Chapter 4
Origins of the Chinese Empire
Legend of China
Set of Rulers:
1. Fu Xi – ox tamer (domesticated animals)
2. Shen Nong – divine farmer (technique of agriculture)
3. Huang Di – bows/arrows and writing
Defining Characteristics of Chinese Life
1. interaction between nomadic and agricultural people
2. importance of family as basic unit of Chinese life
3. development of unique system of writing
Neolithic China
First Dynasty – Xia
Second Dynasty – Shang Dynasty
(1700 BC) – just north of Yellow River
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agricultural society
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ruled by aristocratic warriors
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class structure develops
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believed in afterlife and ancestor worship
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Best known for bronze casting
Shang China
Rice, first cultivated in China seven or eight thousand years ago, is a labor-intensive
crop that requires many workers to plant the seedlings and organize the distribution of
water. Initially, the fields are flooded to facilitate the rooting of the rice seedlings and to
add nutrients to the soil. Fish breeding in the flooded fields help keep mosquitoes and
other insects in check. As the plants mature, the fields are drained, and the plants
complete their four-month growing cycle in dry soil. Shown here is an example of
terracing on a hillside to preserve water for the nourishment of young seedlings.
© William J. Duiker
Shell and Bone Writing
The earliest known form of true
writing in China dates back to the
Shang dynasty and was inscribed
on shells or animal bones.
Questions for the gods were
scratched on bones, which cracked
after being exposed to fire. The
cracks were then interpreted by
sorcerers. The questions often
expressed practical concerns: Will
it rain? Will the king be victorious in
battle? Will he recover from his
illness? Originally composed of
pictographs and ideographs four
thousand years ago, Chinese
writing has evolved into an
elaborate set of symbols that
combine meaning and
pronunciation in a single character.
© Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY
Third Dynasty – Zhou (1100 BC)
“Heavenly Mandate”
King selection based on “talent and virtue”
(although hereditary)
Agriculture – well field system
Trade/monetary system
Like the pharaohs in Egypt, Chinese rulers filled their tombs with prized
possessions from daily life. It was believed that if the tombs were furnished
and stocked with supplies, including chairs, boats, chests, weapons, games,
and dishes, the spiritual body could continue its life despite the death of the
physical body. Here we see the remains of a chariot and horses in a burial pit
in China’s Hebei province that dates from the early Zhou dynasty.
© Lowell Georgia/CORBIS
Philosophy/Religion
one transcendent god – Shang Di (ruled all forces of
nature)
Idea of Yang and Yin
good and evil/ light and darkness
Sun = Yang Moon = Yin
Confucianism
Confucious (Kung Fuci)
Analects – written conversations with disciples
“You are unable to serve man, how then can you hope to
serve the spirits? While you do not know life, how then
can you know about death?”
Dao (Way) – action/behavior
1. Concept of duty
2. Concept of human-heartedness
Confucius and his disciples
© Howard Sochurek/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Daoism
“True way to interpret the Will of Heaven is not action,
but inaction.”
Spontaneous Action
Legalism
no universal moral code
humans are by nature “evil”
Qin Dynasty
221 BC – 206 BC
Centralized State (3 primary ministries)
1. civil authority
2. military
3. censorate
Standardized system of weights and measures
Standardized system of writing and money
Constructed roads
Government controlled trade
The Tomb of
Qin Shi
Huangdi
The First Emperor of Qin ordered
the construction of an elaborate
mausoleum, an underground
palace complex protected by an
army of terra-cotta soldiers and
horses to accompany him on his
journey to the afterlife.
© William J. Duiker
Th First Emperor of Qin ordered the construction of an elaborate mausoleum,
an underground palace complex protected by an army of terra-cotta soldiers
and horses to accompany him on his journey to the afterlife. This massive
formation of six thousand life-size armed soldiers, discovered accidentally by
farmers in 1974, reflects Qin Shi Huangdi’s grandeur and power.
© Martin Puddy/Getty Images
In Defense against the Xiongnu
the Great Wall construction begins …
http://encarta.msn.com/map_701585495/great_wall.html
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/scene/
(Links to information on the Great Wall)
The Han Dynasty – 202 BC – 221 CE
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no more legalism – State Confucianism
government officials selected by merit
population increases rapidly
state regulated trade and manufacturing
new technology
texitles, water and iron
Paper is invented!!!!