CLASSICAL CHINA
What assumptions do different groups
hold about power, authority,
governance, and law?
After it falls, what impact does a
civilization have on history?
China
Geography
• Chinese civilization started in two river valleys
– Huang He (Yellow) River
– Yangzi River
• Mountains, deserts, jungles, and an ocean
isolate China
– Having little contact with other cultures, the early
Chinese believed that their culture was the center
of the earth (ethnocentrism)
– This was called the Middle Kingdom
– Despite isolation, China traded with other cultures
and Chinese goods reached as far as the Middle
East
China
China
Government
• About 1650 B.C. the Shang came to power
– Clans (groups of families) controlled most of the
land
– The Shang set up the first dynasty, or ruling
family, in China
China
Social Classes and Job Specialization
• Noble warriors owned land
• Merchants and craftspeople earn a living in
cities
• Most people are peasants and live in farming
villages
China
Religion
• Prayed to many gods and nature spirits
• Believe dead ancestors can get the gods to help
the living
– Oracle Bones
• Yin – Yang
– When these forces were in balance,
peace and prosperity would result
Achievements
• Writing
– Ideographs – symbols that represent ideas;
beauty, joy, and justice
• Calendar
– Essential for farming; planting and harvesting
crops
• Bronze Makers – weapons and tools
China
Writing System
• Written Chinese
(developed about
4,000 years ago)
• Because this writing
system consisted of
tens of thousands of
characters, only the
upper class had the
time to learn to read
and write
Achievements
Zhou Dynasty
(1027 BCE-221 BCE)
• Overthrow the Shang dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
(1027 BCE-221 BCE)
• Mandate of Heaven=divine right to rule
– Zhou told the people that the gods had become
angry at Shang cruelty and now had chosen the
Zhou to rule
– From this time on, each new dynasty claims the
Mandate of Heaven
• Chinese use the Mandate of Heaven to explain
the dynastic cycle
– Dynastic cycle=rise and fall of dynasties
Generations go
by. New
dynasty
becomes...
Old Dynasty
New Dynasty
-taxes people too much
-brings peace
-stops protecting people
-builds roads, canals
-lets roads and walls fall apart
-gives land to peasants
-treats people unfairly
-protects people
Dynastic Cycle
Old Dynasty
loses Mandate
of Heaven
New dynasty
claims Mandate of
Heaven
Problems
-floods, earthquakes
-peasants revolt
-invaders attack empire
-bandits raid provinces
Zhou Dynasty: Government
• Zhou kings grant control of large areas of
land to their supporters
• Feudalism=local lords controlled their
own regions but owed military service
to the ruler
• Over time, feudal lords become more
powerful than the king
Zhou Dynasty: Economy
• Trade Increases under the Zhou
• Use of iron tools (plows) leads to more
food
• Irrigation projects also increase food
production
• new roads and canals built
• Money used for first time in China
– trade increases
Zhou Dynasty: Contributions
• Accurate calendar
(365 ¼ days)
• Process of making
silk discovered
• First Books made
Zhou Dynasty: Collapse
• By 500 BCE
Chinese state is in
shambles
• “Age of the
Warring States”
– China goes from being
unified to 7 competing
kingdoms
QIN DYNASTY
(221 BCE-206 BCE)
Qin Dynasty
• Leader of Qin succeeds in reunifying China and
proclaimed himself Shi Huangdi (“First
Emperor”)
Qin Dynasty: Centralized
Government
• Shi Huangdi creates loyalty to the central
government:
–Abolishes feudal states and divides
country into bureaucratic districts
–Spies on officials administering districts
–Noble families forced to live at capitol city
so they could be monitored
Qin Dynasty: Centralized
Government
• Shi Huangdi creates unity by:
–Standardizes measurements
–Creates national coins
–Promotes uniformity in Chinese writing
–Repairs roads and canals
–Standardize axle length for carts
• Unity creates foundation for the modern state
of China
Qin Dynasty: Centralized
Government
• Crackdown on dissent
–Jails, tortures critics
–Book burning
Qin Dynasty: Contributions
• The Great Wall
– Joins walls built by feudal states
– Built to keep out invaders (doesn’t work)
– thousands of workers forced to build the
wall
– Shows emperor's power and vast resources
of China--Symbol
• Lays foundation for unified Chinese
state that still exists today
Qin Dynasty: Contributions
Qin Dynasty: Contributions
Terra Cotta Army—Buried with Shi Huangdi
HAN DYNASTY
(206 BC-220 CE)
Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
• After Shi Huangdi dies, the people revolt
–A new dynasty emerges
• Lui Bang, a peasant, became emperor
–Reduces taxes
–Eases harsh policies of the Qin
–Appoints Confucian scholars as advisers
• Establish political patterns that last into
1900s
Han Dynasty: Government and
Economy
• Most famous Han emperor is WuTi
– Establishes civil service system
• Exams based on the teachings of Confucius
(an important philosopher) determined
who would get government jobs
• meritocracy
Han Dynasty: Government and
Economy
• WuTi also
–Strengthens economy—monopoly on
iron and salt
–Improves roads and canals
–Expands empire—Chinese influence
spreads
–Opens silk road
Han Dynasty: Society
• Civil service
establishes Confucian
values in the
government and daily
life
– Filial piety-respect for
parents and ancestors
• Confucius spelled out
proper behavior for all
parts of society
Han Dynasty: Society
• Confucius taught that men were superior
to women
–Because of this belief, women were
excluded from civil service exams and
could not hold positions in
government.
• A few noble women were able to receive
an education
Han Dynasty: Contributions
• The Han period is the golden age in
China
• Han most technologically advanced
civilization in the world at this time
Han Dynasty: Contributions in
Technology
• First to learn how
to make paper out
of wood pulp
• Invented wheel
barrow, fishing
reel, rudder (used
to steer ships),
suspension
bridges
Han Dynasty: Contributions in
Science
• Acupuncture—used to relieve pain and treat
illnesses
• Experimented with herbal remedies and
anesthesia
• Scholars wrote texts about chemistry, zoology,
and botany
Han Dynasty: Global Trade
Routes
Han Dynasty: Global Trade
Routes
• Open a trade route called the Silk Road
• Silk Road bring China out of isolation
–Links China to lands as far west as
Mesopotamia
–Chinese send silk west
–Other civilizations send muslin (type of
cloth), glass (Romans), and new foods
Fall of the Han Empire
• Political, economic and military
causes led to the decline of the Han
Dynasty
• Warlords overthrow Han and China
breaks into small kingdoms
So What!!
• Look over your notes and come up with two
generalizations about classical China.
Practice!
Before the use of the Silk Road, how did
geography affect early China?
A) The mountains and deserts in western and
southwestern China slowed the exchange of
ideas.
B) The northwestern region provided many fertile
areas suitable for farming.
C) The three major river systems provided
barriers against invasion.
D) The lack of deep-water ports on the eastern
coast prevented China from developing trade
with other nations.
Practice!
Which civilization first developed a civil service
system, invented gunpowder, and manufactured
porcelain?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Aztec
Chinese
Japanese
Roman
Practice!
The use of the Silk Road in Asia and caravan
routes in northern Africa and southwestern
Asia encouraged
A)
B)
C)
D)
self-sufficiency
Cultural isolation
Ethnocentrism
Cultural diffusion