Focus Question: How did the Han Dynasty create a successful empire?

Do-Now:

Take out your homework.

Homework:

Document Analysis on Classical China.

The Early Han Dynasty

• What aspects of Qin Dynasty remained in the Han Dynasty? Which ones changed?

• Compare the maps below. What are some changes you noticed? What do you think the reasons for these changes are?

• How did the Han restore order in China?

Confucianism

• In 140 BC, Emperor Wudi took the throne and shifted the country’s focus back to a strong central government.

• Confucianism became the official government philosophy.

• All government officials had to be well-educated in the Confucian classics.• A scholar-official was expected to match the Confucian ideal of a gentleman.

• Officials were expected to be courteous, dignified, and knowledgeable in history, music, poetry, and Confucian teachings.

• Wudi built a university that taught Confucian ideals, and awarded his officials with higher rank if they were familiar with Confucian principles.

Civil Service Examinations

• Han emperors believed that officials should earn positions by merit rather than through family background or connections.

• To find the most qualified officials, an exam system was established known as civil service exams.• Exams were given at the local, provincial, and national levels.

• To pass the exam, candidates studied the Confucian classics and customs.

• Any man could take the exam regardless of their background. Despite the equal opportunity, education was costly which meant most officials came from wealthy backgrounds.

• This system was used for over 2,000 years and kept Confucian influence consistent through all of the dynasties.

https://www.voicetube.com/videos/55705

One component of the civil service examination was the writing of an “Eight-Legged

Essay” that adhered to rigorous structure and exactitude. One

slip of the pen in the formation of a written classical Chinese

character was cause for failure.

Social Classes of the Han

• Social rank, hard work, and heavy labor did not reflect prosperity.

• A strong family was stressed so that people would obey the emperor.

• Four social classes existed during the Han: • Upper Class: The Emperor, his court, and his scholars.

• Second Class: The peasants, who made life work on a daily basis.

• Third Class: The artisans, who produced items for daily life and some luxury goods.

• Fourth Class: The merchants, who bought and sold what others made. This was viewed as the lowest class because merchants made money from making money. This did not follow Confucian thought.

Men and Women

• Men were the head of the household. China had a patriarchal society.

• Rulers had to obey their elders too; it was a crime to disobey.

• Some men gained jobs based on the respect they showed to elders.

• It was rare for a woman to receive an education. Women were not eligible for the Civil Service Exam.

• Women were expected to be obedient to men.

• Girls were not valued as highly as boys, however women could influence their sons’ families.

Han Achievements

• Art from the Han Dynasty is known for realistic scenes from everyday life, ceramics, advanced figure painting, and depictions of religious figures and Confucian scholars.

• Paper was invented by grinding plant fibers into a paste and then setting the paste out to dry in sheets. Later they rolled the dried pulp into scrolls.

• Literature and poetry became very popular. Some poems were written to be sang.

• The sundial was created which uses the position of the shadows cast by the sun to tell the time of day.

• The seismograph was created to measure the strength of an earthquake. Chinese scientists believed that the movement of the earth was a sign of evil times.

• Acupuncture was created. It is the practice of inserting needles into the skin to cure disease or relieve pain. This practice is still widely used today.

Learning Target Notebooks

Grab your notebooks and write down and answer the Learning Target Question below:

Wednesday, September 25th

How would the changes made by the Han lead to a golden age?

Please place your notebooks back in the bin when you are done, thank you!

Focus Question: How did the Han Dynasty achieve a Golden Age?

Do-Now:

Take out your homework.

Homework: Study for your test on Friday and Monday. Extra help Thursday PM in Room 242.

Document 1: The Silk Road

• Which PERSIAN grouping(s) does this document fit with?

• What can we learn about Han society/life from this document?

• How does this document demonstrate a golden age?

The “Silk Road” is the name often given for the vast network of land and maritime trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea and East Asia. The Silk Road covered more than 4,600 miles and was in use from about the 2nd century BCE to the 15th and 16th centuries CE. However, the name ‘Silk Road’ is relatively recent. It was coined by the German scholar, Ferdinand von Richthofen, in 1877. He derived the term from Rome’s historical connection to the trade route and their love of silk.

Document 2: Exchange of Goods on the Silk Road

• Which PERSIAN grouping(s) does this document fit with?

• What can we learn about Han society/life from this document?

• How does this document demonstrate a golden age?

Rome Middle East India Southeast Asia ChinaWool and linen textiles

CarpetsMediterranean coral

Bronze vesselsLamps

Glass vessels and beadsWineCoins

OpiumChristianity

Incense (from southern Arabia)

Dates, pistachios, peaches, walnuts

Frankincense Glassware

Olive oilSilver vessels

Islam

Household slavesPets and arena animals

Exotic fursCashmere wool

Raw and finished cottonSandalwood and other

exotic woodsCane-sugar

Perfumes and aromaticsGems (rubies, sapphires

and emeralds; diamonds)Buddhism

Precious and semi-precious stonesJewelry, ivory,

tortoiseshell, rhinoceros horn, seashells and

pearlsOrnamental woods

Spices Cochineal and indigo

used for dyeing fabrics and cosmetics

SilkWeaponsPorcelain

JadeTea

PaperGunpowderMedicines

Inventions (compass, wheelbarrow, crossbow)

Document 3: Spread and Demand of Silk

• Which PERSIAN grouping(s) does this document fit with?

• What can we learn about Han society/life from this document?

• How does this document demonstrate a golden age?

“The silk that constituted China’s chief export remained a mystery fabric to Greeks and Romans for many years. They heard many possible explanations, such as that it was made from bark on trees. Not until the mid-sixth century did the Byzantine emperor learn from two monks that the cloth was a product of silkworms feeding on mulberry leaves.

By the first century CE silk clothes were popular on the streets of Rome among its wealthy citizens. Much consumption of silk, at both ends of the Silk Road, was devoted to religious activities. Christian priests used purple silk embroidered with gold silk thread for their vestments. Kings, priests, and saints were shrouded in silks at their burials; even burials from long ago were dug up and shrouded in silk. In the Buddhist areas, yards of silk were used for banners, sometimes tens of thousands at one monastery. Buddhist laypeople made donations of silk to monasteries as a reward for the monks’ intercessions and as a way to gain merits for future life. The monks, in turn, traded silk for daily provisions and for the “seven treasures” used to decorate their stupas, or shrines: gold, silver, lapis lazuli, red coral, crystal, pearls, and agate. During affluent times, Buddhist monasteries thus became significant economic entities.”

“By the time of the Roman Emperor Augustus (27 BCE – 14 CE), trade between China and the west was firmly established and silk was the most sought after commodity in Egypt, Greece, and, especially, in Rome. Romans valued silk at its weight in gold. Politicians tried to ban the sale of silk because Romans were spending all of their money on it instead of buying Roman goods and products of more use. Politicians also tried to ban silk because they thought it was immoral because it was too revealing when worn.”