Chapter 7

What is a Golden Age?

Golden Age is a period where there is a flourishing of achievements in the Arts and Sciences.
Ancient India experienced one of its Golden Ages during the Gupta dynasty (c.320-550 CE).
Ancient China had its Golden Ages during the Han (202 BCE-220 CE), Tang (618-907 CE) and
Song (960-1279 CE) dynasties. The Khmer dynasty (800-1432 CE) was one of the Golden Ages
on the ancient Sountheast Asia.

What were the Conditions that led to a Golden Age?

The ancient people were satisfied with their government and rulers. There was little poverty or
starvation because the economy was thriving and prosperous. In such times of peace and stability,
people did not have to worry about basic things and could think of ways to improve their lives.
The government also gave money to encourage them to be creative and innovative.

India
Mathematics and astronomy
Zero and decimal system were developed during the Gupta period by the Indian mathematician
such as Aryabhata.
Metallurgy
In India, metallurgy began as early as the Indus Valley Civilisation, when the Indus people
discovered how to mix copper and tin to make bronze. By the 5 th century CE, the ancient Indians
had learned how to shape iron by pouring melted iron into a mould. During the Gupta period,
metallurgy in India reached very high standards. The iron pillar of Delhi was cast from a single
piece of solid iron. The pillar was amazing because it has not rusted at all despite exposed to the
rain and sun for 1500 years .
Medicine
The people of Ancient India already knew about plastic surgery, which is the reconstruction of
body parts, as early as 600 BCE. The art of plastic surgery was popular in ancient India since the
cutting off of noses and ears was a common punishment for serious crimes. The techniques were
revealed to the West by an English surgeon working in India.
Richness of the Arts
Painting, sculpture and architecture
Many of the magnificent sculptures, paintings and stone temples in India show the life of the
Buddha or feature Hindu gods. Of all the Buddhist sites in India, the Ajanta caves, in central India,
are among the most impressive examples.
Literature
The Vedas, which are four collections of poems sung in praise of Aryan gods are the earliest
examples of ancient Indian poetry. The Mahabharata and Ramayana, composed nearly 3000 years
ago, are Sanskrit poems that are recited during certain Hindu festivals. They are retold in films and
television shows Kalidasa wrote shakuntala, the story on a beautiful forest maiden who captured
the heart of a king. Until today, Kalidasa’s works are still studied and appreciated.
China
Medicine
The ancient Chinese believed that illnesses resulted when the natural forces of the yin and yang in
the body were unbalances. Balance could be restored with the patient eating the correct food or
taking herbs. A unique feature of Chinese medicine was acupuncture. Acupuncture involves the
insertion of the tips of needles into specific parts of the body to relieve pain and help healing.
Metallurgy
Like the ancient Indians, the ancient Chinese mastered metallurgy. They made vessels with very
fine designs, tools, and weapons from bronze.
Astronomy
The ancient Chinese were expert astronomers. A famous astronomer was Zhang Heng who
mapped the movements of the sun, moon and planets. He also wrote about the equator and the
poles of the earth.
Seismograph
Zhang Heng also invented a device for detecting earthquakes in 132 CE. The device was able to
indicate when an earthquake had occurred and from which direction. The device became known as
the seismograph. Seismograph was important invention to China as it always was troubled by
earthquakes.
Compass
The compass first appears during the Han dynasty in China. It have been invented by either the
Chinese or the Indians, as both started using it at the same time.
Mechanical clock
The first mechanical clock was built during the Song period by a government official named Su
Song. The clock took eight years to build and it ran for 34 years before it was destroyed by
invades.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder was created by a scientist during the Tang dynasty. At first, gunpowder was used only
on fireworks. Later, arrows were dipped in gunpowder and used with crossbow for war. Because
the gunpowder made so much fire and noise, it was good for frightening the enemies’ horses.
Paper
Sometime before the Han dynasty, the Chinese learned to make paper from mashed-up wood such
as bamboo. The paper made was thick and spongy, but later, the Chinese were able to make it
thinner, longer lasting and cheaper.
Printing
The Chinese invented block printing during the Tang dynasty. Block printing involved carving
characters on a block of wood, spreading over the block and laying a sheet of paper over it the
print a page. The Diamond Sutra, a sacred Buddhist scroll dated 868 CE was made using block
printing .An even faster way of printing was invented by a printer named Bi Sheng. The method
allowed for large quantities of books to be printed much quicker than with block printing. The
movable type was adopted in Europe four centuries later.
Richness of the Arts
Pottery and porcelain
The techniques of making porcelain was invented by the ancient Chinese during the Tang dynasty.
Porcelain is pottery made from fine white clay and fired at very high temperatures.
Literature
During the Han dynasty, Chinese history was written down for the first time by a court official
named Sima Qian. His work, the shiji, contains reproductions of important documents. It also
describes emperors and famous people. Poetry was greatly appreciated in ancient China. Two
scholars from this period, whose poems are still highly regarded today were Li Bai and Du Fu.
Painting
Painting in ancient China reaches a very high standard during the Tang dynasty. Artists specialized
in painting mountains, trees and rivers. These landscape paintings were heavily influenced by
Taoism and Confucianism.
Textiles
As early as c.2600 BCE ,the Chinese discovered that the fibres of silk moth cocoons could be
woven into silk. Silk was highly valued both within China and beyond. Through the Chinese
government closely guarded the secret of silk manufacture, it was eventually smuggled into India
and Japan.
Sculpture
From the sculptures unearthed from the tombs of nobles and emperors, we have evidence that the
ancient Chinese were skilled in making fine sculptures from bronze ,clay and stone., One of the
amazing discoveries was the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang.
Southeast Asia
Metallurgy
In the 1970s,bronze spear-points and iron bangles were found at a major archaeological siteat Ban
Chiang in northeast Thailand. Theseartefacts revealed that as early as 2000BCE, the Ban Chiang
people already know the uses of iron. These discoveries tell historians that people of ancient
Southeast Asia had knowledge of metallurgy much earlier than was previously thought .
Hydraulic engineering
In the past,the people knew how to control water supple by using dams or dykes, canals and
reservoirs.This knowledge is hydraulic engineering.
Sculpture
Stone and bronze sculptures,and carvings on caves and temples tell us that the people of ancient
Southeast Asia were artistic and creative. Hinduism and Buddhism were the main inspiration for
their works.
Architecture
The ancient people of Southeast Asia built many religious monuments to show their devotion to
their new gods.In Angkor, the rulers built a number of stone Hindu-Buddhist temples that are
spread over an area of 500 square kilometers. One famous temple in Angkor is the Bayon Temple.
Another one is Angkor Wat.
Literature
In the malay-speaking parts of Southeast Asia such as Melaka,literature from the 15th century CE
onwards was written in Jawi. Examples of such literature included the hikayat, the syair and the
pantun.
Pottery
Before the 1960s,historians thought that the people of ancient Southeast Asia had learned the art of
pottery from the Chinese. However, the discovery of pottery at Ban Chiang shows the presence of
a uniquely Southeast Asian style of pottery dating back to 2600 BCE.
Textiles
The people of ancient Southeast Asia produced cotton textiles by two special methods, batik and
ikat.In the Malay-speaking of Southeast Asian ,the skill in producing beautiful designs on Batik
and ikat textiles was highly valued. Women skilled at producing such designs on cloth were seen
as the female equivalents of great war leaders.
Ban Chiang
Ban Chiang was relatively unheard of until 1966,when the son of a United States official tripped
over the root of a tree and fell. He saw pottery pieces sticking out from the ground. These pieces
have a unique colour combination of red and buff. This unusual find led archaeologists to Ban
Chiang,where they discovered the remains of an ancient people.