Ancient China

1
Ancient China

• Chapter 4 Section 4

2
The Qin Dynasty

• Zhou dynasty began to decline around 400 BC,
  power shifted to local nobles
• Several small states battled for land, power by
  300s
• State of Qin rose to power
• Located on Chinas western frontier
• Conquered other states in military campaigns
• Last rival state fell, 221 BC
• Qin unified Chinese empire

3

• Harsh Qin Rule
• First ruler of new empire took title Shi Huangdi,
  first emperor
• Unified China with help of two advisors, Hanfeizi
  and Li Si
• Founded school of Legalism
• Taught that powerful, efficient government key to
  maintaining order

• Rejection of Confucianism
• Legalists rejected philosophy developed during
  Zhou dynasty
• Confucianists thought rulers should be virtuous,
  lead by example
• Legalists said rulers should be strong, govern
  through force
• Supported strict laws, stressed harsh punishment
  for even minor crimes

4
Confucianism
The father of Confucianism

• Confucius
• Was born around 551 B.C.
• In what is now the Shantung
• Province

5
Confucianism

• With his death began his glorification
• His teachings have touched almost every Chinese
  student for the past two thousand years.
• Confucius believed that tradition was the key to
  peace, in this very unstable time.
• He believed that tradition would show them the
  way back to a happy China.

6
Confucianism

• Confucius believed that with out human
  relationships, there would be no self.
• There are Five Constant relationships
• in life
• Parent and Child
• Husband and Wife
• Elder Sibling and Junior Sibling
• Elder Friend and Junior Friend
• Ruler and Subject

7
Confucianism

• People have to warrant the respect and power that
  comes with their positions in life. Power and
  respect are not a given, they must be earned.
• He believed that if everyone followed the five
  ideals, even just one person the effect would be
  wide spread. Through that persons family,
  community, nation, and the world.

8
Confucianism

• Confucius shifted Chinas focus from heaven to
  earth. Though he did not remove heaven from the
  picture.
• He saw that his country could not serve its
  people, so how was it going to serve its
  ancestors.
• He believed that somewhere in the universe there
  is a power that is on the side of right.

9
Confucianism

• China configured the Confucianism religion, so
  that it would serve everyone.
• China still holds a great importance for the Five
  Constant Relationships.
• With each passing year people listen more and
  more to there elders.

10
Taoism
The father of Taoism

• Lao Tzu
• Was born around 640 B.C.
• No one is really sure about
• any dates or places.

11
Taoism

• Lao Tzu was not pleased with his people, so he
  left and went on a journey.
• Lao Tzu was asked to leave
• a record of his beliefs with
• his civilization.
• It took him three days to
• complete 5000 characters
• titled the Tao Te Ching.

12
Taoism

• The Tao Te Ching is in effect the Taoist bible.
• It centers around the concept of Tao. Or the
  path

13
Taoism

• There are three meanings of Tao
• Tao- The way to ultimate reality. This Tao is
  way to vast for a person to comprehend or fathom.
• Tao- The way of the universe. The norm, the
  rhythm, and the driving power in all of nature.
  Deals more with the spiritual side then the
  Physical side of things.

14
Taoism

• There are three meanings of Tao
• Tao- The way of human life. It refers to the way
  that we mesh with the Tao of the universe.

15
Taoism

• Philosophical Taoism
• Is a reflective look at life
• Relatively unorganized
• Teaches what you should understand
• You work on improving yourself
• Seeks power through knowledge
• Sought to conserve te and not to expend is on
  friction and conflict.
• Associated Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and Tao Te Ching

16
Taoism

• The Taoist believe in opposites, and that things
  in nature have a way of working themselves out.

The Taoist believe that people should be
spontaneous and life their lives by someone
elses thoughts.
Lao Tzu connects the human to what transcends it.
17

• Strong, Centralized Government
• Shi Huangdi weakened rival nobles by taking land
• Forced nobles to move to capital so he could
  watch them
• Seized all private arms to prevent rebellions
• Divided China into 36 districts, appointed
  loyalists to govern them

• Maintaining Order
• Shi Huangdi ruthlessly suppressed all criticism
  of his rule
• Ordered burning of books which conflicted with
  Legalist thinking
• Only books on practical subjects like
  agriculture, medicine spared
• Confucian scholars who discussed banned books,
  criticized Qin government tortured, killed

18
The Qin Dynasty

• Qin Reforms
• Harsh Qin rule unified, strengthened China
• Standardized laws, writings, monetary systems,
  weights and measures
• Also standardized width of cart axles, so all
  carts could travel Chinas roads

• Massive Building Projects
• Improved irrigation system and increased farm
  production
• Expanded network of roads and canals to link
  capital to other parts of empire
• Improved transportation, increased trade, levied
  heavy taxes

• Qin Growth and Defense
• Worked to protect empire from outside threats
• Qin army pushed nomadic warriors farther north,
  subdued areas to south
• Joined separate defensive walls, came to be known
  as Great Wall of China

19
Fall of the Qin

• Dynastys policies fueled anger, resentment
• Qin dynasty crumbled after Shi Huangdi died, 210
  BC
• Peasants fed up with forced labor, high taxes,
  rebelled
• Nobles eager to regain land, power, raised armies
  against new emperor
• Peasant rebel leader Liu Bang defeated Qin
  forces, founded Han dynasty