Major Rulers of China
The First Emperor
 The first dynasty of
China was led by prince
Zheng, the head of the
Qin state. He unified his
empire by defeating
other provinces of China.
From that point forward
China usually had an
imperial government
with many departments
(bureaucracy).
Dynastic China
 Chinese emperors
usually named their sons
to become emperor after
death. Rulers based
their right to govern on
the idea of the Mandate
of Heaven – which
meant that Heaven had
chosen them to rule.
The Han Dynasty
 After the fall of the Qin
Dynasty, the Han
Dynasty took over. They
lasted for over 400 years
until they eventually lost
power due to corrupt
officials – usually
relatives of the emperor,
that abused their power
as government officials.
The Han continued
 The high taxes, forced
labor on public projects,
and bandits attacking
the countryside caused
the Han government to
grow weak – eventually
they could not protect
their farmers and the
farmers rebelled.
Changes in Belief Systems
 The chaos after the fall of
the Han Dynasty led to
major changes in
China’s belief system.
Confucianism,
Buddhism, and Daoism
had great influence on
the society of China.
Confucianism
 Confucianism is based on
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the teachings of Confucius.
He was a scholar who
taught about right and
wrong (morals and ethics).
Confucianism focuses on:
Using right relationships to
help social order
Respect for family and
older generations
Education of individuals
and society
Acting morally
Confucianism continued
 The Han Dynasty used
people who had been
taught Confucian ideals to
help run the government –
this way the government
was run by educated
people. After the Han fell,
Confucianism lost
influence.
 Why would that be
important?
Buddhism
 Once Confucianism lost
influence, Buddhism took
its place. Buddhism was
started by Siddhartha
Gautama in India.
Buddhism teaches:
 Suffering is a part of life
 People suffer because they
are attached to material
possessions and selfish
ideas
 By living a wise, moral, and
thoughtful life you can
escape suffering.
Daoism
 Daoism also had
influence in China. It is
a belief system that seeks
harmony with nature
and inner feelings. It
began in China in the
500’s B.C.
Changes in Thought
 Daoism, Buddhism, and
Confucianism blended
many of their beliefs and
eventually Confucian
thought changed from a
set of political and
ethical principles to a
more personal and
behavior based system
(Neo-Confucianism).
Education was the most
important part of these
principles.
The Sui Dynasty
 After about 350 years of
chaos after the fall of the
Han, The Sui Dynasty
reunified China. A
general from northern
China named Yang Jian
took power by killing his
grandson and
conquering the south.
He later became known
as Wendi.
Sui continued
 Wendi helped to make
China strong and unified
again. He allowed
people to follow
whatever beliefs system
they wanted, centralized
the government,
increased public
projects, and made
people take tests for
government jobs again.
Sui Dynasty ends
 Unfortunately, he also
raised taxes to pay for
public projects like the
Grand Canal, which
connected the Yangtze
and Yellow Rivers. High
taxes caused the people
to rebel (again) and the
dynasty came to an end
in just 37 years.
The Tang Dynasty
 The Tang Dynasty
followed the Sui in 618
and lasted for over 300
years. The dynasty
expanded the borders
and the road and canal
system, and developed
one of the most
advanced and complex
governmental systems in
the world at the time.
Tang Continued
 Some of the important
accomplishments of the
Tang Dynasty were a new
law code and an
expanded exam system
in the Chinese
government. If you
passed the exam, you
could become a ScholarOfficial
The Song Dynasty
 The Song Dynasty did
many of the same things
that the Tang Dynasty
did – including the
expansion of the exam
system to include
practical subjects, but
most officials continued
to come from wealthy
families who could afford
education.
Song Continued
 Under the Tang and
Song Dynasties – the
transportation around
the country was made
easier by roads and
canals – this led to more
trade and easier
communication.
Eventually new
industries grew – from
paper making to ship
building.
The Mongols
 A nomadic group of
invaders from the North
of China took control of
the area in the 1200’s.
They were called the
Mongols. This was an
era of foreign rule in
China that lasted until
1368 when the Ming
Dynasty overthrew
them.