1. Chinese History

2. Natural barriers protected China but also kept them isolated from other cultures
West—desert
Southwest—plateaus of Tibet and Himalayan Mts.
East—Pacific Ocean
North—Mongolian steppes with nomadic warriors frequently attacked

3. Shang Dynasty 1700-1027 BCE Huang He River
Strong walls important because different villages fought each other for land and power
Walled Cities
Rulers related to one family
Peasants and soldiers guarded their borders
Weakened by attacks from the north allowed the Zhou to eventually take over

4. RELIGION: Belief that the bones could carry messages to ancestors who were as important as the gods who controlled every part of life
Belief in an afterlife in which ancestors are reunited
Cemeteries segregated by class
King presided over rituals as well as administration and warfare [necessary for human sacrifices]—theocracy??
Oracle bones for questions about health, harvest, politics
TECHNOLOGY:
First known use of writing which allowed people in other regions to understand each other
Bronze vases and ceremonial burials
Agriculture
Metallurgy
Chariots
Oracle Bones

5. Zhou 1029-258 BCE Longest Dynasty
Attacked the Shang from inside China
Harsh treatment of peasants and soldiers
Peasants and soldiers guarded their borders

6. Mandate of Heaven
The Zhou justified taking over from the Shang by saying that they had lost divine approval to rule
Good kings earned the Mandate of Heaven

7. Zhou Dynasty 1029-258 BCE Philosophy Daoism Confucianism
Leaders/Traits
Walled cities
Trade routes between cities
Feudalism
Agriculture
Philosophy
Daoism
Laozi
500’s BCE
Confucianism
Mencius
Chaotic government
522 BCE
Longest dynasty in China
Walled cities
Patrolled borders
Iron tools and weapons
WRITING: Characters for calligraphy grew to thousands of characters
Multiplication tables developed
Near end of dynasty farmers had to fight in armies therefore crop failures and food shortages
Human sacrifices no longer practiced b/c Confucius spoke out vs. it

8. What is Changing? What is Staying the Same?

9. Qin Dynasty BCE
Begins after the Warring States period

10. Shi Huangdi Unifies China as one empire Ruthless—Totalitarian
First Emperor
Unifies China as one empire
Ruthless—Totalitarian
Legalism adopted
Territorial Expansion 214 BCE
Book burning-213 BCE
WHY???
Standardized weights and measures
Single money system
Uniform writing system
Postal system
213 BCE—all writings other than official state documents, texts on agriculture and medicine, and some writings on divination
Execution of scholars to standardize thought—buried alive by the hundreds
Tight state control
Legalism—punishment based
Rigid supervision of education
Secret Service
Travel only by permit
State knows best
ORDER
Why does one currency, language, and standards of weights and measures help to unify???

11. In contrast to Taoism's intuitive anarchy, and Confucianism's benevolence, Legalism is a Classical Chinese philosophy that emphasizes the need for order above all other human concerns. The political doctrine developed during the brutal years of the Fourth Century BCE . The Legalists believed that government could only become a science if rulers were not deceived by pious, impossible ideals such as "tradition" and "humanity." In the view of the Legalists, attempts to improve the human situation by noble example, education, and ethical precepts were useless. Instead, the people needed a strong government and a carefully devised code of law, along with a policing force that would stringently and impartially enforce these rules and punish harshly even the most minor infractions.
The founder of the Legalistic school was Han Fei Zi. The most important principle in his thinking was that humans are inherently evil and inclined toward criminal and selfish behavior. Thus, if humans are allowed to engage in their natural likings, the result will be conflict and social disorder.
The dominant imagery in Legalism's writings is of forcefully straightening or unbending twisted tree limbs so that they grow perfectly straight, or using hot irons to burn the tree limbs so that they will grow in the desired direction.

12. Qin Continued Massive building projects Agricultural
Massive roads and canals made travel easier
Great Wall
Bankrupted China
Farmers forced to work as part-time soldiers and builders
Pottery Army-210 BCE
Forced labor
Agricultural
Changed laws so that powerful lords didn’t get land
End of Primogeniture
Peasant farmers could own land
Still attacked by Mongols from north
Trade/merchants
Merchants seen as parasitic and rivals for power to the state therefore primogeniture ends to reduce the threat from landed power
Ends feudalism --Break with feudal past towards a system based on achievement not birth
Took away power from the nobles and forced them to move to capital
Took away their bronze weapons
Peasants revolted after his death

13. Wide enough for 4 horse chariots, built with forced labor, ditches filled with dead workers, decimated the male population leaving only the women to work the fields therefore crop failures
So many died in the building that it was seen as a symbol of cruelty and oppression.

14. One of the greatest building projects was the construction of a tomb for Shi Huangdi. According to a Chinese historian, crossbows were set up that would shoot arrows at anyone who disturbed the tomb. The entrance has not been found.

17. What is Changing? What is Staying the Same?

18. Qin Legacy Ruling family fell but Bureaucracy continued
Empire continued
Tradition of centralized imperial rule continued

19. Han Dynasty 202 BC-184 CE
From Qin until Republic-China ruled by emperors

20. Liu Bang 202-195 BCE Xiognu Confederation threatens from north
Commoner
Founder of Han Dynasty
Centralized government
Education system
Encouraged non-governmental people to practice Confucianism and Daoism WHY???
Ends prohibition against books
Combines Legalism and Confucianism
Retains draft and forced labor for public works
Commoner who Claimed Mandate of Heaven
Led revolt vs. Qin
Government jobs given to educated—schools to prepare for exams run by Confucian teachers
Recovery of some of the writings destroyed by the Qin
Creation of trade routes including the Silk Road

21. Qin Dynasty
Han Dynasty

22. Emperor Wudi [Wu-ti] 140-87 BCE
Sixteen when he came to the throne
Reigned for more than 50 years
Two policies—centralization and expansion
Beginnings of Chinese Civil Service-tests
State monopolies on essential goods- salt, iron, and liquor
Foreign Wars=territorial expansion
Imperial bureaucracy expanded and standardized
Relies on Legalist principles
Confucian=official philosophy
Schools only taught Confucian thought
Land Distribution—fiefdoms
Created government positions to promote and search for lost classics [Book of song, Book of History, Book of Changes, Book of Rites, Spring an Autumn Annals]
Mandarins were high ranking civil servants
Helped to institute Confucian thought which, because of his efforts, became the intellectually dominant creed.
Created and established schools that taught only Confucian thought.
Known as the Martial Emperor b/c organized troops

23. 138 BCE Wu Ti sent diplomatic expedition to Central Asia to try to find allies against the Hsiung-nu (Huns).
RESULT: Chinese leaders became aware of other nations and cultures to the west -- India, Persia, and somewhat of the Roman Orient. Eventually, this would lead to the Silk Road.

25. Expansion of the Empire
BCE: Hsiung-nu driven north of Gobi desert.
Great Wall is extended to the Jade Gate.
Colonists are sent to Kansu.
Silk Road opens between China and the Parthian Empire.
108 BCE: Korea conquered
87 BCE: First general history of China written
Demand for silk will deplete Rome’s gold
Most important military campaigns were against the Hsiung-nu.
Warlike nomads inhabiting the steppes of Mongolia from Manchuria west into Chinese Turkistan.
Powerful, highly mobile, and successful in mastering the defense of Asiatic bows and horsemanship.
Posed a powerful threat to the empire of Wu-ti and challenged his combat forces, but they seemed to be no match for the strategic power of Wu-ti.
Wu-ti’s cavalry consisted of anywhere from fifty to one hundred thousand soldiers with a large infantry and supply columns. Previous emperors had not been able to raise armies of such size.

26. Papermaking Wheelbarrow Foot stirrups Acupuncture Movable type
100 BCE
Wheelbarrow
Foot stirrups
Acupuncture
Movable type
Horse collar
Two bladed plow

27. Later Han Dynasty: 25-220 CE c. 25: Buddhism introduced to China.
74-94: States of Turkistan submit to Chinese authority.
89: Hsiung-Nu submit to Chinese authority.
166: Traders from the Roman Empire arrive in Tonkin

28. Tonkin

29. Diplomatic Ties Begin
Zhang Qian successively sent envoys to other kingdoms including Parthia and India where they were welcomed.
When a Han envoy reached Parthia, its king sent 20,000 cavalrymen to welcome him on the eastern frontier.
At the same time, the kingdoms sent their own envoys to Han. From then on, the diplomatic missions were dispatched regularly along with commercial trading.
The traffic on the Silk Road began to flourish as never before.

30. The Silk Road
Once the trade route was opened up, it benefited people and governments from all sides.
The Chinese imported horses, cattle, and furs and hides from Central Asia, while the Central Asians obtained silk from China.
Cucumbers, walnuts, sesame, alfalfa and pomegranates were introduced to China during the Han period as well as grapes that served as a new material for the Chinese to make wine.

31. HOW AND WHY DID CHINA BECOME A MOMENTOUS POWER IN THE CLASSICAL ERA?
Main Idea
HOW AND WHY DID CHINA BECOME A MOMENTOUS POWER IN THE CLASSICAL ERA?

32. Decline of Han Internal External Epidemic diseases
Decline in population
Decline in economy
Loss of trade
Class divisions led to Peasant revolts
Yellow Turbans [Late Han]
Weak leaders
Faction fighting at court
Poor harvests
famine
Confiscation of land and increased taxes to pay for defense and colonies
Discouraged investment in trade and manufacturing
External
Surplus wealth depleted
Long borders
Cost of defense staggering
Agricultural colonies in central Asia
Borders overrun
Technology gap with neighbors closing
Looked down on nomads/Germanic tribes as inferior and barbaric
Some sold themselves and family into slavery to pay debt
Large landowners used cheap labor and bought up property creating vast estates in the hands of a few
Centralized government collapsed yet new people had been influenced by the imperial culture and tried to maintain it