Download Chapter 15: Section 4 China: Powerful Empires

Chapter 15: Section 4
China: Powerful Empires
Chapter 15: Section
4
China: Powerful
Empires
Lesson Questions
How did the First Emperor unite
China?
What were some achievements of
Chinese civilization?
What contacts did China have with
other cultures?
The First Empire
- China became an empire under
ruthless leaders
221 B.C. – the Qin (CHIN) dynasty
conquered the old Zhou (CHOW)
dynasty and neighboring provinces
The first Chinese Empire was
established under ruler Qin or Shi
Huangdi (sher hwangdee) meaning
“first emperor”
He ruled harshly with Legalist
Principles
Uniting China
Shi Huangdi imposed a single law code,
uniform standards for weights and
measures, and currency regulations.
He used forced labor to build roads in order
to give troops access across his domain
He banned all books except for Legalist
works
He burned Confucian books and
persecuted Confucian scholars
Books on medicine, agriculture, and
technology were spared
The Great Wall
the Great Wall was built with forced labor
hundreds of thousands of peasants labored
under harsh conditions
“Every stone cost a human life”
the Great Wall extended 1,500 miles but
seldom kept out invaders
the wall represented the “civilized” people
of the south against the “barbarians” of the
north
The Great Wall and Qin Dynasty
Expansion Under the Han
the Qin dynasty fell after Shi Huangdi died
Liu Bang (lyoh bong), a peasant leader,
established the Han dynasty
The Han dynasty ruled from 206 B.C. to
220 A.D.
The Han dynasty traded jade, bronzes and
silk to India and the Mediterranean world
Chinese travelers returned home with
grape and alfalfa seeds
China learned about Buddhism through
trade
Tea spread to other parts of china
The Silk Road
Civil service system
the Han restored Confucian learning and
developed the idea of government run by the most
talented and learned men
they set up an examination system that chose civil
servants, or government officials
the students studied Confucian teachings and
Chinese law, history, and traditions
100 A.D. – a civil service university teaches 3000
students
under the civil service system, officials gained jobs
through merit not birth
this system kept the empire together as dynasties
changed and lasted till the early 1900s
Achievements of the Han
Han astronomers improved the calendar and other scientists
invented the seismograph (a machine that records the
direction of earthquakes)
Advances were made in medicine such as taking a person’s
pulse and providing acupuncture
Acupuncture uses needles to relieve pain and cure illness
Doctors also developed anesthetics and wrote about typhoid
fever
In farming they developed better flood control, fertilization,
and drought-resistant rice
Farm equipment was invented such as the wheelbarrow, mill
wheel, water clock, and sun dial
The Han dynasty developed the foot stirrup, an invention not
used in Europe for another 1,000 years
The Han Dynasty
Golden Ages in China
Invaders eventually destroyed the
Han dynasty and for the next 1,000
years various dynasties reunited
China
The Tang dynasty (618-907) and the
Song dynasty (960-1279) enjoyed
long periods of peace
In these peaceful times the economy
and arts flourished
Expanding Horizons
Trade increased and goods such as
cotton, pepper, and dates were sold
The Song developed a strong navy
and invented the sternpost rudder,
gunpowder and magnetic compass
The Chinese conquered Vietnam and
also influenced Korea and Japan with
their trade
The Song Dynasty
Literature and Painting
The Chinese invented block printing
and movable type which led to more
literacy
The most famous poet of the time
period was Li Bo and he wrote about
Daoist teachings
Landscape paintings became very
popular and also paintings about
poetry
Mongol Conquest
Genghiz Khan invaded the Song dynasty and took over all of
China
His empire stretched from the Pacific ocean to the Danube
river in Europe
In 1279, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghiz Khan
absorbed Confucian culture and renamed the empire Yuan
(a Chinese name)
At first he wanted to ban the Confucian scholars, but he saw
the important contributions they made to government
Marco Polo visited the Yuan empire under Kublai’s reign and
described his travels to Europeans
Polo facilitated trade between the west and the Mongolian
empire
Excellent roads, increased knowledge, and more trade was
the legacy of the Khan dynasty
The Yuan or Mongolian Empire
Chinese Revival
The Ming dynasty replaced the Yuan empire
Zhu Yuanzhang (changed name to Ming Hung Wu) led
Chinese forces in a revolt and captured Beijing
In 1368, he claimed the Mandate of Heaven, revived
Confucianism in government, and established the Forbidden
City (a royal palace)
Eventually the Ming dynasty resorted to isolationism,
whereas Europeans began to explore North and South
America
The Ming dynasty ended with the invasion of the Manchus
from Northeastern China
They established the Qing (CHING) dynasty which lasted
from 1644-1911
The Manchus accepted Confucian values, but they set up
laws forbidding intermarriage with anyone who is not
Manchurian
The Ming Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty