China Timeline 1700 BCE to 200 CE
Xia Dynasty 2200 to 1600 BCE
Cities along
the Yangtze
River banded
together to
stop flooding.
Yu the Great 2200 to 2100 BCE
 The great canal builder.
 When on a 13 year
quest to build canals
and control flooding.
 Legend states,Yu was so
immersed in helping
others that he passed
his house three times
on his 13 year quest
and refused to enter
Shang Dynasty 1600 to 1000 BCE
 Territorial
expansion and the
development of
writing and art.
 This marks the
beginning of
Chinese culture
Zhou Dynasty 1000 to 250 BCE
 Development of
modern Chinese
writing.
 The teachings of
Confucius.
 The development
of the Mandate of
Heaven
Theocracy
 This is the concept
that there is no
separation between
religion and
politics.
 The king or queen
and god, are one in
the same.
Mandate of Heaven
 The ruler’s job is to
figure out the will of
god and implement
it.
 If the ruler has
figured it out, their
efforts will be
successful and they
will have the Mandate
of Heaven.
Qin Dynasty 250 to 210 BCE
Qin Shi Huang
was an
important but
brutal leader.
Considered
China’s First
Emperor.
Great Achievement
 A collection of walls
built over a long time.
 The most important
stretch was built
between 220 to 206
BCE.
 The wall brought
security from
northern nomadic
invaders.
Peace at a Price
 Qin Shi Huang saw
ideas as threatening.
 He censored any
scholar who
promoted anything
that was not practical.
 To intimidate
scholars, he buried
hundreds alive.
Han Dynasty 200 BCE to 300 CE
 500 years of
peace and
prosperity called
Pax Sinica.
 The empire grew
much larger.
The Concept of Civil Service
 Nepotism is the concept
that you hire and
promote friends and
relatives.
 Civil service is the
concept that you choose
government officials
objectively.
 These talented
bureaucrats were called
Mandarins.
The Silk Road
 During the Han
Dynasty, China
begins economic
activity India,
Western Asia,
Northern Africa,
and even Europe.
Feudalism
After the end of the Han
Dynasty, China fell into an
extended period of short
dynasties and feudalism.