Chapter 15: Section 4 China: Powerful Empires

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Chapter 15 Section 4China Powerful Empires
Chapter 15 Section 4China Powerful Empires
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Lesson Questions

• How did the First Emperor unite China?
• What were some achievements of Chinese
  civilization?
• What contacts did China have with other cultures?

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The First Empire

• - China became an empire under ruthless leaders
• 221 B.C. the Qin (CHIN) dynasty conquered the
  old Zhou (CHOW) dynasty and neighboring provinces
• The first Chinese Empire was established under
  ruler Qin or Shi Huangdi (sher hwangdee) meaning
  first emperor
• He ruled harshly with Legalist Principles

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Uniting China

• Shi Huangdi imposed a single law code, uniform
  standards for weights and measures, and currency
  regulations.
• He used forced labor to build roads in order to
  give troops access across his domain
• He banned all books except for Legalist works
• He burned Confucian books and persecuted
  Confucian scholars
• Books on medicine, agriculture, and technology
  were spared

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The Great Wall

• the Great Wall was built with forced labor
• hundreds of thousands of peasants labored under
  harsh conditions
• Every stone cost a human life
• the Great Wall extended 1,500 miles but seldom
  kept out invaders
• the wall represented the civilized people of
  the south against the barbarians of the north

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The Great Wall and Qin Dynasty
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Expansion Under the Han

• the Qin dynasty fell after Shi Huangdi died
• Liu Bang (lyoh bong), a peasant leader,
  established the Han dynasty
• The Han dynasty ruled from 206 B.C. to 220 A.D.
• The Han dynasty traded jade, bronzes and silk to
  India and the Mediterranean world
• Chinese travelers returned home with grape and
  alfalfa seeds
• China learned about Buddhism through trade
• Tea spread to other parts of china

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The Silk Road
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Civil service system

• the Han restored Confucian learning and developed
  the idea of government run by the most talented
  and learned men
• they set up an examination system that chose
  civil servants, or government officials
• the students studied Confucian teachings and
  Chinese law, history, and traditions
• 100 A.D. a civil service university teaches
  3000 students
• under the civil service system, officials gained
  jobs through merit not birth
• this system kept the empire together as dynasties
  changed and lasted till the early 1900s

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Achievements of the Han

• Han astronomers improved the calendar and other
  scientists invented the seismograph (a machine
  that records the direction of earthquakes)
• Advances were made in medicine such as taking a
  persons pulse and providing acupuncture
• Acupuncture uses needles to relieve pain and cure
  illness
• Doctors also developed anesthetics and wrote
  about typhoid fever
• In farming they developed better flood control,
  fertilization, and drought-resistant rice
• Farm equipment was invented such as the
  wheelbarrow, mill wheel, water clock, and sun
  dial
• The Han dynasty developed the foot stirrup, an
  invention not used in Europe for another 1,000
  years

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The Han Dynasty
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Golden Ages in China

• Invaders eventually destroyed the Han dynasty and
  for the next 1,000 years various dynasties
  reunited China
• The Tang dynasty (618-907) and the Song dynasty
  (960-1279) enjoyed long periods of peace
• In these peaceful times the economy and arts
  flourished

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Expanding Horizons

• Trade increased and goods such as cotton, pepper,
  and dates were sold
• The Song developed a strong navy and invented the
  sternpost rudder, gunpowder and magnetic compass
• The Chinese conquered Vietnam and also influenced
  Korea and Japan with their trade

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The Song Dynasty
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Literature and Painting

• The Chinese invented block printing and movable
  type which led to more literacy
• The most famous poet of the time period was Li Bo
  and he wrote about Daoist teachings
• Landscape paintings became very popular and also
  paintings about poetry

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Mongol Conquest

• Genghiz Khan invaded the Song dynasty and took
  over all of China
• His empire stretched from the Pacific ocean to
  the Danube river in Europe
• In 1279, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghiz
  Khan absorbed Confucian culture and renamed the
  empire Yuan (a Chinese name)
• At first he wanted to ban the Confucian scholars,
  but he saw the important contributions they made
  to government
• Marco Polo visited the Yuan empire under Kublais
  reign and described his travels to Europeans
• Polo facilitated trade between the west and the
  Mongolian empire
• Excellent roads, increased knowledge, and more
  trade was the legacy of the Khan dynasty

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The Yuan or Mongolian Empire
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Chinese Revival

• The Ming dynasty replaced the Yuan empire
• Zhu Yuanzhang (changed name to Ming Hung Wu) led
  Chinese forces in a revolt and captured Beijing
• In 1368, he claimed the Mandate of Heaven,
  revived Confucianism in government, and
  established the Forbidden City (a royal palace)
• Eventually the Ming dynasty resorted to
  isolationism, whereas Europeans began to explore
  North and South America
• The Ming dynasty ended with the invasion of the
  Manchus from Northeastern China
• They established the Qing (CHING) dynasty which
  lasted from 1644-1911
• The Manchus accepted Confucian values, but they
  set up laws forbidding intermarriage with anyone
  who is not Manchurian

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The Ming Dynasty
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The Qing Dynasty