2013 Chinese Dynasties
Pronunciations
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•
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Huang He
Shang
Zhou
Loess
Henan
Wei
Qin
hwahng he
shong
Joe
less
hey – nahn
way
chin
Key Terms….
A Dynasty is a line of
rulers that come from
the same family
An aristocrat is a noble,
or upper class person,
whose wealth comes
from their land
China’s history is usually
divided into time periods based on
the rule of different dynasties.
A ‘dynasty’ is a ruling family that
passes the power to rule down
through the generations. These
rulers were thought to be ‘divine’,
or actual gods, and thus were
obeyed without question.
Four Chinese Dynasties
Warring States Period
Period of the Warring States
Small States Fight
Result of rebellions was Warring States Period
• 403 BC to 221 BC, number of small states fought
each other for land, power
• Zhou still nominally in charge, but power almost
nonexistent by mid-200s BC
• Qin, new dynasty, arose to bring end to Warring
States Period, Zhou dynasty
Warring States Period
475B.C.-220 B.C.
After further political consolidation, seven prominent states
remained by the end of 5th century B.C., and the years in which
these few states battled each other are known as the Warring
States Period.
Warring States Period
• China lacked a strong government to stop the
power struggles within the ruling-class
families
• Chinese society fell into a period of disorder.
•
Fighting lasted for almost 200
years during the “Period of the
Warring States.”
Things invented during this conflict
1. Saddle & Stirrup
2. Crossbows
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty
• Qin Dynasty (221-202
BCE)
– Very short lived
• Qin Shi Huangdi
assumed control of
China
– Declared himself as
China’s first Emperor
http://www.chinahighlights.com/image/map/ancient/qin-dynastymap1.gif
Qin [Ch’in] Dynasty, 221-206
B.C.E.
 Established China’s first empire 
 Shi Huangdi (221-206 B.C.E)
 Legalist rule 
–
–
–
–
Bureaucratic administration
Centralized control
Military expansion
Book burnings  targeted
Confucianists
• Buried protestors alive!
 Built large section of the Great Wall
Qin Dynasty: Government
• Shi Huangdi created a strong centralized govt.
– Power taken from feudal lords
– Appointed bureaucrats to help maintain control
– Brutal and unpopular ruler; placed the state above the
people
• Promoted Legalism
– Authoritarian ruler
– Use of force, strong military and discipline to maintain
order
– System of rewards and punishments to shape behavior
Harsh system of rule: Legalism
• The best way to control human behavior is through
written law rather than through rituals, customs, or
ethics.
• laws maintain the stability of the state from the people
who are selfish and ignorant.
• laws let the ruler govern efficiently and sometimes
ruthlessly.
• Text apart from law books were considered useless (and
were often destroyed along with other “arts”)
Belief Systems – China:
Legalism in Practice
• Shi Huangdi, leader of the Qin Dynasty made Legalism the first “ruling
ideology” in China’s history.
• Created an authoritarian system:
- non-Legalist political philosophies (including
Confucianism) were banned
- books offering views contrary to Legalist principles were
burned
- all disagreements with the government was made a capital
• The dynasty was overthrown because it was too oppressive
crime
Belief Systems – China:
Legalism in Practice
• People were conscripted for mandatory state
projects:
Irrigation projects
Construction of sections of the Great
Wall
The Legalist Philosophy of the Qin conflicted with
other political “philosophies” of the time…
–
Kong Fuzi “Confucious”
Confucianism
• Good government
requires men of
benevolence,
virtue, and culture
• Governments
should promote
these traits; their
absence leads to
chaos
• all people have
virtue and are
educable
Qin Shi Huangdi: China’s first Emperor
http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/picts/firstemperor.gif
Qin Dynasty
221B.C.-207 B.C.
When Qin Shi Huang Di (chin surehwang-dee). united China in 221 BC,
he felt that his achievements had
surpassed those of all the rulers
who have gone before him. So he
combined the ancient titles of
Huang (皇) and Di (帝) to create a
new title, Huangdi (皇帝), usually
translated as Emperor.
He relied heavily on strict legal
codes. To silence criticism of
imperial rule, he banished or put
to death many dissenting
Confucian scholars and
confiscated and burned their
books.
A. Qin was a ruler of a local state during the Zhou
dynasty. He gradually took over neighboring states
and declared himself Qin Shihuangdi, or First Qin
Emperor.
B. Qin’s rule was based on legalism.
C. Qin abolished the officials’ authority to pass their
posts on to their sons. He became the only person
authorized to fill empty posts.
D. Qin united China, created one type of currency, ordered
the building of roads and buildings, and connected the
Chang Jiang to central China by canal.
E. The Great Wall of China was built to protect the Chinese
from the Xiongnu, a nomadic people living north of
China. Qin forced the farmers to build the wall.
F. Chinese people believed Qin Shihuangdi was a harsh
ruler, and they overthrew his dynasty after his death.
Creating an Empire
• Do you think Shihuangdi’s strategy of conquest
helped or hurt China?
– Increased China’s size…helped
– Cost many lives & used harsh measures to maintain
power… hurt
• How di Qin Shihuangdi end feudalism? Why did
he do this?
– Replaced feudalism with a government he controlled
– So that powerful lords wouldn’t be a threat to him
Qin Dynasty: Government
• Expansion into South, new territory
• Held world’s first Census
• High taxes to support military and construction
projects
• Standardization of coins, weights, measures, roads
• Outlawed slavery
– Increased free peasantry that could be taxed and
conscripted for labor and military
• Construction on what would become the “Great
Wall” to north
– Protection from invasion
Government
Structure
He provided a single law
code for the whole empire
(laws posted for all to see)
Established a uniform tax
system
Appointed governors to control (legal/military)
each district.
Standardized weights and measures
Standardized written Chinese language!
• Economic Power!
– Public works intended
to improve economy
• Canals
• Irrigation
• Acquisition of areas rich in
iron ore
– Mass mobilization of FORCED
LABOR
for public works including Great
Wall of China
– 700,000 workers used to create
capital city
Standardizing the Culture
• Why did the Emperor of Qin standardize money,
weights, & measures?
– To make trade easier on the people
• How did Emperor Qin change the written language?
– He simplified it by eliminating some of the characters
Qin Shi Huang Di
standardized Chinese
characters, as well as
weights and measures.
• The Chinese worked on the Great Wall for over 1700
years. In turn, each emperor who came to power added
pieces of the wall to protect their dynasties. But the wall
was not a solid wall. It was a line of disconnected
barricades.
• First Emperor Qin wanted a much better barricade to
protect his people from the Mongol invaders to the north.
He wanted a strong wall 30 feet wide and 50 feet high.
To fend off nomad invation, the fortification walls built by various Warring
States were connected to make a 3,107 miles Great Wall.
The Great Wall is actually four great walls rebuilt or extended during the
Western Han, Sui, Jin and Ming periods.
• Emperor Qin used peasants, captured enemies, criminals, scholars,
and anyone else who irritated him, & put them all to work building
the Great Wall. Laborers were not paid for their work. It was slave
labor. About 3,000 people worked on the wall during the Qin Dynasty.
Rocks fell on people & walls caved in. Workers died of exhaustion and
disease. Laborers were fed only enough food to keep them alive.
There’s an old Chinese saying, "Each stone in the wall represents a life
lost in the wall's construction.
• This project continued long after Emperor Qin’s death. Building the
wall was a project that continued for many hundreds of years until
the wall was over 3700 miles long. Most emperors used the same
system that Qin used, forced labor. Today, the Great Wall still stands.
It can be seen from space, it’s that big!
Protecting the Northern Border
• How did the emperor protect China’s northern border?
– Building the Great Wall
• What difficulties did workers who constructed the
Great Wall face?
– Wall was built across high mountains, deserts,
swamps, and quicksand
– Cold winters & hot summers
– Northern invaders attacking workers
– Workers were forced to work and many died
Ending Opposition
• Why was there a conflict between Confucian scholars
& the emperor?
– Scholars believed in proper behavior & good
examples…not harsh laws
• What did the emperor do to prevent people from
learning about Confucianism?
– He ordered all Confucian books burned
– Anyone who discussed Confucian teachings to
criticize the government would be put to death
• The exquisite terracotta army of
the first Qin Dynasty ruler
Shihuangdi represents the
emperor’s ability to control the
resources of the newly unified
China, and his attempt to recreate
and maintain that empire in the
afterlife.
• The soldiers are part of
Shihuangdi's tomb, located near
the modern town of Xi'an,
Shaanxi province in China.
Close up of soldier in
Emperor Qin's terra cotta
army, Qin Dynasty, China
The terra cotta army was discovered by
accident in 1974 at Xian, when local farmers
digging wells about a mile west of the
mausoleum broke into a pit containing 6,000
life-size terracotta figures.
Altogether over 7,000 terra cotta soldiers,
horses, chariots, and even weapons have
been unearthed from these pits. It is believed
that an army of more than 8,000 terra cotta
soldiers were buried fifteen to twenty feet
beneath the earth not far from the tomb where
Emperor Qin is believed to be buried .
Terracotta Army
Shi Huangdi’s Terra
Cotta Army
Shi Huangdi’s Terra
Cotta Army
The workers who made the soldiers may have modeled after
the real soldiers of Emperor’s army. Each soldier appears to
have his own individual personality. Some are almost smiling;
some look very stern. Some look like they are middle aged, and
some are very young. Each has his own mustache and different
hairstyles. The soldiers were set up in real battle formation.
Each man held an actual weapon. They are as sharp today as
they were twenty-two centuries ago.
The ancient Chinese had a very strong belief in the afterlife. The
army was meant to protect Emperor Qin in death, that’s why
there were such incredible efforts to be realistic. The more
lifelike the soldiers looked, the more effective they would be in
guarding the Emperor against his enemies in the afterlife. He
was a ruthless leader who ordered people to work on his huge
projects. Historians believe that during Qin’s rule, one out of
every ten Chinese was put to work creating not only Qin’s terracotta army but also 270 magnificent palaces.
Archeologists are convinced that Qin is buried in a spectacular
tomb located inside a tomb pyramid in the center of the field
where the terra-cotta army was found. In ancient Chinese
history books, the tomb is called Mount Li, and is said to
contain fabulous jewels, miniature cities, and rivers of mercury
that flow to a man-made sea.
Shi Huangdi’s Terra Cotta Soldiers
& Cavalrymen
Cavalry
http://images.china.cn/images1/200710/41065
4.jpg
Qin Shi Huangdi’s
Tomb
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photos/01/0e/e3/90/terra-cotta-soldiers.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/chineseart/contents/ache/img/c02s01i01.jpg
Qin Achievements
Building Projects
• Massive government building projects gave jobs to many poor
workers.
• New roads were built and maintained to provide easy access
to and from these buildings.
Water Systems
• Canals were built to connect rivers and keep trade fast and
efficient.
• Irrigation systems that are still in use today watered the fields
and made more land good for farming.
End of the Qin Dynasty
• List three things that were buried in the
Emperor of Qin’s tomb
1. Huge terra-cotta army
2. Tools
3. Precious jewels
• What happened to the Qin dynasty after the
death of Qin Shihuangdi?
– It was overthrown shortly after the death of the
Emperor of Qin
Qin (Chin) mistakes
•
•
•
•
Burned books
Destroyed major fortifications of the states
Assassinated powerful leaders & scholars
Collected arms of the empire & melted
arrowheads & spears to make 12 statues
• Failed to rule with humanity—lost the
Mandate of Heaven
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Fall of the Qin Dynasty
• Qin Dynasty was unpopular among the people
– Tight control and brutal rule
• After death of Shi Huangdi, the Dynasty soon
fell
– Huangdi was buried in an elaborate tomb
complete with an army of terracotta soldiers
• Replaced by the Han Dynasty
Peasant uprisings ended rule of Qin
Dynasty
• Han & Roman Empires were simultaneous
• Traded through Silk Road
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4rmq780
3pY&feature=related end of the emperor
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Decline and Fall of the Qin Empire
• Taxes are too high.
• Peasants (farmers) have to
work for free one month of the
year and must serve in the
military.
• Legalism philosophy means
harsh punishments.
• Government burns books that
don’t teach legalism.
• Thousands of common people
die building the Great Wall.
• What is the result?
Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
206 B.C. -220 A.D.
After a short civil war, Liu Bang seized power and
a new dynasty called Han emerged with its capital
at Chang'an.
The Han rulers modified some of the harsher
aspects of the previous dynasty. Technological
advances also marked this period with two
inventions, paper and porcelain.
At the end of Han Dynasty, riddled with corruption,
by 220 A.D. the Han Empire collapsed.
Han Dynasty, 206 B.C.E.-220
C.E.
 “People of the Han”  original Chinese
 Paper invented [105 B.C.E.] 
 Silk Road trade develops; improves life for many
 Buddhism introduced into China
 Expanded into Central Asia
Han Dynasty
• Following the death of
Huangdi, a power struggle
began
– The dynasty fell
– Replaced by Han Dynasty
(202 BCE- 220 CE)
• Han Dynasty established by
Liu Bang
– Peasant who rose up and
assumed rule
• Very important dynasty
– Most Chinese citizens today
refer to themselves as
ethnically “Han”
http://hausa.cri.cn/chinaabc/chapter17/images/liuban.jpg
A. Liu Bang founded the Han dynasty in 202 B.C.
B. Civil service examinations began when Han
Wudi started testing potential government
employees. Students prepared for many years
to take the exams.
C. The population tripled during the Han dynasty.
Farmers had to divide their land among more
and more sons, which left them with very little
land. Farmers sold their land to aristocrats and
became tenant farmers to survive.
http://www.chinatownconnection.com/images/handynastymap.gif
The Han Dynasty (206 bce – 220
ce)

Liu Bang, first Han, commoner who chose
educated men with Confucian principles
 History became more
important
 Established elite academy to
teach Confucianism as part of
requirement that knowledge of
Confucius is necessary for
promotion in bureaucracy
 Consolidated legal system
 Established principles for the
conduct of women
The Han Dynasty

Military Power and Diplomacy
– Han as militaristic as Qin had been
– Army of 300,000 to one million
– Campaigns to the west for silk
markets and access to horses
Han Dynasty: Government
• Continued centralized control started under
the Qin
– Regional bureaucrats to maintain order
– Increased expansion
• Han rulers promoted peace within their
dynasty
– Moderated Legalism by promoting Confucianism
Emperor Wudi, 141-87 B.C.E.
 Started public schools.
 Colonized Manchuria,
Korea, & Vietnam.
 Civil service system 
– bureaucrats
– Confucian scholar-gentry
 Revival of Chinese
landscape painting.
The Civil Service Exam
•
First given in 165 BCE during the Han dynasty, it was a way to provide well educated and
well trained government bureaucrats.
•
Civil Service Exams under the Han were based on Confucian political & social ethics.
•
Theoretically, most males were eligible to take the exams except criminals and merchants.
-During the Sung Dynasty, relatives of nobles serving in the imperial
court
and eunuchs were also not allowed to take the exam. Still, most that took it were landed
nobles.
- In reality, most poor males could not afford to sacrifice work
the academy.
•
time to study in
Academies were opened under the Han to prepare students for the exams.
Han Dynasty: Government
– Han established civil
service exams to
promote merit in the
government
– Possible for peasants to
become part of the
ruling class (if they could
pass exams)
– Taxation and regulation
of the economy
http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln471/Images471/exam.jpg
Han Organizing Principles
• Heaven, earth, man form eternal trinity
• Economic welfare is basis of popular morality
• Government must provide peace & prosperity,
& education
– Moral education through rites, music & literature
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Concept of Imperial Power
• Emperor is a moral agent
– Rep. of hierarchical order of mankind
– A reflection of the order of the universe
– Responsible for keeping mankind in harmony
• Does this through moral suasion
• Sets a moral example
– Goodness & virtue given embodiment in rites &
music
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
The Han Dynasty
• Economic Power
– Developed ironworking techniques
– Spread trade routes to the west (utilized “Silk Road”)
– Raised land revenues and nationalized private
enterprise
– Confucianists opposed these policies but also
opposed business activity in general
Symbols of Han Dynasty
• Inventions
– Paper
– Porcelain
• Confucian education system
– University established 124 BCE
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Han Dynasty: Society/Culture
• Emperor was center of society
– Claimed Mandate of Heaven
• Family main social unit
– Govt. replicated family model
• patriarchy
• Large peasant class
• Strong influence of Confucianism
– Daoism also achieved greater popularity
D. The Chinese invented many new products during
the Han dynasty, such as the waterwheel, the
rudder, drill bits, steel, and paper.
E. Chinese doctors began practicing acupuncture,
the practice of easing pain by sticking needles into
patients’ skin.
Chinese doctors
began practicing
acupuncture, the
practice of easing
pain by sticking
needles into
patients’ skin.
Warfare
• How far did the Han
empire extend?
– The empire reached west
into central Asia, east to
present-day Korea, & south
to present-day Vietnam
• What weapons made the
Han army strong?
– Improved armor, swords,
crossbows, and kites
Government
• What is a bureaucracy?
– A form of government
where a few people in
charge at the top and many
at the bottom that follow
the orders
• How did Han emperors
decide who would
receive government jobs?
– Civil service exams
• The Chinese invented many new
products during the Han dynasty,
such as the waterwheel, the rudder,
drill bits, steel, and paper.
• With the invention of the rudder, the
Chinese could move ships' sails
differently. Ships could now sail into
the wind rather than with it.
• This meant Chinese ships could
travel to the islands of Southeast
Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Agriculture
• What problems did farmers face
during the Han period?
– Had to grow food, make their
clothing, build their homes
– Pay one month unpaid labor to
government
– Floods & drought often
destroyed crops
• How did the tools that were
developed during the Han period
helpful to the farmers?
– Chain pump moved water from
irrigation ditches & canals to
fields
– Iron plow made it easier to
prepare & plant crops
– Wheelbarrow allowed famers to
move heavy loads
Industry
• Who was the production of
silk made easier during the
Han period?
– Foot-powered machine
that wound fibers onto
large reels
• How did the Chinese make it
easier to get salt during the
Han period?
– Iron-tipped bamboo drills
helped get brine from
underground…then
evaporated leaving salt
Art
• What type of writing
materials did the Chinese use
before the invention of
paper?
– They wrote with brush &
ink on bamboo & silk
• Why was paper an
improvement over other
writing materials?
– It was inexpensive and
easier to bind together
– Absorbed ink well
Medicine
• What is moxibustion?
– Placing a cone of powder
on the skin & lighting it to
relieve pain & promote
healing
• What did the Chinese
discover about blood?
– It circulates from the heart
through the body and back
to the heart
Han Achievements
Art
The Han created realistic scenes from
everyday life, advanced figure painting, and
depictions of religious figures and Confucian
scholars.
Literature
Fu style: combination of prose and poetry
Shi style: short lines of verse that could be
sung
Invention of
Paper
The Han Chinese made paper by grinding
plant fibers into a paste and then setting the
paste out to dry in sheets. Later they rolled
the dried pulp into scrolls.
Han Achievements
Sundial
A device for telling time, the sundial uses
the position of the shadows cast by the sun
to tell the time of day.
Seismograph
This device measures the strength of an
earthquake. Chinese scientists believed that
the movement of the earth was a sign of evil
times.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is the practice of inserting
needles into the skin to cure disease or
relieve pain. This practice is still widely used
today.
Technological Advances
during the Han Dynasty
Farming
• Iron plow could till more
land and raise more food
• Wheelbarrow able to haul
more products
Manufacturing
• Iron swords
• Iron armor
• Silk: a soft, light, highly
valued fabric
Music
Produced by tones based upon response of human
heart to external things
Music & gov’t directly related
Contentment=broad & slow
Joy=ebullient & free
Music of well run state is peaceful & joyous
Country in confusion full of resentment &
anger=protest music
Dying country=mournful & pensive
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Music comes from within Rites comes from
without
Great music must be easy
Great rites simple
Music induces an end to anger
Rites an end to strife
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYv3K5SNC0k
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Feng Shui
Chinese art of placement to
establish balance
Geomancy—for grave
placement
Propitious sites are on south
facing slope with water at
the base
Capitalizes on energy of the
earth--qi
Belief that qi can be directed
to benefit man
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Science
• What did Chinese astronomers discover?
– They discovered that the moon shines because it
reflects the light of the sun
– Solar eclipses happen when the moon blocks the
view of the sun
• For what purpose were the first compasses
used?
– Determine where to build temples, graves, and
homes
Han Dynasty Inventions



Paper about 105A.D., • Horse collar –
greatly expanded
allowed horses to
education and
pull a much larger
government.
load.
Rudder- allowed
• Perfected iron
boats to sail into the
tools and plows
wind
(Do you see any pattern
Wheel barrow
here?)
The Silk Road
• Silk was the most
valuable trade product.
• The Silk Road was an
overland trade route
extended from western
China to southwest
Asia.
Trade Routes of the Ancient
World
Decline and Fall of the Han Empire
• Taxes are too high.
• Peasants (farmers) have to
work for free one month of
the year and must serve in
the military.
• Peasants forced to sell land
and become tenant farmers.
• China attacked by nomads
from the north.
• Government corruption.
• What is the result?
Fall of the Han
• Huge Taxes to run
government
• Gap between rich and
poor grew
• Poor lost farms and
homes
• Could not pay taxes
• Less taxes weakened the
military
•
(Where have we seen this before?)
Chinese Dynasties and Their Achievements
Dynasties
Xia Dynasty
2100-1800 B.C.E.
Notable
Rulers
Aryans
Achievements
•
•
Migrated into the area and conquered the local
peoples
Developed superior weaponry and technology
Thirty
separate
kings
•
•
Ruled from a succession of seven different
capitals.
Invention of writing
Zhou Dynasty
1122-256 B.C.E.
Kings +
Noblemen
•
•
Expansion
Regional rulers
Qin Dynasty
221-206 B.C.E.
Qin
•
•
•
Centralization of authority
Written laws
Building projects (Great Wall of China)
Han Dynasty
Han
Wudi
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
400 year rule
Exploration (Zhang Qian)
Expansion of trade
Silk Road
Pax Sinica
Food reserves
Merit-based appointments
Shang Dynasty
1500-1100 B.C.E.