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The Han Dynasty • Ruled China from 202 BC -220 AD • Founded by Gao Zu, an illiterate peasant who defeated rival armies after the official collapse of the Qin • Most famous Han emperor was Wudi, who ruled from 141 BC – 87 BC • Lost the Mandate of Heaven due to weak emperors who did not repair canals and roads and imposed heavy taxes that led to peasant revolts • Overthrown by warlords in 220 AD who broke China up into several kingdoms How did Han Wudi strengthen the government and economy of China? • Set up a civil service system to select government officials; officials were educated in Confucianism and proved their merit through the civil service examination • Set up government monopolies on the production and sale of iron and salt • Followed a policy of expansionism to gain access to Silk Roads trade routes Why was the Han Dynasty considered a Golden Age? • Scientific advancements: more accurate calendars, seismographs, acupuncture • Technological advancements: papermaking, shipbuilding, bronze/iron stirrups, wheelbarrows, suspension bridges • Artistic achievements: Beautiful architecture, jade and ivory carvings, ceramic figures Why did Buddhism appeal to many people in China? • Promised escape from suffering and hope of eternal happiness • Presented Buddha as a compassionate, merciful god • Emphasized personal salvation, unlike Daoism and Confucianism • Chinese Buddhism emphasized filial piety and honoring Confucius What did the Han borrow from Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism? Confucianism • Ruler’s authority should not be questioned • Ruler = father of the country • Ruler must rule justly to hold on to Mandate of Heaven • Ruler should live a virtuous life and set a good example for citizens • Scholars achieved status through EDUCATION • Civil service system kept power of aristocracy at bay; created a MERITOCRACY Daoism • People should be “Confucian during the week and Daoist on the weekends” • Daoism provided an escape from the strict, self-control of Confucianism • Emphasized living in harmony with nature (visiting countryside, appreciating landscape paintings, poetry about nature) • Encouraged leaders to use warfare ONLY for defensive purposes • Han used military to protect China and to maintain control over trade routes (rather than just to conquer territory) • Leaders should “bend, not break”; be flexible and willing to compromise Legalism • Emperor maintained absolute control over the country and appointed friends/family to some government positions • Kept standardizations of Qin Dynasty (measurements, currency, language, axle width of wagons) • Reduced mandatory work requirement on public works to ONE month per year • Built four major highways that radiated from Chang’an, built canals and controlled floods