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Chapter 7 / Section 4 “The Han Dynasty”
Pg. 200 - 205
Vocabulary
sundial (204)
seismograph (204)
acupuncture (205)
Han Dynasty Government
The Rise of
a New
Dynasty
(200)
Wudi
Creates a
New
Government
(201)
-Han Dynasty lasted for 400 years
-control was won by a peasant named Liu Bang
-first common person to become emperor…people believed
he had the mandate of heaven
-earned loyalty & trust…liked by soldiers & peasants
-wanted to free people from harsh government policies, lower
taxes, & make punishments less severe
-gave large blocks of land to his supporters
-set up a government structure
-relied on educated officials to help him rule
-140 BC Emperor Wudi took throne
-took land from the lords, raised taxes, and placed the supply
of grain under the control of the government
-Confucianism became China’s official government
philosophy
-began a university to teach Confucianism
-if a person passed an exam on Confucian teachings, he
could get a good position in the government
Family Life
Social
Classes
(202)
-Four Classes:
1. Upper Class – emperor, his court, & scholars who
held government positions
2. Second Class – largest, made up of peasants
3. Artisans – produced items for daily life and some
luxury goods
4. Merchants – lowest class because they did not
produce anything
-the military was not an official class, but joining the army
offered men a chance to rise in social status because the
military was considered part of the government
Lives of
Rich and
Poor (202)
The Revival
of the
Family (203)
-social rank did not indicate wealth or power…peasants were
in the 2nd highest class, but were poor…some merchants
were wealthy & powerful even though they were in the lowest
class
-emperor and court lived in large palace
-wealthy families
*had large estates
*employed laborers
*expensive decorations
*hired musicians
*decorated tombs of the dead with expensive objects
-60 million people lived in China…90% were
peasants…..that’s _________________ people!
-peasants lived in the countryside
*worked in millet fields or rice patties
*worked on gov’t building projects in winter
*paid heavy taxes
*wore plain clothing made of fiber from plants
*cooked grains (barley)
*lived in small villages
*wood-framed houses made of mud or stamped earth
-children were taught to respect elders
-disobeying parent was a crime
-father had absolute power…women had to obey their
husband…children had to obey their father
-obeyed your father = obey the emperor
-men gained government jobs based on the respect they
showed their parents
-children served their parents…expected to honor dead
parents with ceremonies and offerings
-boys were valued more than girls…carried on family line &
took care of parents when they were old
-Chinese proverb “Raising daughters is like raising children
for another family”
Han Achievements
Art and
Literature
-figure painting: people, religious figures, everyday
life…covered walls of palaces & tombs
(204)
Inventions
and
Advances
(204)
-poetry: Fu style (long) &b Shi style (short to be sung)
-Sima Qian wrote a complete history of all the dynasties
through the early Han
-paper
-sundial
-seismograph
-acupuncture