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CHINA
CHAPTER 5
Early China – Shang on the Hwang
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Controlled the Yellow River valley from 1600 – 1100
B.C.E
Isolated from the west of the world, except some trading
with Mesopotamia
Believed they were the center of the world and superior
to others –ethnocentric
Bronze, horse-drawn chariots, developed the spoked
wheel; pottery and silk production; decimal system;
calendar
Patriarchal family structure w/ multiple generations in
the same household
Dead ancestors advocated for them with the gods
Enter the Zhou now
Zhou = Chou
 Ruled China 900 years (beginning in 1100 B.C.E);
maintained traditions of the Shang
 Mandate of Heaven – Heaven gave the Zhou power as
long as they ruled justly and wisely
 Developed a feudal system; king rules entire empire,
gives smaller regions to nobles to control and protection
in exchange for their loyalty
 Developed bureaucracies – small units within the
government assigned to particular tasks
 Eventually the nobles claimed their own independent
kingdoms and fought among each other
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Era of Warring States
403-221 B.C.E.
 No clear central control of China;
individual regions warring with each other
(like the Greek city states!)
 Three Schools of Thought emerged to end
fighting: Confucianism, Daoism, and
Legalism
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Confucianism
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Confucius – lived from 551 to 479 BCE
Felt China needed the right kind of leadership
Ren (appropriate feelings) and li (correct actions)
Filial piety – respect for one’s parents
Leaders had a moral duty to set the example so that
people would behave properly.
Five key relationships:
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Ruler to subject
Father to son
Husband to wife
Older brother to younger brother
Friend to friend
Man is fundamentally good
DAOISM
Laozi
Dao = way of nature or way of cosmos
Human beings should exist in harmony
Wu wei = act by not acting; do nothing and
problems will solve themselves, like nature
 Believed that government structure was useless;
caused competition and fighting; less
government is better
 Cultivate patience, selflessness and concern for
all
 War should only be used for defensive purposes
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LEGALISM
Man is inherently evil and needs strict laws and
punishment to behave properly
 Need strong central government with an
absolute ruler with high taxes to provide stability
 Best professions are farming and military
 Man is fundamentally bad
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HAN DYNASTY
Followed the Qin dynasty; harsh regime
who had Confucian books burned
 206 BCE – 220 CE
 Softened legalist ideas with Confucian
ideas – ruler has authority over empire like
father rules over family
 Expansionist – North Vietnam, Korea and
Central Asia became part of the empire
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HAN DYNASTY
Increased military strength established peace
and order which = increase in trade
Silk Roads – series of roads that allowed trade to
connect with Central Asia, India and the Roman
empire
 Canal system within China
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HAN DYNASTY
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Social Structure
 Patriarchal;
women subordinate to father’s
and husbands
 Upper class women were educated
 Highest
class = scholar-gentry
peasants
merchants (lived off labor of
others)
HAN DYNASTY
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Fall of the Empire
 Invading
nomads
 Conscription failed and the government had to
hire soldiers who were not very loyal
 Government corruption
 Infighting among powerful aristocratic families
Parallels between Roman & Han
Empires
Patriarchal; family loyalty
 Agricultural with farmers available for military service
 Started out in small homogeneous regions and spread to
vast populations
 Created a cultural unity that persisted
 Created systems to administer areas far away
 Road systems for the spread of communication, trade
and beliefs
 Civil service systems
 Capital cities acted as a model for all cities and towns
 Defense issues (trying to maintain long distance borders)
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