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Qin & Han Dynasty Qin Dynasty The establishment of Qin Dynasty • In 221B.C., King Zheng conquered its six rival states of the Warring States Period, put the long-time separatist lord regime to an end and found the first unified, autocratic and powercentralized feudal empire in Chinese history, making Xianyang as the capital. • Qin Shihuang(秦始皇), the first emperor • The Qin Empire relied on the philosophy of legalism, standardizing legal codes and bureaucratic procedure. • Pyramid-like power system: – The emperor perched on the top – Central government composed of three chancellors and nine ministers: • 丞相(chénɡxiānɡ ) • 太尉(tàiwèi ) • 御史大夫(yùshǐ dàifu ) • The whole empire were divided into 36 prefectures, and each prefecture divided into counties. • All the regional governments were subordinate to the central government, which was ruled by the emperor himself. The imperial court extended its control right down to the grass-roots units of the household groups which supplied labour, taxation and draftees. • On the basis of the established Qin standards, Qin Shihuang pushed forward economic and cultural reforms, eliminating regional diversities by every means, and consolidating the stability and unification of the imperial regime. The private ownership of lands, along with standardized currency and weights and measures promoted the development of economy. • Standardization of weights and measures • Standardization of the writing system: Small Seal character • To prevent future uprisings, Qin Shihuang ordered to confiscate weapons, to destroy the city walls and military fortifications and to move the old nobles and magnates of the six states to the capital so as to weaken their political and economic influence. 焚书坑儒 • Burning books and burying scholars: brutal suppression in ideological field, esp. the Confucianism • Defeated the nomadic Xiongnu and recovered the south area of Hetao plain. • Repaired and augmented the old walls of previous states and eventually linked these defense works together to form the Great Wall. • Tens of thousands of families were forced to migrate to Hetao subsequently, which played a positive role in land reclamation and frontier defence. • All of these activities required enormous levies of manpower and resources, not to mention repressive measures. Endless labor, heavy taxation and harsh laws in the later years of the Qin Shihuang’s reign started to provoke widespread social discontent. • In 209 BC, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang led the Dazexiang Uprising to overthrow Qin. Although the uprising was crushed, several other rebellions erupted consecutively all around China over the next three years. Many rebel forces claimed to be restoring the former six states and numerous pretenders to the thrones of the states emerged, resulting in the formation of many insurgent states. Chu-Han Contention • Among all the rebel forces, the most powerful one was the Chu kingdom. Xiang Yu, a Chu general, won the support of many other rebel leaders. Xiang Yu sent the ruler of Chu into exile and murdered him, and then became the real ruler of Chu himself. • Xiang Yu divided the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms, each governed by a vassal king. • Among them, Liu Bang in Sichuan as the king of Han gained power and finally defeated Xiang Yu. Chinese Chess 象棋 霸王别姬 • It tells the story of Xiang Yu besieged in Gaixia during the late years of the Qin Dynasty in the Chu Han Contention. Xiang Yu, hearing Chu folk songs from everywhere and failed to break through the besiegement, suspected the Chu soldiers had surrendered to Liu Bang. He bid farewell to his concubine Yu Ji with drinks in the camp. Yu Ji commits suicide, while Xiang Yu broke through the heavy besiegement, getting lost at the bank of Wujiang River. Feeling he has no courage to see his hometown fellows in Jiangdong, Xiang Yu kills himself at the Wujiang bank. Han dynasty Han Dynasty 汉朝 • 汉族;汉字 • Western Han Dynasty(206 BC – 9 AD) • Xin Dynasty • Eastern Han Dynasty(25–220 AD) 政治 • At the beginning, the Han Empire was divided into areas directly controlled by the central government, known as commanderies, and a number of semi-autonomous kingdoms. • These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States. Rebellion of Seven States • During the reign of Han Wendi and Han Jingdi, the conflicts between the imperial court and the fief princes grew up. • The official Chao Cuo of Han Jingdi suggested cutting down the fiefs of princes, insulting in the rebellion of seven princedoms. • Han Jingdi suppressed the rebellion, relieved the princes of their administrative powers, reduced the numbers of officials in the principalities. 思想 • From Daoism to Confucianism • At the beginning, Han Gaozu(Liu Bang) abolished harsh laws of Qin dynasty, and adopted the Huang-Lao thought which was based on Daoism, exerting a regime of laissez-faire and carried out more humane policies: – Lowering rental and taxes – Reducing labor corvee – Ordering officers, soldiers and refugees to return home and providing them with houses and fields – Restraining merchants and restricting the annexation of the peasantry agriculture. 思想 • During the reign of Han Wudi, he adopted the Confucianism as the official philosophy and denied all other schools. • Dong Zhongshu revised Confucianism by merging the Confucian and Yinyang schools of thought – He made the theory of the interaction between heaven (天) and mankind (人) his central theme. The emperor is heaven’s ambassador on earth, and natural catastrophes such as floods and droughts are heaven’s way of warning the emperor to examine his personal conduct and correct his mistakes. – Yang (light, positive, male) and yin (dark, negative, female) are the two fundamental forces of the universe and as such should be kept in harmony. The ruler has the duty to preserve that harmony. He must prevent disturbances by caring for and educating his people. He may reform institutions when necessary but may never alter or destroy the basic moral principles of heaven. In Dong’s system the ruler has the central position— undoubtedly one of the major reasons that Confucianism was accepted by Han Wudi . 军事 • In the early years of Han dynasty, Xiongnu nomads were powerful. The Han rulers usually adopted a conciliatory attitude towards them. The chief policy to prevent its invasion was to arrange marriages between the royal family and the Xiongnu chieftains to maintain the peace. 军事 • Under Han Wudi’s reign (r. 141–87 BC), the Han empire changed from a relatively passive foreign policy to an offensive strategy both in order to deal with the increasing Xiongnu incursions on the northern frontier and also according to general imperial policy to expand the domain. His generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing launched three large-scale expeditions. 外交 • Even before Han's expansion into Central Asia, diplomat Zhang Qian's travels from 139 to 125 BC had established Chinese contacts with many surrounding civilizations. • These connections marked the beginning of the Silk Road trade network that extended to the Roman Empire, bringing Han items like silk to Rome and Roman goods such as glasswares to China. Wang Zhaojun • One of the four beauties in Chinese history • Married with the Chanyu of Xiongnu Empire, spread the Chinese culture and made great contribution to the peace between Han and Xiongnu. Decline of Western Han • Because the frequent war with Xiongnu Empire, the whole nation was exhausted. Han Wudi put heavy burden on his people. • His offsprings tried to reform and develop the country but failed. • In 6 B.C, Wang Mang, a nephew of the empress of Han Yuandi, usurped the throne and established a new dynasty with the name Xin. • During the reign of Wang Mang, heavy taxes ,labor corvee, harsh penality, natural disster in successive years and roaring prices led to a nationwide peasant uprising. • After several years of competition, Liu Xiu controlled the situation and established the Eastern Han dynasty. Eastern Han Dynasty • • • • • An era of technology development Paper making Natural science Mathematics Medicine Paper making • In 105, Cai Lun improved the old technique of paper making, using tree barks, rags and old fishing nets to make paper, which was called Marquis Cai’s paper in honour of the inventor. • It put an end to the use of bamboo slips as writing materials and became one of the four great ancient Chinese inventions. • Chinese paper making was spread to Japan from Korea in the 7th century, to Arabia in the 8th and to Europe in 12th, which contributed greatly to the development of world culture. Natural Science • Zhang Heng invented seismography and the Armillary Sphere so as to observe the universe and perceive earthquake. • The theories of making this equipment are still in a wide application. Mathematics • The Mathematics in Nine Sections – Completed in early Eastern Han dynasty – Systematically summarized the important achievements in this field since the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods – Contained 264 applied mathematics problewms and was divided into nine sections according to the methods of solution and field of application – Demonstrated that mathematics in China had developed into a scientific system Medicine • Zhang Zhongjing wrote the medical masterpiece Treatise on Febrile Diseases, himself regarded as the sage of Chinese medicine. • Hua Tuo first employed the method of anesthesia in his surgical operation. Buddhism • In 64, Han Mingdi sent his official Cai Yin to Central Asia to learn more about Buddhism after a vision of golden figure appeared to him in a dream, who a minister told him was Buddha. • In 67, Cai Yin returned and brought back with him not only the images of Buddha and Buddhist scriptures but also two Buddhist monks, marking the beginning of the spread of Buddhism in China.