Download Strong Rulers Unite China

ANCIENT CHINA
ANCIENT CHINA
4000 BC – Neolithic Revolution
• HUANG (“Yellow”) River
– “River of Sorrows”
Mandate of Heaven
• “Divine Right of Kings”
• gods grant emperors the “right to rule” based on their
ability to govern well and fairly
• Gods take power away from poor rulers, which
causes rulers to be replaced
Shang Dynasty (1766 BC – 1122 BC)
– established 1st writing system
ANCIENT CHINA
Zhou Dynasty
1046 BC - 256 BC
Achievements:
• longest dynasty in Chinese history
• Iron
• large scale irrigation
• Ox-drawn plows
• Crossbows
• Horseback riding
CONFUCIUS
LAOZI (Daoism)
“Kong Fuzi”
“Low Dzuh”
• FOCUSED on social order and
good government
• Accept your place in society, it
helps ensure social order
• “Filial Piety” – respect for
parents
•Education is key to leadership
•Lead by example
•“Yin / Yang” – maintain balance
• Concerned with living in harmony
with nature
• Look past everyday issues to
focus on the “Dao” (“Way of
the Universe”)
• Reject conflict and strife
• Live simply with nature
• BEST government is one that
governs the LEAST
221 BC – 206 BC
Shi Huangdi becomes 1st Emperor of China
 established “Legalism”
• weaken the “Aristocracy”
• “collective responsibility” among all people
• people breaking laws were “beheaded” or “quartered”
• those who contributed the most were highly rewarded
• Literacy was suppressed
 uneducated people were easier to control…stupid people never
think to doubt who was in charge of the empire
 ”Book burnings”
210 BC – Shi Huangdi died
• had 8K “Terra Cotta Army” buried with him
• 5500 miles long
• revolts over
heavy taxes,
forced labor,
and cruelty led
to end of Qin
Dynasty
Han Dynasty
206 BC – 220 AD
Achievements
• spread of Confucianism
• opening of the “Silk Road”
– 4000 miles – connected to Mesopotamia
• establishment of Civil Servants and appointments by Merit
• “Records of the Grand Historian” by Sima Qian
– covers over 2,000 years Chinese history
Tang Dynasty
618 AD – 907 AD
Golden Age of Ancient China
Ming Dynasty
1368 AD – 1644 AD
Last of the great Chinese dynasties
Ming finished the Great Wall
Built the “Forbidden City” (Beijing) for Emperor Zhu Di
• palace was built as a replica of the Purple Palace where God
was thought to live in Heaven
– Ancient Chinese Astronomers believed that the Purple Star “Polaris”
was in the center of heaven
• 24 emperors used the palace
Expanded the “Grand Canal”
CHINESE
ACHIEVEMENTS
• Chemistry, Zoology, Botany
• Seismograph
• Acupuncture
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Silk
Paper – Cai Lun
365 ¼ Day calendar
Wang Chong – “scientific theories accepted by proof, not
gods”