Qin and Qin and Han Han

ChinaChina

Qin DynastyQin Dynasty221 B.C. - 206 B.C.

First Emperor:

Qin Shih Huangdi

Dynasty:

It was short-lived.

Han DynastyHan Dynasty206 B.C. – 220 A.D.

The Most Famous Ruler:

Wu Ti

Dynasty:

It lasted over 400 years.

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.

Trade

• Maritime Silk Road- began in the Han dynasty• The 7000 mile route spanned China, Central Asia, Northern India, and the Parthian and Roman Empires. The maritime routes opened by Emperor Han Wudi provided access to the Roman Empire via India. Increased the number of foreign merchants present in China

The ArtsQin Dynasty

The arts did not exist in the Qin Dynasty because Emperor Qin Shi huang 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.

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.

Learning and reciting poetry became significant part of Chinese education

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

Government StructureShih Huangdi

He 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

• Started the construction of the Great Wall

Government Structure

Established 130,000 bureaucrats. Had to take examinations.

Han Dynasty

Judicial matters were done by local governments.Military was not extremely strong.

Sponsored public works (irrigation/canal systems)

Emphasized Confucian philosophy as an official Chinese values.Standardized currency to facilitate trade

Regulated agricultural supplies

Religious BeliefsReligious BeliefsTaoism was popular during the reign of the Han Dynasty.

Under the Qin Dynasty schools of Taoist philosophy began to emerge.

Buddhism began to spread during the Han Dynasty.

Confucianism was popular during both dynasties.