Unit 2: Chinese Dynasties

£Shang: 1766 - 1122 BC

£Zhou: 1029 - 258 BC

£Era of Warring States: 402 BC - 201 BC

£Qin: 221 - 202 BC

£Han: 202 BC – 220 AD

£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 

£The Zhou rose to power at the Battle of Muye

£Prior to the battle, the Shang experienced several corrupt leaders, and the Shang people began turning to the Zhou for protection 

£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)

£Superior Army

£Iron technology

£Compass, Kite, Maps, Pesticides

£Mandate of Heaven

£Chinese Philosophies- Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism

£The strong government of the Qin state led to them becoming more powerful than the Zhou, and by 256BCE the Qin had taken over. 

£402 BC - 201 BC

¤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 

£Confucianism

£Daoism/Taoism

£Legalism 

£Founder: Confucius (K’ung Fu Tzu)

¤Main Writing: The Analects

¥Promoted by followers – Mencius 

£Main Ideas

¤Restore social order, harmony and good government to China

¤Emphasized family

¥Filial piety - respect for parents and elders is necessary for order

¤Five Relationships

¤Everyone has a role to play 

£Five Basic Relationships in Society

¤Ruler/Subject

¤Father/Son

¤Husband/Wife

¤Older Brother/Younger Brother

¤Friend/Friend

£Founder: 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

£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

£Practical, political reaction to Confucianism

¤Founder: 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 dynasty 

£Emerges out of end of Zhou Dynasty/Period of Warring States

£Qin had a stable, legalist government that people wanted in the chaos

£Goals:

¤Unify and expand China

¤Restore order

£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

£Iron Technology

£Created a uniform written Chinese Language

£Created a uniform Chinese Currency

£Extensive network of roads and canals

£Great Wall of China

£Emperor

¤ Extremely paranoid; killed off suspected enemies (nobles, intellectuals, warlords)

¤Desire to control EVERYTHING

£High taxes, forced labor

£Emperor dies in 210 BC; followed by 8 years of peasant revolts to determine successor - winner establishes Han Dynasty 

£Liu Bang - leads peasant revolts after death of Emperor Qin

£202 BC - Liu Bang has eliminated almost all of his competition through military might and diplomacy

£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

¤ merchants, actors, musicians

£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 BC)

¤Brought peace to much of Asia

¤Expanded territory

Civil Service Examination 

£Expansion into Korea, Vietnam and Central Asia

£Expanded contact/trade with India and Persian empires

£Later with Roman Empire

£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  

£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 

£New version of a crossbow

£First forms of paper

£Acupuncture

£Seismograph

£Wheelbarrow, glazed pottery, stirrups for a horse saddle

£Introduction of the Civil Service Exam to earn a government position

£Taxation

£Many wealthy landowners skipped taxes and this led to lower class (poor) people paying more

£People revolted and the empire broke into 3 sections – The Three Kingdoms

£The Three Kingdoms would exist for the next 60 years.