Download Classical Civilization: China

Chapter 2
Classical Civilization: China
Ms. Sheets
University High School
Revised by Ms. Bennett
Chinese Dynasty Song
• Using the tune Frere Jacques
• Shang, Zhou (“Joe”), Qin (“chin”), Han
• Shang, Zhou (“Joe”), Qin (“chin”), Han
• Sui (“swee”), Tang, Song
• Sui (“swee”), Tang, Song
• Yuan, Ming, Qing (“ching”), Republic
• Yuan, Ming, Qing (“ching”), Republic
• Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqHR1uAc_-Q
Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE)
First documented rule in China after Xia dynasty
4
Classical China “Middle Kingdom”
• China emerged with an unusually well-integrated system
in which government, philosophy, economic incentives,
the family, and the individual were intended to blend into a
harmonious whole
• Isolated
• Couldn’t learn from other cultures
• Rare invasions
• Distinctive identity
Patterns in Classical China
• 3 dynasties: Zhou, Qin, Han
• Dynasty Cycle
• When a dynasty begins, it usually
emerges from a family of a successful
general, or from a peasant rebellion
• Over time, dynasties grew weak:
• tax revenues declined
• social divisions increased
• Internal rebellions
• periodic invasions
• When one dynasty declines, another
emerges
Zhou
Dynasty
1029-258
BCE
• Displaced the Shang dynasty
• Created the “Mandate of Heaven”
• Used to justify rule based on the idea that
Heaven transferred power of the dynasties
and legitimized the current dynasty
• Heaven would also be displeased with a poor
leader and would cause that dynasty’s
overthrow
Zhou Dynasty, cont.
• Used feudalism to create alliances
• Rulers gave land to family
members, other noble families,
and regional princes
• In exchange, tax revenues and
military troops were provided
• Feudalism is unstable; depends
on loyalties and obligations
• Extended territory of China into the
Yangtze River valley
• Promoted one standard language
(Mandarin Chinese)
Zhou Dynasty, cont.
• Eventually, regional rulers
formed independent armies
• Great thinkers tried to restore
order and social harmony
through education
• Zhou never established a
powerful government and
declined because of weak
political infrastructure and
nomadic invasions
• Zhou dynasty ended after the
Era of the Warring States (402201 BCE)
Zhou Dynasty
Zhou
• Social
• Rise of a strong, landowning class; inherit social status
• Patriarchal
• Political
• Loose alliance of regional princes, depended on loyalty; relatively weak
rulers
• Exchange land for promise of taxes and military - Feudalism
• Landowners become more powerful than rulers
• Interactions
• Expanded the Middle Kingdom
• Cultural
• Banned human sacrifice; formalized religious practices; Ancestor
worship; focus on harmony
• Promoted use of one language for everyone
• End of dynasty leads to development of new philosophies (Confucianism)
• Tea ceremonies; chopsticks
• Economic
• Agriculture dominated (N-wheat; S-rice)
Period of Warring States
• 402 BCE - 201 BCE
• Competing interests of landowning class and ruling class cause
political turmoil
• Landowners raise own military - origins of regional warlords
• No political unity - China is exceptionally weak
• Cultural innovations survive
• Results in new philosophies
Religion and Culture in China
• Religion
• Rulers in the Zhou dynasty
maintained a belief in gods
and stressed the importance
of a harmonious earthly life
• Ancestor worship
• Philosophies/Ideologies
• Confucianism
• Legalism
• Daoism/Taoism
Confucianism
• Confucius (K’ung Fu
Tzu)
• Period of Warring
States
• Scholar - history,
music, ethics
• Main Writing: The
Analects
• Promoted by followers -
Mencius
Confucianism
• Chinese ethical and philosophical
system based on relationships
and personal virtue
• Developed from the teachings of
Confucius (551-478 BCE) on the
eve of the Era of the Warring
States
• Based on Analects of Confucius
• Confucianism spread throughout
Classical China; predominant
philosophy
Confucian Beliefs
• Education
• Self regulation
• The proper exercise of political
power by the rulers
• Propriety and etiquette
• Familial love and respect for parents
• Righteousness
• Honesty and trustworthiness
• Loyalty to the state
• Humaneness towards others
• Highest Confucian virtue
Main Ideas
• Restore social order, harmony and good
government to China
• Ethical systems based on relationships and
personal virtue
• Emphasized family
• Filial piety - respect for parents and elders is necessary
for order
• Early Zhou Dynasty was seen as perfect society
• Inferiors devoted to service
• Superiors looked after dependents
Confucianism
• Five Basic Relationships in Society
• Ruler/Subject
• Father/Son
• Husband/Wife
• Older Brother/Younger Brother
• Friend/Friend
• Chinese gentleman - education and moral
standards; birth status not important
• Bureaucracy - those who help run government
• Courteous, precise, generous, just/fair
Daoism/Taoism
• Founded by Lao Tze
(604-531 BCE)
• Main Writing: Tao-teChing (The Way of
Virtue)
• Human actions are not
important
• Most important part of
society is natural order
of things
• The Tao (The Way) -
guides all things
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Daoism
• Founded by Lao Tzu (5th c.
BCE)
• A more spiritual philosophy than
Confucianism
• Promoted humility, frugal living,
simplicity
• Harmony with nature, astrology
• Secret rituals, ceremonies,
mystery, magic
• People should follow personal
paths to self-knowledge
• Little emphasis on formal
education and learning
• Many emperors favored Daoism
Daoism/Taoism
• Search for knowledge and
understanding of nature
• To understand nothing, it is best to do
nothing, to observe nature
• Nature is not jealous or power hungry
• Does not argue about right or wrong, good
or bad
Legalism
• Practical, political reaction to Confucianism
• Han Feizi - 3rd century BCE
• Powerful and efficient government is key to
restoring order
• Laws will end civil war and restore harmony
• Rewards to good subjects and punish disobedient
• Rulers must control ideas and actions of people
• Favored by Shi Huangdi during Qin dyansty
Legalism
• Qin and early Han periods
• Strict system of obedience to
government and law
• Favors authoritarian state ruled by
force (army to control people)
• Human nature is evil and requires
constant discipline
• People’s responsibility to work for
the government
• Not successful in China overall,
but influenced some policies and
ideologies
Shi Huangdi admired
Legalist thinkers
Qin Dynasty (221-201 BCE)
• Qin Shi Huangdi – only emperor of
the Qin dynasty
• Took control of feudal estates:
knew the problem with Zhou
dynasty laid with feudal nobles
who ruled lands
• Created non-aristocratic officials
to oversee provinces
• Had powerful army who crushed
uprisings; brutal ruler
• Goals were to unify and expand
China and restore order
Qin Emperor Qin Shih Huangdi
standardizes all possible:
• The Great Wall
• Weights & measures
• Laws
• Money
• Thought
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius
Institute
Qin Dynasty,
cont.
• Great Wall of China was begun
• Over 3,000 miles long
• Built to protect from outside
invasion
• Largest construction project in
human history
• Built by forced labor, many
died
• National census
• Calculate tax revenues and
labor services more efficiently
• Standardized coinage, weights
and measures
Qin Dynasty, cont.
• Uniform Chinese written script
• Government supports agriculture
with new irrigation projects
• Shi Huangdi was very unpopular
among Chinese citizens
• Burned books
• Taxed heavily
• Large military expansion and
conscription
• After Shi Huangdi died, Qin
dynasty ended
• Social
• Primogeniture eliminated (practice of having eldest son inherit
all property and land)
• Nobles must leave land and live in Emperor’s court
• Political
• Emperor had complete control over all aspects of society
• Use of brutality and force to accomplish goals
• Bureaucracy (not of the nobility) expanded to help control all
regions
• National census
• Single law code
• Interactions
• Army expanded to crush rivals and regional rebellions
• Expanded territory of China, including Hong Kong
• Influenced parts of Vietnam through conquest
• Expanded infrastructure to increase interactions
• Cultural
• Confucianism looked down upon and followers persecuted
• Legalism promoted
• Architectural: Initiates construction of Great Wall; Terracotta
Soldiers/Tomb of Shi Huangdi
• Uniform written language
• Banned books
• Economic
• Introduced standard weights and measures
• Eliminated the very rare practice of slavery
• Forced labor necessary for construction projects
• Extremely high taxes
• Sponsored agricultural projects (irrigation) and manufacturing
of silk
Why did the Qin Dynasty Fall?
• Shi Huangdi
• Extremely paranoid; killed off suspected enemies
(nobles, intellectuals, warlords)
• Desire to control EVERYTHING
• High taxes, forced labor
• Shi Huangdi dies in 210 BCE; followed by 8 years
of peasant revolts to determine successor winner establishes Han Dynasty
Terracotta Army
• Created around 210 BCE
• Purpose: defend Shi
Huangdi’s tomb, help him rule
in the afterlife
• Over 8,000 individual
soldiers, 130 chariots, 520
horses buried in four pits
around the tomb
• Terracotta: clay-based
unglazed ceramic
• http://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=RsUEZtcUFg&feature=related
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Qin (Chin) mistakes
• Burned books
• Destroyed major fortifications of the states
• Assassinated powerful leaders & scholars
• Collected arms of the empire & melted arrowheads &
spears to make 12 statues
• Failed to rule with humanity—lost the Mandate of Heaven
Han Dynasty
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Peasant uprisings ended rule of Qin
Dynasty
• Civil war
• Two strong leaders
• Xiang Yu (aristocratic general)
• Liu Bang (peasant-class general under Xiang Yu)
• 202 BCE
• Liu Bang beat Xiang Yu for good
35
Rise of the Han Dynasty
• Liu Bang, a peasant fighting in a rebel army, became
emperor due to the Chinese belief in the mandate of
heaven.
• He was the first emperor of the Han dynasty.
• Well liked by both warriors and peasants, Liu Bang
released the country from strict Legalistic practices and
focused on people’s immediate needs.
• Liu Bang lowered taxes, gave large plots of land to
supporters, and set up a government that expanded on
the ideas of the Qin.
Han Dynasty (201 BCE-220 CE)
• Developed examination system to prepare
•
•
•
•
civil servants to work in government – So
that talented men would run the government
– it would take years to take the exams
• Emperor Wu Ti worked to enforce peace,
and required government to have formal
training to emphasize Confucianism
Extensive expansion of Chinese territory
Trade routes led to contact with India,
Parthian Empire, Roman Empire
Invasions by the Huns and a weak central
government ended the dynasty
Between 220-589 CE, China was in a state
of chaos
37
Han 202 BCE – 221 CE
• The Han dynasty created a new form of
government that valued family, art, and learning.
• Legalism was replaced by Confucianism
• Han dynasty government was based on the ideas of
Confucius.
• Centralized government
• Capital cities
• Introduced the civil service exam
• Lowered taxes
• Less harsh punishments
• Silk Roads developed
• Opens trade
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Han Organizing Principles
• Heaven, earth, man form eternal trinity
• Economic welfare is basis of popular morality
• Government must provide peace & prosperity, &
education
• Moral education through rites, music & literature
39
Wudi’s New Government
• lived 141-87 BCE
• Consolidated central power (land, food supply)
• In 140 BCE, Emperor Wudi took the throne and
shifted the country’s focus back to a strong
central government.
• Confucianism became the official government
philosophy.
• Wudi built a university that taught Confucian
ideals, and awarded his officials with higher rank
if they were familiar with Confucian principles.
40
4 Social Classes under the Confucianism
• Upper Class: The Emperor, his court, and his
scholars
• Second Class: The peasants, who made life work
on a daily basis
• Third Class: The artisans, who produced items for
daily life and some luxury goods
• Fourth Class: The merchants, who bought and
sold what others made
Agriculture under the Han
• Population of 60,000,000 to be fed
• Farming thought to be a pivotal and honored occupation
• But in reality small farmers were burdened by government
taxes and became heavily indebted to the rich
Ancient Chinese wheelbarrow
42
Rich and Poor
• Only about 10% of the population lived in the cities.
• Cities were neatly laid out with main streets and alleyways.
• Each city was surrounded by a strong wall, made of earth and
stone.
• As cities are today, the ancient Han cities were centers of
government, education, and trade Wealthy families lived in large
estates.
• Hired laborers, private security, and entertainment.
• Wealthy families lived in large estates.
• Hired laborers, private security, and entertainment.
• Peasants made up 90% of population.
• Long hours, low pay, heavy taxes.
• The poor lived in houses packed together. They had very little
food, and little to no sanitation. Many of the young males joined
street gangs. Gangs wore distinctive clothes and armor, that
identified their gang. Teen gangs roamed the cities, terrorizing
people.
Commerce and Trade under the Han
• Trade and commerce were not respected but were
still very important
• Government had monopolies
– Salt mining
– Iron forging
– Coin minting
– Alcohol brewing
• Government engaged in industry
– Silk weaving
• Growth of trade along the Silk Roads
44
Family Life
• Social Classes and Wealth
• Social rank did not reflect prosperity.
• Hard work and heavy labor did not reflect prosperity.
• A strong family was stressed so that people would obey the
emperor.
• Men
• Men were the head of the household.
• Rulers had to obey their elders too; it was a crime to disobey.
• Some men gained jobs based on the respect they showed to elders.
• Women
• Women were taught to obey their husbands.
• Girls were not valued as highly as boys.
• Women could influence their sons’ families
45
• Buddhism was introduced
• Literature
• Fu style: combination of prose and poetry
• Shi style: short lines of verse that could be sun
• Confucian education system
• University established 124 BCE
• Art
• The Han created realistic scenes from everyday life,
advanced figure painting, and depictions of religious figures
and Confucian scholars.
• Porcelain
• Paper was invented
• The Han Chinese made paper by grinding plant fibers into a
paste and then setting the paste out to dry in sheets. Later
they rolled the dried pulp into scrolls.
• Great increase in population and land holdings – it doubled
Roles of Women under the Han
Traditional Roles
Women with Power
• Confucianism limited
women to the home
and to subservience
to men (fathers,
husbands, sons)
• Some women
wielded political
power because of
court alliances
• e.g., Empress Lu
• Women worked hard
for their families with
little reward
• Nuns
• Educated
• Lived apart from
families
• Medicine
practitioners
• Shop managers
• Writers
Paradox?
• Ban Zhao
• Helped finish her
father’s History of
the Former Han
Dynasty
• Wrote Lessons for
Women
• Urged women to
obey the
Confucian social
order
• Also encouraged
women to be
industrious
• Went against
convention by
writing
professionally
Chinese inventions
• The Chinese invented many new products during the Han dynasty, such
as the waterwheel, the rudder, drill bits, and steel.
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius Institute
Music
Produced by tones based upon response of
human heart to external things
Music & gov’t directly related
Contentment=broad & slow
Joy=ebullient & free
Music of well run state is peaceful & joyous
Country in confusion full of resentment &
anger=protest music
Dying country=mournful & pensive
Feng Shui
Chinese art of placement to
establish balance
Geomancy—for grave
placement
Propitious sites are on south
facing slope with water at
the base
Capitalizes on energy of the
earth--qi
Belief that qi can be directed
to benefit man
Dr Jessica Stowell OU Confucius
Institute
Unification of the Han Empire
Colonization
Assimilation
• Farmers sent to
settle new areas
• Settlers
encouraged to
marry locals
• Established
Confucian
schools in
colonized areas
• Chinese became
the common
written language
51
Decline
• The Han dynasty fell after wars, rebellions, and plots
•
•
•
•
against the emperor. Civil war began, and nomads
invaded the country before the government collapsed.
Nomadic raiders – Huns
Corruption, weak leaders
Collapse of bureaucracy
Buddhism spread from India to China.
• Unrest in China helped Buddhism to spread
• Buddhism helped people cope with the chaotic times
52
Han 221 – 581 CE
• Warlords control China – no centralized bureaucracy
• Non-Chinese nomads control much of China
• Buddhism becomes popular
• Confucianism fails
Political Institutions in China
• Most tightly governed of any large society in the world
• Belief in desirability of central government
• Power of the emperor
• Shi Huangdi - single law code and uniform tax
system
• Qin and Han stressed central authority and strong
government
• Development of a educated, professional bureaucracy
• Han create civil service tests
• Expansion of state functions allowed government to
reach the common people (ex: regulation of agricultural
production to control costs)
• Little emphasis on military since China did not depend on
expansion to maintain its stability
Economy in China
• Large gaps between the
upper class and the majority
of people
• Standardization of weights
and measures by Qin
facilitated trade
• Focused on agriculture;
virtues of peasants
• Yangtze River Valley
• wheat in north, rice in south
• population growth
Trade in China
• Extensive and regular internal trade using copper
coins
• Trade focused on luxury items: silk, jewelry, leather,
furniture
• Traded food between wheat and rice growing regions
• Trade was not highly valued in Classical Chinese
society (Confucian value of learning emphasized;
merchants viewed poorly)
Technological Advances in China
• Ox-drawn plows (300 BCE)
• Collar created that did not
choke the animal
• Iron mining
• Pulleys bring material to
surface
• Improved tools and weapons
• Water-powered mills
• Aided manufacturing
• Paper
• Allows government to keep
records
Society in China
• Social classes passed down through families
• Not permanent; could move up
• 3 social classes (hierarchical)
Landowning aristocracy and educated bureaucrats
2. Laboring masses: peasants and urban artisans
• Manual labor
• Produced manufactured goods (crops, etc.)
3. Mean (average) people
• People with unskilled jobs
• Performing artists, merchants, household slaves
• Punished more harshly than other groups
1.
Families in China
• Importance of unity and extended
families
• Power of husbands and fathers
(patriarchy)
• Power of parents
• Children punished severely for
disobedience
• Ancestor worship
• Role of women: power through
sons, and as mother-in-law
• Property rights: oldest male child
inherited property
Science in China
• Sundial
• Accurate calendar (444 BCE)
• 365.25 days
• Adept at astronomy
• Observed movements of
Saturn and Jupiter
• Developed early seismograph
• Measures earthquake
strength
• Acupuncture
• Medical research
• Principals of hygiene and
anatomical knowledge
60
Technology in Ancient China
• http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?ID=351241
Chinese Art
• Highly decorative, often representing
nature
• Chinese calligraphy
• Artwork found on bronze, pottery,
carved jade, ivory, woven silk screens
• No monumental buildings or large
monuments
• Many palaces and tombs