China

O

Xia Dynasty2000 B.C.E

• Known to us from legends

• Not enough evidence to prove it existed

• Farming begins along Huang He…..

The Shang DynastyThe Shang Dynasty1700 B.C.-1100 B.C.E.1700 B.C.-1100 B.C.E.

• The First dynasty to be dated from The First dynasty to be dated from written recordswritten records

Map of the Shang

Major Accomplishments

• Built walled cities to keep invaders out

• Made ivory & jade statues• Wove silk into elegant

colored clothes• Perfected metal casting-

produced some of the finest bronze objects ever made

More Bronze Work….

Oracle Bones

• 1st known examples of writing in China.

• Used to predict the future

Oracle Bones…

Zhou Dynasty(1100 B.C.E.- 221 B.C.E.)

• Wu, the former leader of Shang territory took over capital and

established the Zhou

Map of Zhou

About the Zhou…..

• Zhou in its heyday- the “Imperial Period”

• Mandate of Heaven- authority to rule comes from heaven

• set up agricultural system- nobles own land and peasants worked land

Technological advances….

• Iron came into general use

• Built roads, and expanded foreign trade

• crossbow

• cavalry

• Iron plow, irrigation system and flood control

The Hundred Schools of Thought….

• The Hundred Schools of thought were said to have developed during the Zhou dynasty. Examples include:

• Confucianism • Legalism• Daoism • These philosophies focused very

little on supernatural or eternal life, instead focused on life in this world and how it should be lived

The Downfall of the Zhou Dynasty

• Toward the end of the dynasty, nobles began to fight among each other for power

• Farmers had to fight in armies which produced many crop failures and food shortages

• Soon the empire was weak and taken over by a more powerful king

Qin Dynasty221 B.C.E. to 206 B.C.E.

• For the first time, China was completely united as one empire

Map of Qin

ShiHuangdi

• The First (Shi) Emperor (Huangdi)

The Rule of Qin Shihuangdi

the good…• New ideas about communication

helped unify China• Reorganized the empire into military

districts- keep local lords from taking over

• Developed a system of weights and measures and standardized coins

• Instituted a uniform writing system • Educated men, not nobles ran the

country

the bad…..

• Relied heavily on scholar advisers- became a very strict ruler

• Imposed taxes on land owners and took away land from local lords

the ugly……

• Censored books and burned books that were not practical subjects

• Scholars could not even talk of the past

The Background of the Excavation

o In 1974, workers digging a well discovered a pottery head of a human figure

o What they found was an ancient burial-site of the first Chinese Emperor Qin Shihuangdi.

o Qin wanted the afterlife to be the same as his life on earth.

o To substitute for the actual humans, Qin ordered a massive clay army to be produced for his protection.

• Some 8,000 figures have been uncovered grouped in battle order, facing east, to protect the emperor, who lies in his mausoleum

• The army consisted of 7,000 warriors: archers, foot soldiers, cavalrymen, and charioteers of various rank, 500 chariot horses, 130 war chariots, and 110 cavalry horses

The End of Qin

• After Shi Huangdi’s death, peasants revolted and formed a strong army to defeat the emperor

• Liu Bang, a military officer from a peasant background, led the defeat of the Qin Dynasty and declared himself emperor of the new Han dynasty……….

The Glorious Han207 B.C.E to 220 C.E.

Map of the HanMap of the Han

Accomplishments Under Wudi

• Wudi reigned from 141 B.C.E to 87 B.C.E. is considered one of the most dynamic rulers in Chinese History

• Followed the teachings of Confucius • Expanded empire- conquered lands to the

north, including Korea and Manchuria, south into Southeast Asia and as far as northern India

• Learned about the Roman culture Expanded trade routes (known today as the silk road)

More of Wudi’s More of Wudi’s AccomplishmentsAccomplishments

• Government jobs were given to Government jobs were given to educated people (in the past given to educated people (in the past given to family members or the aristocracy). family members or the aristocracy).

• Wudi’s system of government called Wudi’s system of government called Civil ServiceCivil Service (based on merit) (based on merit)

• MandarinsMandarins- well educated civil servants - well educated civil servants controlled the government until the controlled the government until the early 1900searly 1900s

More Accomplishments of the Han

• Ruled during the Pax Sinica- 400 year period of prosperity and stability

• Learning became the main focus of society- expanded the language and wrote the first Chinese dictionary

• Buddhism brought to China

• Invention of paper made printing books easier

The End of the Han

• As the empire grew in size, its borders were often under attack. Eventually, the empire’s great expansion became its downfall.

Confucianism 522 B.C.E- Confucius begins to teachTaught social harmony and good

government would come to China if people lived according to principles of ethics, good conduct and moral judgment

Reciprocity“Do not do unto others as you would not

want others to do unto you”

Five Relationships

Ruler/SubjectParent/Child

Husband/WifeOld/Young

Friend/Friend • Each relationship has certain responsibilities to

follow• 479 B.C.E- teachings were collected into works

called Analects

Legalism

• Founder- Hanfeizi (200’s B.C.E.)• Like Confucianism stressed importance of an

orderly society, but in the opposite way.• Belief in highly efficient and powerful

government along with harsh law were the key to restoring power.

• People were by nature selfish and untrustworthy thus peace and prosperity only achieved by threatening severe punishment

Yin and YangYin and Yang

◘ Chinese theory related to DaoismChinese theory related to Daoism

◘ Two opposing forces believed to be Two opposing forces believed to be present in all naturepresent in all nature

◘ Yin- cool, dark, female, and submissiveYin- cool, dark, female, and submissive

◘ Yang- warm, light, male, and Yang- warm, light, male, and aggressiveaggressive

◘ For harmony the two must be in For harmony the two must be in balancebalance

Daoism Daoist ideas traced to teachings of a scholar

named Laozi. 500 B.C.E. emerges as a major philosophy Emphasized harmony with nature- rejected

formal social structures and idea that people must fill specific roles in society.

People should renounce worldly ambitions and turn to nature and the Dao, universal force that guides all things.

Where Confucianism provided one’s place in the social order, Daoism emphasized harmony within the individual, one could be both