Transcript Document

Chapter 20 – History of Ancient China
Section Notes
Video
Early China
The Han Dynasty
The Sui, Tang, and Song
Dynasties
Confucianism and Government
The Yuan and Ming Dyanasties
Impact of Confucius on China
Today
Close-up
The Forbidden City
Maps
Ancient China, 1600 BC-AD 1450
Early Dynasties of China
Han Dyanasty, c. 206 BC-AD 220
Chinese Dynasties, 589-1279
Mongol Empire, 1294
Ancient China
Images
Quick Facts
Chapter 20 Visual Summary
Yuan and Ming Dynasties
Importance of Family
The Grand Canal
Mongol Warrior
Early China
The Big Idea
Early Chinese history was shaped by three dynasties—the
Shang, the Zhou, and the Qin.
Main Ideas
• Chinese civilization began along two rivers.
• The Shang dynasty was the first known dynasty to rule
China.
• The Zhou and Qin dynasties changed Chinese society and
made great advances.
Main Idea 1:
Chinese civilization began along two rivers.
•
Two rivers were particularly important in early China—
the Huang He and Chang Jiang.
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People began to farm along these rivers.
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Grew rice in the middle Chang Jiang valley
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Grew cereals such as millet and wheat along the Huang He
•
Villages appeared along the shores of the rivers, and
eventually, grew into large towns.
•
China’s government was born in these large towns.
Main Idea 2:
The Shang dynasty was the first known
dynasty to rule China.
History of the Shang
dynasty
Achievements of the
Shang dynasty
• Firmly established by
the 1500s BC
• Invented China’s first
writing system
• Ruled a broad area of
northern China
• Artisans made beautiful
bronze containers for
cooking and religious
ceremonies.
• Ruled in China until the
1100s BC
• Soldiers developed war
chariots, powerful bows,
and bronze armor.
• Invented a calendar
based on the cycles of
the moon
Main Idea 3:
The Zhou and Qin dynasties changed
Chinese society and made great advances.
Zhou dynasty
• Started a rebellion and overthrew the Shang rulers in the
1100s BC
• Ended around 771 BC and China entered a time of disorder
known as the Warring States period
Qin dynasty
• In 221 BC, a king from the state of Qin unified all of China
under his control and ended the Warring States period.
• The Qin dynasty saw many great advances in China.
The Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other in Chinese
history.
The Zhou claimed that they had been chosen by heaven to rule
China. This idea that heaven chose China’s ruler and gave him
or her power was called the mandate of heaven.
A new political order formed in China under the Zhou. The
emperor was the head of Chinese society; everything in China
belonged to him, and everyone had to be loyal to him.
History of the Qin Dynasty
• The king of the state of Qin unified China under his control
and renamed himself Shi Huangdi, a name that means
“first emperor.”
• Shi Huangdi expanded the size of China to the north and
to the south.
• Shi Huangdi changed Chinese politics by taking power
away from the nobles.
• Xi’an became the new capital of China.
• The Qin dynasty did not last long. Shi Huangdi was strong
enough to keep China unified, but within a few years of his
death, rebellions began around China and the country fell
into civil war.
Qin Achievements
Shi Huangdi worked hard to make sure that people from the
different areas in China acted and thought the same.
• Created a system of laws that would apply equally to
people in all parts of China
• Set up a new system of money that eliminated local
currencies
• Created a uniform system of writing that got rid of minor
differences between regions
The Qin were great builders, and China built a huge network of
roads and canals.
To protect China from invasion, Shi Huangdi built the Great
Wall, a barrier that linked earlier walls that stood near China’s
border.
The Han Dynasty
The Big Idea
The Han dynasty created a new form of government that
valued family, art, and learning.
Main Ideas
• Han dynasty government was largely based on the ideas
of Confucius.
• Han China supported and strengthened family life.
• The Han made many achievements in art, literature, and
learning.
Main Idea 1:
Han dynasty government was largely based
on the ideas of Confucius.
The Rise of a New
Dynasty
• In 205 BC Liu Bang
became the first emperor
of the Han dynasty, which
lasted for more than 400
years.
• Liu Bang was the first
common person to become
emperor.
• Liu Bang wanted to free
people from harsh
government policies.
• Liu Bang changed the way
that government worked.
Wudi Creates a New
Government
• In 140 BC Emperor Wudi
took the throne.
• He created a stronger
government.
• He made Confucianism
China’s official government
policy.
Confucianism and the Han Government
Confucianism
• A philosophy based on the teachings of a man named
Confucius.
• It emphasizes the importance of ethics and moral
values.
Han Government
 Han government officials were expected to practice
Confucianism.
 Studying Confucianism could get a person a good job in
China.
 Wudi began a university to teach Confucian ideas.
Main Idea 2:
Han China supported and strengthened family
life.
•
The Han period was a time of great social change in
China.
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Based on the Confucian system, people were divided
into four classes.
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The classes only divided people into social rank. They
did not indicate wealth or power.
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People’s lifestyles varied according to wealth.
•
Confucian teachings about the family were honored
during Wudi’s reign.
Social Classes
1. Upper class
–
Made up of the emperor, his court, and scholars who held
government positions
2. Second class
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The largest, was made up of peasants
3. Third class
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Artisans, who produced items for daily life and some luxury
goods
4. Lowest class
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Merchants, because they did not actually produce anything,
but merely bought and sold what others made
Lives of the Rich and the Poor
The Rich
The Poor
• Lived in multilevel homes
• Owned large estates
• Employed laborers to work
the land
• Hired private armies to
defend their estates
• Filled their homes with
expensive decorations
• About 90 percent of the
people living in Han China
were peasants.
• Worked long, tiring days
working the land
• Forced to work on building
projects for the
government in the winter
• Wore plain clothing
• Lived in small villages in
small wood-framed houses
with walls of mud or
stamped earth
The Revival of the Family
Confucian teachings about the family
• Children were taught to respect their elders.
• The father was the head of the family and had absolute
power.
• It was a woman’s duty to obey her husband, and children had
to obey their father.
Confucianism and the government
• Han officials believed that if the family was strong and people
obeyed the father, then they would also obey the emperor.
• The Han rewarded strong family ties and respect for elders.
Main Idea 3:
The Han made many achievements in art,
literature, and learning.
Art and Literature
Inventions and Advances
• Experts at figure painting
• Painted realistic scenes
from everyday life
• Created new styles of
verse, including the fu and
shi styles
• Produced important works
of history
• Invented paper and
produced books
• Built the sundial, a device
that uses the position of
shadows cast by the sun to
tell the time of day
• Designed a seismograph,
a device that measures
the strength of
earthquakes
• Practiced acupuncture,
the practice of inserting
fine needles through the
skin at specific points to
cure disease or relieve pain
– Sima Qian wrote a
complete history of all
the dynasties through the
early Han.
The Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties
The Big Idea
The Tang and Song dynasties were periods of economic,
cultural, and technological accomplishments.
Main Ideas
• After the Han dynasty, China fell into disorder but was
reunified by new dynasties.
• Cities and trade grew during the Tang and Song dynasties.
• The Tang and Song dynasties produced fine arts and
inventions.
Main Idea 1:
After the Han dynasty, China fell into disorder
but was reunified by new dynasties.
•
Historians sometimes call the time of disorder that
followed the collapse of the Han dynasty the Period of
Disunion.
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The Period of Disunion lasted from 220 to 589.
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War was common during the Period of Disunion.
New Chinese Dynasties
The Sui Dynasty
• Yang Jian unified
China and
created the Sui
dynasty.
• Lasted from 589
to 618
• Leaders began
the Grand
Canal, a canal
linking northern
and southern
China.
The Tang Dynasty
The Song Dynasty
 Ruled for nearly
300 years
• Entered a period
of disorder—
called the Five
Dynasties and
Ten Kingdoms
 China grew to
include much of
eastern and
central Asia.
• Seen as a golden
age
• Included the only
woman to rule
China—Empress
Wu
• China was
reunified by the
Song dynasty.
• Ruled for about
300 years
• Witnessed a
period of great
achievements
Main Idea 2:
Cities and trade grew during the Tang and
Song dynasties.
City Life
• China’s capital and largest city of
the Tang dynasty was
Chang’an.
– People from China, Korea,
Persia, Arabia, and Europe
lived in Chang’an.
– Chang’an was known as a
religious and philosophical
center.
• Cities continued to grow under
the Song.
• The Song capital, Kaifeng, had
about a million people.
Trade in China & Beyond
• The Grand Canal carried trade
goods and moved crops into the
cities.
• Under the Tang, trade centered
around land routes.
• Exports included tea, rice,
spices, jade, and most
importantly, silk.
• Imports included foods, plants,
wool, glass, and precious metals.
• Under the Song, sea trade
became important.
• Porcelain became an important
trade good.
Main Idea 3:
The Tang and Song dynasties produced fine
arts and inventions.
Art
• The artists and writers of the Tang dynasty were some of
China’s greatest.
• Artists of both the Tang and Song dynasties made exquisite
objects in clay.
• Song artists made porcelain items covered in a pale green
glaze called celadon.
Inventions
• The Tang and Song dynasties produced some of the most
remarkable—and important—inventions in human history.
•Gunpowder
•Porcelain
•Paper money
Artists and Poets
The Tang dynasty
• Wu Daozi
• Li Bo
• Du Fu
The Song dynasty
 Li Qingzhao
Important Inventions
• Paper—invented in the year 105, during the Han
dynasty
• Porcelain—first made during the Tang dynasty
• Woodblock printing—invented during the Tang
dynasty
• Gunpowder—created in the late Tang or early
Song dynasty (mainly used to make fireworks
and signals)
• Moveable type—invented during the Song
dynasty
• Magnetic compass—perfected by the Tang
• Paper money—invented by the Song
Confucianism and Government
The Big Idea
Confucian thought influenced the Song government.
Main Ideas
• Confucianism, based on Confucius’s teachings about
proper behavior, dramatically influenced the Song system
of government.
• Scholar-officials ran China’s government during the Song
dynasty.
Main Idea 1:
Confucianism, based on Confucius’s teachings
about proper behavior, dramatically
influenced the Song system of government.
•
Confucianism is based on the teachings of Confucius.
•
Confucius’s teachings focused on ethics, or proper
behavior.
•
Other traditions competed with Confucianism.
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During the Song dynasty, a new philosophy called NeoConfucianism developed.
•
Neo-Confucianism became the official government
teachings after the Song dynasty.
Confucian Ideas
People should live their lives according to two basic
principles: ren (concern for others) and li (appropriate
behavior).
Each person has a proper role to play in society.
Order was maintained when people knew their place and
behaved appropriately.
Influence of Confucianism
• Confucius’s ideas were spread by his followers after his
death.
• The Qin dynasty officially suppressed Confucian ideas and
teachings.
• The Han dynasty made Confucianism the official state
philosophy.
• Buddhism overshadowed Confucianism during the Period
of Disorder.
• Buddhism was also very popular during the Sui and early
Tang dynasties.
• In the late Tang dynasty, many Chinese historians and
scholars again became interested in the teachings of
Confucius.
Neo-Confucianism
During the Song dynasty, a new philosophy called NeoConfucianism developed. Neo-Confucianism was similar
to Confucianism in that it taught proper behavior.
Neo-Confucianism emphasized spiritual matters.
The ideas of Neo-Confucianism became official
government teachings after the Song dynasty.
Main Idea 2:
Scholar-officials ran China’s government
during the Song dynasty.
• A scholar-official was an educated member of the
government.
• Scholar-officials were elite members of society.
• To become a scholar-official, a person had to pass a series
of difficult civil service examinations.
• Civil service means service as a government official.
• The civil service exams tested students’ grasp of
Confucianism and related ideas.
• These civil service workers formed a large bureaucracy,
or a body of unelected government officials.
• This civil service system was a major factor in the stability
of the Song government.
Civil Service Exams and Scholar-Officials
•
•
•
•
•
Civil Service Exams
Students had to memorize
entire Confucian texts.
Students might study for
more than 20 years to
pass the tests.
Some tests lasted up to 72
hours.
Some dishonest students
cheated.
To prevent cheating, exam
halls were often locked and
guarded.
Scholar-Officials
• Scholar-officials performed
many important jobs in the
government.
– running government
offices
– maintaining roads,
irrigation systems, and
other public works
– updating and keeping
official records
– collecting taxes
• Their benefits included
considerable respect and
reduced penalties for
breaking the law.
• Many became wealthy
from gifts given by people
seeking their aid.
The Yuan and Ming Dynasties
The Big Idea
The Chinese were ruled by foreigners during the Yuan
dynasty, but they threw off Mongol rule and prospered
during the Ming dynasty.
Main Ideas
• The Mongol Empire included China, and the Mongols ruled
China as the Yuan dynasty.
• The Ming dynasty was a time of stability and prosperity.
• The Ming brought great changes in government and
relations with other countries.
Main Idea 1:
The Mongol Empire included China, and the
Mongols ruled China as the Yuan dynasty.
Rise of the Mongols
Fall of the Mongols
• Tribes from north of China
united under Genghis
Khan.
• Genghis Khan gained
control over a large part of
Asia.
• All of northern China was
under Mongol control in
1227.
• Kublai Khan completed the
conquest of China and
declared himself emperor.
• This began the Yuan
dynasty, or the Mongol
Ascendancy.
• Failed Mongol campaign to
invade Japan weakened
the Mongol military.
• Expensive public-works
projects weakened the
economy.
• Many Chinese groups
began to rebel against the
Mongols in the 1300s.
• A former monk named Zhu
Yuanzhang led a rebel
army that defeated the
Mongols.
Life in Yuan China
•
The Chinese saw the Mongols as rude and uncivilized.
•
Kublai Khan did not force the Chinese to accept Mongol ways of
life; however, they made sure to keep control of the Chinese.
•
The Mongols collected tax money that they used for vast publicworks projects.
•
Mongol soldiers were stationed throughout China to keep the
peace and to keep a close watch on the Chinese.
•
Foreign traders were welcome at Chinese ports.
•
Part of what we know about life in the Yuan dynasty comes from
Marco Polo, an Italian trader who traveled in and around China.
Main Idea 2:
The Ming dynasty was a time of stability and
prosperity.
• Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor and founded the Ming
dynasty.
• The Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644—nearly
300 years.
• The Ming expanded China’s fame overseas.
• They sponsored incredible building projects.
• Ming China proved to be one of the most stable and
prosperous times in Chinese history.
The Ming Dynasty
Great Sea Voyages
• Under Ming leadership, the Chinese improved their ships and
sailing skills.
• The greatest sailor of the period was Zheng He.
• Zheng He’s voyages served as a clear sign of China’s power.
Great Building Projects
 The Ming were known for their grand building projects.
 Ming emperors built the Forbidden City, a huge palace
complex that included hundreds of imperial residences,
temples, and other government buildings.
• Ming rulers restored the Great Wall of China.
Main Idea 3:
The Ming brought great changes in
government and relations with other
countries.
Government
• Adopted many government
programs created by the
Tang and the Song
• Took a larger role in
running the government
• Did not disband the civil
service system
• Censors grew very
powerful and were very
influential.
Relations with Other
Countries
• Worked to eliminate all
foreign influences from
Chinese society
• China entered a period of
isolationism in the 1430s.
(Isolationism is a policy
of avoiding contact with
other countries.)
• Isolationism had great
consequences for China.
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