1. CLASSICAL CHINA

2. 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

3. THE FALL OF THE ZHOU Iron metallurgy Nomadic invasion sacked capital
Iron technology spread; 1st millennium B.C.E.
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.

4. 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
Filial Piety
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

5. 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

6. 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

7. HOUSEHOLD & PUBLIC RITUALS
Household Rituals
Always performed by males
Expression of Confucian filial piety
Domestic altar
Names of deceased, icons
Worship of the stove god
Oversees family’s moral conduct
Reports on family to heaven
Public Rituals
Preserve social harmony, local identity
Local earth god protects area from spirits
City god important; has temple at center of city
Physical, public processions, offerings
Supreme Deity and Influence of Daoism
Shangdi (Ruler on High)
Cannot be addressed directly
Shang kings called up other spirits to address Shangdi
Later called Tian or Heaven
Rulers called Son of Heaven
Empire is his favorite government
Mandate of Heaven is an off-shoot of this idea

8. NOMADS, PASTORALISTS Steppelands Nomadic society
Pastoralists domesticated animals
Lived on grassy lands
Seasonal migrations to pasture lands
Became nomads, ancestors of Turks, Mongols
Nomadic society
Little farming, but relied on herding animals
Exchange of products between nomads, farmers
Nomads often invaded rich agricultural society
Nomads did not imitate Chinese ways
Nomadism relied on grains and manufactured goods of the Chinese

9. EXPANSION OF CHINESE SOCIETY
The Yangzi valley
The longest river of China
Two crops of rice per year
Dependable and beneficial to farmers
Indigenous peoples of S. China
Many assimilated into Chinese society
Some pushed into hills, mountains
Migrated to Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand
State of Chu (Conquered by Qin)
Emerged in the central Yangzi region
Challenged the Zhou for supremacy
Adopted Chinese ways

10. UNIFICATION OF CHINA The Qin State and Dynasty Qin Shi Huang di
Partially sinified pastoralists, perhaps even Turkish
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

11. 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

12. THE EARLY HAN DYNASTY Liu Bang Han was long-lived dynasty
A general, persistent man, a methodical planner
Restored order, established dynasty, 206 B.C.E.
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

13. 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
Han organized vast armies to invade Xiongnu territory
Han enjoyed uncontested hegemony in east and central Asia

14. HAN SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Patriarchal, patrilocal households averaged five inhabitants
Large, multigenerational compound families also developed
Women's subordination (Ban Zhao Admonitions for Women)
Cultivators were the majority of the population
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

15. HAN TROUBLES Expeditions consumed the empire's surplus
Raised taxes and confiscated land of some wealthy individuals
Taxes, land confiscations discouraged investment
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
Economic difficulties forced some small landowners to sell property
Some sold themselves or their families into slavery
Lands accumulated in the hands of a few
No land reform, because Han needed cooperation of large landowners
The reign of Wang Mang
A powerful Han minister
Dethroned the baby emperor, claimed imperial title himself, 9 C.E.
Land reforms - the "socialist emperor"
Overthrown by revolts, 23 C.E.

16. TRADE AND COMMERCE
Iron metallurgy: Farming tools, utensils, and weapons
State monopolies on liquor, salt and iron
Silk textiles
Sericulture spread all over China during the Han
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

17. LOSS OF THE MANDATE The Later Han Dynasty (25-220 C.E.)
Overthrown of Wang Mang restores Han
New Han much weakened
Rule often through large families, gentry
Rise of Eunuchs in government as new source of power
The Yellow Turban Uprising (Daoist Revolt)
Rulers restored order but did not address problem of landholding
Yellow Turban uprising inflicted serious damage on the Han
Collapse of the Han
Factions at court paralyzed the central government
Han empire dissolved
China was divided into regional kingdoms