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Chapter 3: China in Antiquity
Study Guide: World History AP
Chapter 3 Summary
Like the ancient civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia, early Chinese cultural development sprang
up along great river systems, the Yellow and Yangtze. Chinese culture grew in almost complete
isolation until the Han dynasty and created a unique and vibrant civilization. The Chinese built a
great empire that dominated East Asia, both culturally and politically. Confucianism became a state
ideology and provided order in a fast growing population. Aided by a bureaucratic system based on
education and merit, Chinese institutions and cultural values survived the incursions of nomadic
peoples. Chinese civilization has varied little over the last 3000 years and retains much of its ancient
roots.
Chapter Outline
Land and People of China
Dawn of Chinese Civilization: Shang Dynasty
Political Organization
Social Structures
The Zhou Dynasty
Political Structures
Economy and Society
Hundred Schools of Ancient Philosophy
Confucianism
Legalism
Daoism
Popular Beliefs
Rise of the Chinese Empire: Qin and Han
Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.E.)
Beyond the Frontier: Nomadic Peoples and the Great Wall of China
Fall of the Qin
Glorious Han Dynasty (202 B.C.E. - 221 C.E.)
Confucianism and the State
Society and Economy in the Han Empire
Decline and Fall of the Han
Daily Life in Ancient China
Humble Estate: Women in Ancient China
World of Culture
Metalwork and Sculpture
Language and Literature
Music
Conclusion
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Chapter 3: Terms and Persons to Know
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legendary founding rulers
neolithic settlements
Yellow River
Yangtze River
northern frontier
Xia dynasty
Shang dynasty
oracle bones
divination
Xinjiang
Shang king
veneration of ancestors.
clans
social classes
Zhou dynasty
Rites of Zhou
mandate of Heaven
well field system
social classes
water control projects
agricultural advances
silk
hundred schools of ancient
philosophy
Heaven
yang and yin
Yi Jing
Confucius
Analects
dao
duty
human heartedness
Legalism
World History AP: Chapter 3
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Daoism
Lao Tzu
Dao De Jing
wu wei
popular beliefs
"Period of the Warring States"
Qin dynasty
Qin Shi Huangdi
centralization
Xiongnu
Great Wall
Han dynasty
Liu Bang or Han Gaozu
State Confucianism
civil service examination
farming and trade policies
territorial expansion
Han Wudi
Wang Mang
Xin dynasty
filial piety
the five relationships
Bao-jia system
daily life
Chang'an
women
Shang bronzes
tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi
Chinese characters
calligraphy
written and spoken Chinese
sheng
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Chapter 3: Mapwork
Map. 3.1. Shang China
 Locate on this map the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, sites of the two earliest river valley civilizations in
China.
 What was the importance of the city Anyang to the Shang dynasty?
 Which of the capital cities of the later Zhou dynasty appears on this map? Was this their eastern or
western capital?
Map 3.2. China during the Period of the Warring States
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Why were these principalities Qu, Wu, and Yue originally formed? Which dynasty had accomplished this
division?
How did the rivalries between the Qu, Wu, and Yue states lead to the formation of the Qin dynasty?
Where was the state of Qin located?
Map : The Qin Empire, 221-206 B.C.E.
 What areas did the Qin control?
 What area had been added to the empire under the Qin?
Map 3.3. The Han Empire
 Why were fortifications originally built on the northern frontier of China? Why did India face a similar
problem from the north?
 Which of the Chines emperors is credited with building the Great Wall? Is this legend or fact? To what
dynasty did he belong?
 How far did Han emperors extend China's boundaries to the south, north, and west?
Map 3.4. Trade Routes of the Ancient World
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Which of China's dynasties is especially known for its major expansion of trade? What restrictions did
this same dynasty place on Chinese merchants?
With which countries did ancient China enjoy a beneficial trade relationship? What Chinese goods were
especially prized by others?
From which foreign countries did China import wine? tortoise shell? weapons? Which countries bought
Chinese slaves and glassware?
How were goods transported along the Silk Road? What other routes were available? How far west did
Chinese trade extend?
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Datework
Chronology: Ancient China
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Why is the Shang dynasty considered China's first organized state?
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What factors led to the collapse of the Shang dynasty? The Zhou? The Qin? The Han? Are the
factors different, or are there issues that continue to confront Chinese governments throughout
antiquity?
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What motivated Wang Mang to seize power from the Han court?
Chapter Timeline: First Settled Agriculture to Han Dynasty
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How much later than the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt does China's first organized state,
the Shang dynasty, begin?
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Do the Neolithic revolution and the Bronze Age also begin later in China than they did in
Mesopotamia and Egypt? What about India?
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Chronologically order these dynasties: Qin, Zhou, Shang, and Han. During which dynasty did
Confucius live?
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Approximately when does the invention of writing occur in China? The iron plow? To which two
dynasties do these innovations belong?
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Primary Sources
Han Primary Source:
A Treatise on the Yellow River and Its Canals: Sima Qian, Historical Records
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Why might we expect the Yellow River to feature prominently in early accounts of Chinese
accomplishments?
After the (possibly legendary) Yu, which other Chinese emperors are concerned with water
control and land reclamation?
Why do these same concerns occupy ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Indian societies?
Which other (possibly legendary) emperors are credited with early technological advances?
Zhou Primary Sources:
Life in the Fields: The Book of Songs
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Throughout Chinese history, the peasants or farm laborers underpin economy and society. What
other classes exist? What are their relationships to each other?
What evidence does this document provide for the "well field system" practiced under the Zhou
dynasty?
Is there any reference to the "Big Rat" here? Why not? Who most likely authored this
anonymous song? Who would have been its intended audience?
Environmental Concerns in Ancient China: The Book of Mencius
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In what ways is Mencius counseling his emperor to forego short-term gain for long-term
prosperity? Did the Zhou emperors heed this advice?
Why is Mencius concerned that the emperor "not interfere" with agricultural workers or their
fields during the growing season? What form might such interference have taken?
What evidence do you see here for the traditional value placed on filial piety? For the "five
relationships"?
Confucian Primary Source:
The Way of the Great Learning
 Why is an understanding of Confucius considered vital to any study of Chinese history? What
relevance do his ideas have in today's China?
 Is The Great Learning part of the Analects?
 What is Confucius teaching about the dao here? How is this Chinese concept being translated
into English? How else might this word be translated?
 What, according to Confucius, was the highest good?
 What were the differences between Confucius' philosophy the philosophies of Legalism and
Daoism?
Daoist Primary Source:
The Daoist Answer to Confucianism: The Way of the Dao
 Putting content aside for the moment, describe the stylistic difference between Confucian and
Daoist writings. How does this difference in presentation reflect these philosophies' very different
goals?
 What is the legendary Lao Tzu teaching about the dao here?
 Daoist philosphers and painters valued nature very highly. What evidence do you see for that
emphasis here?
 How do these excerpts reflect the universal principles yang and yin?
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Late Zhou Primary Source:
The Art of War: Selections from Sun Tzu
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What do the ideas of Sun Tzu have in common with Legalism?
Who is the intended audience of this work?
What is Sun Tzu teaching about the dao here? How is his conception of the dao different from
that of Confucius or Lao Tzu?
What quality does Sun Tzu most prize in a general, knowledge or boldness? Why?
Qin Primary Source:
Memorandum on the Burning of Books: Sima Qian, Historical Records
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What does Li Su fear about the publication of independent opinions by conflicting philosophical
schools?
Whos is excepted from the book-burning decree Li Su proposes? Why?
What books are to be spared? What books are especially censured? Why? (For the Book of Odes,
see the Zhou primary source below.)
What punishments does the author suggest Qin Shi Huangdi inflict on those who disobey? How
would not only the decree, but these punishments, have benefited the emperor?
Zhou Primary Source:
Love Spurned in Ancient China: The Book of Songs: The Odes
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What opportunities outside of marriage would have existed for the female singer of this song?
To what class would the married pair have belonged?
What is revealed about ancient Chinese popular religion in the second stanza?
In light of "the five relationships," in the penultimate stanza, why does the female singer indicate
that she will return home, but will not tell her brothers of her husband's misbehavior?
Internet Exloration
To learn about the pronunciation of the Chinese language and how it is written go to
http://www.wisc.edu/arth/ah370/language.html
For an introductory essay to Confucianism go to
http://www.askasia.org
To learn about traditional Chinese music see
http://www.cechinatrans.demon.co.uk/home.html
To see examples of Chinese calligraphy and its various styles go to
http://www.chinapage.org/callig1.html
World History AP: Chapter 3