Chinese Dynasty Overview
Shang to Qing
World Cultures
China Unit
Chinese Dynasty Song
Shang

Zhou (“Joe”)

Qin (“chin”)

Han
(Repeat)

( ------------------- 400 years of Disunity ------------------)
Sui (“sway” without “w”)

Tang

Song
(Repeat)

Yuan ------ Mongol

Ming

Qing (“ching”)

Republic -------- Republic of China
(Repeat)

Mao Zedong ---------People’s Republic of China / Communist
China
(Repeat)

Shang Dynasty (1700 – 1027 BCE)



First recorded dynasty
Ruled by aristocracy
Developed system of writing

Oracle Bones – Priest would scratch questions
onto the bones and stick a hot metal rod into the
bone and when it cracked it would provide the
answer
Zhou (1027 – 250 BCE)


Longest lasting Chinese Dynasty
Beginning of the Mandate of Heaven cycle



King ruled in accordance with the Dao (the Way)
Feudal system
Eventually created city-states

Decline of Zhou Dynasty due to fighting between
feuding city-states
Qin Dynasty (221 – 207 BCE)




Founded by Qin Shihuangdi
Developed a highly centralized government
Standardized across the empire currency,
language, measurements, laws, ect.
Under the Qin Dynasty the construction of the
Great Wall of China began
Shi Huangdi’s Terra Cotta Army
Shi Huangdi’s Terra Cotta Soldiers
& Cavalrymen
Cavalry
Individual Soldiers
The Details of an Individual Soldier
The Great Wall with Towers
Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 221 CE)





Over 400 years of rule
Confucianism replaced Legalism
Civil Service Examinations – recruitment of
scholars to work in the government
Silk Road Developed to open up trade
Focus on Science and Technology
221 – 581 CE



Han Dynasty collapses
Warlords fight over China for 300 years
No centralized government
Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 CE)


High point of Chinese culture
Rebuilt system of government



Civil Service Exams back in place
Confucius Education
Limited Social Mobility
Ruled by Empress
Wu Zetian

Foot-Binding in Tang China

Broken toes by 3 years of age.
 Size 5 ½ shoe
on the right
Foot-Binding in Tang China
Mothers bound their daughters’ feet.
Foot-Binding in Tang China

For upper-class girls, it
became a new custom.
The Results of Foot-Binding
Song Dynasty (969 – 1279 CE)



Large Centrally Planned Government
Ruled during economic prosperity and
cultural achievement
Mongols overthrew the Song and created a
new Mongol dynasty
Rice Cultivation Began Under the Song
Song Rice Cultivation
Yuan (1279 – 1368 CE)


Mongol invasions
Began under Genghis Khan



Khans grandson, Kublai Khan overthrew the
Song Dynasty
Ignored Chinese Traditions
Set his capital at Khanbaliq (“the city of
Khan”)

Later became Beijing
The MONGOLS

Genghis Khan’s Tax Laws:





If you do not pay homage,
we will take your prosperity.
If you do not have prosperity,
we will take your children.
If you do not have children,
we will take your wife.
If you do not have a wife,
we will take your head.
Used cruelty as a weapon  some areas never
recovered from Mongol destruction!
Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 CE)




Erase remains of the Mongols
Reinstate civil service examinations
Extended the length of the Great Wall
New Era of Progressive China
Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911 CE)


Last ruling Dynasty
Dynastic Cycle weakened by European and
American interventions during the early 20th
Century
Questions to consider….

How did the dynasty come to power?

What did the dynasty accomplish?

How was daily life for the Chinese people
affected by this dynasty?

How was the religious life of the people
affected?

How and why did this dynasty come to an end?
China: From Past to Present:
The Silk Road, the Great
Wall, and Changes in
Government
United Streaming Video
Which of the Chinese Dynasties tried to
erase the remains of the Mongols?




Shang
Qing
Ming
Yuan
The collapse of this Dynasty led to years
of feuding between warloards




Han
Shang
Qing
Tang
What was the name of the last ruling
Dynasty?




Han
Ming
Song
Qing
Which dynasty was overthrown by the
Mongols?




Song
Qin
Zhou
Shang
Which dynasty used oracle bones to
answer life's deepest questions?




Tang
Shang
Qin
Ming
The emperor of this Dynasty built a lifelike army to protect him in the afterlife.




Qin
Shang
Tang
Song