Transcript Classical China Zhou, Qin, Han Dynasties

Imperial China
221 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.
Before the Han
The 4 River Valley Civilizations Yellow River Valley Civilization
Shang: 1523-1028
oracle bones
The evolution of Chinese writing
during the Shang
From Pictograph to Characters
Zhou Dynasty: 1027 - 256
Mandate of Heaven
Timeline of Classical China
Shang: 1766 - 1122 BCE
Zhou: 1029 - 258 BCE
Era of Warring States: 402 BCE - 201 BCE
Qin: 221 - 202 BCE
Han: 202 BCE - 220 CE
China’s Dynastic Cycle
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
A review of Chinese civ. up
to this point:
Shang Dynasty - Rulers and family patriarchs were
interested in consulting the ancestors for guidance and made
use of oracle bones. Shamans, individuals who claimed the
ability to contact the ancestors read the crack formed on the
oracle bones when heated. More than 2,000 characters in
the Chinese writing have been identified by scholars as
having come from these oracle bones.
Zhou Dynasty Mandate of Heaven
growing number of professional bureaucrats, or shi men of service, the best-educated men in the empire,
served as scribes, clerks, advisors and overseers in the
king’s court and other parts of the government
importance of rituals to show respect for elders and
rulers
Zhou Dynasty 1027 - 256
Warring States Period 475 - 221 B.C.E.
Confucius 551 - 479 B.C.E.
Confucianism:
• replace chaos of his time with harmony and order
•The idea of reciprocity should organize society.
Kung Fu-tzu
Reciprocity is the giving and taking of people within the
5 basic relationships of society. People are either the
superior or inferior person in each of these relationships:
•parent and child
•sovereign and minister
•husband and wife
•older and younger brother
•friend and friend
Significance - will promote a strict hierarchy in society.
Zhou
 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
 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)
Period of Warring States
402 BCE - 201 BCE
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
Confucius (K’ung Fu
Tzu)
Period of Warring
States
Scholar - history,
music, ethics
Main Writing: The
Analects
Promoted by followers
- Mencius
Main Ideas
Restore social order, harmony and good
government to China
Ethical systems based on relationships and personal
virtue
Emphasized family
Filial piety - respect for parents and elders is necessary for
order
Early Zhou Dynasty was seen as perfect society
Inferiors devoted to service
Superiors looked after dependents
Confucianism
Five Basic Relationships in Society
Ruler/Subject
Father/Son
Husband/Wife
Older Brother/Younger Brother
Friend/Friend
Chinese gentleman - education and moral standards;
birth status not important
Bureaucracy - those who help run government
Courteous, precise, generous, just/fair
Let’s review Confucianism:
filial piety
order and harmony in family = order and
harmony in the state (government)
superior vs. inferior roles
bureaucracy + education = good
bureaucrats
The Analects later compiled by Mencius
Other ideologies that developed during
the Era of Warring States:
Legalism and Daoism
Legalism - Han Fei Zi
human nature is bad so a strong
state is needed
Daoism - Laozi or Lao Tzu
human nature is good so a
centralized state is not needed
Daoism/Taoism
Founded 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
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 dyansty
Qin Dynasty 221 - 206 B.C.E.
China’s
1st empire
Shi
Huangdi
founder
adopts
Legalism
Terra-Cotta Soldiers
Qin Dynasty
Emerges out of end
of Zhou
Dynasty/Period of
Warring States
Founder: Shi Huangdi
(“First Emperor”)
Goals:
Unify and expand
China
Restore order
How did Qin gov’t rule China?
 government - Legalist not Confucianist: book burning
 government imposed the following from peasant population:
main tax - percentage of harvest
a labor tax - building public projects
military service - conscription
 standardized weights, measures and coinage
 created a uniformed legal code
 created a common writing system
 built roads like....? and canals to connect rivers
What steps did Qin rulers take to
control the aristocracy?
abolished primogeniture laws
abolished slavery = free peasants to
serve the state
How were the free peasants now
serving the state?
 paid taxes
 provided labor or serve in the military
 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
 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
 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
Terra Cotta Army
Why did the Qin Dynasty Fall?
Shi Huangdi
Extremely paranoid; killed off suspected enemies
(nobles, intellectuals, warlords)
Desire to control EVERYTHING
High taxes, forced labor
Shi Huangdi dies in 210 BCE; followed by 8
years of peasant revolts to determine
successor - winner establishes Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty: 200 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.
Look for:
Political system: centralized, emperor
rules with help of his bureaucracy
Expansion
Technological Advances
Social and Economic Changes
Establishment of Han Dynasty
202 BCE - 220 CE
 Liu Bang - leads
peasant revolts after
death of Shi Huangdi
 202 BCE - Liu Bang
has eliminated almost
all of his competition
through military might
and diplomacy
Han Society
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
“Mean People” - merchants, actors, musicians
Han Politics/Government
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 BCE)
Brought peace to much of Asia
Expanded territory
Civil Service Examination
Government:
Emperor: link between heaven and earth - divine power
Emperor Wu
or Wudi
or Wu Ti
sets up a
meritocracy
r.141 - 87 B.C.E.
Chinese bureaucracy
Bureaucracy - civil servants - create the
civil service exam based on
Confucius writings
scholar-gentry class or shi
Han Wudi (Wu Ti)
 Ruled from 141-87 BCE
 Supported Legalism
 Two Goals
 Centralize government
 Expand the empire
 Reforms
 Expanded bureaucracy
 Started an imperial university
 Confucian examination system
 Expanded the Silk Roads
Chinese Emperor
Emperor lived in
seclusion, many wives
and concubines
aligns himself with the
gentry class to weaken
the aristocracy
creates the gentryscholar class
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
Expansion under rule of
Wudi
141 - 87 B.C.E.
Korea
Central Asia
Why?
Silk Road
capital
Vietnam
Expansion:
China doubles in size under rule of
Wu:
expands west to Central Asia
expands east to Korea
expands south to Vietnam
Chang’an - present-day Xi’an
cosmopolitan
courtiers, officials,
soldiers, merchants
protective wall
point where Silk Road
began
Technology =
steel weapons and tools
horse collar and cavalry
crossbow
silk
paper - Why?
Confucian emphasis on learning
Economy
agriculture - main
activity
trade = Silk Road
luxury goods
monopolized by
government
Chang’An
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
Collapse: External
Threat of nomadic invasions at the borders
Cost of defending the north and nw border
How did China deal with the threat of nomadic
groups on their frontier? (book lists 5)
Collapse - internal reasons:
power of aristocracy = unequal distribution of land
peasants = unrest, Yellow Turban Rebellion 184 C.E. led by
Daoists
strongmen in countryside = tax revenues
conscription = reliance on mercenaries
spread of epidemics = population
Inefficient rulers, corrupt officials lose control of the gov’t.
220 C.E. Fall of Han Empire
Compare Rome and Han
Similarities or Differences on the following?








their social norms
their economy
rulers’ way of controlling the aristocracy
rulers’ way of conquering and overcoming challenges of running the empire
technological developments
the role of urban centers
reasons for the collapse of their empires
impact of the collapse of their empires on the region