Download 10-Ancient China PowerNotes

Ancient China - “Confucianism & Daoism” (10-2-14)
CONFUCIANISM (#1 Philosophy in China)
 Founded by the philosopher CONFUCIUS. Chinese culture is based on his teachings!
 Believed that the HAPPINESS of the people was more important than the PRIVILEGES of the
ruler.
 Believed that RULERS had to be FAIR to keep the country prosperous.
 Pressured RULERS to be good, (as it fit the idea of THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN)
 Confucius taught:

-RESPECT FOR ELDERS AND SUPERIORS (Shown in the “FIVE RELATIONSHIPS”)

-WORSHIP OF ONES ANCESTORS

-POLITENESS IN SOCIETY
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-IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

-BELIEF that HUMANS are GOOD
 Confucius’ teachings were collected in a book called the ANALECTS
 Taoism (aka “Daoism”)
 Founded by LAOZU (said “Lou-tsuh”- Lou as in the word ‘loud’) (aka- LAOZI).
 Taoism sets out principles of PROPER BEHAVIOR.
 TAOISTS BELIEVE… that INACTION (or “going with the flow”) is best.
 “ “Governments and laws are unnatural!
 ” “HUMILITY is important.
 ” “people should search for INNER PEACE and a SIMPLE LIFE.
 ” “ in a UNIVERSAL FORCE that results from an interaction of opposites called YIN and YANG
(dark/light; earth/heaven, female/male, etc.).
 Teachings of Laozu are recorded in a book called the “TAO TE CHING”, aka “DAO DE JING.”
 BUDDHISM spread from INDIA to CHINA, using the Silk Road, during the Han Dynasty.
 Mahayana form of BUDDHISM (Buddha as a god). It also adopted many CONFUCIAN and TAOIST
traditions as it spread throughout China (and later Vietnam, Korea and Japan!)
Ancient China - “Han Dynasty” (10-1-14)
 The HAN learned to use cavalry (soldiers on horseback) in their army. The army then grew very
powerful and greatly expanded China’s territory.
 The Han added much to the GREAT WALL of CHINA to protect their new lands.
 DYNASTIC CYCLE was started by HAN. A belief that dynasties grew, but would eventually fall
because of human weakness and would be replaced by another dynasty.
 The SILK ROAD was a trade route started by the HAN Dynasty and went from China to the
Mediterranean Sea (and eventually to Europe). The HAN opened China to trade with foreigners
and became VERY RICH! Main items sold were SILK, PAPER and PORCELAIN (we call “china”).
 The SILK ROAD also helped the spread of ideas, technology and even religions. Buddhism came
to China during HAN Dynasty using the Silk Road!
 HAN rulers made education important. Schools for boys, began in most provinces.
 “ “ replaced the Qin’s “LEGALISM” with ideas of the philosopher CONFUCIUS, and set up a
government that ruled FAIRLY.
 “ “ set up a CIVIL SERVICE system to govern China. To get government jobs, people had to pass
TESTS to prove they were the best. HAN also created a UNIVERSITY to train people for
government work.
 Because of its many important achievements, many historians believe that China’s GOLDEN AGE
was under the Han Dynasty.
 Chinese people refer to themselves as “The PEOPLE of the HAN.”
 MANY IMPORTANT HAN INVENTIONS:
 Made 1st modern-style paper
 PORCELAIN (“CHINA”)
 ACUPUNCTURE
 SHIP RUDDERS
 WHEELBARROWS
 EARTHQUAKE DETECTORS
 IMPORTANT LATER CHINESE INVENTIONS:
 GUNPOWDER
 BLOCK PRINTING
 MAGNETIC COMPASS
Ancient China - “Qin Dynasty” (9-30-14)
 The QIN Dynasty was ruled by SHI HUANGDI, but only lasted 15 years.
 QIN SHI HUANGDI meant “1st Emperor of the Qin” because he was the first to conquer ALL of
China and unified it under a strong CENTRAL government.
 The name CHINA comes from QIN which is said (and sometimes spelled “CHIN.”)
 “ “ believed in LEGALISM. A belief that people are basically evil and must be controlled through
tough laws and punishments.
 “ “ standardized WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, CURRENCY AND DIALECTS/WRITING.
 “ “ built a network of roads like Darius I of Persia (for the same reasons, too!)
 “ “ began building the GREAT WALL of CHINA to help stop BARBARIAN INVASIONS (Ancestors of
the infamous Mongols) from the north.
 “ “ made his people very angry because he raised taxes to pay for the Great Wall AND forced
peasants to work on it.
 “ “ had an army of terracotta (baked clay) soldiers to guard him in the afterlife.
 “ “ died and the QIN Dynasty was overthrown in a rebellion led by LIU BANG. He began the HAN
DYNASTY.
Ancient China - “1st Chinese Dynasties- Shang & Zhou” (9-29-14)
 -Ancient China was ruled by a series of DYNASTIES.
 -The SHANG dynasty was the 1st dynasty in Chinese history. (… & last of the R.V.Cs)
 -… also, had a bureaucracy (1,000 years before Persia).
 -” “ developed WRITING. Chinese writing is often called “Chinese calligraphy.” It uses
characters to represent IDEAS, not sounds. These are called IDEOGRAMS.
 They wrote on bones that they cracked with heat to determine the future.
 “ “ were the first dynasty to use SILK textiles and BRONZE.
 -SILK became a VERY VALUABLE COMMODITY! Its production made the SHANG dynasty very
rich and powerful.
 ZHOU (“Jō”) dynasty was the longest-ruling dynasty EVER (ALMOST 900 years!)
 -IRON was discovered during the ZHOU dynasty and iron tools made FARMING much easier.
 -ZHOU rulers were the 1st to believe that the god of Heaven determined who should rule
CHINA, a right known as the MANDATE OF HEAVEN.
 -Whenever a dynasty lost power, people believed that it had lost the Mandate of Heaven.
 -Natural disasters were sometimes interpreted as a need to change the ruler.