Download Classical China PPT

Classical China:
Qin and Han Dynasties
Zhou Dynasty (1029-258 BCE)
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE)
• Era of Warring States (475-221 BCE):
seven competing kingdoms
• Shihuangdi (r. 221-210 BCE) defeated
others and became the “first emperor”
– Advanced army, elaborate bureaucracy
– Used Legalism to rule empire
• Standardized weights, measures, currency, axle
lengths
• Began construction of a northern wall, canals
• Established written Chinese language
Qin Dynasty (221-206BCE)
Legalism
• Political philosophy used by Shihuangdi
– Burned Confucian texts and killed Confucian
scholars
• The state, law, and the position of the ruler had
ultimate authority
• Rules were publicly posted
– Strict rewards and
punishments were enforced
• Viewed soldiers and farmers
as only essential members
of society
Mausoleum of Qin Shihuangdi
Mausoleum of Qin Shihuangdi
• Built between 246-208
BCE
• Possessions were
meant to accompany
the emperor into the
afterlife
– 6,000 terracotta
warriors
– Booby traps
– Workers were buried
inside the tomb
Mausoleum of Qin Shihuangdi
Han Dynasty (206 BCE-221 CE)
• Civil war erupted after
Shihuangdi’s death
• Han dynasty founded by Emperor
Gaozu (r. 202-195 BCE)
– Capital at Chang’an
• Readily assimilated non-Chinese
people
• Emperor Wu (r. 141-87 BCE)
– Confucianism became official government philosophy
– Nationalized salt and iron industries
– Repelled nomadic Xiongnu from the north
Han Dynasty (206 BCE-221 CE)
Imperial Bureaucracy
• Emperor Wu established the
Imperial University to train officials
– Different levels of civil service
examinations to enter the
bureaucracy
– Exams based on Confucian writings,
math, literature, history
• Officials selected due to merit and morality over
wealth and status
– Favored wealthy families who could afford intensive
schooling for their sons
• Bureaucratic officials gained power, prestige
Confucianism
• Confucius (551-479 BCE)
– Philosopher and government official
– Saw the family as the ideal basis for government
– Social harmony occurred by following the example
of your superiors
• Five unequal relationships
–
–
–
–
Ruler to ruled
Father to son
Husband to wife
Elder brother to younger
brother
– Friend to friend
Confucianism
• Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you”
• Moral example of superiors should guide action
– Education led to moral betterment
– Try to cultivate ren: benevolence, goodness
• Harmonious family life was essential
– Reverence of
ancestors
– Filial piety:
Honor of one’s
parents and
ancestors
Patriarchy and Confucianism
• Balance in the cosmos
– Heaven (male) and earth (female)
• Virtues for ideal men
– Wen (rationality, scholarship)
– Wu (physical and martial ability)
• “Three Obediences” for
women
– Father
– Husband
– Son
Daoism
• Founded by Laozi (ca. 6th
century BCE)
• Encouraged withdrawal to
nature to find harmony
• Rejection of formal
education, political and social
involvements and ambitions
• Dao: the way, the path
– Simplicity in living, limited government
• Yin (dark, female) and yang (light, male):
complementary forces, unity in opposites
Han Society
• Emperor
• Aristocracy
– Rich landowners
• Scholar-gentry
– Developing class who
became bureaucrats
• Farmers
– Vast majority of Chinese population
• Artisans
• Merchants
– Viewed as materialistic, profiting from others
Peasant Farmers in Han China
• Majority of Chinese population were small
farmers
– Crippled by high rents to large landowners, military
service and state-mandated labor, natural disasters
• Wang Mang (r. 9-23 CE)
– Overthrew Han dynasty
– Outlawed slavery, equally distributed all
land
• Yellow Turban Rebellion (184-205 CE)
– Flooding of Yellow River
– 360,000 peasants rebelled
Han Economy and Science
• Silk Roads connected
China to trade with
India, Middle East, and
the Roman Empire
• Standardized coin money created
by the imperial mint
• Invented paper
• Farming improvements
– Iron plow, yoke
• Negative numbers, seismograph,
365 day calendar
Decline and Fall of the Han Dynasty
• Empire became too big to maintain
– Court eunuchs and aristocracy fought for power
– Large landowning families gained power
• Epidemic diseases
– Smallpox, bubonic plagues reduced population by
as much as one fourth
• Yellow Turban Rebellion (184205 CE)
• Frequent invasions by
northern nomads
• Emperor overthrown and three rival kingdoms
created
Shang-Han Dynasties