Download Ancient China

Warm Up
• Hinduism and Buddhism are the two major
religions that have shaped Asian culture
throughout history.
• Turn to Chapter 3, Section 2 in your text
and use this information to complete the
provided comparison chart.
Ancient China
How is China similar to the other
civilizations of the ancient world?
Geography
• (Huang He) Yellow River and Yangtze
River
• Himalayan Mountains
• Gobi Dessert
• Plateau of Tibet and Mongolia
CHINA HAS THE LONGEST
CONTINUOUS HISTORY
First Dynasties
•
Xia Dynasty (Shyah)
– 2200 B.C.
– No written record
– Organized through village network
– Flood Control
-- Hereditary monarchy
• Shang Dynasty
– 1700-1027 BC
– 1st family to have written records of rule
– Elaborate palaces and tombs
– Near the Yellow River (Huang Ho)
Shang Dynasty
• Anyang
– Capital
– Massive Wall surrounded cities
• Religion
- Spirits (Friendly/Troublesome Neighbors)
- Oracle Bones
• Large armies
- Constantly being invaded
• Organization
– Ruling class of warrior nobles headed by a King
– Family central to Chinese society
Oracle bone with
early ideographic
script
The Zhou
• Zhou dynasty
– 1050 B.C.
• Replaced one ruling class with another
– “meet the new boss...same as the old boss.”
– longest ruling dynasty (900 yrs)
Zhou dynasty 1100-256 B.C.
Zhou Dynasty
• Expanded Bureaucracy
– Civil Service: People who run the government
• Mandate of Heaven
– Idea that Gods Favored a certain group to rule and
that group is only overthrown when they have lost the
favor the Gods
• Constant Conflict – “The Warring States Period”
– Set up Dynastic Cycles
– Northern invaders weaken Zhou Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
•
China moves away from ancient values
–
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Social order, harmony, respect for authority
No law codes: rule by decree
- Mandate of Heaven
Feudal Society
- Emperor gave out fiefs
Development of cheap iron weaponry
The Period of Warring States
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771 B.C.
dozen-plus states
balance of power until 500’s
period of consolidation by warfare
– Chronic warfare
The Period of
the Warring
States, ca. 500
B.C.
Buddhism
a religion whose followers seek spiritual
enlightenment and emphasizes the
teachings of the Buddha including
Dharma (duty) and the Four Noble
Truths
Siddhartha Gautama
• Founder of
Buddhism.
Known as
“Buddha” or
“Enlightened
One”
Four Noble Truths
• Suffering is a part of life.
• Suffering is caused by people’s greed and
cravings for things (selfishness).
• Suffering will stop is selfishness is
overcome.
• The way to bring an end to suffering is to
follow the Eightfold path.
Eightfold Path
1. Accept the four noble truths. (awareness)
2. Think in the right way which leads you to help
others. (thought)
3. Be kind in speech; avoid boasting, gossip, and lies.
(speech)
4. Do what is right. (action)
5. Earn your living in a way which is good. (livelihood)
6. Avoid evil thoughts and actions. Work hard. (effort)
7. Learn to meditate. (concentration)
8. Be at peace in your mind. (understanding)
Nirvana
• This leads to Nirvana: a state of freedom
from the cycle of rebirth.
Compare and Contrast
Hinduism and Buddhism
What similarities exist in their beliefs and
practices?What differences?
Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty 221-206 B.C.
•
•
•
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dominated by “The First Emperor”
Qin Shi Huangdi (Chin Shi Huang Ti)
ambitious= understatement
centralized the government- rid of feudal
lords
• constructed roads and canals
• The Great Wall- many people died
• An amazing tomb found in 20th Century
The Qin and the Legalist Tradition
• Ideology of rule
- absolute power of the ruler
- people existed to serve the state
- destroy Confucian philosophy?
Resistance to Qin Policies
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Emperor orders execution of all critics
Orders burning of all ideological works
Some 460 scholars buried alive
Others exiled
Massive cultural losses
Tomb of Shi Huangdi
Terra Cotta Warriors
• Darrell Wells - Hickory Ridge HS
• McDougal Littell – World History: Patterns
of Interaction