Download Unit 4 Lesson 7 The Zhou Dynasty and New Ideas

Unit 4
Lesson 7
The Zhou Dynasty and New Ideas
Matching – Write the term in your notebook and then the description that best
matches it.
1. The Analects
2. Confucius
3. Daoism
4. ethics
5. Laozi
6. Legalism
7. Legalists
8. lords
9. peasants
10. Zhou
a. The longest lasting Chinese dynasty
b. Desired a return to family order and social harmony
c. People of high rank who received land in exchange
for their loyalty
d. The lowest social class, farmed noble lands
e. Moral values
f. A book of Confucius’s teachings compiled by his
students
g. Stressed living in harmony with the guiding force of
all reality
h. Wrote The Way and Its Power, the basic text
expressing Daoist thought
i. The belief that people were bad by nature and
needed to be controlled
j. The first to put their ideas into practice throughout
China
Generalization: Leaders impact both their own
people and other peoples
Big Idea – The Zhou dynasty brought political
stability and new ways to deal with political and
social changes in ancient China.
Zhou Political System
- Mandate of Heaven – called “son of heaven”
- form of “divine right” – power to rule came from heaven
-elaborate- what
- would be supported by heaven only as long as he ruled
happened when
justly
nobles began to
- if king was bad, heaven would support another king
reject the Zhou
- people had the right to overthrow him
king’s authority?
- some believed that their rulers were gods
- Zhou used this to justify a rebellion against the Shang
- Social Order
- highest – king
- granted land to nobles in return for loyalty, military
Decreased
support and other services – form of feudalism
loyalty, civil
- nobility
wars
- paid taxes and provided soldiers
-explain- describe
- Peasants – lowest rank
the political order
- had small plot of own land
- had to farm additional land for nobles used by the Zhou
kings to rule
- Initially brought stability to China but then broke down
distant lands.
- sons of nobles less loyal to king
- local rulers gained power
Granted land to lords for
- rejected king’s authority
loyalty, military support, and
other services
-recall- why did the king’s armies
not rush to help him when
invaders reached the capital in
771BC?
they had been tricked by the king
who was lighting the fires to
entertain a friend, so they did not
take the signal seriously.
Decline of Zhou Power
- king’s lost loyalty and authority
- nobles refused to fight invaders
- capital fell in 771 BC, but dynasty survived
Warring States Period – 481 BC
- civil wars as lords began to fight each other
- armies and brutality grew – more interested in territory than honor
- changes in the family structure
- extended families had formed powerful groups
- when they broke apart lost power and became rivals
- sons began fighting over inheritances
- dividing of property led to even more problems
-evaluate- why do you think the decline of the
Zhou weakened the Chinese family structure?
There was no strong government to stop
power struggles within families
cause and effect – How did the Zhou’s decline
affect Chinese society?
It weakened family structure and caused many
civil wars among its citizens.
Ideas of Confucius
- teacher who was disgusted with the disorder and actions
- taught a return to ethics and proper roles in society
- Fathers should display high moral values to inspire their families
- Children should respect and obey their parents
- All family members should be loyal to each other
- Moral leadership, not laws brought order to China
- A king should lead by example, inspiring good behavior in all of his subjects
- The lower classes would learn by following the example of their superiors
point of view – what did Confucius believe
about good behavior?
That when people behaved well they were
simply carrying out what heaven expected of
them
Confucianism
- both a philosophy and a religion
- teachings collected in a book called The Analects
- has become the dominant beliefs in China
- led Chinese to develop a dislike sharp changes in their way of life
- impact on society for centuries
Daoism
- means “the way”
- stressed living in harmony with the Dao, creator of the universe and all things
- a reaction to Confucianism
- wanted government to stay out of people’s lives
- avoid interfering with nature and each other
- let things just flow naturally
- attention on the natural world
- humans just another part of nature
live in harmony with nature
- worshipped nature as the Dao
- Laozi or Lao-tzu
- most famous teacher
- people should not try to gain wealth or power
- wrote The Way and its Power
Legalism
- belief that people were bad by nature and needed to be controlled
- political philosophy not religious
- rejected Confucianism's moral preaching
- rejected Daoism non respect for authority
- strict laws and punishments
- everyone responsible for each other’s conduct
- relatives and neighbors of the guilty also punished
- efficiency important
- appointed officials, not nobles to rule
- empire to continue to expand
-elaborate- what might be some disadvantages
of Legalism?
Too much government power, innocent people
punished
-summarize- what did Legalists believe society
needed?
Strict laws to keep people in line, punishments
that fit the crime, and holding citizens
responsible for the crimes of others
Read the following passage. Then put together information from the passage to draw a conclusion about
the question.
The Revival of the Family
Since Confucianism was the official government philosophy
during Wudi’s reign, Confucian teachings about the family were
also honored. Children were taught from birth to respect their
elders. Disobeying one’s parents was a crime. Even emperors
had a duty to respect their parents.
Confucius had taught that the father was the head of the
family. Within the family, the father had absolute power. The
Han taught that it was a woman’s duty to obey her husband
and children had to obey their father.
Han officials believed that if the family was strong and
people obeyed the father, then people would obey the
emperor, too. Since the Han stressed strong family ties and
respect for elders, some men even gained government jobs
based on the respect they showed their parents.
Children were encouraged to serve their parents. They were
also expected to honor dear parents with ceremonies and
offerings. All family members were expected to care for family
burial sites.
Question: How
did the ancient
Chinese view
Emperor Wudi?
Information
from the Text
Conclusion