Chapter Two
Classical Civilization: China
Chinese Dynasty Song (Tune ---- Frère Jacques)
Shang
Zhou (“Joe”)
Qin (“chin”)
Han
(Repeat)
( ------------------- 400 years of Disunity ------------------)
Sui (“sway”)
Tang
Song
(Repeat)
Yuan ------ Mongol
Ming
Qing (“ching”) --------Manchu
Republic -------- Republic of China
(Repeat)
Mao Zedong ---------People’s Republic of China / Communist China
(Repeat)
Shang Dynasty
First to construct
tombs and palaces,
unlike Huanghe
civilization.
 Invasions caused fall

Zhou Dynasty

Allied with regional princes, no strong
government
– Could not control large agricultural areas
(similar to India, Japan, Europe, and Africa).
– Depended on regional kingdoms to be loyal
 Feudalism

Expanded to Yangtze River Valley
– Middle Kingdom

Mandate of Heaven
– Sons of Heaven


Banned human sacrifice
Began standard Mandarin language
Zhou Decline

Regional rulers not loyal
– Era of the Warring States

Qin Shi Huangdi deposed last Zhou Ruler
and named himself First Emperor
Qin Dynasty

Founded by Qin Shi
Huangdi
– Brutal Ruler
– Dismantled regional
kingdoms
– Expanded empire (Hong
Kong, Vietnam)
– Built the Great Wall
– Built roads, canals,
– Very unpopular for attacks
on intellectuals, heavy
taxes, and punishments.
– His death sparked revolts,
leading to the Han.
http://content.mahalo.com/images/0/0e/Great_wall_china_100107_TNO.jpg
Han Dynasty

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



Retained centralized rule,
but less brutal
– More bureaucracy
Expansion (Korea,
Indochina, central Asia)
Trade with India, Parthians,
Romans
Confucianism rises
Contemporary with the
Roman Empire
Begin to decline due to Hun
invasion
Lasting Influences

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Large bureaucracy
Strong patriarchal society
Ancestor worship
Civil service examinations
Strong government and law systems that even
invaders couldn’t overturn
Harmony with nature
The Five Classics (basis for exams)
Accurate calendar
Not much outside influence
Society
Gaps between upper and lower classes
 Three social groups

– Landowners
– Peasants
– Mean people (without meaningful skills)
Merchants not valued
 Tight family structure
– hierarchical/deferential/patriarchal

Other Social aspects of
Classical China
 Kung
Compare & Contrast
Confucianism & Daoism
Fuzi—Confucius (ca. 551–478
B.C.E.)
– respect for superiors
– leaders must show moderation
– rank based on intelligence, merit
 Legalism
– alternative to Confucianism
– support authoritarian state
– belief in evil nature of humankind
 Daoism – “the way”; harmony; balance;
avoid excess; yin & yang more religious
– Laozi (5th century B.C.E.)
– respect for forces of nature
– ethical code
China in the Shang and Zhou
Eras
China from the Later Zhou to the Han Era

Thumbs Up/Down

Thumbs Up if:
– The Han Dynasty was centralized.
– The Han Dynasty was matriarchal.
– The Han Dynasty created the Civil Service
Examinations.
– Merchants are valued in Chinese society.
Potential Essay Questions
1.
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of classical
Chinese society.
2.
Trace the rise of Confucianism.
3.
Identify the ways that Confucian philosophy
supported the political structure in China.
4.
Summarize why bureaucracy developed in classical
China.
5.
In what ways did the three philosophical
movements of classical China shape its civilization.