Early China & the Han Dynasty

Early China & the Han Dynasty

​Early Chinese history was shaped by four dynasties—the Shang, the Zhou, the Qin, and the Han.

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​When the Qin dynasty collapsed, many groups fought for power. After years of fighting, an army led by Liu Bang won control. In 206 BC Liu Bang became the first emperor of the Han dynasty, which lasted more than 400 years.

​Chinese society under the Han was organized into a strict class system.

​The upper class was made up of the emperor, his court, and scholars who held government positions. The emperor and his court lived in a large palace. Less important officials lived in multilevel houses built around courtyards. Many of these wealthy families owned large estates and employed laborers to work the land.

Multiple Choice

A group of people at a similar cultural, economic, or educational level is what word ?

• Social class

• Social hierarchy

• Daoism

• None of the words

​The second class, the largest, was made up of the peasants. Nearly 60 million people lived in China during the Han dynasty, and about 90 percent of them were peasants. Although they were respected for their labor, most peasants were poor. They wore plain clothing and ate cooked grains like barley. Most peasants lived in small villages.

Multiple Choice

This dynasty used Confucianism as its form of government.

• Han

• Shang

• Zhou

• Qin

​The next social class included artisans, who produced items for daily life and some luxury goods. Merchants were the lowest class because they did not actually produce anything. They only bought and sold what others made. Still, some merchants were very wealthy. They filled their homes with expensive decorations, including paintings, pottery, and jade figures.

Multiple Choice

Who occupied the lowest position in the Chinese class system?

• the farmers

• the aristocrats

• the merchants

• the artisans

Multiple Choice

What social class held most of the wealth and authority in Chinese society?

• the famers

• the merchants

• the artisans

• the aristocrats

​The Revival of the Family

​Since Confucianism was the government’s official philosophy, Confucian teachings about the family were also honored. Children were taught from birth to respect their elders. Disobeying one’s parents was a crime. Even emperors had a duty to respect their parents.

​Within the family, the father had absolute power. The Han taught that it was a woman’s duty to obey her husband, and children had to obey their father. All members of a family were expected to care for family burial sites and to honor their ancestors with rituals and ceremonies.

Multiple Choice

What is a system of beliefs based on the teachings of Confucius; duty is central idea.?

• Confucianism

• Daoism

• Leagalism

• None of the words

Multiple Select

According to Confucius, proper order in society means:

• Parents are above children

• Dogs are above cats

• Teachers are above students

• Rulers are above the people

• Men are above women

​The Han Chinese invented one item that we use every day—paper. They made it by grinding plant fibers, such as mulberry bark and hemp, into a paste. Then they let it dry in sheets. Chinese scholars produced books by pasting several pieces of paper together into a long sheet. Then they rolled the sheet into a scroll.

​Early Chinese Inventions

Multiple Choice

What do historians consider the greatest inventions of the ancient Chinese?

• paper making and printing

• gunpowder

• magnetic compass

• All of the above

​The Han also made other innovations in science. These included the sundial and the seismograph. A sundial is a device that uses the position of shadows cast by the sun to tell the time of day. It was an early type of clock. A seismograph is a device that measures the strength of earthquakes. Han emperors were very interested in knowing about the movements of the earth. They believed that earthquakes were signs of future evil events.

​Another Han innovation, acupuncture, improved medicine. Acupuncture is the practice of inserting fine needles through the skin at specific points to cure disease or relieve pain . Many Han inventions in science and medicine are still used today.

The Han dynasty expanded west into Central Asia. There, the Chinese learned that silk, which the Chinese had been making for centuries, was in high demand in lands farther west. China’s rulers realized they could make huge profits through trade.

​Traders used a series of overland routes to take Chinese goods to distant buyers. The most famous trade route was known as the Silk Road. This 4,000-mile-long network of routes stretched westward from China across deserts and mountains, through the Middle East, until it reached the Mediterranean Sea.

Multiple Choice

Through what way did trade grow extensively when merchants carried silk, tea, and porcelain?

• Roads built by farmers
• The Silk Road
• The Yangtze River Valley
• The Great Wall of China