Grade 6: Ancient India and China Revision

• This is a Grade 6 English Social Studies Q3-Unit Assessment revision pack covering Ancient China and India.

Ancient India

• The Hindu Kush and Himalayas Mountains are in northern India.
• Sanskrit was the language the Aryans brought to the Indus Valley.
• The Aryans recorded their religious beliefs in The Vedas.
• Hinduism originated in the Indus Valley.
• Hindus believe that The Vedas are eternal and have no beginning or end.
• Hinduism has no single founder, but rather a fusion of various beliefs and traditions.
• Chandragupta's army conquered most of the Indian subcontinent.
• Chandragupta was the founder of the Maureya Empire.
• During his reign, Chandragupta used the collected taxes to construct new irrigation systems for farmers, and built roads to increase trade and communication.
• Chandragupta used secret police to maintain control, eliminate threats, spy on citizens/officials/nobles, ensure loyalty, and prevent conspiracies.
• Chandragupta made his servants taste his food in fear of poisoning and slept in a different room every night to keep enemies off guard, due to the fear he had for his life.
• Chandragupta advised people to honor their parents in his moral teaching.
• Chandragupta used to crush/kill all his oppositions.
• Chandragupta used elephants in his army to frighten his enemies.
• Chandragupta did not build luxurious mansions. He built irrigation systems, roads and promoted trade.
• He starved himself to death while fasting.
• The battle of Kalinga was a turning point for Asoka, resulting in thousands of soldiers killed.
• After the battle of Kalinga, Asoka freed his prisoners and converted to Buddhism.
• Asoka sent Buddhist missionaries out to spread the faith and build Buddhist temples.
• India was united during the rule of Asoka, enjoying peace and prosperity, and Buddhism spread widely.
• Asoka was not a tyrant, he was religion-tolerant.
• The Mauryan Empire declined after the death of Asoka, resulting in India being divided into separate small kingdoms.
• Before the Maurya Empire, India wasn't unified, but rather had divided warring states/provinces.

Ancient China

• King Yu the Great founded the Xia dynasty.
• The Qin dynasty was in power for 15 years, not 500.
• Qin Shi Huangdi was the first Emperor to unify ancient China.
• China’s geographical barriers prevented communication with the outside world.
• Advantage of China's geography was that it protected it from foreign invasions, disadvantage was that it restricted communication with the outside world, leading to isolation.
• China’s physical geography made both farming possible, communication not possible.
• Findings at burial sites suggest the ancient Chinese believed in an afterlife similar to ancient Egyptians.
• Bronze-making skills were important to the Shang dynasty, which allowed it to produce stronger weapons.
• Hunting was not the main activity as it was farming in ancient China.
• Yin was not the capital city of the Xia civilization, but Shang dynasty.
• The Yangzi River is the longest river in Asia.
• The purpose of the Great Wall of China was built protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe.

Other

• Merchants used clay seals in their trade with Mesopotamia.
• Historians were not able to uncover the secrets of Harappan civilization.
• Historians have not yet been able to decipher the Indus script, making it difficult to understand their civilization.
• The reason that there is not much information about the Indus Civilizations is because historians have not yet been able to decipher its script.
• The Indus river civilization lasted for 1000 years.
• Historians assume that Mohenjo-Daro might have been destroyed by a natural disaster like: an earth quake, a flood or an epidemic or an explosion that hit the city killing all people.
• The Brahman’s Caste System referred to a social class as the "Untouchables" because they believed that this class should not be touched because they were dirty, due to jobs such as street cleaning and plumbing.
• Hinduism is not a single religion but a compilation of many traditions and philosophies.
• Hindus worship multiple gods and minor deities.
• Hindus do respect other different holy books.
• There is no specific founder of “Hinduism”.