Early China
Background knowledge of early Imperial China
Move from Ancient to Imperial China
The Shang Dynasty was the first Dynasty
in Ancient China (1760-1500 B.C.)
Zhou Dynasty conquered the Shang
Dynasty and was the longest dynasty in
China lasting 800 years until 221 B.C.
Zhou Dynasty
770-256 B.C.
The Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty conquered the Zhou Dynasty and was
the first unified, multi-national and power-centralized
state in the Chinese history. It only lasted from 221 B.C.
to 206 B.C.
Emperor Qin carried out many reforms in politics,
economy, military affairs
and culture.
Emperor Qin’s Key Points
All major powers including politics, economy, military affairs
were in his hand
He standardized weights and measures and stipulated that
the round coin with square hole
He standardized the written character
Great importance on infrastructure: irrigation works and
road building projects
Great Wall of China, was first built under his order
He stressed hard labor, heavy taxes, and rigorous law and
military service
Emperor
Qin Shi Huang
the
Oppressor
Shihuangdi the Oppressor
Many of those whom Shihuangdi conquered obeyed him from
fear rather than seeing him as their legitimate ruler or as having
heaven's mandate, and some in various areas continued to fight
his rule. To further secure his rule, Shihuangdi tried collecting
weapons from all those not in his armies. He saw danger in what
people thought, and in 213 BCE his agents began confiscating
books that he thought were dangerous: all books other than
those on subjects thought practical, such as agriculture,
forestry, herbal medicine and divination. The confiscated books
were burned, except for one copy of each, which were to be
kept from the public in the state's private library. Among the
burned books were the centuries old writings of Confucius and
books by followers of Confucius. Future generations of
Confucianists would see Shihuangdi as evil, and they would
accuse him of having buried 460 scholars alive -- a
misunderstanding. Instead, he had merely had them executed.
He had disliked hearing their complaints.
In 210, at the age of forty-nine, Shihuangdi, became sick while on
one of his journeys, and he died. His palace supporters
murdered some of Shihuangdi's top aids, withheld news of
Shihuangdi's death and sent a forged note to Shihuangdi's son
and heir, ordering him to commit suicide, which he did. Then they
elevated to the throne a younger son of Shihuangdi, a boy whom
they hoped to control.
Some in areas recently conquered by Shihuangdi saw in his
death an opportunity to break from Qin rule, and some
intellectuals came out against the rule of Shihuangdi's younger
son. Peasants decided it was an opportune time to express their
displeasure with imperial authority, the result largely of their
having suffered too much forced labor on Shihuangdi's many
construction projects. Some commoners began killing local
officials. Among common people there arose local leaders who
led them in rebellion. In an attempt to regain their former powers,
noble families began organizing their own gangs of armed men.
Early during the chaos, a middle-aged rebel leader and former
Qin policeman named Liu Bang gathered an increasingly large
army under him. He allied himself with a more powerful rebel, a
noble named Xiang Yu, who was organizing military operations
against Qin rule and hoping to re-establish the privileges of his
family. Respecting the power of Liu Bang's force, Xiang You
made him prince of the district of Han.
Shihuangdi had claimed that his dynasty would last 10,000
generations, but the rebellion was too great for his son and the
supporters around him, and in 206 BCE an army under Liu Bang
defeated the Qin army and entered the capital city: Xianyang.
All members of the royal family were slaughtered, including the
boy-emperor. Xianyang was burned to the ground, and the state
library that contained the only copy of various forbidden books
burned with it. The centuries old writings of Confucius and
others would have to be recreated from memory and imagination.
Qin Dynasty
221-207 B.C.
The End of Qin
In 207 B.C., Xiang Yu's army defeated the
Army of Qin and, in 206 B.C. Liu Bang
swept into the capital which finally ended
the Qin Dynasty.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, war broke
out between Liu bang and Xiang Yu. It was
known as the Chu-Han war, and it lasted
for four years, ending with the victory of
Liu Bang, who later established the
Western Han Dynasty.
With the Qin emperor defeated, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu
warred against each other. Xiang Yu was a brilliant general
and a colorful leader, but he relied too much on
ruthlessness as a means of winning obedience. He
slaughtered defeated troops, and in taking cities he looted
and seized attractive women. Liu Bang was colorless but he
made an effort to conciliate and convert those he
defeated. He was a more attractive leader, and he
surrounded himself with bright and sound thinkers. More
than coercion was contributing to success in creating
order. Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu, and in the year 202,
having established military supremacy, he made himself
emperor of all China. The era of Chinese history called the
Han had begun.
Liu Bang
founder of the
Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty established Chang'an
(the present Xian) as its capital city in 202
B.C.
In Chinese history, the Han Dynasty
consisted of two dynasties: the Western
Han Dynasty (206 B.C .- 24 A.D.) and
the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220).
During this period there were 24
emperors on the throne. Emperors
Gaozu, Wendi, Wudi and Xiandi were
among them.
Han Dynasty
206 B.C 220 A.D.
Early Years
The early Han Dynasty was a period of
peace and prosperity. It was a world power
at that time with interests in literature, arts,
culture and technology.
The Han Dynasty achieved numerous
unparalleled and praiseworthy successes.
Some of the achievements at that time still
influence the lives of the Chinese people
today.
Basic Goals
Like the Qin before the m, the ma in
goal of the Ha n was the uni fica tio n
of China.
This proc ess was final ly compl et e
during Wu Ti's reign (141 -87 B. C.)
Hi s reign was a perio d of great
mili tar y expa nsio n.
Western Han Successes
Agriculture grew with the development of better iron
tools.
Crop rotation was also practiced from 85 B.C.
onwards.
Paper is developed
The expansion led to trade with the people of inner
Asia.
The Silk Road was developed and consisted of
numerous routes through the mountains that the
traders followed.
Ancient Silk Road
Education Grows
Education became more important and many
encyclopedias were produce namely the “Book of the
Mountains and Seas”.
Sima Qian, (145-80 B.C.) also wrote his famous
“Records of the Historian”. This history book became
the model by which all other histories would follow.
Poetry, literature, and philosophy flourished during
this time.
Confucianism was established as the basis for correct
official and individual conduct and for the educational
curriculum.
Troubles Begin
The original Western Han Dynasty was overthrown
when the wealthy families gained more power than the
emperor Wang Mang. The families became allied with
each other through marriages and were responsible
for the selection of officials.
A secret society of peasants known as the Red
Eyebrows and the descendents of the Han dynasty
eventually joined in an uprising, and, it was the armies
of these nobles, under the leadership of Liu Hiu, who
killed Wang Mang in 22 A.D.
Soldiers found
Wang Mang in his
throne-room
reciting from his
collection of
Confucian writings,
and Wang Mang
was silenced by a
soldier cutting off
his head.
In the five years following the death of Wang
Mang, millions died fighting as rival factions vied
with each other for power. The most successful
of the rival factions was led by the Han prince,
Liu Xiu. He surrounded himself with educated
men, and he was popular among his troops. His
army was the only force that did not loot when
capturing towns, and this helped him
win hearts and minds.
Han Prince
Liu Xiu
Liu Xiu proclaimed himself emperor, restoring
the Han dynasty -- to be known as the Later
Han, or East Han, dynasty. He moved the
capital eastward to Luoyang, which he also
controlled. For eleven more years he had to
combat rivals. He absorbed some bands of
Red Eyebrow rebels into his army, and his
army killed other Red Eyebrows
in great numbers.
Diplomacy Grows
Fifty envoys from Central Asia were recorded in 94
A.D., and Japanese envoys visited in 57 and 107 A.D.
The reported arrival of an emissary from Andun (the
emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) bringing ivory,
rhinoceros horn, and tortoiseshell suggests a direct
link to Rome in 166 A.D.
The development of paper, water clocks, sundials,
astronomical instruments, and the invention of a
seismograph in 132 A.D. attest to the technological
and scientific sophistication that marks this period.
New Paradises
Having become more aware of the world
beyond China, the Chinese heard more
rumors about wonderful places. Taoists - who still rejected Chinese civilization as
corrupt and who idealized nature and
wilderness -- helped spread descriptions
of far-away places of godliness and
paradise.
Taoists
A Taoist named Zhang Jue, offered
magical healing, treated all ailments with
water and words and called his method of
healing the "Way of the Highest Peace."
Zhang Jue also spoke of the Han rulers as
having lost the Mandate of Heaven, and
he proclaimed their imminent fall of Han
rule.
Trouble Begins Again
The country begins again to fall in great
disarray, meaning that people lived a very
hard life. The rule of Lingdi intensified all
kinds of social (divides) contradictions
that caused the insurgency to rise.
Despite military success, economic and
political struggles overtook China.
Yellow Turbans
Zhang Jue's Yellow Turban rebellion
occurred in 184 A.D.- yellow signifying
their association with the element earth as
opposed to the element of fire.The
rebellion spread, and people from all
corners of the empire began robbing and
killing.
Uprising
Millions of people die during the fighting,
leaving land for the peasants, and often,
the freedom of debt as the lenders had
died.
This uprising serves to unite the factions
who had previously been fighting one
another because they needed to unite to
defeat the Yellow Turbans.
The End
Despite defeating the Yellow Turbans, China
did not return to a united state. Rather a war
for supremacy took place among China's
generals.
The Han Dynasty came to an end and the
Three Kingdoms of Shu, Wei and Wu emerge.
The Three Kingdoms begin a period of romance,
heroism and chivalry…though some may disagree.
Han Dress
Han Statues
References
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Minnesota State University
EMuseum
http://travelchinaguide.com
http://china.mrdonn.org/han.html
http://www.chinahighlights.com/
http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch14.htm
Early China Questioning
KNOWLEDGE
Which dynasty did the Qin Dynasty conquer?
When did the Qin Dynasty exist?
What were the major accomplishments of Emperor Qin Shi Huang?
Why was Emperor known as “The Oppressor”?
COMPREHENSION
How would you compare Qin Shi Huang To Liu Bang?
How would you contrast Liu Bang and Xiang Yu?
What facts demonstrate that the Silk Road helped make the Han
Dynasty a success?
Questioning
APPLICATION
How would you illustrate that education grew in Early
China?
What would be the results if the “Book of Mountains and
Seas was never produced?
How would you change the treatment of wealthy people
to prevent revolution?
ANALYSIS
What is the relationship between Red Eyebrows and the
Wealthy in the Western Han ?
How was Liu Xiu able to win the hearts and minds of the
towns people?
How do you compare The successes of the Qin and Han
Dynasties ?
QUESTIONING
SYNTHESIS
Predict the outcome if Liu Xiu had not absorbed many of the
“Red Eyebrows.
What would happen if the Silk Road had not been established?
How would you explain the reasons that the Yellow Turbans
gained power?
EVALUATION
Why did the Yellow Turban uprising unite many factions within
China ?
What are the differences between accepting Confucianist and
Taoist beliefs?
What is you opinion of the Three Kingdoms being a period of
romance, heroism and chivalry?