Early Chinese Civilizations Ancient China

Confucius wanted to promote a good environment… “If the people be led by laws, and uniformity be imposed on them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but will have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity be provided for them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame and will become good.” “Let the ruler be filial and kind to all the people; then they will be faithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incompetent; then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous.”

China’s Geography The Two Rivers where China first began were the Yellow (Huang He) River and the Yangtze River

China’s Geography China is mostly cover by mountains called the Himalayas separate China from India. Creating very different cultures.

China’s first dynasty The Xia Dynasty was the first Chinese Dynasty (4,000 years ago!) however little is known about them.

The Shang Dynasty The Shang Dynasty was the 2 nd Ruled by an aristocracy Aristocracy: an upper class of people whose wealth is based on land and whose power is passed on to the next generation of the family The Shang king would appoint different aristocratic warlords to rule various territories Shang kings were buried with their servants, much like pharaohs in Egypt….sucks to be a servant!

Shang Culture Used ORACLE BONES to communicate with the gods… They would ask the bones “Will the king be victorious in battle?” “Will the king recover from his illness?” Priests would then break the bones and interpret the answer Polytheistic Belief in After-life Ancestor Worship- belief ancestors could bring good or evil fortune on family. Would burn objects to sacrifice to ancestors. Shang Dynasty also had major advances in bronze metal working

The Zhou Dynasty Zhou conquered the Shang dynasty and rose to power Ruled for 800 years, longest lasting in Chinese history ( BC) Claimed power based on the Mandate of Heaven Mandate of Heaven says the ruler gets his power from Heaven however he must rule with goodness and efficiency. If he fails the people have the right to over throw him. The proper “Way” of ruling was known as the “Dao” Why are the conditions of the Mandate of Heaven considered forward thinking? Sets a precedent for the idea that people could overthrow an evil ruler; Shows the ruler was not divine himself, but rather granted power from a divine being

Mandate of Heaven causes Dynastic Cycle Zhou did not realize they were essentially giving the Chinese people an excuse to overthrow them some day

Chinese Improvements during the Zhou Rapid farming improvement thanks to irrigation Increase in metal working using Iron instead of bronze Increase trade thanks to value of Silk

The Silk Road (China=Silk) Name for trade routes from China to Europe Led to CULTURAL DIFFUSION & exchange of goods, increased wealth

Chinese Writing Chinese today still use a writing system very similar to the writing developed during this ancient time period

The importance of Family Idea of Filial Piety Filial Piety- every person in the family knows their place in the family, strict obedience to older members of family …you better do your chores Patriarchal  Men were valued more, held more power in the family Based on what we know about the Neolithic Revolution, hypothesize why men might have had more power in the family? Men controlled food supply  worked in fields, protected land

The Chinese Philosophies Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism

Confucianism THE MOST IMPORTANT and STRON INFLUENCE ON CHINESE CULTURE STILL TODAY Based on teachings of Confucius Teachings recorded in the Analects Sought to answer the question of “How to restore order to Chinese society?”\

Confucianism 2 key elements to follow the Dao: Duty & Humanity Duty: KNOW YOUR PLACE! Five Constant Relationships: parent::child; husband::wife; older sibling:: younger sibling; older friend::younger friend; ruler:: subject The older should be kind, the younger should be obedient (“Work ethic”) Humanity: “Do not unto others what you would not wish done to yourself”  how does this differ from the Christian code: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”?

Confucianism Teaching people should follow a CODE (laws) of Moral Conduct Greatest influence on Chinese political and social organization Individuals should know what is expected of them in society Focused on human behavior Government should be ruled by those with superior talent; not based on birth

Daoism Based on teachings of Laozi “The Old Master” Book: The Way of the Dao It is best to not interfere with nature The way to follow the will of Heaven is through inaction not action (differs from Confucianism who says hard work is necessary)

Daoism “The universe is sacred. You cannot improve it. If you try to change it, you will ruin it. If you try to hold it, you will lose it.” Yin & Yang  Opposites form a whole Male::female Hot::Cold Light Dark High::Low

Legalism Founder: Han Fei Human beings are EVIL by nature People will only follow the correct path of behavior by the creation of harsh laws and stiff punishments Reject Confucius idea that superior talented men could rule; needed strong laws Confucius said people would behave if it became in good taste to behave and that rulers should be compassionate. Legalists DISAGREED; said ruler did not need to be compassionate; should be harsh

The 3 Philosophies

Summary of Religion

Qin Dynasty Rules for a short time (about 15 years) Practices Legalism Officials in government were chosen based on merit instead of birthright (ending aristocracy somewhat) Unified more of China Used one form of currency(money) Build Great Wall of China

Qin Dynasty Great Wall of China was designed to keep invaders out in the north (especially from Mongolia) Why do you think there was not one built in the South? The Wall required thousands of workers, many died and were buried in the wall

Qin Dynasty and the terra cotta army The army that was supposed to go with Qin Shihuangdi to the afterlife

Question How was the Qin Dynasty and other Chinese dynasties similar to the ancient Egyptians? Belief in the afterlife and a return to earthly form Hold On we’re about to die….BRB. Totally dude. Same-sys.

The Han Dynasty (202 BC- 220 AD) Considered one of the greatest dynasties in Chinese history Greatly expanded territory

The Han Dynasty Brought China back to Confucianism after the Qin Introduced a civil service examination; basically a test you had to take in order to become a government official Population tripled (20 million to 60 million) Experienced a long period of peace

The Han Dynasty For a long time great prosperity Inventions of the water wheel, paper, clothes manufacturing But overexpansion and increases in taxes hurt this and more peasants became upset rulers Also weak rulers began to lose their grip on control  in 220 AD the Dynasty was overthrown, and China would not see another Dynasty take power for 400 years

What can the USA learn from Han China? Why do you think overexpansion would lead to the downfall of an empire? Trying to control too much unfamiliar territory is expensive; dealing with rebellions Why do you think high taxes could cause the downfall of a great empire? Eventually the government runs out off money to tax away from people; Unhappy citizens How can we apply this to our politics in the United States? Reduce taxes; scale back foreign conquests…or else will yield same result