1. The Qin Dynasty pp

2. Objectives
6.35 List the policies and achievements of the emperor Shi Huang and explain how these contributed to the unification of northern China under the Qin Dynasty and the construction of the Great Wall of China. (H, P)
6.36 Detail the political contributions of the Han Dynasty and determine how they contributed to the development of the imperial bureaucratic state and the expansion of the empire. (H, P)
6.37 Cite the significance of the trans-Eurasian “silk roads” in the period of the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire and their locations. (E, G, H)
6.38 Describe the diffusion of Buddhism northward to China during the Han Dynasty

3. Shi Huangdi

4. The Qin Emperor
Qin (chihn) was one of the strong rulers during the Period of the Warring States
Qin sent a cavalry – army of men on horseback – out to battle
Defeated the surrounding territories and ended the Zhou dynasty
Controlled China from the Huang He to the Chang Jiang
Declared himself Qin Shi huangdi
(Chihn Shee hwahng dee)
means “the First Qin Emperor”

5. How Did Qin Change China?
Qin brought changes to Chinese government that would last for many centuries:
1)Qin wanted to strengthen and unify China
2) He took control of the territories (before, under the Zhou rule, aristocrats positions of governing the territories was hereditary)
Now only Qin had the power to appoint the governors
Ruled with absolute control and punishment
Anyone who disagreed was punished and killed
Writings that displeased Qin were burned

6. Appointed Censors AKA governors This increased government power
These overseers made sure government workers did their work

7. Qin created currency or money that everyone had to use = standardized.
Created a uniform system
This made trading easier throughout China

8. Writing system was simplified
Scholars were hired to make the writing system easier
and set rules for writing system – how and when it was to be used

9. Qin Shi Huangdi’s Reign of Terror
Many people admired Confucius and his teachings.
If you were caught studying his ideas, you would risk being buried alive – along with your family!
This means he believed in which philosophy of life?
Legalism – all should follow strict rules that have severe penalties if broken
Why? Just because you didn’t share the emperor’s political view.
How is that different from a democracy? (the government of the U.S.?

10. 6) Building projects Ordered farmers to build Palaces Roads Dams
The Great Wall
A huge, grand canal that connected the Chang Jiang River in central China to many territories in southern China
This canal was used to transport supplies to soldiers throughout the territories
Qin’s tomb

11. Shi Huangdi Qin’s Tomb
In March of 1974, Chinese peasants digging a well near Xi'an in the central province of Shaanxi found some unusual pottery fragments. Then, deeper down at eleven feet, they unearthed a head made of terra cotta (baked earth or clay). They notified the authorities and excavation of the site began immediately. To date, workers have dug up about eight thousand sculpted clay soldiers, and the site has proved to be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time.

12. Why was the Great Wall Built?
To keep out invaders
Nomads and herders moved their animals along the Gobi desert
Xiongnu – skilled warriors who fought on horseback and often attacked Chinese settlements

13. The Great Wall of China Facts
The Great Wall of China was built over about 2000 years by several different Chinese emperors, starting in BC 475, to protect the people from their enemies, the Huns.
The Wall is a unique structure that is considered one of the seven wonders of the world. It snakes through the mountains of China for 4,500 miles. That's longer than the distance across from New York to California by about 1,000 miles!
The Great Wall is 25 feet tall and feet wide. That's wide enough for two cars to drive on!

14. Grand Canal
Shi Huangdi Qin built a canal that connected Chang Jiang to the Guangzhou in Southern China

15. Terra Cotta Soldiers

16. The End of Qin Rule
Shi Huangdi boasted that his dynasty would rule China forever
Both aristocrats and farmers revolted against harsh Qin rule