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Packet #6 Classical China: The Qin and Han Dynasties 600 B.C.E.-600 C.E. Packet #6 This packet includes information on the following topics: The Qin and Han Dynasties Warring States: Political confusion followed the collapse of the Zhou Dynasty. This led to the Period of the Warring States (403-221 BCE). Three schools of thought emerged during those centuries of confusion and chaos—Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. More on these in their own packet. The Unification of China: Politics: In the year 221 BCE the king of the Qin proclaimed himself the First Emperor and decreed that his descendants would follow him and reign for thousands of generations. The First Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, lasted only 14 years. Yet it had a lasting impact. He employed harsh rule and followed legalism. o Established a tradition of centralized imperial rule and provided large scale political organization over the long term of Chinese history. o Ruled the empire through a centralized bureaucracy. o He built roads to facilitate communications and movement of armies. HE drafted laborers by the hundreds of thousands to build defensive walls. He ordered laborers to link existing walls as ad defensive barrier that was a precursor to the Great Wall of China. o Standardized currencies, and laws. China became more tightly knit society with this new standardization. Importantly, also standardized Chinese scripts. o Book Burning—Confucians, Daoists, and others launched a vigorous campaign of criticism against his rule. Shihuangdi executed those who criticized him. He burned all books of philosophy, ethics, history, and literature. Buried alive some 460 scholars. o Terra Cotta Warriors: in 210 BCE Shihuangdi died. He created a lavish tomb and resting place. He was laid to rest in an elaborate underground palace lined with bronze and protected by traps and a life size army of statues. (Pictured on cover) The Han Dynasty: The Han Dynasty consolidated the tradition of centralized imperial rule that the Qin Dynasty had pioneered Lasted for more than 400 years. Lasted 206 BCE to 220 CE. Han Wudi and Political aspects of the Han Dynasty: Han Dynasty’s greatest and most energetic emperor. Reigned for 54 years. He sent imperial officers to implement his policies and maintain order and Packet #6 administrative provinces and districts. Han Wudi created the imperial university that prepared young men for government service. He didn’t care much for learning but he knew its value. The imperial university took Confucianism to provide intellectual discipline as the basis of the curriculum. Civil Service Exam: An exam that must be passed in order to service a government position –thus basing appointments based on merit not birth. This started in the Han Dynasty (very important continuity through much of Chinese history) in 165 BCE. The principle of selecting officials on the basis of talent had been established and would eventually become standard practice. Foreign invasion: Han Wudi expanded aggressively. He invaded northern Vietnam and Korea. The greatest foreign challenge that Han Wudi faced came from the Xiongnu who came from Central Asia. Han Wudi went on the offensive against the Xiongnu. He invaded central Asia with vast armies. He brought much of the Xiongnu under the Chinese empire. Economy: Major expansion of trade both domestic and foreign Han were suspicious of private merchants – viewed as parasites providing little true value to Chinese society. Utilized sea routes for trade New technology contributed to the prosperity of the Han era. Progress was made in areas like the textile manufacturing, water mills, and iron casting. Paper was invented under the Han, and the development of the rudder and fore and aft rigging permitted ships to sail into the wind for the first time. The Han continued to be an agriculturally based society. Culture: Population increased rapidly The Qin dynasty feared family loyalty as a threat to the state. Legalists imposed a heavy tax on family with more than two adult sons in order to break down the family concept. Under the Han, the family revived and increased in importance. With official encouragement, the family system began to take on the character that it would possess until our own day. The family was not only the basic economic unit; it was also the basic social unit for education, religious observance and training in ethical principles. Most Chinese lived in the countryside (like today). As time passed, cities began to play a larger role in Chinese society. Female subservience was a key element to Chinese society. In ancient China, men worked in the fields, and women raised children and served in the homes. The Chinese symbol for wife is a woman with a broom. Packet #6 The Fall of the Han Dynasty: Military pursuits caused economic strain To finance his ventures, Han Wudi raised taxes and confiscated land and personal property from wealthy individuals. Social Tensions: distinctions between rich and poor hardened during the course of the Han dynasty. Wealthy individuals wore fine silk garments, leather shoes, and jewelry and poor classes made do with hemp clothing and sandals. By the first century B.C.E. social and economic differences had generated serious tensions, and peasants in hard pressed regions began to organize rebellions in hopes of gaining a larger share of Han society’s resources. Wang Mang: Tensions came to ahead during the early first century C.E. when a powerful and respected Han minister named Wang Mang undertook a program of reform. He broke apart big estates and redistributed the land. This resulted in widespread confusion & resentment. Landlords and peasants killed him. The dynasty was weakened. Yellow Turban Uprising: Waged by rebels who wore yellow turbans, was a peasant uprising o A major cause of the rebellion was an agrarian crisis, in which famine forced many farmers and former military settlers in the north to seek employment in the south, where large landowners exploited the labor surplus to amass large fortunes. This significantly weakened the Han Dynasty Internal weakness and expansion contributed to the breakdown of the Han. China remained divided for 4 centuries into several large regional kingdoms. SOCIAL POLITICAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENTAL Packet #6 Han Textbook pp. 114-118 Rome Packet #6 Vocabulary Qin Shihuangdi Great Wall of China Terra Cotta Warriors Civil Service Exam Han Wudi Wang Mang Yellow Turban Uprising Definition