Download Unit 4 Lesson 8 The Qin and Han Dynasties

Unit 4
Lesson 8
The Qin and Han Dynasties
Directions – Read the False statements below. Replace each underlined word with one from
the word bank that makes each sentence True.
Word Bank
Ying Zheng
army
copper
strong
invasions
1. The first Qin emperor created a weak government.
2. The Qin rose to power by building a strong school and by defeating rival states in battle.
3. Confucius succeeded in unifying China and gave himself the title Shi Huangdi which
means “first emperor.”
4. Shi Huangdi set up a new money system in which standardized gold and silver coins
became the currency used in all China.
5. The Great Wall was built to protect China from peasants.
Directions – Read each sentence. Fill in the blank with the word pair that best completes
the sentence.
6. Under Emperor _________________, Confucianism became China’s official government
policy. (Wu-ti/Liu Bang)
7. _______________ was born a peasant, but he became emperor after his army won
control of China after the fall of the Qin dynasty. (Wu-ti/Liu Bang)
8. A _________________ is a device that measures the strength of an earthquake.
(seismograph/sundial)
9. Under the ________________ dynasty, the Chinese made several advances in art,
literature, medicine, and science. (Qin/Han)
10. The _________________ dynasty rose after the collapse of the ________________
dynasty. (Qin/Han) : (Qin/Han)
Generalization: Leaders impact both their own
people and others
Big Idea – The Qin dynasty unified China with a
strong government and a system of
standardization while the Han dynasty created a
new form of government that valued family, art
and learning.
The Qin emerge from the Warring State Period as one of the strongest kingdoms
Shi Huangdi
- King Ying Zheng unites China in 221 BC
- takes the title “Shi Huangdi” meaning first emperor
- follower of legalism
- strict laws and punishments
- everyone had to follow his policies
- destroyed any writings that did not agree with legalism
- even burned people who opposed this
- expanded the empire
- conquered cities lost their walls and their weapons
Where was the Great Wall
located during the Qin
Dynasty?
Qin Policies
- emperor had all the power
- took land from the nobles and forced them to move to the capital to
keep control of them
- commoners forced to build government projects
- Great Wall and his Tomb
- divided China into districts and counties, each ruled by appointed
officials
- aided in tax system
- enforced strict chain of command
- set up uniform system of laws
- standardized the written language
- improved communication between regions
- built sense of shared culture and common identity
- standardized money system
- standardized weights and measures
- trade became easier
- road system that connected to the capital
- canals to connect rivers and move goods
- new irrigation systems to increase farming
The Great Wall of China
- Built to keep out invaders
- Took 2,000 years to build
- About 30 feet height and runs 1,500 miles long
- In 221 BC Shi Huang Ti combined the walls into one
- finished by the Qin Dynasty around 204 BC
- The wall we see today is a product of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and stretched 4,500
miles long
Rank
By table group decide what order you would put rank these achievements of Shi
Huangdi – based on effectiveness and how it impacted his policies in unifying China
a. Road System – connected the capital to all parts of the empire, made travel easier
b. Canals – taking goods from north and south, made travel easier and faster
c. Great Wall – kept out invaders
-recall- why was the
Great Wall built?
To stop invaders from the north
summarizing- how did Shi Huangdi strengthen
the government?
-- after successfully
unifying China and taking
the title “first emperor”
Shi Huangdi claimed that
the Qin dynasty would
survive for 10,000
generations. Instead,
after his death, rival
families defeated the Qin.
The Qin dynasty had
ruled all of China for
fewer than 20 years.
He took all the power, kept control of nobles,
divided china into districts ruled by appointed
officials, and organized a tax system
The Fall of the Qin
- while uniting China, policies also created resentment
- Shi Huangdi too powerful to take down though
- Fell apart when he died in 210 BC
- rebel groups began fighting for control
- each claiming the Mandate from Heaven
- Capital was destroyed and new emperor surrendered
- civil war
- eventually Liu Bang was able to seize control
- started the Han Dynasty
- lasted over 400 years
Shi Huangdi’s tomb – In March 1974 famers near the Chinese city of Xian were digging
for a water well. What they uncovered was one of the most famous archaeological
discoveries of the twentieth century. Measuring some 20 square miles, the tomb
complex of Qin ruler Shi Huangdi is best known for the thousands of life-like terracotta soldiers that guard the tomb along with horses and chariots. While the inside of
Shi Huangdi’s actual tomb has yet to be excavated, historians believe it took some
700,000 workers over 36 years to complete
Liu Bang
- peasant who became emperor because of the Mandate of Heaven
- well liked by all social groups
- set up new government style
- moved away from legalism – eased punishments
- lowered taxes
- gave supports large tracts of land
- educated officials helped him rule
Wudi
- became emperor in 140 BC
- wanted to create a stronger central government
- raised taxes
- took land back from the nobles
- placed grain supply under government control
- started civil service exams – but noble families still stayed in power
- appointed officials who were paid salaries
- Confucianism became China’s official philosophy
-elaborate- would you rather have lived under
the rule of Liu Bang or Wudi? Why?
The Han Dynasty – 202 BC to AD 220
- Increased the size of China
- Paid officials and held public exams to find people
- law, math, writings of Confucius
- anyone could take the test – opportunity for the poor to advance
- Trade routes developed between east and west – mainly because of silk
- became known as the Silk Road
- Polytheistic culture
- nature gods with a leader – Shang Ti
- scarifies of food, wine and animals
- on important occasions – human sacrificed
- those who died went to live with Shang Ti and could influence him
- practiced ancestor worship
Social Order
- became more rigid
- divided into 4 classes
- Upper Class – emperor, his court, scholar who worked for the govt.
- Second Class – peasants – largest group
- Third Class – artisans
- Lowest Class – Merchants – they did not produce anything
- military was not a class, but considered part of the government
- class system was about social rank – not wealth and power
-analyze- why were wealthy merchants in the
lowest class?
Did not produce anything of their own, only
bought and sold goods made by others
-elaborate – how were Han social classes
different than most social divisions?
They were not based on wealth or power
Family Life
- based on teaching of Confucius
- Children to honor their parents
- disobeying one’s parents was a crime
- father was the head of the family
- had absolute power
- women must obey husband
- children must obey father
- Children expected to honor dead parents with ceremonies and offerings, as
well as care for burial sties – ancestor worship
- sons more important than daughters
- sons carried on the family name and line as well as cared for the
parents when they got old
-describe- what was the son’s role in the
family?
To obey his parents, carry on the family line,
and take care of his parents
Government
Officials practiced Confucianism and had to pass an exam on Confucian teachings;
some men gained government jobs based on respect for parents
Confucianism
Family
Children were taught to respect their parents and obey their father
Critical Thinking – Analyzing Cost-Benefit
Think about the Actions of Shi Huangdi
Actions
Benefits
Costs