WH Unit 12

Replace this text with your title

THEN write your EQ's:
What were the greatest achievements of the ancient Chinese?
How did the Korean and Japanese civilizations develop?
How was ancient China united and governed?

DO NOW:
​Examine the image of pottery soldiers in the tomb of China's first emperor. What words might describe the society that produced this tomb?

Farmers were growing crops along the Huang, or Yellow, River by 5000 BC. They lived in villages. Some of these villages had strong chiefs who built small kingdoms.

Around 1700 BC, one of these rulers founded the Shang dynasty. The Shang had many accomplishments. They worked bronze, built walls of earth, to control flooding, and developed a writing system.
Their writing system they formed had characters, or letters represented entire words, still used in China and Japan today.

How Did Government Emerge in China?

​Shang Dynasty

Multiple Choice

By the end of the Shang dynasty, the Chinese had developed a form of writing in which each

character represented a

• sound.

• letter.

• syllable.

• word.

Around 1050 BC, a group called the Zhou (joh) overthrew the Shang. Zhou rulers claimed that their victory showed that they had the support of heaven. This began the idea in China that rulers could hold power only if they served the interests of the people.

ZHOU DYNASTY INNOVATIONS
In Zhou times, the Chinese developed the crossbow, learned to make iron tools and weapons, and began using coins as money.

END OF THE ZHOU DYNASTY
By the early 400s BC, war had broken out among the states ruled by the Zhou. In 256 BC, the last Zhou ruler was overthrown. 

Zhou Dynasty

^Bronze coins from the Zhou dynasty^

Multiple Choice

Zhou rulers claimed that they had won the Mandate of Heaven because they

• brought the Warring States period to an end.

• were victorious over the Shang dynasty.

• were chosen as rulers by Shang priests.

• served the interests of powerful warlords.

A man named, Zheng (jung), became King of Qin (chin) in 247 BC. 26 years later, in 221 BC, he defeated rival kingdoms and united China. He then declared himself the Shi Huangdi or the “First Emperor” of China.

He organized China into provinces and began work on the Great Wall. This long wall was meant to protect the Chinese from attacks by northern nomads.

The emperor ruled harshly and taxed people heavily. The Qin Dynasty fell after Zheng’s death because of its harsh rule, however.

​

The first Chinese empire:
Qin Dynasty

Multiple Choice

Who was the first emperor of united China?

• Chen Sheng

• Liu Bang

• Shi Huangdi

• Shang Yang

The Han dynasty

The Han (hahn) dynasty was next to unite China. It was founded in 206 BC and lasted about 400 years. The Han relaxed the Qin’s harsh rules. Han emperors expanded China’s territory. They created a strong central government with a skilled, professional civil service. This was a system of government workers who were chosen for their abilities. Contact grew between China and other regions during the Han period. The Silk Road linked China to other parts of Asia and even to Europe. New inventions and ideas moved into and out of China by this trade route.

​Life in Ancient China

Under the Han, family loyalty and respect for elders were key values. People revered, or honored, their ancestors and made offerings to them. These values and actions were based on the teachings of Confucius. Han laws supported these values. 

In Han times, prosperity led to many new achievements. Artists, poets, musicians, and dancers created works of beauty. Scientists made discoveries in astronomy and medicine. Inventors produced new tools, including the wheelbarrow and paper. 

Early Korean Civilizations

In Korea, farmers were settled in villages by 3000 BC. During the 300s BC, tribes joined to form a state called Choson in the northern part of Korea. Other states developed in southern Korea. Han China conquered Choson, but northern Korea eventually regained its independence. The kingdom of Koguryo was established there around 40 BC. At the same time, the kingdoms of Paekche and Silla developed in southern Korea. The three Korean kingdoms often fought one another.

Multiple Choice

What happened after northern Korea gained independence from China?

• Multiple kingdoms developed in Korea.

• Korea became a united nation-state.

• Korea went to war with Japan.

• Choson conquered Han China.

​Early Japanese Society

A people named the Jomon moved to Japan some 11,000 years ago. By 250 BC, a group called the Yayoi arrived and over time took over much of Japan. The Yayoi introduced rice farming and metalworking. A diet based on seafood and rice boosted Japan’s population. Local clans ruled Japan by the 200s AD. Clans are groups of related families. From the 200s to the 400s, clans competed for power. The winner of this struggle was the Yamato clan, which built a small state. The Yamato improved farming, adding to their wealth and power.

Multiple Choice

Which method did the Yamato most rely on to build their empire?

• establishing ties, such as through marriage

• forcing other clans off their land

• writing a new constitution for Japan

• conquering Japan’s nearest neighbors on the mainland

Essential Questions:
- What did Confucius teach?
- What do Daoists believe?
- What other traditions form part of traditional
Chinese spirituality?

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How did China, Korea, and Japan develop before modern times?

The Han dynasty fell in 220 CE. After its fall, many kingdoms competed for power. The Sui (sway) dynasty reunited China between 581 and 618. By 624, the Tang dynasty had won control of China. It ruled until the early 900s. The Song dynasty ruled from 960 until the late 1200s.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, trade along the Silk Road and Grand Canal made China rich. Both dynasties governed through a bureaucracy of many government workers.

The Tang
and Song Dynasties

Multiple Choice

What features are associated with China’s Tang and Song dynasties?

• economic problems and political violence

• prosperity and stable government

• corruption and weak government

• overseas conquests and colonization

In the 1200s, nomadic Mongols swept out of present-day Mongolia. Led by Genghis Khan, they conquered an empire stretching from China into Europe. Trade between China and other parts of Asia increased. Chinese technologies spread west.

A Mongol Empire

Word Cloud

How far did Mongol territory extend from east to west?

Open Ended

How did physical features affect Mongol expansion?

In 1368, the Ming dynasty defeated the Mongols. Early Ming emperors were strong rulers, but later Ming government was weak. In the early 1400s the Ming emperor built up trade, but later Ming rulers restricted it.

​​Ming Dynasty

The Manchus invaded China and overthrew the Ming in 1644. They founded the Qing (ching) dynasty and restored strong rule to China. By the late 1700s, the Qing had built the largest Chinese empire ever.

Qing Dynasty

Several Chinese inventions spread to Europe and changed the world. They include paper, printing, compasses, gunpowder, porcelain, and rudders and sealed compartments for ships. China also had great artistic achievements. They included beautiful paintings, rich architecture, and moving poetry. Korea and Japan adopted China’s writing system, philosophies, and Buddhism.

Chinese Achievements

When the Tang dynasty emerged in China, Korea, was initially divided into three kingdoms, later unified under Silla's rule by 668. Koreans pioneered movable-type printing in the 1200s, simplifying the printing process. Additionally, in the 1400s, they invented Hangul, an alphabet easier to use than Chinese characters.

Korean Civilization

Japan, like Korea, unified under an emperor while powerful shoguns controlled the government. Fragmentation occurred in the 1400s and 1500s, but Japan was reunified under the Tokugawa shoguns in 1600, leading to over 200 years of peace. While Japan initially borrowed from Chinese culture, it developed its own unique culture including additions to the Chinese writing system and distinctive art and architecture. Shinto, a religion based on spirit worship and purity, was unique to Japan, though it combined with Buddhism over time to create Japanese variants.

Japanese Civilization

​WILL NOT BE ON QUIZ OR EXAM

Home

Open in new tab

Copy link

​https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/middle-ages-asia/video/

Multiple Choice

How did early contact with China affect Japan?

• The Japanese government became a model for China.

• Japan became a Chinese territory.

• The Japanese added to the Chinese writing system.

• The original inhabitants of Japan migrated to China.

Open Ended

What feature of Shinto is similar to an important part of Confucianism?

Beginning in the 1500s, Europeans came to East Asia to trade and to spread Christianity. Japan, Korea, and China tried to limit contact with them. In the 1800s, however, Western powers forced East Asian countries to allow trade. The western countries benefited greatly from their trade. Angry at their government’s weakness, the Chinese overthrew the last Qing emperor in 1912. In the 1920s, Chinese Communists and Nationalists began fighting for control of the country. 

After American warships forced Japan to open its ports to trade, Japanese rebels overthrew the shogun and restored the emperor as a leader. A new government modernized Japan and its military. It also industrialized the country. Japan took control of Korea beginning in 1910 and ruled harshly. During World War II, Japan occupied much of Southeast Asia and Pacific islands. It also controlled Korea and part of China. The United States and its allies defeated Japan in 1945.

Age of Imperialism