Name:
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Date: ____________
Period: _________
Reading Quiz: Chapter 4.4- An Empire Unifies
China
1. List the Five Relationships of Confucianism and
explain their significance.
1)Parent to child
2)Husband to wife
3)Ruler to subject
4)Older sibling to younger sibling
5)Friend to Friend
In the first 4 relationships, somebody has more
power…other person defers to them…only
equal relationship was friend to friend…idea
was that these relationships would promote
social harmony.
2. Who was Shi Huangdi? (Time period, location,
key achievements)
 Seized power at the age of 13 in early 200’s
BCE…established the Qin Dynasty…based on
Legalism…instituted standardized language and
weights and measures…also connected the Great
Wall…possible died by an immortality potion
made from mercury
3. What are the basic tenets of Daoism?
 Founded by Laozi…following the rhythms of
nature…”let nature take its course”…wuwei
“action through nonaction”…philosophy led to
medicine (acupuncture), exercise (tai chi),
architecture, etc.
Chapter 4.4: An Empire Unifies China
I. Philosophy and the Social Order
 At the end of the Zhou dynasty, there was a lot
of chaos, to restore the values of social order,
harmony, and respect for authority, new
philosophies arose.
A.
Confucius Urges Harmony
 Confucius (Kong Fuzi) 551 BCE…during Zhou
Dynasty…led a scholarly life
 Five Relationships: 1. Ruler and subject 2.
Father and son 3. Husband and wife 4. Older
brother and younger brother 5. Friend and
friend
o Code of proper conduct with each of these
relationships…#1-4, one person has more
power than the other person…only friend to
friend was equal
 Filial Piety= respect for parents and
elders…central to Confucianism
 Duke of Lu appointed Confucius as a Minister of
Justice…allegedly Confucius was able to rid the
region of crime virtually overnight
 The Analects- stories attributed to Confucius,
written down by some of his students
o Important disciple of Confucius= Mencius
o Taught leaders should be virtuous
B. Confucian Ideas About Government
 Confucius said education could transform a
humbly born person into a gentleman
 Bureaucracy= trained civil service to run the
government…meritocracy…eventually based on
the Civil Service Examination (based on
Confucianism)
 Confucianism as an ethical system…foundation
for Chinese government and social order…ideas
of Confucianism also spread (Sinification)
C. Daoists Seek Harmony
 Founder- Laozi (6th century BCE) only natural
order was important
 Book: Dao De Ching (The Way of Virtue)
 Universal force (the Dao/ “the Way”) guides all
things
 Nothing in nature strives for fame, power or
wisdom…”Let nature take its course”
 Laozi said of all the creatures in nature, only
humans fail to follow the Dao
 Daoism: philosophy of Laozi…search for
knowledge and understanding of nature…many
followers pursued scientific studies (alchemy,
astronomy, medicine)
D.
Legalists Urge Harsh Rule
 Practical political thinkers- Legalists
 Highly efficient and powerful government was
the key to restoring order
 Belief that government should use the law to
end civil disorder and restore harmony
 Founders: Hanfeizi and Li Si
 Taught that ruler should provide rich rewards
for people who carried out their duties
well…disobedient should be harshly
punished…stressed punishment more than
rewards
 Said rulers should burn all writings that might
encourage people to think critically about
government
 It was for the prince to govern, and the people
to obey
 Legalist thinkers found a supporter in Qin Shi
Huangdi (Qin Dynasty)
E. I Ching and Yin and Yang
 Book of oracles (I Ching/ Yi Jing) to answer
ethical or practical problems
 I Ching= Book of Changes…common sense
answers
 Yin and Yang…two power that together
represent the natural rhythms of life…Yang=
male, sun, light…Yin= female, moon, dark
 Pain in body as imbalance between yin and
yang…acupuncture
II. The Qin Dynasty
 Qin Dynasty was short-lived, emerged in the 3rd
century BCE…ruler was 13, employed Legalist
ideas
A.
A New Emperor Takes Control
 221BCE= Qin Ruler assumed the name Shi
Huangdi (“First Emperor”)
o Halted internal battles
o Attacked the invaders north of the Yellow
River and south to Vietnam…doubled
China’s size
 Qin emperor also crushed political opposition at
home…take down rival warlords:
“strengthening the trunk and weakening the
branches.” Commanded all the noble families
to live at the capital city…uprooted 120,000
noble families…confiscated their lands, and
carved China into 36 administrative
districts…officials sent to control them
 Qin Shi Huangdi and his prime minister, Li Su,
murdered hundreds of Confucian scholars
o Ordered “useless” books
burned…(Confucianist works)
 Autocracy= a government in which the ruler has
unlimited power and uses it in an arbitrary
manner
B.A Program of Centralization
 Built a highway network of over 4,000 miles
 Peasants had to work on roads against their will
(corvee)
 Uniform standards for Chinese writing, law,
currency, and weights and measures…(even
length of cart axles)
 Irrigation projects increased farm
production…trade blossomed
 Merchant class rose to prominence
 Qin regime still unpopular due to harsh taxes
and the repressive government
C. Great Wall of China
 Shi Huangdi wanted to close the gaps between
smaller walls and unify the wall to 1,400 miles
 Great Wall of China was built by hundreds of
thousands of peasants
o Forced labor for free (corvee)
o One of the few human-made features on
Earth visible from space
D.
The Fall of the Qin
 Shi Huangdi’s son and successor wasn’t as
strong…peasants rebelled…peasant from the
land of Han seized the capital city…by 202BCE
the Han Dynasty began