CHINA

Chapter 7 and Chapter 12

Chapter 7, Section 1- China’s First Civilizations

China’s Geography China had 2 major rivers:

Huang He (Yellow River)

Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)

Surrounded by mountain ranges and closed off from other areas

Early Chinese called their homeland the “Middle Kingdom”. They were the world’s center and leading civilization.

Little is known about China’s first civilization, but China’s first rulers were probably part of the Xia Dynasty.

The Shang Dynasty May have built first cities of China.

A main city was Anyang in northern China. The Shang kings ruled from here and it was China’s first capitol city.

Divided by groups of power:

King and his family

Aristocrats- Nobles whose wealth came from the land they owned. (Warlords and military leaders)

Artisans

Farmers

Slaves

People in Shang China worshiped gods, spirits and honored their ancestors. They thought they had to keep the gods and spirits happy through offerings.

Shang kings were to contact gods, spirits and ancestors before making important decisions and used oracle bones.

Early Chinese used Pictographs- Characters that stand for objects and Ideographs (the joining of two or more pictographs to represent an idea)

Farmers produced silk which weavers used to make colorful clothes.

During the rule of Shang, a large gap existed between the rich and the poor and kings treated people cruelly. As a result they lost the support of the people and Wu Wang led a rebellion against Shang.

The Zhou Dynasty Ruled for more than 800 years, longest in Chinese history.

Zhou kings headed the government and had a large Bureaucracy- Appointed officials who are responsible for different areas of government.

Zhou kings, they believed, linked Heaven and Earth.

Mandate of Heaven- States that the king was chosen by heavenly order because of his talent and virtue.

People expected king to rule according to the “dao” or way. –A natural disaster or bad harvest was a sign that he failed at his duty.

People had the right to overthrow a bad ruler and made clear that the king was not a god.

Zhou territories became powerful and began to battle each other. A ruler, Qin, used a large cavalry to defeat the other states and start a new dynasty.

Chapter 7, Section 2- Life in Ancient China

Social classes:

Landowning Aristocrats- Rich and owned large estates

Peasant Farmers- Some owned land and in wartime, served as soldiers

Merchants- Shopkeepers, traders and bankers

Filial Piety- Children had to respect their parents and older relatives.

Men were able to go to school, run the government and fight in wars.

Women raised children and managed the household. Women could not hold government posts.

Confucius Known as Ancient China’s first

greatest thinker and teacher.

He believed people needed to have a sense of duty and put the needs of family and community before their own.

The Golden Rule- “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”

Confucianism- All men with a talent for government should take part in government. (Unpopular idea among aristocrats)

Daoism & Legalism Daoism promotes a peaceful society and is based on

teachings of Laozi.

Ideas of Dao are written in Dao de Jing (The Way of the Dao). Daoists believed people should give up worldly desires and turn to nature and the Dao.

Daoism is the opposite of Confucianism. Daoism called for people to give up their concerns about the world and seek inner peace.

Legalism was known as the “School of Law”. Created by Hanfeizi, legalism taught that humans were naturally evil and needed harsh laws and stiff punishment.

Aristocrats liked legalism. It’s ideas led to cruel laws and punishments used to control the Chinese.

Chapter 7, Section 3The Qin and Han Dynasties

Emperor Qin

Qin Shihuangdi declared himself ruler in 221 B.C.

Qin based his rule on Legalism. Everyone who opposed him was punished or killed.

Qin created one currency and built roads and canals.

Qin began building the first walls of China.

People viewed Qin as a cruel leader and overthrew his dynasty after his death.

The Han Dynasty

Liu Bang founded the Han dynasty in 202 B.C.

Once a peasant, he became a military leader and defeated his rivals.

Under Han Wudi, the Han dynasty reached it’s peak. Wudi wanted talented people to fill government positions, so he required job seekers to take long difficult tests to qualify. Civil Service Examinations

Farmers could not tend all their land and sold their land to aristocrats and became tenant farmers.

China had many developments during the Han dynasty like the waterwheel, steel, paper and improved medicine.

The Silk Road Han Wudi ordered a general named Zhang Qian to find allies west of China. He did

not find allies but came across people from the Roman Empire and Kazakhstan.

This meeting started the Silk Road- A large network of trade routes stretching 4,000 miles from western China to southwest Asia.

People traded silk, spices, tea, and porcelain.

Merchants from India also brought ideas such as Buddhism to China.

Chapter 12, Section 1-China Reunites

The Sui Dynasty Reunites China

300 years after the Han dynasty ended, Chinese warlords fought amongst each other and nomads conquered the North. Lost control of Korea.

In A.D. 581 a general named Wendi declared himself emperor and started the Sui dynasty.

Wendi’s son, Yangdi rebuilt the Great Wall and built the Grand Canal (linked Yangtze and Yellow rivers)

Farmers became angry of paying such high taxes and revolted. The army took control and killed Yangdi.

The Tang Dynasty In A.D. 618, a general took over China and

started the Tang dynasty. This dynasty lasted 300 years.

A Tang emperor, Taizong restored the civil service exam and gave land to farmers, bringing order to countryside and strength to the government.

Empress Wu strengthened China’s military.

The Tang dynasty helped expand China throughout Asia. Around the A.D. 700’s the Turks drove Chinese armies out and took control of Chinese territory along the Silk Road.

The Tang dynasty ended in A.D. 907

The Song Dynasty & Buddhism

In A.D. 960, a military leader declared himself emperor and started the Song dynasty.

The Song dynasty lasted from A.D.960- A.D. 1279

During the Song dynasty, China prospered and had many cultural achievements.

Unfortunately, their army was not large enough and the empire broke apart.

Buddhism came from India to China around A.D. 150

The Tang dynasty was not

Buddhist but allowed people to practice Buddhism and have monasteries for worship

At the end of the Tang dynasty however, the Tang rulers had monasteries destroyed.

Neo-Confucianism Civil Service Exams were a product of Confucian ideas.

The Tang dynasty supported neo-Confucianism. It taught that life in this world was as important as life in the afterlife. Followers were to take part in life and help others.

Infused with some ideas of Daoism (seek happiness through nature), Neo-Confucianism became a religious type belief and those who followed Confucius teachings would find peace of mind and live in harmony with nature.

Neo-Confucianism strengthened the government with civil service exams and created a new wealth class, the “scholar-officials”.

Chapter 12, Section 2-Chinese Society

Economy, Trade & Culture During the Tang army, farming

improved and roads and waterways were built. The population of China increased and trade grew.

China traded tea, steel, paper and porcelain.

The Chinese also discovered coal.

Chinese poets expressed the beauty of nature through their writings and wrote in calligraphy.

Chapter 3, Section 3The Mongols in China

The Mongols The Mongols came from Mongolia, north of China. They were

skilled fighters on horseback.

A man named Temujin united Mongolian tribes. HE was then elected Genghis Khan which means “strong ruler”. He grew a large army of more than 100,000 warriors.

In A.D. 1211, the Mongols invaded China. They were cruel and used terror by attacking, robbing and burning cities.

In 1227, Genghis Khan died and his empire was divided amongst his 4 sons. Under their leadership, the Mongol empire spread from China to Eastern Europe, but were stopped by the Muslim rulers of Egypt.

Mongols eventually brought peace to the lands they ruled. They adopted beliefs and customs of the areas they conquered.

Kublai Khan & Yuan Dynasty In 1260, Genghis’s grandson Kublai became the new ruler,

Kublai Khan.

He moved the capitol to Khanbaliq. Today, this is where Beijing is located.

Kublai Khan started the Yuan dynasty, which lasted no more than 100 years.

Mongols did not mix with Chinese people, they were at the top of society.

Most Mongols were Buddhist but were tolerant of other religions.

Kublai Khan befriended the Italian, Marco Polo. Kublai and Marco spent years sharing their stories and he would send Marco on fact-finding trips.

Chapter 12, Section 4-The Ming Dynasty

The Rise of the Ming

Kublai Khan died in A.D. 1294. After a series of rebellions, the Mongols were driven out of China and in 1368 a rebel leader named Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor. He founded the Ming or “Brilliant” dynasty.

As emperor, Zhu changed his name to Hong Wu. He was a cruel leader who trusted no one. When he died, his son Yong Le became emperor.

Under Yong Le’s rule, he created the Imperial City, which is now known today as the “Forbidden City”. This was home to China’s emperors and only top officials were allowed inside. Today the Forbidden city is a place you can visit in China.

Ming rulers restored the civil service exams and carried out a census or count of people, in order to collect more accurate taxes.

Zheng He From 1405 to 1431, Emperor Yong Le sent fleets

over seas to learn about the outside world.

A court official who was Chinese Muslim named Zheng He was sent out on voyages. He had large fleets of up to 62 ships. His largest ships were up to 5 times the length of Christopher Colombus’s Santa Maria!

Zheng He traveled to Southeast Asia, the Persian Gulf, Arabia, and Africa for trade.

Chinese officials complained that these trips cost too much and they were bad for China’s way of life because it brought outside ideas into Chinese society. Confucian ideas taught that people should be loyal to their own society.

In 1514, a Portuguese fleet arrived on the coast of China with the intent to trade. Chinese were not impressed with the Portuguese and considered Europeans barbarians. Eventually though, they began trade with Europeans.

Christian missionaries from Europe also reached China and brought clocks, eyeglasses and scientific instruments.