River Dynasties in China

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River Dynasties in China

• Chapter 2 Section 4
• p. 46 51

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Terms to Know

• Loess
• Oracle Bones
• Mandate of Heaven
• Dynastic Cycle
• Feudalism

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The Geography of China

• Natural barriers isolate China
• Taklimikan Desert
• Plateau of Tibet
• Himalaya Mountains
• Gobi Desert
• Mongolian Plateau
• Pacific Ocean

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Chinas Heartland

• Much of China is isolated by mountains and
  deserts
• Most of the population live in the eastern half
  of the country, near rivers
• 90 of the arable land lies between the Huang He
  and Yangtze Rivers

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Environmental Challenges

• Huang He Yellow River carried huge deposits
  of wind-blown silt called loess
• The river floods and is nicknamed Chinas
  Sorrow
• An 1887 flood killed nearly a million people.
• Isolation has forced China to develop and supply
  goods on its own rather than getting them through
  trade.

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Civilization Emerges in Shang Times

• Fossil remains show evidence of humans in China
  1.7 million years ago.
• Peking Man a Homo erectus skeleton found
  near Beijing shows settlement over 500,000 years
  ago

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The First Dynasties

• First dynasty was the Xia, founded by an engineer
  and mathematician named Yu
• Legend states that Yu planned flood control and
  irrigation projects that made farm surpluses
  possible
• The Xia dynasty left no written records

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Shang Dynasty

• Chinas first historical dynasty
• Written records from oracle bones
• 1532 to 1027 B.C.

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Early Cities

• Shang capital was Anyang
• Anyang was a walled city built mostly of wood
• Chariots were used by the Shang in warfare

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Social Classes

• Shang society divided between nobles and peasants
• Noble families controlled the land
• Peasants worked the land using digging sticks
• Bronze was used to make weapons, but not farm
  tools. It was thought too valuable

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The Origins of Chinese Culture

• Chinese culture tends to stress the importance of
  the group over that of the individual
• Peoples lives are governed by their duties to
  their families and to their king or emperor

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Family and Society

• Elder male family members made the important
  decisions concerning property
• Women were treated as inferior
• Women were married between 13 and 16 and could
  raise their status only through bearing male
  children

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Religious Beliefs

• Ancestor worship
• Belief that the spirits of family ancestors could
  influence daily life
• Family members paid respect to the fathers
  ancestors by making sacrifices in their honor

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Oracle Bones

• Animal bones and tortoise shells were used to
  consult the gods
• Questions were written on bones which were heated
  till they cracked
• The cracks were then interpreted as messages from
  the gods

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Development of Writing

• Earliest evidence of Chinese writing comes from
  oracle bones
• Characters stand for ideas not sounds
• One can read Chinese without being able to speak
  it
• Speakers who speak different dialects of Chinese
  can read the same written language

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Pictographic Language

• An English speaker and French speaker can both
  understand
• 224
• But the English speaker may not know what Deux et
  deux font quatre means

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Chinese Written
Language

• People from all parts of China can read it even
  if they speak very different dialects
• You need to know more than 10,000 characters to
  be barely literate
• Literacy tended to keep social classes separate

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Shang Technology and Artistry

• Bronze working was their main focus
• Mostly used as religious articles
• Shang dynasty developed silk making technology

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Shang Bronze
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Zhou Bring New Ideas

• Overthrew the Shang around 1027 B.C.
• Justified their takeover with the Mandate of
  Heaven
• Belief that the gods had ordained them to rule
• Disasters, floods, wars and other calamities were
  seen as evidence of the loss of the mandate

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Anyang Fu Hao tomb, c. 1200 BC
Anyang Fu Hao tomb, c. 1200 BC
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Anyang Fu Hao bronze yue (ax)
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Sanxindui Bronzes

• Statues instead of people were sacrificed.

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Dynastic Cycle

• The pattern of rise, decline and replacement of
  dynasties

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Control Through Feudalism

• A system in which nobles, or lords are granted
  the use of lands belonging to the king in
  exchange for a pledge of military service and
  loyalty

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Improvements in Technology and Trade

• Zhou rulers built roads and canals
• They stimulated trade and agriculture
• Coined money was invented
• Civil servants worked for the government
• They developed iron-making technology
• Improved tools and weapons

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A Period of Warring States

• The later years of Zhou rule
  (771 256 B.C.) are known as the period of
  warring states
• Law and order declined as warlords took power in
  various regions of the country
• A new dynasty would come to restore order

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An Empire Unifies China

• Chapter 4 Section 4
• p. 97-101

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Terms to Know

• Confucius
• Filial Piety
• Bureaucracy
• Daoism
• Legalism

• I Ching
• Yin and Yang
• Qin dynasty
• Shi Huangdi
• Autocracy

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Philosophy and the Social Order

• Traditional Chinese values were put aside during
  the Warring States period.
• Chinese scholars offered solutions to Chinas
  problems.

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Confucius Urges Harmony

• Born 551 B.C.
• Lived during the warring states period
• Taught history, music, and moral character

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Confucius

• Good government could be restored by five basic
  relationships
• 1. Ruler and Subject
• 2. Father and Son
• 3. Husband and Wife
• 4. Older and Younger Siblings
• 5. Friend and Friend

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Confucius
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Analects Quotations of Confucius

• Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first
  principles.
• Have no friends not equal to yourself.
• When you have faults, do not fear to abandon
  them.

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• When we see persons of worth, we should think of
  equaling them when we see persons of a contrary
  character, we should turn inwards and examine
  ourselves.

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• Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig
  two graves.

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• Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.

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Filial Piety

• Respect for parents and elders

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In serving his parents, a filial son renders
utmost respect at home he supports them with
joy he gives them tender care in sickness he
grieves at their death he sacrifices to them
with solemnity - Confucius
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Confucian Ideas About Government

• Believed education could transform a humbly born
  person into a gentleman
• Created a bureaucracy, a trained civil service.
  (people who are paid to work for the government)

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Confuciuss Four Virtues of a Gentleman

• Courtesy
• Precision
• Generosity
• Fairness

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Daoists Seek Harmony

• Founded by Laozi (Lao-tzu)
• Wrote Dao De Ching (The Way of Virtue)
• Only the natural order is important
• A universal force known as the Way guides all
  things
• Look to nature to explain everything that happens
  in the world

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Laozi
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Legalists Urge Harsh Rule

• Believed that a highly efficient and powerful
  government was the key to maintaining order
• Founded by Hanfeizi and Li Si.
• Rulers should reward those who do their duties
  well.
• Rulers should harshly punish any disobedience

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Anyone caught outside his own village without a
travel permit should have his nose or ears
chopped off -Li Si
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I Ching

• A book of oracles
• People threw a set of coins and then interpreted
  the result of the coin toss by reading the
  appropriate chapter.

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Yin and Yang

• Represent the natural rhythms of life
• Yang Heaven, Male, Active
• Yin Earth, Female, Passive
• Yin is represented by the the tiger and the color
  orange
• Yang is represented by the dragon and the color
  blue

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The Qin DynastyA New Emperor Takes Control

• Replaced the Zhou dynasty
• A 13 year old Qin ruler replaced the Zhou dynasty
• After 20 years, he took the name Shi Huangdi,
  which means First Emperor

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Qin Shi Huangdi

• Stopped internal fighting in China
• Defeated invaders
• Doubled Chinas size
• Unified China under one empire

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Shi Huangdi

• Wanted to strengthen the trunk and weaken the
  branches
• All noble families had to live in the capital
  city
• Divided China into 36 administrative districts,
  he controlled them all

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Shi Huangdi

• Had Confucian scholars buried alive
• Burned useless books
• Established an autocracy a government in which
  the ruler has unlimited power

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A Program of Centralization

• Built 4000 miles of highways
• Forced peasants to work against their will
• Set uniform standards for Chinese writing, law,
  currency, and weights and measures
• Built irrigation projects
• Increased farm production

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Shi Huangdi

• Made social advances, but high taxes and a
  repressive government resulted
• He unified China at the expense of human freedom

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Qin Shi Huangdi
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Great Wall of China

• Shi Huangdi closed the gaps in previous attempts
  at building a Great Wall of China
• Laborers were forced to work on the wall or die

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The Fall of Qin

• Shi Huangdis son was less able to rule
• Peasants revolted against his rule and took over
• One of their leaders was from the land of Han.
  His troops marched into the capital and
  established the Han dynasty in 202 B.C.

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Han Emperors in China

• Chapter 7 Section 3
• P. 181-187

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The Founding of the Han Dynasty

• Began after the death of Qin Shi Huangdi
• Civil war between forces of Xiang Yu and Liu
  Bang
• After a victory in 202 B.C. Liu Bang declared
  himself first emperor of the Han dynasty

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Liu Bang
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Han Dynasty

• Ruled for 400 years
• Divided into 2 parts
• Former Han two centuries till 9 A.D.
• Later Han another two centuries
• (a brief period between when Han were out of
  power)

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Liu Bang forms aCentralized Government

• Destroys rivals power wins popular support
• Established a top-down rule
• Autocratic authority
• Lowered taxes
• Tempered harsh punishments

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Centralized Government

• When a central authority controls the running of
  a state.

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Empress Lu

• Keeps Control of the Throne
• Names one infant after another as emperor and
  acted as regent for each.

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Wudi

• Expanded Chinese Empire Appointed qualified
  people to government jobs
• Conquered lands.
• Made allies of enemies.
• Tests for civil service workers.

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Civil Service

• Government jobs that civilians obtained by taking
  examinations.
• The Chinese civil service established a top-down
  chain of command with the emperor at the top.

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Wang Mang

• Restored order and brought the country under
  control.
• Minted new money
• Established public granaries
• Redistribution of land to the poor

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Wang Mang
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Invention of Paper

• Availability of books increased
• Education spreads
• Expands government as records could be stored and
  read

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Collared Harness

• Horses can now carry heavier loads.

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Twin-blade plow

• More efficient, it increased the amount of seed
  one person could plant.

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Silk production techniques kept secret

• Creates a world-wide demand for silk.
• Expands Chinese commerce to Rome.

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Territorial Expansion

• Government wants to unify the empire. It
  promotes
• Intermarriage between Chinese and other
  nationalities.
• Schools for conquered people.
• Appoints locals to government posts.

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Gap Between Rich and Poor Increases

• Political instability increases
• Economic weaknesses and imbalance topples the
  empire

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Centralized Government

• Han emperors established autocratic authority.

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Civil Service

• Civilians pass tests to work in government jobs.

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Monopoly

• The Chinese government established a monopoly
  control of the silk market.
• A monopoly exists when there is only one supplier
  of a good or service. The supplier is free to
  set the price for the good or service.

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Assimilation

• Han rulers tried to assimilate conquered peoples.
• Assimilation is the process by which conquered
  people are made more Chinese.