Chapter 3 China in Antiquity

Chapter 3China in Antiquity

The Qin and Han Empires


1. From their position in the valley of the Wei River that controlled access to the Yellow River plain, the Qin launched attacks on other states. By 221 B.C.E., Shih Huang-ti had defeated the states and proclaimed the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.E.). He was the first to call himself the equivalent of a western emperor. Having conquered north China and the lands of the Yangtze, the Qin pushed south to the edge of the Red River and southeast to the coast. To tie these lands together, the emperor ordered construction of a system of roads. To this end, carts using the roads were required to have standard length axles so the ruts they made would he uniform. Administratively, the land of the Qin was centralized into thirty-six (later forty-two) commanderies (provinces). These were further divided into districts.

2. In the north and northwest, the Qin faced a nomadic Hun people called the Xiongnu (Hsing-nu) who were troublesome in the lands south of the Gobi Desert where for years the Chinese had been driving out the nomads and taking their pasture lands. In retaliation, the Xiongnu struck back at the Chinese by raiding their towns and farms. Masters at fighting on horseback, the Xiongnu had significant advantages over the Chinese infantry defending the frontier. To stop the raiders, states in the late Chou began erecting walls and fortifications. The Qin emperor had these joined into a single Great Wall that stretched some 1400 miles from the Yellow Sea to central China. The Great Wall would he rebuilt of granite and extended three thousand miles during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

3. Near the Chou capital of Hao, a new capital, Hsienyang, was built in the Wei valley where access from the rest of China was limited to the narrow strip of land between river and hills at the great bend of the Yellow River. Productivity of the valley was enhanced by an irrigation and transportation canal.

4. A canal was dug linking a tributary of the Yangtze River with the Pearl River in the extreme south to facilitate bringing supplies to an army campaigning there. Later, the Grand Canal linked the rice-growing Yangtze basin with northern China.

5. The death of the emperor in 210 B.C.E. was followed by factional rivalry and the overthrow of the Qin. The victor was Liu Bang (Liu Pang), a commoner who founded the Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.-221 C.E.). The new capital was built at Ch'ang-an. Like their predecessors, the Han aggressively expanded China's borders, especially Emperor Han Wudi (Han Wu Ti, 141-87 B.C.E.). In the south, Han armies brought the Red River delta under control in 111 B.C.E. The armies similarly swept northeast into southern Manchuria and then to northern Korea in the last half of the second century B.C.E. In the west, the Han armies penetrated as far as the Caspian Sea in 97 C.E. However, it was in central Asia the Han had their most difficulty. The Xiongnu were still troublesome. The Han rulers tried pacification through gifts and titles but these failed as raids continued, almost reaching Ch'ang-an. In 129 B.C.E., Han Wudi ordered armies against the Xiongnu. By 119 B.C.E., Xiongnu power south of the Gobi Desert was broken. To hold the territory, Han Wudi sent 700,000 colonists and extended the Great Wall westward. Later, in 89 C.E., Han armies crossed the Gobi Desert to defeat the northern Xiongnu. This defeat may have caused migration of the Xiongnu to the Russian steppes and eventually to Europe in the fifth century C.E. as the Huns.

6. The Silk Road ran from Ch'ang-an and Luoyang west to Tunhuang (the last Chinese settlement) along the fringes of the Taklamakan Desert, through the Pamir Mountains into the Indus valley, and then to the Arabian Sea. Goods such as silk would travel through the Persian Gulf or Red Sea on its way to Rome. The trade through the desert wastes of Xinjiang province in China was primarily directed by Turkish speaking Uighurs whose caravans of two humped camels carried goods between China, South Asia, and the Middle East. The best route of the Silk Road was north of the Tian Sham (Heavenly Mountains) but because of banditry most of the caravans followed the southern route which passed the fringes of the Taklamakan Desert to Kashgar and down the into northwest India.

Question:1. What was the impact of the Xiongnu on the rulers of China?


1. From their position in the valley of the Wei River that controlled access to the Yellow River plain, the Qin launched attacks on other states. By 221 B.C.E., Shih Huang-ti had defeated the states and proclaimed the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.E.). He was the first to call himself the equivalent of a western emperor. Having conquered north China and the lands of the Yangtze, the Qin pushed south to the edge of the Red River and southeast to the coast. To tie these lands together, the emperor ordered construction of a system of roads. To this end, carts using the roads were required to have standard length axles so the ruts they made would he uniform. Administratively, the land of the Qin was centralized into thirty-six (later forty-two) commanderies (provinces). These were further divided into districts.

2. In the north and northwest, the Qin faced a nomadic Hun people called the Xiongnu (Hsing-nu) who were troublesome in the lands south of the Gobi Desert where for years the Chinese had been driving out the nomads and taking their pasture lands. In retaliation, the Xiongnu struck back at the Chinese by raiding their towns and farms. Masters at fighting on horseback, the Xiongnu had significant advantages over the Chinese infantry defending the frontier. To stop the raiders, states in the late Chou began erecting walls and fortifications. The Qin emperor had these joined into a single Great Wall that stretched some 1400 miles from the Yellow Sea to central China. The Great Wall would he rebuilt of granite and extended three thousand miles during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

3. Near the Chou capital of Hao, a new capital, Hsienyang, was built in the Wei valley where access from the rest of China was limited to the narrow strip of land between river and hills at the great bend of the Yellow River. Productivity of the valley was enhanced by an irrigation and transportation canal.

4. A canal was dug linking a tributary of the Yangtze River with the Pearl River in the extreme south to facilitate bringing supplies to an army campaigning there. Later, the Grand Canal linked the rice-growing Yangtze basin with northern China.

5. The death of the emperor in 210 B.C.E. was followed by factional rivalry and the overthrow of the Qin. The victor was Liu Bang (Liu Pang), a commoner who founded the Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.-221 C.E.). The new capital was built at Ch'ang-an. Like their predecessors, the Han aggressively expanded China's borders, especially Emperor Han Wudi (Han Wu Ti, 141-87 B.C.E.). In the south, Han armies brought the Red River delta under control in 111 B.C.E. The armies similarly swept northeast into southern Manchuria and then to northern Korea in the last half of the second century B.C.E. In the west, the Han armies penetrated as far as the Caspian Sea in 97 C.E. However, it was in central Asia the Han had their most difficulty. The Xiongnu were still troublesome. The Han rulers tried pacification through gifts and titles but these failed as raids continued, almost reaching Ch'ang-an. In 129 B.C.E., Han Wudi ordered armies against the Xiongnu. By 119 B.C.E., Xiongnu power south of the Gobi Desert was broken. To hold the territory, Han Wudi sent 700,000 colonists and extended the Great Wall westward. Later, in 89 C.E., Han armies crossed the Gobi Desert to defeat the northern Xiongnu. This defeat may have caused migration of the Xiongnu to the Russian steppes and eventually to Europe in the fifth century C.E. as the Huns.

6. The Silk Road ran from Ch'ang-an and Luoyang west to Tunhuang (the last Chinese settlement) along the fringes of the Taklamakan Desert, through the Pamir Mountains into the Indus valley, and then to the Arabian Sea. Goods such as silk would travel through the Persian Gulf or Red Sea on its way to Rome. The trade through the desert wastes of Xinjiang province in China was primarily directed by Turkish speaking Uighurs whose caravans of two humped camels carried goods between China, South Asia, and the Middle East. The best route of the Silk Road was north of the Tian Sham (Heavenly Mountains) but because of banditry most of the caravans followed the southern route which passed the fringes of the Taklamakan Desert to Kashgar and down the into northwest India.

Question:1. What was the impact of the Xiongnu on the rulers of China?

Land and People Three Sovereigns

Fu Xi (Fu Hsi)Shen Nong (Shen Nung)Huang Di (Huang Ti)

Chinese Civilization

Nomadic and agricultural peopleFamilyWriting

Neolithic settlements

Yellow River valleyYangtze River valley

Qin (Ch’in) Empire

The Great Wall with tower, north of Beijing

Shang China

Dawn of Chinese Civilization: The Shang Dynasty Xia (Hsia) Dynasty (?-1766? B.C.E.)

Yu Shang Dynasty (1766-1122? B.C.E.)

Political organization Centralized monarchy Bureaucracy Territories governed by aristocratic bureaucracy Oracle bones Shang Di

Social StructureBronze

Zhou (Chou) Dynasty (1122?-221 B.C.E.)Political organization, guo (kuo)

Rites of Zhou Mandate of Heaven Dao, The Way Right of Revolution

Economy and Society Well field system Commerce Slaves Agricultural advances Silk Money economy

Hundred Schools of Ancient Philosophy Shang Di Yang (sun) and Yin (moon) Yi Jing (I Ching), Book of Changes Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.)

Analects Dao (The Way) Rule by merit

Mencius (370-29- B.C.E.) Legalism Daoism

Lao Tzu (Lao Zi) Nature takes its course

China during the Period of the Warring States

Rise of the Chinese Empire: Qin and Han Period of Warring States, 403-221 B.C.E. Qin Dynasty, 221-206 B.C.E

Qin Shi Huangdi (221-206 B.C.E)LegalismAdministration

commanderies counties

Centralized controlMilitary expansionXiongnu (Hsiung-nu) nomadic people

Great WallFall of the Qin

The Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty (202 B.C.E.-221 C.E.)Liu Bang (Liu Pang), Han Gaozu (Han Kao Tsu)

Integration of Confucianism and LegalismSociety and Economy

Peasants Trade and manufacturing

Silk Road Guangzhou (Canton)

Fall of the Han Wang Mang, 9-23 C.E. Cao Cao (Ts’ao Ts’ao)

Ruins of Jiaohe, Turphan depression. Han dynastyoutpost in Central Asia

The Western terminus of the Great Wall at Jiayugan

Trade Routes of the Ancient World


1. The oceanic trade of Asia was conducted primarily by the Indians who sailed the South China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin. Nevertheless, during the Han the Chinese also became increasingly involved in the ocean trade. Especially important was the invention of the rudder as well as fore and aft sails that permitted Chinese ships to sail into the wind. These vessels carried goods throughout Southeast Asia and into the Indian Ocean. By the first century C.E., Chinese sailors had mastered the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean that blow from the southwest in the summer and the northeast beginning in October.

2. The conquest of northern Vietnam resulted in Chinese and foreign merchants setting up trading stations. Moreover, new routes were opened from southwestern China to the Bay of Bengal utilizing the river systems of Vietnam and Burma. In this and other trade, the Chinese generally had an advantage due to the high price commanded by the main export, silk. Gold and precious stones were usually used to pay for the silk.

3. The Mauryan road system that ran the length and breadth of India provided a sound base for trade. Both China and Rome had a high demand for such goods as jewels and semiprecious stones, sandlewood and teak, cotton and silk textiles, and spices. Roman trading communities were established in the Tamil south. The demand for the Indian luxury goods by the Romans resulted in the influx of gold coins, silver, perfume, slaves, glass, and Egyptian cloth. In southern India there were small colonies of Romans, Jews, Arabs, and Nestorian Christians from Syria and Persia.

4. The Silk Road ran from Chang'an and Luoyang west along the fringes of the Taklamakan Desert, through the Pamir Mountains into the Indus valley, and then to the ports on the Arabian Sea. Goods such as silk would travel through the Persian Gulf or Red Sea on its way to Rome. The trade through the desert wastes of Xinjiang province in China was primarily directed by the Turkish speaking Uighurs. The Uighur caravans of two humped camels carried goods between China, South Asia, and the Middle East. The best route of the Silk Road was north of the Tian Sham (Heavenly Mountains) but due to banditry, most of the caravans followed the southern route that passed the fringes of the Takiamakan Desert to Kashgar and down the into northwest India.

5. Han emperor Wudi opened the Silk Road to Parthia. An elaborate network of roads linked Parthia to China in the east, eastern India, and southern India. The Roman eastern provinces were tied to this network through Seleucia on the Euphrates River.

Questions:1. What were the implications of the trade along the Silk Road?2. How did the goods traded affect the economies of India, China,Persia, and Rome?


1. The oceanic trade of Asia was conducted primarily by the Indians who sailed the South China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin. Nevertheless, during the Han the Chinese also became increasingly involved in the ocean trade. Especially important was the invention of the rudder as well as fore and aft sails that permitted Chinese ships to sail into the wind. These vessels carried goods throughout Southeast Asia and into the Indian Ocean. By the first century C.E., Chinese sailors had mastered the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean that blow from the southwest in the summer and the northeast beginning in October.

2. The conquest of northern Vietnam resulted in Chinese and foreign merchants setting up trading stations. Moreover, new routes were opened from southwestern China to the Bay of Bengal utilizing the river systems of Vietnam and Burma. In this and other trade, the Chinese generally had an advantage due to the high price commanded by the main export, silk. Gold and precious stones were usually used to pay for the silk.

3. The Mauryan road system that ran the length and breadth of India provided a sound base for trade. Both China and Rome had a high demand for such goods as jewels and semiprecious stones, sandlewood and teak, cotton and silk textiles, and spices. Roman trading communities were established in the Tamil south. The demand for the Indian luxury goods by the Romans resulted in the influx of gold coins, silver, perfume, slaves, glass, and Egyptian cloth. In southern India there were small colonies of Romans, Jews, Arabs, and Nestorian Christians from Syria and Persia.

4. The Silk Road ran from Chang'an and Luoyang west along the fringes of the Taklamakan Desert, through the Pamir Mountains into the Indus valley, and then to the ports on the Arabian Sea. Goods such as silk would travel through the Persian Gulf or Red Sea on its way to Rome. The trade through the desert wastes of Xinjiang province in China was primarily directed by the Turkish speaking Uighurs. The Uighur caravans of two humped camels carried goods between China, South Asia, and the Middle East. The best route of the Silk Road was north of the Tian Sham (Heavenly Mountains) but due to banditry, most of the caravans followed the southern route that passed the fringes of the Takiamakan Desert to Kashgar and down the into northwest India.

5. Han emperor Wudi opened the Silk Road to Parthia. An elaborate network of roads linked Parthia to China in the east, eastern India, and southern India. The Roman eastern provinces were tied to this network through Seleucia on the Euphrates River.

Questions:1. What were the implications of the trade along the Silk Road?2. How did the goods traded affect the economies of India, China,Persia, and Rome?

Daily Life Family

filial pietyfive relationship

Housing Cities Women

Chinese Culture Metalwork and sculpture

BronzeLacquerware and ceramicsTerra-cotta army

Language and LiteratureWriting, Cang Jie

ideographic and pictographicliterary Chinese

Music sheng

Documents

Chapter 3 China in Antiquity