An Empire Unifies China
Chapter 4 Section 4
p. 97-101
Terms to Know:
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Confucius
Filial Piety
Bureaucracy
Daoism
Legalism
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I Ching
Yin and Yang
Qin dynasty
Shi Huangdi
Autocracy
Philosophy and the Social Order
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Traditional Chinese values were put aside
during the “Warring States” period.
Chinese scholars offered solutions to
China’s problems.
Confucius Urges Harmony
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Born 551 B.C.
Lived during the warring states period
Taught history, music, and moral character
Confucius
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Good government could be restored
by five basic relationships:
 1. Ruler and Subject
 2. Father and Son
 3. Husband and Wife
 4. Older and Younger Siblings
 5. Friend and Friend
Confucius
Filial Piety
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Respect for parents and elders
“In serving his parents, a filial son
renders utmost respect at home;
he supports them with joy; he
gives them tender care in
sickness; he grieves at their
death; he sacrifices to them with
solemnity”
- Confucius
Confucian Ideas About
Government
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Believed education could transform a
humbly born person into a gentleman
Created a bureaucracy, a trained civil
service. (people who are paid to work for
the government)
Confucius’s Four Virtues of a
Gentleman
Courtesy
Precision
Generosity
Fairness
Daoists Seek Harmony
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Founded by Laozi (Lao-tzu)
Wrote Dao De Ching (The Way of Virtue)
Only the natural order is important
A universal force known as the Way
guides all things
Look to nature to explain everything that
happens in the world
Legalists Urge Harsh Rule
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Believed that a highly efficient and
powerful government was the key to
maintaining order
Founded by Hanfeizi and Li Si.
Rulers should reward those who do their
duties well.
Rulers should harshly punish any
disobedience
“Anyone caught outside his own
village without a travel permit
should have his nose or ears
chopped off”
-Li Si
I Ching
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A book of oracles
People threw a set of coins and then
interpreted the result of the coin toss by
reading the appropriate chapter.
Yin and Yang
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Represent the natural rhythms of life
 Yang = Heaven, Male, Active
 Yin = Earth, Female, Passive
Yin is represented by the the tiger and
the color orange
 Yang is represented by the dragon and
the color blue
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The Qin Dynasty
A New Emperor Takes Control
Replaced the Zhou dynasty
 A 13 year old Qin ruler replaced
the Zhou dynasty
 After 20 years, he took the name
Shi Huangdi, which means
“First Emperor”
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Qin Shi Huangdi
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Stopped internal fighting in China
Defeated invaders
Doubled China’s size
Unified China under one empire
Shi Huangdi
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Wanted to “strengthen the trunk and
weaken the branches”
All noble families had to live in the capital
city
Divided China into 36 administrative
districts, he controlled them all
Shi Huangdi
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Had Confucian scholars buried alive
Burned “useless” books
Established an autocracy – a government
in which the ruler has unlimited power
A Program of Centralization
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Built 4000 miles of highways
Forced peasants to work against their will
Set uniform standards for Chinese writing,
law, currency, and weights and measures
Built irrigation projects
Increased farm production
Shi Huangdi
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Made social advances, but high taxes and
a repressive government resulted
He unified China at the expense of human
freedom
Great Wall of China
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Shi Huangdi closed the gaps in previous
attempts at building a Great Wall of China
Laborers were forced to work on the wall
or die
The Fall of Qin
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Shi Huangdi’s son was less able to rule
Peasants revolted against his rule and
took over
One of their leaders was from the land of
Han. His troops marched into the capital
and established the Han dynasty in 202
B.C.
4
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An Empire
Unifies China
Section
4
Assessment
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts.
Explain how the chaos of the warring states affected
Chinese philosophy, politics, and the growth of cities.
Philosophy
Confucius, the
Legalists, and Laozi
offered solutions to
the chaos.
Politics
Shi Huangdi took
harsh steps to
impose unity and
stability.
Chaos of the
warring states
Cities
People moved to
them for protection.
continued . . .