Download Ancient China - Carmel Clay Schools

Ancient China
Contrasting Climates
► Northern
 North China Plain is a
dry climate and the
people were forced to
live near rivers
► Southern
 Warm wet area
create by monsoons
coming from the
South China Sea
“Middle Kingdom”
► Geographic
barriers cut China
off from the outside world
► The early Chinese had no
knowledge of other world
powers such as Egypt, India,
and Greece
► The Chinese did not call their
land China they believed they
were in the center of the
universe “Middle Kingdom”
Rivers
► Civilization
first settled along the
Huang River and later spread to the
Yangtze River
Rivers
► The
Huang river is often
called the Yellow river
 The color of the river is
determined by the “loess”
which is yellowish-brown
silt
 This loess was very
important to the people
because after the floods it
was deposited and helped
with farming
Rivers
► The
Huang river was also
called “China’s Sorrow”
 The river brought life to
the land but also floods
were violent and cause
large devastation often
killing many people
 The Chinese developed
dikes to help control the
flooding along the banks
The Bond of Family
► Traditional
Families
 Possible five generations living
together
 This is called an extended family
 Most families lived near by each
other not always under the same
roof but with in walking distance
 The oldest male made the
decisions
►Who
would marry who
►Was in charge of the punishments
Family Names
► 1st
people to use two names
► Family name comes first showing it’s
importance
Confucius
► Early
Chinese thinker
► Known as Kong Fu Zi or “Master Kong”
► Confucius was a teacher maybe China’s first
► He accepted poor students even if they
could not pay
► He tried to convince a ruler to apply his
teaching but died before he could
Confucius Teachings
► Philosophy=a
system of beliefs and values
► Confucius goal was order in society
► He believed that if people could be taught
to behave properly towards each other than
order and peace would follow and society
would prosper
Confucius Teachings
► Relationships
were important; ruler and
ruled; father and son; husband and wife,
then described how they should treat each
other
► People in authority must set a good
example
Confucius Impact
► Civil
Service= people who carry out the
work of the government
► Before only wealthy people and their
children could hold gov. jobs but his
teaching made it possible for other to pass a
test or earn their job based on performance
► The tests were based on Confucius
teachings
Warring States Period
► Zhou
dynasty has
come to an end
► Different groups
fight for control
► One group eventually
unites them all
Qin Shi Huangdi
► Leader
of the Qin
► Calls himself the
first emperor, Shi
Huangdi
► Powerful military
leader
► People feared his
power
Qin Dynasty
► Created
China
► Standard system of
money and system
of measure
► Only about 15 years
► Great Wall of China
Qin Shi Huangdi’s Tomb
► He
feared his
enemies in the after
life so he had an
army of clay,
terracotta, soldiers
buried in front of his
tomb in order to
protect him in the
after life
Fall of the Qin
► The
Qin fell soon after the death of Shi
Huangdi
 Legend says that he died from trying to find
medicine that would give him
► He
was a harsh ruler and after his death
people wanted a change
Han
► Liu
Bang starts the dynasty, he was born a
peasant
 His rule was much less harsh than the Qin
 Used Confucius’ teachings to govern society
► His
great-grandson Wudi “Warrior Emperor”
was probably the most famous of the Han
rulers
 Built schools and universities to teach Confucius
style of government
 Expanded the territory and worked on the wall
Han China
► Social
class
 Confucian system divides people into 4 classes
►Emperor,
his court, scholars
►Peasants was the largest class
►Artisans
►Merchants were the lowest class because the did not
produce anything
Rich and Poor
► Classes
only divided people into social rank.
They did not indicate power or wealth.
► The wealthy decorated their multilevel
estates with fine produces and hired small
armies to protect their property
► 90 percent of the people were poor and
lived hard lives
Revival of the Family
► Confucian
honored.
teachings about the family were
 Children were taught to obey parents from birth
and disobeying parents was a crime
Achievements of Ancient China
► Wudi’s
western expansion lead to the
beginning of trade with central Asia
► This was the beginning of the Silk Road
► Sundial
► Seismograph
► Acupuncture
► Paper
Disorder and Reunification
► After
the Han dynasty falls China enters the
“Period of Disunion”
 Rival kingdoms fought for control
 Chinese culture spread
 New people groups moved to China
Sui Dynasty
► Yang
Jian united the kingdoms and created
the Sui dynasty
► Famous for the building of the Grand Canal
Tang Dynasty
► Territory
grew to cover much of eastern and
central Asia
► Historians view this time period as the
“golden age”
 Great advancements in art especially
poetry
Poetry
► Li
Bo- “Before my bed
There is bright moonlight
So that it seems
Like frost on the ground:
I watch the bright moon
Lifting my head
I dream that I’m home.”
Empress Wu.
► The
only women ever to rule China
happened in the Tang dynasty
► Her methods were vicious, but she was
intelligent and talented.
Song dynasty
► After
the Tang a period of chaos and
disorder separated kingdoms
► The period becomes known as the “Five
Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms”
► The Song once again reunited China
 Is remembered as a time of great achievement
Tang and the Song
► Had
large cities made of people from all
over the world
► Center of trade
 Grand Canal
 Foreign trade took place over land routes to
India and Southwest Asia
 Exports included tea, rice, spices, jade, and silk
Tang and the Song
► Advancements





Woodblock printing
Gunpowder
Compass
Paper money
Porcelain
Mongols
► Genghis
Khan- “Universal Ruler”
 He led his people on conquests of Asia and
Eastern Europe
 Then he turned his attention towards China
 By the time of his death he had captured all of
Northern China
Mongols
► Kublai
Khan- The grandson of Genghis Khan
was able to capture the rest of China
Mongols
► The
Mongols were a different ethnic group
than the Chinese.
 Spoke a different language, worshiped different
gods, wore different clothes
The Chinese resented being ruled by foreign
rulers who they saw as rude and uncivilized
Mongols
► Kublai
Khan did not force the Chinese to
change but made sure that no one gained
to much power, such as the Confucian
Scholars
► Large amounts of taxes were collected for
building projects in which the Chinese were
used for labor
► The Mongols became weaker after failed
attempts to invade Japan
The Ming Dynasty
► One
of the most prosperous times in
Chinese history.
► The Chinese expanded their fame overseas
with the voyages of Zheng He
The Ming Dynasty
► Great
building projects such as the
Forbidden City were completed during the
Ming Dynasty
► A huge palace complex that included
hundreds of imperial residence, temples,
and other government buildings
The Ming Dynasty
► Complete
the Great Wall.
► Much of what you see today was completed
during this time period.
China Under the Ming
► After
the Ming Rulers had expelled the
Mongols they focused on improving China
► Leaders maintained a strong central rule
► They were powerful
► Despite the power they allowed the civil
service exam to exist which helped them
create a strong system of government
China Under the Ming
► Around
1430 the Ming Emperor made
Zheng He return from his voyages and his
ships were dismantled.
► The Ming were tired of spending money on
expanding the empire
► The created a time period of isolation where
they avoided contact with the
Silk Road
► Not
one road but a series of routes
► 4,000 miles long about the distance from
Chicago to Hawaii
► Started in Northern China and traveled
along the great wall and then along the
edge of the Gobi desert and the Nan Shan
or Southern Mountains then through
Mesopotamia until you reached the city of
Antioch in Syria
Silk Road
► Most
people did not travel the full length of
the road the material was usually passed
from person to person
► More importantly than the goods that
traveled was the Ideas
 Religion
 Technology
 Thinking