Download China - Dynasties of Power

Time-Life Series
China: Dynasties of Power
1600 BCE – Chinese culture emerged; the concepts of yin/yang formed early, along with
the idea of the Dao (Tao) or “the way”
River Valley Civilization
Shang Dynasty – Bronze Age
 Human sacrifice was practiced
 Capital city in Anyang
 Oracle Bones represented early writing in China
 Additionally tortoise shells were found covered with inscriptions
 These led to modern Chinese writing
 The Shang elevated bronze casting to an art form
Classical Period
Zhou Dynasty – 1029 BCE – 258 BCE
 China’s feudal period – regional disloyalties; decentralized government system
 Extended territory to encompass the “Middle Kingdom” or China’s core area
 Mandate of Heaven concept arises here – emperors became known as “sons of
heaven
 Mandarin Chinese arose as the standard spoken language
 Confucianism (Ku Fu or Confucius) and Daoism (Laozi) arose in this period
 Wheat was grown in the north, rice in southern regions.
 Crossbow introduced
 Psychological warfare also arose
 Warring States Period – 402 BCE – 221 BCE saw the introduction of the
compass
Qin Dynasty – 221 BCE – 202 BCE
 Emperor Qin gave his name to China and proclaimed himself Shi Huangdi – “the
first emperor”
 Qin unified China
o Started building of the Great Wall to protect from the northern tribes –
the completed wall would eventually reach 2,600 miles. Conscripted labor
used to create the wall.
o Imposed order; centralized the government
o 5,000 miles of roads
o Standardized written language
o Issued passports and started a national census
o Standardized weights and measures
o Refined cultivation of rice and millet
o Expanded the empire’s territory to the north, to Hong Kong, and south to
influence Vietnam
 Followed Legalism and tried to destroy Confucianism
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o Buried royal scholars
o Burned books associated with Confucius
Qin ruled harshly and died accidentally
Massive peasant revolts and discontent led to 15 years of chaos
His massive tomb contained Terracotta Warriors – life-sized replicas of his
massive army that was six times the size of the Roman army!
Han Dynasty – 202 BCE – 220 CE
 Rounded out the basic intellectual and political structure of the classical period
 Refined civilization and expanded further into Korea, Indochina, and Central Asia
 Wudi (Wu Ti) was the fifth emperor (141 – 87)
o Introduced peace treaties and this was much like the Pax Romana (Roman
Peace)
o One of his nobles “Zhang Qian” made it to Afghanistan and “discovered”
the existence of the Silk Route where he found Chinese goods for sale.
 Many technological innovations in this time included:
o the ox drawn plow
o Horse collar
o Water mill
o Paper and ink
o Maps
 **note that much of the technology was agriculturally oriented because the Han
Dynasty returned to Confucianism.
 Bureaucracy increased in this period – a new class of “scholar-gentry” arose
 The “civil service exam” was introduced
 Confucianism spread