Unit 2: Chinese Dynasties

Unit 2: Chinese Dynasties

Classical China

Zhou, Qin, Han Dynasties

Timeline of Chinese Dynasties

• £Shang: 1766 - 1122 BC

• £Zhou: 1029 - 258 BC

• £Era of Warring States: 402 BC - 201 BC

• £Qin: 221 - 202 BC

• £Han: 202 BC – 220 AD

Chinese Dynastic Cycle

1.New family establishes dynasty (new institutions, economy)

2.Dynasty grows weak

3.Social Divisions Increase

4.Internal rebellions and/or external rebellions

5.New dynasty emerges

Mandate of Heaven

• £Belief that the gods transfer their power to a specific family in China that is meant to establish a dynasty and rule the region

• £Emperors were Sons of Heaven 

Zhou Rise

• £The Zhou rose to power at the Battle of Muye

• £Prior to the battle, the Shang experienced several corrupt leaders, and the Shang people began turning to the Zhou for protection 

Life During the Zhou Dynasty

• £Social

  ¤Rise of a strong, landowning class; inherit social status

  ¤Patriarchal

  £Political

  ¤Loose alliance of regional princes, depended on loyalty; relatively weak rulers

  ¤Exchange land for promise of taxes and military - Feudalism

  ¤Landowners become more powerful than rulers

  £Interactions

  ¤Expanded the Middle Kingdom

Life During the Zhou Dynasty

• £Cultural

  ¤Banned human sacrifice; formalized religious practices; Ancestor worship; focus on harmony

  ¤Promoted use of one language for everyone

  ¤End of dynasty leads to development of new philosophies (Confucianism)

  ¤Tea ceremonies; chopsticks

  £Economic

  ¤Agriculture dominated (N-wheat; S-rice)

Zhou Achievements

• £Superior Army

  £Iron technology

  £Compass, Kite, Maps, Pesticides

  £Mandate of Heaven

  £Chinese Philosophies- Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism

Fall of the Zhou

• £The strong government of the Qin state led to them becoming more powerful than the Zhou, and by 256BCE the Qin had taken over. 

Multiple Choice

How did the Zhou rise to power?

• The Parisian Wars

• The Battle of Muye

• The Warring States Period

• The Great Schism

Multiple Choice

What was NOT an achievement of the Zhou?

• They created a great military

• Iron technology

• Silk Production

• Compass

Multiple Choice

Why did the Zhou fall?

• They lost the Battle of Muye

• The Qin had a more stable gov and came to power

• The han had a more stable gov and came to power

• The Huns invaded and overthrew them

Period of the Warring States

• £402 BC - 201 BC

  ¤Competing interests of landowning class and ruling class cause political turmoil

  ¤Landowners raise own military - origins of regional warlords

  ¤No political unity - China is exceptionally weak

  ¤Cultural innovations survive

  ¤Results in new philosophies 

Rise of Chinese Philosophies

• £Confucianism

  £Daoism/Taoism

  £Legalism 

Confucianism

• £Founder: Confucius (K’ung Fu Tzu)

  ¤Main Writing: The Analects

  ¥Promoted by followers – Mencius 

Main Ideas of Confucianism

• £Main Ideas

  ¤Restore social order, harmony and good government to China

  ¤Emphasized family

  ¥Filial piety - respect for parents and elders is necessary for order

  ¤Five Relationships

  ¤Everyone has a role to play 

The Five Relationships

• £Five Basic Relationships in Society

  ¤Ruler/Subject

  ¤Father/Son

  ¤Husband/Wife

  ¤Older Brother/Younger Brother

  ¤Friend/Friend

Daoism/Taoism

• £Founder: by Lao Tze (604-531 BCE)

  £Main Writing: Tao-te-Ching (The Way of Virtue)

  £Human actions are not important

  £Most important part of society is natural order of things

  ¤The Tao (The Way) - guides all things

Daoism/Taoism

• £Search for knowledge and understanding of nature

  £To understand nothing, it is best to do nothing, to observe nature

  ¤Nature is not jealous or power hungry

  ¤Does not argue about right or wrong, good or bad

Legalism

• £Practical, political reaction to Confucianism

  ¤Founder: Han Feizi - 3rd century BCE

  £Powerful and efficient government is key to restoring order

  ¥Laws will end civil war and restore harmony

  ¥Rewards to good subjects and punish disobedient

  ¥Rulers must control ideas and actions of people

  ¥Favored by Shi Huangdi during Qin dynasty 

Multiple Choice

Who was the founder of Confucianism?

• Confucius

• Liu Bang

• Lao Tzu

• Han Fenzi

Multiple Choice

Which of these is NOT one of the 5 relationships of Confucianism?

• Father-Son

• Ruler- Subject

• Friend-Friend

• Brother-Uncle

Multiple Choice

What does Filial Piety mean?

• People should earn positions based on merit

• People should do their Dharma

• People should respect their elders

• People should respect their rulers

Multiple Choice

In Taoism/Daoism, what does "The Tao" mean?

• The Way

• The Truth

• The Light

• The Life

Multiple Choice

Legalism rewards _____ subjects and punishes the ________.

• bad, good ones

• slaves, rulers

• good, disobedient

• disobedient, good

Qin Dynasty Rise

• £Emerges out of end of Zhou Dynasty/Period of Warring States

  £Qin had a stable, legalist government that people wanted in the chaos

  £Goals:

  ¤Unify and expand China

  ¤Restore order

Life in the Qin Dynasty

• £Social

  ¤Primogeniture eliminated (practice of having eldest son inherit all property and land)

  ¤Nobles must leave land and live in Emperor’s court

  £Political

  ¤Emperor had complete control over all aspects of society

  ¤Use of brutality and force to accomplish goals

  ¤Bureaucracy (not of the nobility) expanded to help control all regions

  ¤National census

  ¤Single law code

Life in the Qin Dynasty

• £Interactions

  ¤Army expanded to crush rivals and regional rebellions

  ¤Expanded territory of China, including Hong Kong

  ¤Influenced parts of Vietnam through conquest

  ¤Expanded infrastructure to increase interactions

• £Cultural

  ¤Confucianism looked down upon and followers persecuted

  ¤Legalism promoted

  ¤Architectural: Initiates construction of Great Wall; Terracotta Soldiers/Tomb of Shi Huangdi

  ¤Uniform written language

  ¤Banned books 

Economy of the Qin

• £Economic 

  ¤Introduced standard weights and measures

  ¤Eliminated the very rare practice of slavery

  ¤Forced labor necessary for construction projects

  ¤Extremely high taxes

  ¤Sponsored agricultural projects (irrigation) and manufacturing of silk

• 
  

Qin Achievements

• £Iron Technology

  £Created a uniform written Chinese Language

  £Created a uniform Chinese Currency

  £Extensive network of roads and canals

  £Great Wall of China

Why did the Qin Dynasty fall?

• £Emperor

  ¤ Extremely paranoid; killed off suspected enemies (nobles, intellectuals, warlords)

  ¤Desire to control EVERYTHING

  £High taxes, forced labor

  £Emperor dies in 210 BC; followed by 8 years of peasant revolts to determine successor - winner establishes Han Dynasty 

Multiple Choice

What dynasty did the Qin overpower?

• Shang

• Zhou

• Qin

• Han

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT an achievement of the Qin?

• Iron Technology

• A single Chinese written language

• Porclein

• The Great Wall

Multiple Choice

Why did the Qin Dynasty collapse?

• Their ruler Emperor Qin died

• Peasant revolts

• The invasion of the Hans

• The destruction of the Great Wall

Rise of the Han Dynasty

• £Liu Bang - leads peasant revolts after death of Emperor Qin

  £202 BC - Liu Bang has eliminated almost all of his competition through military might and diplomacy

Life in the Han

• £Some lower classes allowed into bureaucracy

  £Strict emphasis on family relationships

  £Women

  ¤Patriarchal

  ¤Some could gain influence through male relatives

  £Three main groups:

  ¤Landowners & educated bureaucrats

  ¤Peasants and Artisans

  ¤ merchants, actors, musicians

Han Politics

• £Centralized administration, with less brutality than Qin dynasty

  £Improved bureaucracy

  £Attacked warlords/regional princes

  £Focused less on military buildup

  £Emphasized Confucianism - education for bureaucrats

  £Wu Ti - most famous emperor (140-87 BC)

  ¤Brought peace to much of Asia

  ¤Expanded territory

  Civil Service Examination 

Han Interactions

• £Expansion into Korea, Vietnam and Central Asia

  £Expanded contact/trade with India and Persian empires

  £Later with Roman Empire

Han Culture

• £Treated Confucianism as religion-shrines constructed

  £Gov’t promoted philosophy

  £Continued construction of Great Wall

  £Innovations - Seismograph, anatomical research, hygiene

  ¤Animal collars

  ¤Pulleys and gears

  ¤Increased production of textiles

  ¤Water-power mills

  ¤Paper  

Han Economy

• £Taxes lower than Qin, but get higher as dynasty progresses

  £Copper coins

  £Required people to work on gov’t projects

  £Gov’t influenced and controlled parts of economy

  ¤Iron and Salt production

  ¤Weights and Measures

  ¤Trade - silk, jewelry, leather goods, agricultural goods

  ¤Public works programs - canal systems

  ¤Store surplus of rice and grain 

Han Achievements

• £New version of a crossbow

  £First forms of paper

  £Acupuncture

  £Seismograph

  £Wheelbarrow, glazed pottery, stirrups for a horse saddle

  £Introduction of the Civil Service Exam to earn a government position

The Fall of the Han

• £Taxation

  £Many wealthy landowners skipped taxes and this led to lower class (poor) people paying more

  £People revolted and the empire broke into 3 sections – The Three Kingdoms

  £The Three Kingdoms would exist for the next 60 years. 

Multiple Choice

Who is the emperor of the Han?

• Han fenzi

• Liu Bang

• Qin Zhou

• Hun Zap

Multiple Choice

How did Liu Bang build the Han?

• Through invading India

• Through destroying the Great Wall

• Through leading a series of peasant revolts

• Through burning the city of Shang Hi