Download Three Great Dynasties

China’s Flourishing
Civilization
1100 B.C.E. - 200 C.E.
Three Great Dynasties
Three Great Dynasties
● From 1100 B.C.E. to the 200s C.E. China was ruled by three different
dynasties (ruling families). These three dynasties, the Zhou, the Qin,
and the Han, would shape Chinese society and culture, and play an
important role in the growth of Chinese civilization.
The Zhou Dynasty
Three Great Dynasties
● In 1028 B.C.E., the Zhou dynasty conquered the last Shang King (Shang
dynasty), and claimed the Mandate of Heaven to govern China.
● Upon taking power, the Zhou dynasty created an agricultural system in
which Chinese nobles owned the agricultural land in China, while the
peasants worked it.
o Each noble had total control of their lands, and their own army to
maintain order.
● The Zhou dynasty appointed their relatives to positions of governance, to
better control their hold over their vast empire.
The Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven
Three Great Dynasties
● Although the Zhou dynasty created a centralized feudal system to
control their lands, this system eventually led to the downfall of the
Zhou.
● The nobles that once swore allegiance to the Zhou dynasty soon started
to rebel against them for control of China.
● From the 700s B.C.E., until the 200s B.C.E., the Zhou fought constant
wars against their nobles.
●
Finally, in the 200s B.C.E., the Zhou lost the Mandate of Heaven.
Three Great Dynasties
● Zhou Cultural Achievements: Although the Zhou lost the Mandate of Heaven, they
played a critical role in the development of Chinese culture. The Zhou:
o Technological Advancements: The Zhou built roads and expanded foreign
trade.
o Military Advancements: Took horses from western nomads, allowing the
Chinese to build a strong cavalry. The Zhou also developed the first
crossbow.
o Chinese Writing: The Zhou further developed the system of Chinese writing.
o Agricultural Advancements: Under the rule of the Zhou, iron plows were
invented, irrigation systems and flood control systems were developed.
● Under the Zhou, China became the world’s most densely populated country.
The Qin Dynasty
Three Great Dynasties
● The Qin Dynasty: By 221 B.C.E., the Qin dynasty had conquered the
Zhou, and united all of China under a strong central government for the
first time in Chinese history, while claiming the Mandate of Heaven.
● The first Qin leader, Shihuangdi (the first Chinese emperor) divided China
into military districts, and hand appointed governing officials to head
each district.
o This system prevented Chinese nobles from taking control from the
Qin.
● Qin Cultural Accomplishments:
o The Qin dynasty created a unified system of weights and measures.
o The Qin dynasty standardized Chinese coinage, created a uniform
system of writing, and developed the first Chinese law code (across
all of China).
Three Great Dynasties
● The Great Wall of China:
o The Great Wall of China was created by the Qin dynasty to prevent
northern nomadic tribes from invading China.
o 300,000 Chinese peasants were used to build the Great Wall of China.
o The Great Wall of China stretched more than 4,000 miles across
northern China.
o The Great Wall of China is considered by many to be the Qin’s
greatest cultural accomplishment.
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China
Three Great Dynasties
● Qin’s Strict Rule over China:
o Qin Shihuangdi imposed strict rules over China’s population to prevent his
dynasty from losing the Mandate of Heaven.
o Shihuangdi took land away from China’s nobility, and imposed strict taxes on
the nobles to destroy the Chinese nobility (aristocracy).
o Shihuangdi appointed educated men to China’s government instead of the
nobility.
o In 213 B.C.E., Shihuangdi censored Chinese academia by ordering all scholarly
books to be destroyed.
 460 Chinese scholars were put to death.
o Shihuangdi had lost the Mandate of Heaven, he was hated by all segments of
Chinese society, including the nobility, the scholars, and the peasants.
o In 210 B.C.E., Shihuangdi died. Shortly after his death, the Qin were
overthrown.
The Han Dynasty
Three Great Dynasties
● The Han Dynasty: In 207 B.C.E., a Chinese peasant named Liu Bang overthrew the
Qin dynasty and declared himself the Emperor of China. By doing so, Liu Bang
created one of China’s most significant dynasties - the Han dynasty.
● The Han dynasty continued to use the governing system created by the Qin,
however, they wanted to keep the Mandate of Heaven. Therefore, they treated
the Chinese people with kindness.
● Emperor Wudi: Wudi was the most famous of the Han emperors. Wudi personally
supervised all aspects of the Han government, and ushered in a period of cultural
achievement that rivaled the Roman Empire.
Emperor Wudi
Three Great Dynasties
● Emperor Wudi:
o Wudi extended the boundaries of the Chinese empire. He conquered nomadic
tribes and non-Chinese people, including the lands of present-day Korea and
Manchuria, Southeast Asia, and northern India.
o The Silk Road: One of Wudi’s greatest achievements was the creation of the
Silk Road, a road that stretched from China to the Middle East (connecting
the East & West).
 The Silk Road was not one road, but a system of trade routes. Chinese
traders used this route to trade Chinese goods (silk) for Middle
Eastern/European products (gold, glassware, and fabrics (wool and linen).
The Silk Road
The Silk Road
The Silk Road
Three Great Dynasties
● The Pax Sinica:
o While Rome was experiencing the Pax Romana, the Han dynasty was
experiencing a 400-year period of peace known as the Pax Sinica.
o Emperor Wudi created an economic plan that allowed China to prosper and
experience their own golden age.
 The Chinese food supply: Wudi had government agents store surplus food
during good harvests, which they sold to the Chinese peasants during
times of food shortages (the Chinese people did not go hungry).
 Good Leadership: Past dynasties appointed family members of friends to
government positions (for loyalty), however, this practice led to
corruption.
 Wudi created a new system in which governmental officials were
recommended for public positions. However, to gain the position, they
needed to pass a difficult written examination.
Three Great Dynasties
● The Pax Sinica: (continued)
o Emperor Wudi’s examination system was the beginning of the Chinese civil
service system. A system that allowed anyone with ability to gain public
office in China.
o Because of the civil service system, scholars became the most respected
segment of Chinese society.
o Because of this system, a new class developed in Chinese society - the
Mandarins. The Mandarins were well-educated civil servants, who would
dominant Chinese culture until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.
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Chinese Philosophy
Chinese Philosophy
● “A philosophy, not a religion.”
● Following the chaos that ensued in China after the fall of the Zhou
dynasty, Chinese scholars began to seek answers to why chaos existed in
society, while also trying to figure out ways to create a more perfect
society.
● Therefore, the Chinese didn’t develop a religion (similar to the ones we
have studied in India, the Middle East, and Europe), but instead a
philosophy on how to live life in the present.
Confucius
Chinese Philosophy
● Confucianism:
o The most famous of these philosophies was Confucianism.
o Confucianism was started by a Chinese scholar named Kongfuzi,
known more popularly as Confucius.
● The Principles of Confucianism:
o Order and peace would prevail in China if the people lived according
to the principles of ethics (good conduct and moral judgement).
o “Do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto
you” - Confucius.
Chinese Philosophy
● The Five Relationships: Confucius’s most famous teachings were founded
in his Five Relationships.
o Confucius believed that there were five key relationships in society:
 Ruler and subject
 Parent and child
 Husband and wife
 Old and young
 Friend and friend
o Each relationship was governed by a code of conduct particular to
that relationship.
o Filial Piety: Confucius believed filial piety may have been the most
important relationship - children had to obey and respect their
parents and elders.
Chinese Philosophy
● The Legacy of Confucius:
o Confucius died in 479 B.C.E., however, his teaching and principles
continued to dominate Chinese society until the fall of the Qing
dynasty in 1911.
o The teachings of Confucius were collected and published in a book
known as the Analects.
o The Han dynasty based the civil service system examinations upon
the principles and ethics of the Analects.
Chinese Philosophy
● Another important Chinese philosophy was known as Daoism (also spelt
Taoism).
● Daoism was founded by a Chinese philosopher named Laozi, who lived
sometime during the 500s B.C.E.
o Laozi’s philosophies were recorded into a book known as Dao De
Jing.
Laozi
Chinese Philosophy
● The main principle of Daoism was to live in harmony with nature.
o Daoism did not believe that people had to fill specific roles in society, or that
there needed to be a formal social structure.
o Daoists, the followers of Daoism, followed the Dao, the universal force that
guided all of nature.
o The Yin and Yang: Daoists followed the concept of the yin and yang, a belief
that there were two opposing forces present in nature.
 The Yin was “cool, dark, female, and submissive.”
 The Yang was “warm, light, male and aggressive.”
 The Daoists believed that both of these forces were present in
everything, and that to achieve harmony, there needed to be a balance
between them.
Yin & Yang
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Chinese Society & Culture
Chinese Society & Culture
● “With Harmony at home, there will be order in the nation. With order in the
nation, there will be peace in the world.” - Confucius
● The teachings of Confucius dominated Chinese society and culture during the Han
era.
● The family unit was “supreme” in Chinese society and culture.
● The
o
o
o
Chinese family was not equal, but rather, a hierarchy:
The oldest male member of the family was the head of the family.
Followed by the oldest son; the younger sons; all females.
It was required that all lower members of the family show obedience and
respect to the members high on the hierarchy.
Chinese Society & Culture
● Chinese families lived in a structure that would become characterized as the
nuclear family (rather than the extended family). In the nuclear family, a
Chinese home was made up of parents and their children.
o The father determined his child’s careers, education, arranged their
marriages, controlled family finances, and was responsible for all discipline.
o Chinese farmers were characterized by strict ethical principles, and
compassion and kindness.
● The Role of Women:
o In the Confucian system, women were lower than men, and had to show men
obedience and respect to their fathers, brothers, and husbands.
o Women were not allowed to receive an education, but were allowed to
remarry and inherit property.
Chinese Society & Culture
●
Chinese Society:
o Landowners:
 Wealthy; Owned large estates of land; lived comfortably and had numerous possessions.
o
Peasants:
 90% of Chinese society were peasants.
 The peasants performed hard work and labor to make the landowners wealthy and prosperous.
 The majority of peasants were farmers, who farmed grain fields and raised livestock.
 Peasants paid taxes, were forced to serve the government for one month of the year, and
were drafted into the army.
o
Merchants
 Were the lowest class on the Chinese social hierarchy.
 Shopkeepers; traders; service workers; and bankers.
 Merchants were considered the lowest ranking of Chinese society because they were in the
pursuit of wealth, which Confucius considered an “unworthy pastime.” Merchants were not
allowed to take the civil service examinations or serve the government.
Chinese Social Pyramid
Chinese Society & Culture
● Chinese Cultural Accomplishments:
o Literature: Although the Qin destroyed thousands of books, many survived
and have become the basis of Chinese culture.
 The most famous work was the Book of Songs, which consisted of 305
Chinese poems written between 1000 B.C.E. and 600 B.C.E. These
poems discuss political themes, rituals, and romance.
 The Five Classics: A collection of Chinese books that carried solutions to
most problems in society. Chinese civil servants were required to read
and study these books to achieve success in politics.
Chinese Society & Culture
● Chinese Cultural Accomplishments:
o Science & Technology:
 By the 300s B.C.E., Chinese astronomers had calculated the length of a
year to be 365 ¼ days.
 Chinese scientists kept records relating to solar and lunar eclipses.
 Chinese scientists were the first to observe Halley’s comet (240 B.C.E.)
o Medicine:
 Acupuncture: A technique in which Chinese doctors used needles to
relieve pain and restore the balance in human beings (yin and yang).
o Farming & Transportation:
 Under the Han, Chinese farmers created complex irrigation systems,
advanced fertilizers, canals, an improved transportation system (roads),
and veterinary medicine for animals.
Chinese Society & Culture
● Chinese Inventions:
o Chinese Silk: Invented by the Chinese in prehistoric times, silk was a valuable
trading item for most of China’s history.
 Chinese silks were even traded with the Roman Empire via the Silk Road.
o Paper: Historians believe that the Chinese invented paper by 100 B.C.E.
Paper was originally used for wrapping and clothing, however, it soon became
“an ideal writing material.”
o Other Important Chinese Inventions:
 The wheelbarrow
 Books
 Gunpowder
 The suspension bridge
 The compass
 Bronze and iron casting.
Summary
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What: ______________________________________
When: ______________________________________
Where: ______________________________________
How/Why: ___________________________________
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