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Warm-UpWhat is the order of
the Chinese dynasties?

Shang, Joe, Chin, Han

Sway, Tang, Soong

Yooan, Ming, Ching, Republic

Mou Ze Dong
China – Birth of an Empire
General Info
Qin
Dynasty
221 B.C. - 206 B.C.
First Emperor
Qin Shih Huangdi
Dynasty
It was short-lived.
Han
Dynasty
206 B.C. – 220 A.D.
The Most Famous
Ruler
Wu Ti
Dynasty
It lasted over 400 years.
When we last checked in …
Zhou Wuwang

The Zhou was a bronze
age dynasty that had
pushed out the previous
Shang rulers.

By 256 bce, the Zhou
had lost the “Mandate
of Heaven” and China
entered the “Warring
States” period
Mandate of Heaven

The divine right to rule
The Qin Dynasty

The Qin defeated regional
states and unified the
kingdoms of China by 221
B.C.E.
– The First Emperor of China
– Shi Huangdi
(r 221-206 bce)
 Economic
Power!
– Public works
intended to
improve economy
 Canals
 Irrigation
 Acquisition of areas rich
in iron ore
– Mass mobilization of
FORCED LABOR
for public works including
Great Wall of China
– 700,000 workers used
to create capital city

Beginning in
220 B.C., Shi
Huandi began
restoring and
linking
separate
sections of
the Great Wall
which had
been built
years before
Government
Structure
He provided a single law
code for the whole empire
(laws posted for all to see)
Established a uniform tax
system
Appointed governors to control (legal/military)
each district.
Standardized weights and measures
Standardized written Chinese language!
Harsh system of rule:
Legalism

The best way to control human behavior is
through written law rather than through rituals,
customs, or ethics.

laws maintain the stability of the state from the
people who are selfish and ignorant.

laws let the ruler govern efficiently and
sometimes ruthlessly.

Text apart from law books were considered
useless (and were often destroyed along with
other “arts”)
The Legalist Philosophy of the Qin
conflicted with other political
“philosophies” of the time…
–
Kong Fuzi “Confucious”
Confucianism
 Good government
requires men of
benevolence, virtue,
and culture
 Governments should
promote these traits;
their absence leads to
chaos
 all people have virtue
and are educable
The Analects
• Never kiss a fool, or be fooled by a kiss.
• Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.
• Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
• Respect yourself and others will respect you.
• Study the past if you would define the future.
• Making a mistake and not correcting it, is
making another mistake.
• He who exercises government by means of his
virtue may be compared to the north polar star,
which keeps its place and all the stars turn
towards it.
1. Ruler
Subject
2. Father
Son
3. Husband
Wife
4. Older
Brother
Younger
Brother
5. Older
Friend
Younger
Friend
Daoism (Taoism)
The Dao is “The Way”
 The way is to become one with nature
 Nature should take its course with no
human interference
 People should go with the flow – a rock in
the stream letting the water (life) flow
around you
 "Wei Wu Wei" = "action without action".

Man is unhappy because he lives acc. to
man-made laws, customs, & traditions
that are contrary to the ways of nature.
Daoism
Rejected Confucianism but was
often tied to it
 Confucianism = the public philosophy
 Daoism = solace in private lives
Members of a Taoist spiritual
group cheer colleagues backstage
during an annual prayer
ceremony in Taipei. BBC 2008