ANCIENT CHINAChapter 6

ACADEMIC VOCABULARYInstructions: Put the correct letter beside each number

a. Civilb. Convertc. Cultural

diffusiond. Economice. Establishf. Excerptg. Hermitageh. Ideologyi. Omitj. Pinnaclek. Prosperousl. relic

___1. cause to change in form, character, or function.

___2. successful in material terms; flourishing financially.

___3. achieve permanent acceptance or recognition for

___4. A place where one can live in seclusion; a retreat.

___5. an object surviving from an earlier time, esp. one of historical or sentimental interest.

___6. Of or relating to citizens and their interrelations with one another or with the state.

___7. Of or relating to the production, development, and management of material wealth, as of a country, household, or business enterprise

___8. a short extract from a film, broadcast, or piece of music or writing.

___9. leave out or exclude (someone or something), either intentionally or forgetfully

___10. The highest point ___11. the spreading out of culture, culture traits,

or a cultural pattern from a central point. ___12. a system of ideas and ideals, esp. one that

forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

GEOGRAPHY

About the size of the United States (4 million square miles)

North: Gobi (Goh-bee) Desert East: low –lying plains (one of the world’s largest farming regions)

Eastern boundary: Pacific Ocean

GEOGRAPHY

Climate: Vary

Northeast: cold and dryNorthwest: deserts are very dryEastern Plains: heavy rainsSoutheast: tropical and wettest region = monsoons

GEOGRAPHY

Rivers:

Yellow River (Huang He) in northern ChinaFloods = silt (river often floods and leaves layers of silt = great for farming)(River is know China’s Sorrow because millions of people have died in

floods)

Yangzi River (Chang Jiang) in southern China Longest river in Asia (cuts through central China)

(In early China these two rivers helped link people in eastern part of country with those in the west.)

CIVILIZATION BEGINS

First settled along riversFarming along Yellow and Yangzi RiversYangzi River: riceYellow River: cereals (millet and wheat)

Early Settlements: houses partly underground and maybe straw-covered roofsWalls surrounded towns for defenseArtifacts: arrowheads, fishhooks, tools, pottery, cloth, some water wells

CIVILIZATION BEGINS

Burial: Tombs with objects: food (suggested a belief in the afterlife)

Graves of rich: jewelry and other objects made of jade (a hard gemstone)

Chapter 6: Ancient ChinaDynasties Chart

Dynasty and Years

Ruler (s) Social Class System

Achievements

FIRST DYNASTIES

Xia (Shah) Dynasty founded by Yu the Great 2200 BCDug channels to drain water to the ocean (because of the floods)(archaeologists have not yet found evidence of this dynasty. Dynasty is described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. Concrete existence of the Xia is yet to be proven)

Shang Dynasty established by 1500s BC in northern ChinaSocial Order:Highest level: king, royal family, nobles, warrior leaders Nobles owned most of the land which was passed on to sonsMiddle level: artisans Lived outside city walls. Lived in groups based on what theymade. (Made weapons, pottery, tools, clothing)

FIRST DYNASTIES

Lowest level: farmers and slavesFarmers worked long hours. Taxes claimed much of what theyearned.Slaves were important source of labor.

First Writing SystemMore than 2,000 symbols to express words or ideaWriting on cattle bones and turtle shells. Priest carved questionsabout the future on bones and shells. Heated them, they cracked. Read cracks to predict future. Bones called oracle bones. Oracle is a prediction.

FIRST DYNASTIES

Shang Achievements:Bronze containers for cooking and religious ceremonies, axes, knives, and ornaments from jade, war chariots, powerful bows, bronze body armor, and astrologers developed a calendar based on the cycle of the moon.

ZHOU DYNASTY

Zhou (Joe) Dynasty 1100s BC overthrew the ShangLasted longer than any other Chinese dynasty.

Political System Based on the “Mandate of Heaven”. Dynasty life usually around300 year. Expanded territory to the northwest, east, and south. Granted land in return for loyalty, military support, and otherservices.

ZHOU DYNASTY

Zhou Society RankHighest: king who led government and gave land to lordsMiddle: Lords and warriors. Lords paid taxes to king and provided warriors to protect the lands.Lowest: Peasants (farmers) farmed the nobles’ land.

ZHOU DYNASTY

Zhou DeclinePolitical order broke down: Lords passed power to sons who were less loyal to the king. Local rulers gained power and rejected authority of Zhou king. Warring States: time of many civil wars.Changes in Chinese family structureFamily had been foundation of life in China. Families broke apart = lost their power. Relatives became rivals. Upper Classes - sons plotted against each other.

QIN DYNASTY

States battled each other for power. Qin (Chin) state built strong army that defeated armies of rivaling states.Qin dynasty united country under one government.

Qin king, Ying Zheng, unified China in 221 BC.Titled self Shi Huangdi(Shee hwahng-dee) = “first emperor”.Followed Legalist political beliefs = strong government with strict laws and harsh punishments.

Burned writings that did not agree with Legalism. Ex. Books saved

– farming, medicine, and predicting the future. Buried 460 scholars who opposed book burning.

QIN DYNASTY

Shi Huangdi used armies to expand empire. When conquered a city destroyed walls and took all the weapons.

He claimed all power and did not share it with the lords.Divided China into districts, each with its own governor.Districts subdivided into counties that were governed by appointed officials. Helped in enforcing tax system and enforcing strict chain of command.Set up a uniform system of law. Rules and punishments were to be the same in all parts of empire.

QIN DYNASTY

Standardized the written language = write using the same set of symbols. People of different regions a sense of shared cultureand common identity.

New money system = standardized gold and copper coins = currency used in all China.

Weights and measures standardized.Trade between regions became easier.

QIN DYNASTYQin Achievements: Network of roads connected capital to every part of empire. = Travel easier. Roads same width = army moved quickly and easily.Canals connected rivers. = Improved transportation.Faster and easier to ship goods north to south.Irrigation system = more land good for farming.Great Wall: A barrier that linked earlier walls across China’s northern frontier. To stop invasions. (Years of labor from hundreds of thousands of workers which many died.)

QIN DYNASTY

Terra-cotta Army6,000 life-size terra cotta or clay soldiers in one chamber1,400 clay figures of cavalry and chariots

Designed to be with Shi Huangdi in the afterlife. Discovered in 1974 in Xi’an

QIN DYNASTY

Shi Huangdi’s policies brought resentment from peasants, scholars, and nobles. Died in 210 BC and empire began to fall apart.Rebel forces formed. Attacked capital and burned palace.Country fell into civil war.

CONFUCIUS AND SOCIETY

Confucius “Kongfuzi”: most influential teacher in Chinese historyGrew in poverty. Served in minor governmentposition.China overrun with rude and dishonest people.

Chinese needed to return to ethics/moral values.Ideas of Confucius = ConfucianismWanted to return to time when people knew their proper roles in society. His ideas complied into book: The Analects

CONFUCIUS

Confucianism: a unique teaching that is both philosophical and religious.

A guiding force in human behavior and religious understanding in

China.When people behaved well and acted morally they simply carrying out what heaven expected of them.

Confucius’s ideas about virtue, kindness, and learning became dominant beliefs in China.

DAOISM

Daoism from “Dao” meaning “the way”.Daoism stressed living in harmony with the Dao, the guiding force of all reality.

Dao gave birth to universe and all its things.Daoism a reaction to Confucianism.Wanted government to stay out of people’s lives.

People should be like water and simply let things flow in a natural way.Universe is a balance of opposites: female and male, light and dark, low and high.Opposing forces should be in harmony.

DAOISM

LAOZI “Old Baby”: most famous Daoist teacher.

People should not try to gain wealth, nor should they seek power.Wrote basic text of Daoism, The Way and all Its Powers.

LEGALISM

Legalism: belief that people were bad by nature and needed to be controlled, contrasted with both Confucianism and Daoism.A political philosophy without religious concerns. It dealt only with government and social control.

Legalists felt society needed strict laws to keep people in line and punishment should fit crimes. Example: citizens should be held responsible for each other’s conduct: guilty person’s relatives and neighbors should be punished.

Unlike Confucianism and Daoism Legalist first to put ideas into practice throughout China.

Confucius

Laozi