1. ANCIENT AND CLASSICAL CHINA

2. ANCIENT LEGENDS: THE THREE WISE SAGE KINGS
King Yao: a virtuous ruler bringing harmony to society
King Shun: regulating the four seasons, weights, measures, and units of time
King Yu: rescued China from raging floods of the Yellow River
Legends reflected the values of society; many may prove true!

3. APPEARANCE OF HUMANS IN EAST ASIA
Beginnings were over two hundred thousand years ago
Domesticated rice around 7000 B.C.E. in the valley of the Yangzi River
Millet cultivation in the valley of the Yellow River
Wheat and barley became staple foods of north China by 2000 B.C.E.

4. EMERGENCE OF CHINESE SOCIETY 2ND MILLENNIUM BCE
Agricultural villages appeared in the valleys of the two rivers
Society was patriarchal
Fathers dominated families
Elder males ruled village
Males performed religious sacrifices
Cities, states appeared in north China during 2nd millennium B.C.E.
Three dynastic states in the valley of Yellow River: Xia, Shang, Zhou

5. EARLY AGRARIAN SOCIETY
The Yellow River
Water source at high plateau of Tibet
Loess soil carried by the river's water, hence "yellow"
The river was "China's Sorrow" as it flooded uncontrollably
Loess: rich soil, soft, easy to work
Neolithic societies after 5000 B.C.E.
Yangshao society, B.C.E.
Excavations at Banpo village: fine pottery, bone tools

6. ANCIENT CHINA

7. XIA DYNASTY
Archeological discovery of the Xia is still in its preliminary stage
Established about 2200 B.C.E.
Legendary King Yu, the dynasty founder, a hero of flood control
Erlitou: possibly the capital city of the Xia
Chinese scholars believe it existed

8. THE SHANG DYNASTY: 1766-1122 B.C.E.
Arose in the southern, eastern areas
Many records, material remains discovered
Bronze metallurgy, monopolized by elite
Agricultural surpluses supported large troops
Vast network of walled towns
Shang-kings were warriors
Constant struggle with nobles for power
The Shang capital moved six times
Lavish tombs of Shang kings
Contained chariots, weapons, bronze goods
Sacrificial human victims, dogs, horses

9. MANDATE OF HEAVEN The right to rule granted by heaven
Zhou justified their overthrow of Shang
Ruler called "the son of heaven"
Only given to virtuous, strong rulers
To lose mandate = someone else should rule
Replacement of dynasties = Dynastic Cycle
Signs one had lost mandate
Corruption, heavy taxes
Lazy officials and rulers
Revolts, invasions, civil wars, crime
Natural disasters
Society develops bad morals, habits

10. THE ZHOU DYNASTY: 1122-256 B.C.E. The rise of the Zhou
The last Shang king was a bad ruler
The Zhou forces toppled the Shang
Political organization
Adopted decentralized administration
Used princes and relatives to rule regions
Consequences
Weak central government with ceremonial functions
Rise of regional powers; often called feudalism
Constant rivalry between warring families, nobles

11. FAMILY Xia to Zhou ruled through family, kinship
Veneration of ancestors
Belief in ancestors' presence, continuing influence
Burial of material goods with the dead
Offering sacrifices at the graves
Eldest males presided over rites honoring ancestors
Only males could perform religious duties
Patriarchal society
During Neolithic times, Chinese society = matrilineal
Rise of states, war due to men's contribution s
After Shang, not even queens merited temples

12. THE SOCIAL ORDER The ruling elites
Royal family and allied noble families at the top
Their lavish consumption of bronze products, silk
Hereditary aristocrats with extensive landholding
Most of the land owned by the king, nobles
Peasants, the majority of population
Called the “mean” people
Landless peasants provided labor
Lived in small subterranean houses
Wood, bone, stone tools before iron spread in the 6th century B.C.E.
Women’s World
Wine making, weaving, silkworm raising
Managing household, raising children
Elite women vs. poor women

13. OTHERS Specialized labor Merchants, trade were important Slaves
Free artisans, craftsmen in great demand
Also served the needs of the ruling elites
Merchants, trade were important
Jade from Central Asia, tin from SE Asia
A few pieces of pottery from India
Merchants ranked socially lower
Slaves
Mostly war prisoners
Performed hard work
Became sacrificial victims
Suspicious towards Foreigners

14. CHINESE POPULAR RELIGION
Customary beliefs and practice
As old as civilization in China
Never encouraged/discouraged by state
Believes gods, spirits (shen) influence family, world
Power over world affairs
Deceased members of community, family
Deified figures of history, literature
Spiritual embodiment of nature, geography
Maintenance of family shrines, community temples
Prayers, supplications
Food offerings
Shamanism and divination are practiced

15. THE FALL OF THE ZHOU Iron metallurgy . Nomadic invasion sacked capital
Iron weapons helped regional authorities to resist the central power
Qin mastered iron technology, weapons
Nomadic invasion sacked capital
Other Troubles
Territorial princes became more independent
Warring States ( B.C.E.)
Rise of Qin state
Last king abdicated his position in 256 B.C.E.

16. THOUGHT, LITERATURE Zhou literature Destruction of early literature
The Book of Change, a manual of diviners
The Book of History, the history of the Zhou
The Book of Rites
The rules of etiquette and rituals for aristocrats
The Book of Songs
The most notable of the classic works
Verses on themes both light and serious
Reflected social conditions of the early Zhou
Destruction of early literature
Most Zhou writings have perished
1st emperor destroyed most writings

17. CONFUCIUS’ SEARCH FOR ORDER
Confucius ( B.C.E.)
A strong-willed man, from an aristocratic family
Traveled ten years searching for an official post
Educator with numerous disciples
Sayings compiled in the Analects by disciples
Confucian ideas
Fundamentally moral and ethical in character
Restore political and social order; stress ritual
Formation of junzi - "superior individuals"
Edited Zhou classics for his disciples to study
The key Confucian concepts
Ren - a sense of humanity
Li - a sense of propriety
Xiao - filial piety
5 Relationships and filial piety as basis of society

18. LEGALISM Legalism Shang Yang (ca. 390-338 B.C.E.)
The doctrine of statecraft
Promoted a practical and ruthlessly efficient approach
No concern with ethics and morality
No concern with the principles governing nature
Doctrine used by Qin dynasty
Shang Yang (ca B.C.E.)
A chief minister of the Qin state
His policies summarized in The Book of Lord Shang
Was executed by his political enemies
Han Feizi (ca B.C.E.)
Student of Xunzi, became the most articulate Legalist
A synthesizer of Legalist ideas
Forced to suicide by his political enemies

19. LEGALISM IN PRACTICE The state's strength
Agriculture
Military force
Discouraged commerce, education, and the arts
Harnessing self-interest of people for needs of state
Called “carrot and stick” approach in west
Called for harsh penalties even for minor infractions
Advocated collective responsibility before law
Not popular among the Chinese,
Chinese used legalism if state threatened
Legalism still doctrine common to China

20. MOHISM Founder Mo Zi Beliefs Lived 470 – 391 BC
A commoner, worked with mean people
Served in military, ideas based on it
Beliefs
Partiality, competition causes problems
Advocates doctrine of universal love
Advocates cooperation
Stress discipline, order, authority
Loyalty to all elders, not family
Emphasized practical; hate waste, war
Favor math, science over arts, ritual

21. DAOISM Prominent critics of Confucianism Laozi and Zhuangzi
Understand natural principles, live in harmony with them
Laozi and Zhuangzi
Laozi, founder of Daoism; wrote the Daodejing
Philosophical Daoism
Dao - The way of nature, the way of the cosmos
Opposites in balance, complementary
Passive, yielding, does nothing , accomplishes everything
Tailor behavior to passive, yielding nature
Ambition, activism brought the world to chaos

22. DAOIST WUWEI The doctrine of wuwei Political implications
Disengagement from worldly affairs
Called for simple, unpretentious life, living in harmony with nature
Advocated small state, self-sufficient community
Political implications
Served as a counterbalance to Confucian activism
Individuals could live as Confucians by day, Daoists by night
Generally Daoism flourishes when society at peace, prosperous

23. UNIFICATION OF CHINA The Qin State and Dynasty Qin Shi Huang di
Located in west China and adopted Legalist policies
Encouraged agriculture, resulted in strong economy
Organized a powerful army equipped with iron weapons
Conquered other states and unified China in 221 B.C.E.
Qin Shi Huang di
King of the Qin proclaimed himself First Emperor, 221 B.C.E.
Established centralized imperial rule
Held sons of nobles as hostages; demolished nobles castles
Project of connecting and extending the Great Wall
700,000 people worked on project; 100,000 killed

24. QIN STATECRAFT Suppressing the resistance Policies of centralization
Bitterly opposed, was opposed by Confucian scholars
Buried 460 scholars alive because of their criticism against the Qin
Burned all books except some with utilitarian value
Policies of centralization
Standardization of laws, currencies, weights, measures
Standardized scripts: tried to create uniform language
Creates a uniform writing system but not language
Tomb of the First Emperor
The tomb was an underground palace
Excavation of the tomb since 1974
Terracotta soldiers and army to protect tomb
The collapse of the Qin dynasty
Massive public works generated ill will among people
Waves of rebels overwhelmed the Qin court in 207 B.C.E.
A short-lived dynasty, left deep marks in Chinese history

25. THE EARLY HAN DYNASTY Han was long-lived dynasty Early Han policies
Sought middle way between Zhou and Qin
Royal relatives were not reliable, returned to centralized rule
Martial Emperor ( B.C.E.)
Han Wudi ruled for 54 years
Pursued centralization and expansion

26. HAN STATECRAFT Han centralization Han imperial expansion
Adopted Legalist policies
Built an enormous bureaucracy to rule the empire
Continued to build roads and canals
Levied taxes on agriculture, trade, and craft industries
Imperial monopolies on production of iron and salt
Established Confucian educational system for training bureaucrats
Confucianism as the basis of the curriculum in imperial university
Thirty thousand students enrolled in the university in Later Han
Han imperial expansion
Invaded and colonized northern Vietnam and Korea
Extended China into central Asia

27. HAN SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Large, multigenerational compound families also developed
Women's subordination (Ban Zhao Admonitions for Women)
Differences apparent between noble, lower class women
Scholar bureaucrats: Confucian trained bureaucrats
Officials selected through competitive testing
Used to run the government in Early Han
Scholar Gentry
Confucian bureaucrats intermarried with landed elite
New class comes to dominate local, national offices
Strongest in late Han
Merchants held in low social esteem

28. TRADE AND COMMERCE
Iron metallurgy: Farming tools, utensils, and weapons
State monopolies on liquor, salt and iron
Silk textiles
High quality Chinese silk became a prized commodity
Traded as far a field as India, Persia, Mesopotamia, and Rome
Paper production
Invented probably before 100 C.E.
Began to replace silk and bamboo as writing materials
Population growth
Increased from twenty to sixty million from 220 B.C.E. to 9 C.E.
Despite light taxation, state revenue was large
Silk Road established: horses for silk

29. HAN TROUBLES Expeditions consumed the empire's surplus
Raised taxes and confiscated land of some wealthy individuals
Much of defense consumed on defending against nomads
Social tensions, stratification between the poor and rich
Problems of land distribution
Early Han supported land redistribution
Lands accumulated in the hands of a few

30. LOSS OF THE MANDATE Collapse of the Han
Factions at court paralyzed the central government
Han empire dissolved
China was divided into regional kingdoms