Ancient ChinaTrade and

Invention Rule the East

General Info

221 B.C. - 206 B.C.

Han Dynasty

Qin Dynasty

206 B.C. – 220 A.D.

Qin Shih Huangdi

First Emperor

It was short-lived.Dynasty Dynasty

It lasted over 400 years.

The Most Famous Ruler

Wu Ti

Geography Extended

Chinese territory to the south

• Reached up to present-day Hong Kong on the South China Sea and Northern Vietnam.

Qin Dynasty

GeographyHan

Dynasty• Extended to

Korea, Indochina, and Central Asia.

TradeMaritime Silk Road- origins in the Han dynasty.

Raw and processes silk transported along the overland silk road.

The maritime routes opened by Emperor Han Wudi provided access to the Roman Empire via India.

The 7000 mile route spanned China, Central Asia, Northern India, and the Parthian and Roman Empires.

Increased the number of foreign merchants present in China

Agriculture•The Emperors encouraged the

development of agriculture.

•Grew rice, and wheat, and provided salt.

•Under Wu Di’s reign the Lou Che was invented, which was used for ploughing and sowing. This saved manual labor.

•Silk was invented and was used as currency.

WeaponryQin Dynasty

Used swords, daggers, billhooks, spears, halberds, axes, crossbow triggers, and arrowheads.Pi:Double-bladed spear.Similar to a sword, a short sword.

Shu: Round metal-headed wooden club

Weaponry

Dao: most widely used weapon.Have blades and are used to slice, cut, hack and chop.

Jiau (sword): During Han Dynasty, men of high position wore it to show their stature.

Qiang (spear): Referred to as the “king of the hundred weapons.”

Ji (Halberd): a weapon with a steel tip mounted on a long pole. During the Han Dynasty it was replaced by the spear.

Han Dynasty

Population Growth & Decline

With the advanced technology, farming flourished more. As farming became more productive, population thus naturally increased.

As the rulers expanded the Chinese territory toward such countries as Korea and Vietnam, population increased as more land was gained.

Social Structure Aristocracy & Bureaucracy •Skilled laborers, Iron workers, farmers, etc.Unskilled laborersIn Han China, there was a three tier social system. At the top of this was the Aristocrats and Bureaucrats, followed by the skilld laborers (iron workers, farmers, etc) and then the unskilled laborers which included people like servants.

The Arts•The arts did not exist in the Qin Dynasty because Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered musical instruments and art forms to be burned. He considered them an unnecessary item in China because it taught people to have their own thoughts.

Qin Dynasty

Han Dynasty •Emperors and musicians during the Han Dynasty wished to bring back the arts. •They wanted to adapt to Confucian thought, which considered music as an intellectual pursuit. •Office of Music (Yuefu) was created to collect the folk music of China •During the Han Dynasty 829 people were employed in three orchestras.

Literature/Sacred Writings/Writing System

Several writers elaborated Confucian philosophy during the Han dynasty.

Confucian writing

Five Classics: Were used in civil service examinations. Included historical treatises, speeches, and a discussion of etiquette and ceremonies

Learning and reciting poetry became significant part of Chinese education

During the Qin Dynasty, the language was unified as one dialect.

most commonly used script: Lishu script. They used it because it was faster and more accessible, which they needed for governmental issues.

Government StructureHe provided a single law code for the whole empire

Established a uniform tax system

Appointed governors to each district. These rulers had legal and military powers. They also had their own lower rulers for smaller regions.

Epitome of effective centralized government

Shih Huangdi

Government StructureEstablished 130,000 bureaucrats. Had to take examinations.

Han Dynasty

Judicial matters were done by local governments.

Military was not extremely strong.

Emphasized Confucian philosophy as an official Chinese values..

Sponsored public works (irrigation/canal systems)

Standardized currency to facilitate trade

Regulated agricultural supplies

Religious Beliefs

Han Buddhism was popular during the Han Dynasty.

Taoism was popular during the reign of the Han Dynasty.Under the Qin Dynasty schools of Taoist philosophy began to emerge.

Confucianism was popular during both dynasties.

Buddhism originated in northern India during the 6th century.

Emperor Tai Wu persecuted Buddhism.

Buddhism

Taoism/Daoism

Confucianism