Classical
China
Review:
1. What was the first Chinese
dynasty to leave written
records
2. On what river did the first
Chinese civilizations develop
3. What were the religious beliefs
of the Ancient Chinese?
4. How did dynasties end and
new ones begin?
5. What type of decentralized
political system developed
during the Zhou dynasty?
Shang
Huang He (Yellow)
Ancestor Worship,
Shang Di
Mandate of Heaven
Feudalism
1532 BCE Shang
Dynasty
Dynasties of China
1027 BCE Zhou Dynasty
Era of the Warring States
- Feudal System
256 BCE Qin Dynasty
202 BCE Han Dynasty
Classical Period
220 CE – End of Han Dynasty
During the last 500 years of Zhou rule,
regional rulers were constantly at war
with each other. This period is called
the Era of Warring States.
One of these warring regional rulers,
Qin, began to unite the regions by
eliminating adversaries and defeating
outside invaders. He was only thirteen!
This began the Qin dynasty for which
China is named. Qin became known as
Qin Shi Huangdi which means “First
Emperor.”
Qin Shi Huangdi’s government:
 Implemented a philosophy of legalism
which was very harsh.
 Shi Huangdi was autocratic.
 Forced nobles to live within the royal
compound to prevent a takeover.
 Seized their land and appointed
administrators to govern creating an
efficient bureaucracy.
 Rejected Confucianism and burned
books that conflicted with his
philosophy. Ordered the murder of
Confucian scholars.
To end invasions from the north, Qin Shi
Huangdi ordered one of the most ambitious
building projects in history: The Great Wall of
China.
The Great Wall of China
 The wall was built using
forced labor. Many
peasants died of
exhaustion and were
buried inside the wall.
 Construction of the
wall continued until the
17th century.
 It is 3,700 miles long.
Other Qin Dynasty Achievements
•Built highways which
expanded trade
•Standardized currency,
weights and measures.
•Built irrigation systems
To pay for his building projects, Qin Shi Huangdi
raised taxes.
When Qin Shi Huangdi died,
few people were sad. He had
many enemies. His
son ruled for three years
and then was overthrown
by Han rulers.
Qin Shi Huangdi was
buried in a compound
along with nearly 8,000
life-sized terra cotta
soldiers and horses.
The
Han
Dynasty
202 BCE to 220 CE
The Han Dynasty lasted over 400 years, from 202
BCE to 220 CE. Its legacy:
PoliticallyCentralized power
Ended legalism, softened
punishments
lowered taxes
Brought peace and
stability back to China
which means that the
Han rulers had…..
THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN
Liu Bang, first Han emperor who was a peasant
Political legacy under Wudi
Conquered and
colonized Manchuria,
Korea, expanded South
into present-day Vietnam
Strengthened and
structured bureaucracy
 Adopted Confucianism
replacing legalism
Assimilated newly
conquered peoples
Implemented a civil
service
Emperor Wudi’s Tomb
What is a civil service?
A civil service is a system
of hiring government workers.
During the Han Dynasty,
government officials were hired
based on their knowledge of
Confucian principles. Students
were required to study and
pass a rigorous exam.
What was the effect of the civil
service exam?
 Government jobs based on
merit rather than wealth or
loyalty to the emperor, the
establishment of the first
university based on
Confucian principles.
Han Achievements:
 Invention of paper
 Agricultural tools, ex.
Wheelbarrow, collar
harness
 Watermills
Han China’s
economy was
primarily agricultural
~the population
exploded to 60
million people!
Trade and industry were important too, but were secondary
Han government had monopolies on salt mining, forging of iron,
minting of coins.
In the Classical
period, China it
would become a
manufacturer to the
world, trading along
the Silk Road and
Indian Ocean routes.
Economy
Silk, Porcelain and
Paper were traded
along the silk roads.
Porcelain
Silk
Socially
 Women devoted themselves to
their families.
 Confucian principles established
that the role for women was to
obey husbands and the
husband’s families.
 Women were to be pure,
obedient and faithful.
 Some upper class women were
educated and lived
independently.
Three primary social
classes comprised
Classical china
Landowning aristocracy
including educated
bureaucrats--they paid no
taxes on their land.
Peasants, laborers
and artisans who
manufactured
goods.
The “Mean” people – those
without meaningful skills
including performing artists.
*Slaves were not widespread
and did not produce goods.
*Merchants were looked down upon
because they didn’t work hard and were
thought to be greedy.
Buddhism
 Although Buddhism had arrived in
China along the silk roads through
traders and monks, it was not widely
spread during this time.
 Buddhism’s principles were not well
accepted because they conflicted
with Confucian ideals of filial piety.
 The Han period was a time of
prosperity while Buddhism’s monastic
lifestyle and rejection of materialism
stifled its spread until the end of the
Han dynasty.
The Decline of the Han Dynasty
The widening gap between rich and poor
caused political instability in the later Han
period.
• The Yellow Turban Rebellion was a revolt by
desperate peasants to redistribute land from the
wealthy to the peasant class.
• As small landowners died, their land was divided
equally among their sons. The lots became too small
to produce. Also, large landowners paid no taxes on
their lands.
The Decline of the Han Dynasty Continued
Social unrest led to the
assassination of the last Han
Ruler and the dynasty
disintegrated into 3 rival
kingdoms.
Photo credits
http://homepages.stmartin.edu/fac_staff/rlangill/HIS%20217%20maps/Han%20dynasty%20map.JPG
http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01461/XIANGY2
.jpg
http://www.chinatour.cn/images/China_Pictures/Xian_Pictures/Maol
ing_Tomb.jpg
http://arts.culturalchina.com/chinaWH/upload/upfiles/200905/20/chinese_peasant_painting06220ea2872c0d
b461aa.jpg
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/clothing
/pictures/tangyinming.jpg
http://history.culturalchina.com/chinaWH/upload/upfiles/200909/01/corruption_rebellion_and_the_fall_of_the_ha
n_dynasty12501754f5cc951ae7f0.jpg
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/200706/26/content_903674.htm
http://www.chinaculture.org/08olympics/images/
attachement/bmp/site1/20080709/001aa018fefe0
9de910d2f.bmp