into the main land: the Huang He River and Yangtze River. The former situated north of the Yangtze produced the yellowish mud called loess. You have to remember something, when you see this word 'loess.'

Loess is similar to the meaning of silt. Remember? That's right. Silt was the water-saturated sand in Egypt. It allowed farmers to crop. This happened also in China, though the Huange He river was unpredictable. See? Although the Huange He could provide the Chinese farmers or peasants with loess and abundant minerals, the river would be likely to kill thousands of people in one big flood. In 1887, the river earned a nickname called "China's Sorrow." For other natural characteristics, China had deserts so as to prevent any invasion. You don't have to remember their names. '

So, no intruders or raids thwarted the will of Chinese people. Well, there was no intruders, after all. The Shang Dynasty was one good example to validate the statement. The legend was known to indicate that there was other dynasties before the Shang appeared. As you can guess, no written records supported the legend so that it just remained as a legend.

Back to the Shang, this dynasty ruled Anyang. Social classes were strictly divided into two: nobility and pesantry. Peasants were obliged to till the land for nobles. Also, the Shang was the mother of Chinese culture. Unlike the other civilizations, China had unique belief that family is central to everyday life. And, as peasantry was rooted deeply into the Chinese history, men's status grew higher than women's. China was famous to regard women as inferiors. As well as this social belief, the Shang, like the other ancient civilization, believed in oracles and carved out the oracle bones made of tortoise shells. If the oracle meant or portended something bad, the nobles sacrificed their inferiors to God or the ancestors who would protect their descendants.

The most important thing you should remember is the language that Chinese used. The Chinese system of writing stands for an idea, not the sound. This trait gave advantage to China. They could rule other nearby nations efficiently without ado. The Shang even crafted the bronze materials; this one was not that commendable since the Assyrian or Hittites already developed iron technology. Anyway, the Shang dynasty slowly declined and the Zhou dynasty overthrew it. You have to remember the reason why the Zhou usurped the thrown. The ruler of the Zhou explained the Mandate of Heaven to people and let them know it was time to change the dynasty. The Mandate of Heaven could justify rebellion.

The Zhou dynasty was based on feudalism. This was a serious mistake for the king, since the more generations passed, the more aloof the provinces became. The ruler at the time did not know this fact; he sent officials, or his cousins or kinsmen, to major offices. Feudalism would cause so much trouble that, when the Zhou started to lose its power, a period of warring states was triggered by jealousy from neighboring states. This happening was natural, and other warring states did not even feel obliged to talk about the mandate of heaven. Because the Zhou dynasty improved technology and traded with other states fervently, many provinces inside the Zhou territory could build up big armies.

But this period would be over, as the Zin dynasty with legalism on its back would unify the China for the first time ever. Before I end this story, let me add one more thing. During the a period for warring states, renowned scholars would spread their ideas: Confucius for Confucianism, Laozi for Daoism, and Han Fei Zi for Legalism. They explained everything with principles, and more interesting stories appeared with their activity.

Thank you for reading the story. Hope you enjoyed it.

The Hyksos and Assyrians attacked the Nile Rivers

I related the incidents to you till the attack from the Hyksos. Between the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom when the Hyksos ruled the lower Egypt, the First Intermediate Period arose. This period was characterized by turmoils and very short reigns of kings. So, you could infer that there was no militarily powerful king in this era.

Anyway, the Hyksos invaded the mighty Egyptian kingdom and let the people of Egypt know the reality that their absolute peace was no longer viable. Not many facts there are for you to remember in the Middle Kingdom except the fact that Queen Ahhotep would drive these nomads out of the place.

Thus the New Kingdom started again with military pharaohs. Because the pharaohs were so ruthless and conqueror-like, they wanted to build the grandest pyramid, much bigger and more magnificent than those built in the old kingdom. Queen Hatsheput was one example. She was a unique Queen, declaring herself as a pharaoh. Well, generally queen was not supposed to be called as pharaoh. Queen Hatsheput was famous for the promotion of civil services. Do not misjudge her, however, that she was 'generous.' No, she wasn't. She deprived many citizens of their political power, and forced them to build humongous monuments that no one ever could emulate her.

The reason why she had called herself a ruler was that her stepson, one who should have been the pharaoh instead of her, was too young at the time. His name was Thutmose the Third. Guess what. He was worse than Hatsheput in so far as cruelty was concerned. He even deface his stepmother's monument when he murdered her. He did not usurp the throne, but this fact that he killed his mother to become a king himself and did not feel any remorse upon it like the way Macbeth did showed how intimidating and belligerent he was.

He could not be satisfied until he crushed down to Nubia where gold was everywhere. At this time, the Egyptian people tasted the biggest glory. Yet another group of invaders crossed the Sinai Peninsula in order to attack Egypt. This was happened around 1400 BC. A Pharaoh called Ramses the Second was lost at battle but was dexterous at compromise. At this negotiation, he proposed intermarriage between Egypt and the Hittites. Yes, the Hittites crossed over the Peninsula and attacked Egypt. This proposition was accepted and Ramses the Second could preserve the land. He was also renowned to build splendid tombs and monuments for him. And, for you to be reminded, he was a father of 99 children. Dirty old man he was.

Anyway, Egypt started to decline. The Kush empire, located near Nubia, attacked the former conqueror, and expanded the territory. Yet, the Kushite nobility loved Egypt and even revered the culture that they copied it exactly to their taste, of course. For instance, King Piankhi recovered Egpyt from Libyans, who ruled for 200 years in Egypt. Well, the Egyptian pride had been gone forever, at this stage. Mind you, the Libyans ruled Egypt from 950 BC to 730 BC. Though they did not dispel the way of Egyptian living, they did not have reverence similar to the Kushites. So, King Piankhi wanted to retrieve the old pride, later erecting a monument in Kush to symbolize his victory as the restoration of Egyptian dynasty.

Even though they had pride, the immortal Assyrians penetrated this part of land. The Kushites couldn't help but move their capital into Meroe that was located near the Red Sea. Perhaps, the natural condition in Meroe was better than that near the Nile. Abundant rainfalls and easy sea route enabled the Kushites to gather gold and wealth. Their system of succession was also important; local leaders and wealthy merchants determined the successor. So, it might have been better than the Pharaohs in Egypt in some manner but not in the perfect sense. Anyway, Aksum arose and slowly drained the wealth and power from Meroe. I will explain later about Aksum. Aksum accepted Christianity. Interesting. Isn't it?

Well, when Aksum contributed to the fall of Meroe, the Assyrians would dominate over Egypt till the Persians attacked.

Thank you for reading another story for cauldron.

Nile, the birth place of Pharaoh

Before going further into the Persian empire, let me give general information on Egypt. Well, the Assyrians attacked Egypt once and successfully invaded it. So, where is Egypt? It is still mystifying to me. Egypt is a place full of some big pyramids and monuments. Many Hollywood films have used Egypt for blockbuster.

The ancient Egyptian life was totally isolated from Mesopotamia. While Mesopotamia was known for its hard life, Egypt was a perfect place to meditate upon death. Predictable floods let farmers to have more leisure time since they didn't have to be wary of sudden deluge. Also, the river flows from south to north, while wind blows conversely. This natural gift of Egypt enabled many barters to go wherever they liked. So, the upper Egypt and lower Egypt could trade with each other.

Egyptians had ample time. They had nothing to do till the Old Kingdom when Menes unified two Egypts into one. Egyptian crowns were divided into two with each different color. King Menes combined these two crowns into one. As no environmental challenges similar to those at Mesopotamia hampered the Egyptians, they started to think about the world after their death. What would it be like? They were very curious indeed. You might have listened to some tales or legends about Egypt.

Egyptian legend goes like this. There were Osiris and Isis happily ruling the Kingdom of Egypt. Yet Osiris's brother murdered him and then crowned himself a king. Osiris couldn't help but sail through the river of Death. Thought a usurper was punished by Ra(I don't know whether it was Ra or Horus) to death, Isis could not bear her miserable fate and wept so long and profusely to fill the Nile River. Here, Ra is the sun God and Horus is the god of light. You might hear Horus or Ra, or even Amon-Re in some movies. The father of Tutankhamen revered god called Amon so much that he combined Ra with Amon so as to call it Amon-Re. Of course, this God would not be revered much after the murder of Tutankhamen.

Anyway, Osiris was perfect in every sense that he became the God of Death. Every soul would be judged in front of him when dead. This is the religion Egyptians believed. There were more gods, but it is trifle to remember all of them.

Back to the main story, King Menes unified two kingdoms and many historians called this era the Old Kingdom. At this Old Kingdom, none came through the eastern desert of Egypt, kings regarded as gods. Pharaohs meant these kings. They were god-like. Even though they were mortal in this world, their souls would remain intact and govern the dead as they had done in real world. Naturally, the Egyptians built pyramids, the places where the gods' souls would rest in peace. It is remarkable to look at this magnificent monument made by human beings. They did not even have pulley. Isn't it amazing?

Well, if there was the Old Kingdom, there must be the New Kingdom. Yes. They even had the Middle Kingdom, come to think of it. What happened? At the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos intruded Egypt for the first time. So, turmoil began till the New Kingdom started.

Before I explain more about the New Kingdom, I should explain more on mummification, an indication of highly complicated methods the Egyptians used and developed for medical purposes, and their language. First, mummification was started by death of pharaohs. Many believed pharaohs were immortal. So, they could be awaken from their death anytime. This required some intellectuals to think. What if our great god-kings awoke 200 years later? Voila! Preserve the dead body! Medical experts and surgical doctors already knew what organs would decay in a moment. Then, get rid of them. What about the brain? How should we deal with brain? Well, I don't think the intellectuals at the time considered brain as important. Get rid of it, either! Embalm the body and wrap it carefully. Easy does it. That's how they mummified their gods.

Then, we must see what hieroglyphics was. It's a carving. But, carve what on what? Egypt had historians. Historians documented major events on papyrus, a paper of which was made in the Delta region. Since they had writing system, they could easily categorize what is more important and what is less significant. This was a major motivation for the Egyptians to develop technology and science. Astrologists looked at the sky and found out Sirius, a bright star, appeared right before the floods would come. This study let the Egyptians have similar calendar to what we use today.

The New Kingdom is a long story and somehow brutal one in a manner of speaking. In case of Queen Ahhotep, she took the charge of dead husband and drove out the Hyksos. Later kings and queens regarded valor as important characteristic one must possess.

This is the end of the story for this posting. Thank you for reading it.

Assyrians and Chaldeans, the mighty empire builders

The Babylonian Empire was destroyed by the Assyrian empire. Though there had been other dominating powers, the Assyrians used cruelty as a source of domination, crashing down Syria, Palestine, and Babylonia. The significant factor you should see is Assyrain warriors used iron weapons. At this stage, technology was already well developed even to forge iron weaponry.

Assyrians created a mighty empire based on power. Further military campaigns and strictly regulated rules inside the empire let the king do what he liked. He could promote more campaigns, while he could develop the culture of its own. One of the kings called King Ashurebanipal did the latter. Though he was famous for his cruelty, he built the biggest library, scooping many renowned books or documents into his capital, Nineveh. Especially, he could speak and read other languages than his own tongue; he really prided himself with that.

Despite his effort, his death was the decline of this mighty empire. Even though many soldiers used savage tactics and utilized ladders efficiently at war, they could not defend Nineveh from falling into the hands of Chaldeans.

I have told you once that Sumer is famous for endless conflicts. Can you see how fast these empires rose and fell? In chronological order, Akkad-Ammorite(Babylon)-Assyrian-Chaldeans(Later Babylon)-Persian. It would be better if you memorize in this order. I don't see any reason for you to memorize, but it's convenient once you knew the order.

So many empires were brought down to earth. Yet, you should remember, in spite of these brutalities, important artifacts survived. When the Medes and Chaldeans attacked Nineveh, they burned down every thing, and glazed the library; somehow, some tablets and documents were intact and excavated by archaeologists. Now, these iron-clad empire was gone. One poet said that no own wept for this destruction. Well, you can imagine the rejoice of the dominated.

Anyway, the Chaldeans moved their capitals to Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar restored Babylon. Yet, he was so vain that his treasury was wasted to satisfy his wives. He even built a palace that was hidden by too-thick-to-penetrate garden. It is listed as one of the Seven Wonders. He was no good king for Hebrew. Later he ruled over Israel where many Hebrew people lived. You would learn that Cyrus would free the land from the Babylonian capture.

Draw a picture in mind that you are looking at war started by the Assyrians. They were the destroyer, the conquerors. You could feel the battle cries splitting your ears. Just imagine what it might feel if you were one of the soldiers holding an iron spear, trying to kill the opponent.

Or imagine yourself walking in the hanging garden. How beautiful it is.

Thank you for reading another story for my cauldron.

Mesopotamia, a home town of early struggles.

What do you know about Mesopotamia? I know that this place had sad stories. People conquered, and were conquered by next intruders. No natural barriers and unpredictable deluge was no good feature for any civilization. But, Mesopotamia had two huge rivers that offset the defects of living in a region near the river.

The reason this area is called the Fertile Crescent is that its geography resembled a curve. Without any further ado, people living in Mesopotamia used their brains. 'How can we stop this disaster?' They must have thought over and over again, until finally they had an idea: irrigation. Irrigation might solve the problem. Not only was the deluge problem, but the draught could cause their early death. So, irrigation and some ditches solved their problems.

Guess what. Do you know why Mesopotamian region today is barren? Why do you think it is too arid to farm? It was until AD 1200 that irrigation system worked well. After around AD 1200, some great incident swept over Mesopotamia. Well, at that time, Mesopotamia was under the rule of the Seljuk Turks. Did the Seljuks ruin the proficient system of irrigation? No. They liked Persian, and even further promoted the development of Persian culture. Malik Shah even used a Persian as a prime minister. But, then how on earth that land became hard for farming? The answer lies to the Mongolians. Hulago Khan destroyed the irrigation, and that system became irreparable forever.

Anyway, this area was good for farming in spite of drawbacks. Sumerians created many city states like Ur(as you heard in the third story for cauldron), Uruk, and Umma. In one of this city, Abraham was born. You see? Sumer can be called a hometown for Judaism, though Abraham moved to many other cities.

City life was not that complicated. It was like living in a small nation. Yet, priests and monarchs were there to rule over the citizens. We generally do not call this form of city state as an empire yet. Later it would appear in this area as the Akkadians attacked numerous city states. Though till then, you should understand that culture was diffused into many areas so that each city state influenced others. Akkad, for those who wants to know, was located north of Sumer. Sumerians did not use Semitic language, while the Akkadians used it. Semitic people used a language very similar to Arabic and Hebrew. You can relate this fact into one another.

Also, what you should remember before I further explain the Babylonians is that Sumerian people had legend called the Epic of Gilgamesh. The contents of this legend, for you to get the gist, were about the hero called Gilgamesh. At that time, Sumerian believed that God was relentless and enjoyed harassing people. An immortal man once said to him that even at the underworld, you couldn't rest as God besets you. I think God was depicted as vicious because the daily life for Sumerians was unstable. Every time, they had to worry about the intruders with houses built with mud. You know, any one can break mud easily apart. Imagine a group of soldiers who wielded swords slashing and murdering your neighbors. You won't feel happy at all.

But, because their lives were so unstable, they developed a way to protect themselves. They did not rely upon Gods as the Egyptians did. They developed arithmetic and geometry. Even the clock that ticktocks at your desk was based on their number system. Especially, their technique for bricks or mortars was excellent and practical since they should produce the best out of limited resources.

So they lived and died. And, the Ammorites, another Semitic group, invaded the Akkadian empire. These people founded Babylon.

Remember at least one thing about the Babylonian empire: the Hammurabi's code. Do you think this is fair system? It is up to you to judge. But, considering the different standards imposed on different classes, I think it is unfair. Well, classification of people are already biased. You have to remember that Sumer was a place of constant struggles. One could be slave overnight. Yet, do not misinterpret this information rashly. One's status could be changed so easily that social status was not as important as later period.

The Code of Hammurabi was harsh and severe, and even discriminating. Nevertheless, remember this code was the first unified code for the ruled. It meant that the government finally would take the responsibility for the citizens. It is something similar to the law enforcement in modern society.

After the fall of the Babylonian empire, the Assyrians and Hebrews would appear. Assyrians were the cruel warriors who attacked Egypt but were civilized enough to build one of the largest library at Nineveh. Hebrews were people who would wander under the leadership of Abraham.

This is for the fourth story for cauldron. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy and learn some from it.

Before the start of civilization, what do you know about it?

What is civilization?

Civilization can be characterized by five categories. Civilization requires advanced cities. It means a few cities should be gathered around some place. And, as agriculture helped you to play and do other stuffs rather than gathering fruits and hunting, some could be artisans, architects, or professional soldiers. As more time passed, you could find diverse jobs, or even unnecessary vocation appearing in city. I used the word 'unnecessary' because some jobs such as singer were unnecessary for survival. But, be though as it may. These so-called unnecessary jobs started to become one part of big city life. It is known as entertainment.

As well as those two requirements, institution should be at the center of civilization because the government, one form of institution, could arrange many conflicting matters efficiently and professionally. But, as the government had too much to do and too many works to solve, they need to categorize their works. Therefore, the institutions needed to record. Well, this record keeping was not confined to the governmental use, but this recognition about the importance of writing survived many ancient life to these days.

If you can write what you think and think freely without any restraint from working, what would you do? Were I the one in that position, I would make some tools that would help me in working. So, technology was advanced in big cities. Naturally this became one of the characteristics of civilization.

Civilization generally began in the place where farmers could harvest abundant amount of rice. You can imagine that most people wanted to live near rivers as they gave you bountiful resources to perfect the condition for agriculture. Four big civilization all started near the big rivers. The Euphrates and Tigris river enabled Ur and other cities to rise; the Huang He river enabled Chinese farmers to get lots of grains for next season; the Indus river is still the heart of India; the Nile is perfect place for Egyptians to imagine the underworld.

Before I give you general information on big civilizations, I would like to mention what role religion took in ancient life. Religion requires rituals. Many ancient ancestors feared natural phenomenon. Combine these two facts. Can you see the invisible tie between two facts?

Now, ancient monuments had their foundation on religion. In case of ziggurat at Ur, it was built for ceremony or for rituals held by high priests. The people of Ur considered that the highest point of the ziggurat could reach heaven. They even feared for the eyes of city god who would watch over their daily life. The power of religion must have given people ignorant of science a hope, or respite from disasters. You would soon learn that the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers were unpredictable and killed off many people. This background also gave power to religion.

This was just a small step toward huge civilization, yet the existence of religion laid a division of class.

This was all for the third story to fill up the cauldron. Thank you for reading.

Human was short, stocky hunter-gatherers.

As you might already know, human beings were not as same as what it is now. Development of human beings, or human lives, started from Africa. Two theories are plausible ones, as scientists fought over them, but most agree that the earliest human being was found in Tanzania. Tanzania, for those who do not know where this place is located, is located in eastern Africa.

Mary Leakey, a renowned archaeologist, is a person you should know. This woman found out the first footprints by Australopithecines. These species, or creatures that walked upright, are called hominids. See? Hominids refer to every creatures that walk upright.

While Mrs. Leakey found these footprints, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' was a hit song and Donald Johanson discovered Lucy. Do you know why Lucy is so important? She is important cause she's hot. =) Well. You can imagine a group of men gaping at her intact skeleton. The conservation of her skeleton was perfect.

Now, let me give you a question. Have you ever known what archaeologist and paleontologists do? I didn't. I know that they are doing some digging, but it never occurred to me I should know what they are doing. But you should. You might be confused for what they do, as I was. Archaeologists are excavating early settlements, while paleontologists are studying fossils. It confuses you. I was confused. But you would understand more easily when you think Archaeologists are excavating archaic places.

Now, more people excavated other species. It is funny to call them species as they are our ancestors. Anyway, Homo habilis knew how to use crude tools. You know, this Homo habilis chopped off meat with some sharp rocks and reckoned them efficient to use. Right after Homo habilis came Homo Erectus. They knew how to use fire. Wow, do you know how important fire is when you are alone in forest at night? At night, many vicious animals hunt, and they fear fire. This knowledge must have given power to our ancestors to shake animals away. Also, they use language, though not in written one. There are two languages you can think of: one you can write and the other you can't write. The development of language, despite lack of any documentation for future generation, surely enabled them to make up a strategy to kill mammoth.

Homo Sapiens arrived after Homo erectus. Well, what I mean by arrival is that Homo Sapiens was supposed to be shown up later than Homo erectus, not that Homo Sapiens replaced Homo erectus. Homo Sapiens was wise indeed. This group of people knew even to bury the dead, or care about the injured. But, as the Ice age was over, and big ice started to decline in its size, Cro Magnons, another group of people appeared. Some said Cro Magnons replaced Homo Sapiens, while others said they were rather absorbed than replaced.

Anyway, these ancestors of human beings were somehow belittled by many media or modern citizens that they must have resembled apes. No, they were not. They were darn good at making fire, and even coordinated a hunt to kill large games. You see? They were bright enough to lay the foundation of human development.

Let us not forget then the importance of their existence, since we owed them too much.

Thank you for reading my second story for cauldron. =)

How to start studying world history?

Have you any idea on studying world history? I do have some. That's why I am posting here, since this is a learning cauldron. World history is not simple. Rather, this is more intimidating than any other subject you encounter. World itself is constantly changing, and the idea to learn the important fact about some ancient nations might sound ludicrous.

Perhaps, the amount of information you should digest is too bulky to absorb fully. But, if you know one general theme for sure, you can understand this complicated history of world more easily. Then, you might ask what solution, a perfect solution for world history, I have for you?

First, you should be actively participated in the making of world history. If you do not know how the world is moving, you can't understand the biggest issue of modern society. That is to say, you should get, or make, initiative to convince yourself the significance of learning world history. Then, naturally you will have basic motives to learn this too-big-to-eat pie of information actively.

Second, you do not have to divide the world into many sections. This is one of the social science that causes many people headache. If you distinguish one era with another, you can compare the peculiar state of one era. Yet, you won't be able to understand the beauty of world history. The beauty of world history is that every era talks to another so as to communicate regardless of time limit. You see? Time doesn't matter any more in world history. You can feel the vivacity of cruel battle over the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, or the horrible scene of a city in 1300 when the bubonic plague started to spread. To recapitulate, the interaction between each ounce of information in world history is invaluable.

Third, you should not be compelled to memorize important dates. If your parents or teachers urge you to do so, disregard their opinion completely. Nevertheless, I do not belittle significant dates or important incidents that cause other big events. Well, you must know at least the Tang dynasty collapsed in 907 as a child emperor was killed by mob-like rebels. What you should know is the main stream of world history, not the small rivulet out of a huge river. You can memorize, or remember, the date later provided you have ample spare time.

This is what you should remember when studying world history. You can read books, do research on some important events on the Great Schism, or memorize simple summaries from SAT prep books. But, to taste the sweetness of worlds history, I recommend you keep three things in mind: initiative, interaction, and stream.

Earth is complicated and I reckon we all should know how our history started and continued to affect our lives. Especially, the history of world is good for international trade or international business, since you know the background information for what you should say or avoid.

Thank you for reading the first story from a small cauldron.