India is close to China, but due to the barrier of the towering Himalayan snow-capped mountains, we know little about this neighbor. "Going to the Western Heaven to learn from the scriptures" has become a synonym for hardship in the ears of China people. Like the Nile and the two river basins in ancient Egypt, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River in China, the Indus River and the Ganges River have also nurtured glorious ancient cultures. Ancient Egypt, Babylon, China and India are all called the four ancient civilizations in the world.

5, years ago, there were ancient ancestors in the Indian subcontinent. They were also slash-and-burn, fishing, hunting and gathering, and they thrived from generation to generation. By the Neolithic Age, about 1, years ago, there were settlements all over India, and people had begun to engage in agriculture, domesticate livestock and make exquisite household appliances. All this provided fertile ground for the birth of a splendid ancient civilization. In the South Asian subcontinent, there is an ancient country with towering Himalayan mountains and vast Indian Ocean, which is magnificent and full of vitality. This is India, which is called "the country of the moon". Because its territory is shaped like a cow's head, some people call it "the country of the cow's skull".

Wandering in the ancient civilization-India's hymn-like melody

The Ganges started from the Himalayas and passed through an Asian peninsula surrounded by the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, which nourished this land and gave birth to a splendid civilization and became a "holy river" of a country. And this lucky country is India, one of the four ancient civilizations in the world.

[ Edit this paragraph] Brief introduction of civilization

The ancient civilization of India was discovered only in 1922. Because its site was first excavated in Halaba, India, it is usually called "Halaba culture"; Because these sites are mainly concentrated in the Indus Valley, they are also called "Indus Civilization". The age of Halaba culture is about 23 BC to 175 BC.

halaba culture is the culture of the bronze age in ancient India, which represents a kind of urban civilization. Judging from the excavated urban sites, the planning and architecture of the city are of a fairly high level. For example, Mohenjo Darrow City, with an area of 26 hectares, is divided into 12 blocks, with neat and wide streets and good drainage system. Some houses are exquisite and spacious, and they have begun to enter the threshold of civilization. After hundreds of years, this civilization gradually declined and died in the 18th century BC. After the decline of Halaba culture, the Aryans, a nomadic people invaded by the northwest of India, founded a more lasting civilization in India. Aryans appeared in northwest India around 2 BC and gradually expanded southward. By the beginning of the 6th century BC, it was said that 16 countries had been formed in India. After a long period of annexation war, in the 4th century BC, a unified country centered on Mojietuo was established in the Ganges River basin in the south.

During this period, the Indus Valley in northwest India was invaded by the Persian Empire. Persians ruled the Indus Valley for nearly two centuries, and it was not until the late 4th century BC that they were once conquered by Alexander of Macedonia. Chandragupta led the anti-Macedonian uprising, unified northern India after expelling the invaders, and soon overthrew the Namtuo dynasty in the state of Mojietuo, thus establishing the most powerful peacock dynasty in ancient India.

The Peacock Dynasty reached its heyday in Ashoka's time. After years of war, he expanded the territory of the dynasty to the whole South Asian subcontinent except the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh today. This huge empire was established by military conquest. Therefore, it fell into division shortly after the death of Ashoka. In 187 BC, the last king of the Peacock Dynasty was overthrown. Since then, the Indian Peninsula has never been unified.

Ancient India is one of the cradles of human civilization and has made original contributions to human civilization in literature, philosophy and natural science. In terms of literature, he created immortal epics "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana". In the aspect of philosophy, he founded "the study of the Ming Dynasty", which is equivalent to today's logic. In natural science, the most outstanding contribution is the invention of the universal counting method and the creation of 1 digital symbols including "". The so-called Arabic numerals actually originated in India and only spread to the west through Arabs. In the 6th century BC, Buddhism came into being in ancient India, and was later introduced to China, Korea and Japan.

[ Edit this paragraph] Caste system

In ancient India, a strict caste system was implemented, which mainly existed in Hinduism and had different degrees of influence on Islam and Sikh.

The Indian caste system divides people into four different classes: Brahman, Khshatriya, Vedas and sudra. Brahmins are monks, the first caste, with the highest status, engaged in cultural education and sacrifice; The Khshatrili are warriors, princes, nobles, etc., as the second caste, engaged in administrative management and fighting; Vedas are merchants, the third caste, engaged in commercial trade; Sudra, a farmer, is the fourth caste, with the lowest status, engaged in agriculture and various manual and handicraft labor. Later, with the development of production, many grades were derived from various surnames. In addition to the four castes, there is another kind of people who are excluded from the caste, that is, "untouchable" or "untouchable". They have the lowest social status and suffer the most discrimination. Most of them are rural poor farm labourers, urban cleaners and coolies.

The caste system has a history of more than 3, years, and it began to sprout as early as the end of primitive society. Later, in the process of class differentiation and slavery, the primitive social division of labor became hierarchical and fixed, and gradually formed a strict caste system.

caste is hereditary. For thousands of years, the caste system has had a profound influence on people's daily life and customs, and racial discrimination has not been eliminated yet, especially in the vast rural areas.

After independence, the Indian government has taken many measures to eliminate caste discrimination. The first is to formulate relevant laws and regulations. In 1948, Congress passed a bill to abolish the caste system. Later, the Constitution and state laws also made corresponding provisions to protect the interests of lower castes. The government also provides a lot of help to the lower castes in education, employment and welfare.

With the progress of society, the caste system in India is also changing. For example, the internal marriage system in the caste system has been hit, for example, women of high caste are now marrying men of low caste. People's views on occupation have also changed, and the measurement of occupation level is no longer based on religious thought, but on money and power. In the city, people of all surnames have strengthened exchanges and exchanges.

[ Edit this paragraph] Pure melody

India is a melting pot of culture. The unique historical background of this country makes it contain many cultural trends from ancient times to modern times, from west to east, from Asia to Europe and so on. In addition, it is a country composed of five ethnic groups, and it is like a big cultural museum. Mumbai, on the west bank of the capital New Delhi, is the center of culture, while Calcutta has news about culture every day. Diversified music, dances, ballet and comedies dazzle tourists and make them forget to return.

After living in a noisy big city for a long time, people yearn for a return to simplicity. The foundation of Indian traditional music is "nature". It praises the relationship between people, between man and nature, and between man and God. The melodies of the four seasons are all reflected in the traditional tune "Lag"-it is said that the ancients were inspired by the chirping of birds and the burning sound of branches in the forest and created the first "Lag". As for the content of the song, it originated from religious ceremonies in North India. Today, traditional songs still retain the ancient pronunciation, and the singer's sound quality is pure, which makes the songs maintain a simple and pure feeling of hymn. Even if you don't understand the lyrics, you can feel the sacredness and peace of nature.

Natyam, one of the oldest dances in India, means "the art of dancing" in Hindi. In addition to emphasizing the rhythm of dance, it also emphasizes that accompaniment music must be pleasant to listen to, consisting of solemn poems and simple music. This is a sacrificial dance, which can fully reflect the feelings of dancers. It was originally performed by temple dancers in the temple. The key to this dance is to keep your upper body straight, your legs half bent, your knees apart, and your feet like a half-open fan. Although there are strict action norms, in fact, each actor's performance is different, and most of the time the performance is improvisation, so each Natyam's personal style is very strong.

Now, this traditional dance is resurgent in a retro trend. However, in ancient times Natyam was generally a solo dance, but now group dance is more popular. A group of graceful dancers in gorgeous traditional costumes danced like fairies in beautiful music, and the effect was better than solo dancing. Today, Natyam has developed into a technical art system.

[ Edit this paragraph] Ancient cuisine

Indian curry is world-famous, and many people think that rice and curry are the main food and seasoning in India. But in fact, rice is the staple food in only some parts of India, and curry is a strange seasoning for most Indians.

Actually, the biggest feature of Indian food is that there is no uniform style. Moreover, not only are there great differences in eating habits among cities in India, but even every family has an obvious eating style. But on the whole, chicken, fish and mutton are the most common. Gravy is the main sauce in India and is very popular all over India. Of course, the gravy in every place has its obvious local characteristics. In Indian kitchens, only fresh green peppers and dried red peppers are spicy. So tourists who don't like spicy food don't have to worry about not eating authentic Indian food.

For tourists, the most famous traditional dishes in India originated from the Indian royal family. Stewed meat, sauce and rice are the basis of three different cooking styles. But after all, royal food can only be eaten in specialized restaurants and hotels, and ordinary people are not "cold" about it. In the local area, many popular Indian dishes are very homely, such as unleavened oat bread coated with green mustard cooked by coal fire all night. Such a simple winter snack is regarded as a favorite by both farmers and city people. In southern cities, authentic crispy pancakes and steamed rice cakes are famous. As for some coastal areas, besides seafood meals such as crabs, lobsters, tiger shrimps and shellfish, fragrant coconuts are also the most commonly used ingredients.

clay stove charcoal cooking is a unique cooking method in India. It is very particular about the timing. When the furnace temperature reaches 6 degrees Celsius, the cooking difference is one or two minutes, even one or two seconds, which will affect the success or failure of cooking. The meat cooked in this way does not need oil, and it is dipped in yogurt when eating. Before the food is served, the creaking charcoal fire and the lingering fragrance have already made your index finger move.

In addition, in many places in India, people like to use a large shallow dish called "thali" to hold food. When dining with "thali", you should do as the Romans do and taste it slowly, and gorging will only make the locals laugh.

[ Edit this paragraph] Bronze Statue

Ancient India was a land of myth, with extremely developed religion and philosophy. Therefore, the bronze statues in ancient India are often symbols of myth, religious idols and philosophical metaphors, and they embody the spirit of the gods. The tradition of bronze statues in India is very long, which can be traced back to the bronze figurine Dancer in the Indus era from about 25 BC to 15 BC. Brahmanism (the predecessor of Hinduism), Buddhism, and Jainism, which emerged in succession in the 9th-6th century BC, provided an eternal theme for ancient Indian art, including bronze statues. Indian bronze statues reached their peak in the Middle Ages (7th-13th century).