4

Click here to load reader

Chapter 8 The Unification of Chinaglencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/premium/0024122010/instructor/... · to the philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Each of the three

  • Upload
    vannhu

  • View
    212

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Chapter 8 The Unification of Chinaglencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/premium/0024122010/instructor/... · to the philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Each of the three

Bentley, Traditions & Encounters, AP* Edition

36

Chapter 8 The Unification of China

The end of the Period of Warring States (403 to 221 B.C.E.) sets the stage for the development of a classical Chinese empire as well as the foundation of Confucianism in China. The rise and fall of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi makes a fascinating story, because the grand structures he commissioned also led to the extreme oppression of the Chinese people and the downfall of his dynasty after only two rulers. Qin Shihuangdi’s imperial organization and military conquests can be easily compared to the Persian experiences. The successor dynasty, the Han, continued the Qin patterns, albeit at a more modest pace to keep the peasantry from revolting again. Han Wudi’s military expansions, however, necessitated greater taxes and huge numbers of conscripted soldiers. As small farmers had to sell their lands, agricultural lands became concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of wealthy landowners. Unequal land distribution plagued China’s politics and economy for centuries. It would be a good idea to integrate information on the silk roads in this chapter (from Chapter 12), so students will associate the silk roads with the Han.

Just as the Period of Warring States had given birth to the organized Qin, it also gave rise to the philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Each of the three philosophies tried to explain how to secure a peaceful and well-ordered society. Confucianism attempted this by moral political service and adherence to a strict social hierarchy; Daoism by withdrawal into individual goodness; and Legalism by clear laws and swift punishments to transgressors.

The foundations of bureaucratic centralization in China went hand-in-hand with the establishment of universities in which to train the bureaucrats. Confucianism became the dominant educational and political philosophy in those universities, in large part because they had an established canon and curriculum dating from the Zhou dynasty. For the next 2,000 years, in order to become a government official in China, one had to become a proficient scholar of Confucian philosophy and pass rigorous examinations. Buddhism became another philosophy, a little closer to a religion than Confucianism, which was prevalent in Han and post-Classical China. (This is also covered in Chapter 12.)

The other important main idea that reappears in this chapter is the complicated relationship between the northern nomadic peoples and the peoples of the settled, agricultural Chinese empire. In the classical period, the Xiongnu created an empire strong and organized enough to challenge Han Wudi (ultimately unsuccessfully), although usually tactics such as paying tribute, allowing untaxed trade, or even marrying Chinese daughters to Xiongnu chiefs were enough to keep the peace.

The Han ruled for four centuries, but their control disintegrated due to a formidable array of internal problems (uprisings of desperate and disgruntled peasants, competing elite factions who fought each other in civil wars, and disease outbreaks). Timing: Note: This chapter sets up all the main ideass in Chinese history, and it needs careful explanation. For Chapters 7–12, plan to spend about 15 days total, including 1 test day. The material in Chapters 11 and 12 will take more time than other chapters, but you can tie chapters together as you go by discussing the silk roads connections throughout and by tying the imperial collapses together in lectures.

Page 2: Chapter 8 The Unification of Chinaglencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/premium/0024122010/instructor/... · to the philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Each of the three

Bentley, Traditions & Encounters, AP* Edition

37

Class/Thematic Topics

1. You could start this chapter by reminding students of the Period of Warring States and then explaining that out of that political chaos came philosophies of order (Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism). The philosophies require clear explanation, and they lend themselves to student activities. (See the activities that follow.) With Confucianism in particular, discuss the impact this had on the social structure in China by putting a premium on a patriarchal and hierarchical society. Because none of these are religions, they could easily mesh with Chinese ancestor-worship practices. Also point out that, according to Confucian scholars, the peasant-farmers, as producers, were the base of the society, whereas merchants produced nothing and existed merely to cheat people. Merchants occupied the bottom rung of Chinese society in the eyes of the scholars and the ruling classes. Finally, it would make a nice transition into the establishment of the Qin and Han dynasties to note how the Qin positioned themselves to take advantage of the chaos and established themselves as the rulers of the whole country of Qin/China.

2. Shihuangdi may be worth his own lecture, considering what he did for the administration and expansion of China, comparable to Cyrus and Darius in Persia. It would also allow for pictures and/or a slideshow of the Great Wall, as well as his spectacular tomb and the terra cotta warriors. This leads naturally into a discussion of the cost of these structures, in terms of money as well as labor and, hence, the causes for the revolts at his death and the end of the short-lived but hugely significant dynasty.

3. The four centuries of the Han dynasty illustrate the continuities from the Qin as well as the costs and benefits of imperial expansion. The necessity of bureaucrats, roads, defenses, and strong economic foundations in both agriculture and trade make a good comparison with the Persians, and will set up a nice comparison with the Romans as well (Chapter 11). This lecture should deal with the imperial structures, the significance of the university and examination system (and eunuchs), as well as the continued problems with unequal land distribution and the oppression of peasants towards the end of the Han dynasty. It should also mention that the Han created a tributary empire. They did not rule directly over Korea and Vietnam. You can discuss the empire here, as a natural offshoot of the imperial weaknesses.

4. Silk Roads, Trade, and Foreigners This topic should include merchants, missionaries, military, and Xiongnu. If you combine this chapter with a big chunk of Chapter 12, you can lecture on the silk-road travelers, which included merchants, missionaries, nomads, and soldiers from all over the eastern hemisphere. It should be stressed that, for the most part, trade was conducted in relays from oasis to oasis or port to port. Relatively few people traveled the routes from one end to the other. Discuss transportation (camels, foot, horses, boats), and the fact that foreign merchants often had their own quarters/neighborhoods in the trading cities in China. Otherwise, the routes can be mentioned in the lectures on the Qin and Han as conduits of trade and information, the travelers of which benefited from the pacification of the country after the Period of the Warring States. Check the Ask Asia Web site for silk road lesson plans and resources.

Page 3: Chapter 8 The Unification of Chinaglencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/premium/0024122010/instructor/... · to the philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Each of the three

Bentley, Traditions & Encounters, AP* Edition

38

Student Activities

1. Divide students into small groups, and give each group one of the Chinese philosophies. Have them make inspirational posters illustrating why the tenets of that philosophy would be the best ones to adopt.

2. Divide students into small groups, and give each group one of the Confucian ideas of ren, li, or xiao. Have them create inspirational posters illustrating the meaning of the term.

3. Divide students into small groups, give each group a verse from the Analects or from Laozi’s writings, and have them illustrate and explain it.

4. Organize a debate between the supporters of Daoism, Legalism, and Confucianism. Have each team explain why their way of looking at the role of the individual, government, and human society as a whole are more appropriate to China (during the Period of the Warring States) and why the others won’t work as well.

5. Divide students in small groups and assign each either silk, iron, or paper. Have the group develop a five-minute presentation on the basic technology involved in producing each product and the uses to which the product was put in the Qin and Han eras.

6. Divide students into small groups, and have them discuss gender issues. What role were women to have in the philosophies of the time? How did opportunities and limitations vary by social class?

7. Have students consult with Chapter 8 of the PSI Web site (www.glencoe.com/psi) for pictures of Shihuangdi’s tomb and the terracotta warriors, as well as pictures of the Great Wall.

8. Have students consult with Chapter 12 of the PSI Web site (www.glencoe.com/psi) for artifacts from the silk routes that exemplify the extent and influence of cross-cultural trade in terms of people as well as merchandise.

9. Remind students to fill in their Change Analysis charts (see Appendix 2).

Geography Skills

1. Using the maps in the text and a blank map of the eastern hemisphere (or perhaps just Asia), have students draw and label the borders of the Qin kingdom in the Period of the Warring States, the Qin dynasty, and the Han dynasty including tributary states.

2. Using the map they created above, or a map of the eastern hemisphere during the Han dynasty (ca. 200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E.), have students draw in and label the land and maritime silk routes. Create symbols or write in the goods that were traded along particular routes.

3. Have students consult Chapter 8 of the PSI Web site (www.glencoe.com/psi) for an interactive map of the Qin dynasty holdings, and Chapter 12 for a map of the silk routes. Have students answer the questions asked about these maps.

Page 4: Chapter 8 The Unification of Chinaglencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/premium/0024122010/instructor/... · to the philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Each of the three

Bentley, Traditions & Encounters, AP* Edition

39

Useful Videos: Legacy (with Michael Wood) “China: The Mandate of Heaven” (See Appendix 13.)

Historical Terms and Concepts to Know *Who, what, where, why, when, how, so what?

Sima Qian castration

eunuchs Period of the Warring States

Kong Fuzi Analects

ren, li, xiao Laozi

Dao, Daoism Legalism

Qin Shihuangdi Great Wall

Chinese script conscription

Liu Bang Chang’an

Han Wudi Vietnam

Korea Xiongnu

Bactria tribute

hegemony silk

Yellow Turban Uprising

From Chapter 12

Han Wudi Bactria

Chang’an Taklamakan Desert

Kashgar South China Sea

Guangzhou missionaries

epidemics Merv

Bukhara Samarkand

Khotan Dunhuang

Kuqa expatriate merchants

Java Sumatra