China

“Eastward goes the great river, it waves have swept away a thousand years of gallant men.”

China

Draw a picture or write down words or phases that express your ideas about China.

Prehistoric Society: Yangshao

5000-3000 BCE Ban Po Village Painted pottery Bronze tools

The Earliest Dynasties

Xia C. 2200 BCE

Shang 1766-1122 BCE

Zhou 1122-256 BCE

Neolithic village at Ban Po

The Shang Dynasty

Yellow Rivernear the frontier

traditional date: 1500 B.C. invaders eventually absorbed

Shang Dynasty

Horse-drawn chariots, other wheeled vehicles Large armies Political organization: network of fortified cities,

loyal to center 1000 cities Capital moved six times

Impressive architecture Other regional kingdoms coexist:

Characteristics

silk no animal milk or milk products ancestor worship central place of the family

Operative unit of Society

the family not the individual not the state not the religion

Other features

ornate architecture chopsticks ideographic script

still readable by modern Chinese

Oracle bone with early ideographic script

An example of Shang bronze (religious objects) cast using a “lost wax” process

More bronze ware, with early ideograms

A bronze temple bell

-many will strike two distinct and separate notes, depending on which part of the bell is struck

The Zhou Dynasty(JOH) China would become large and powerful Leave a heritage that would last

thousands of years Heritage is a set of ideas that has been

passed down from one generation to another

The Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou dynasty worshipped a god called Tian (TYEN) or “Heaven”

Lived in the Wei River Valley as herders

Learned to farm and settled in villages

Zhou Dynasty

Began to move east, and came into contact with the Shang people

1050 B.C. , the Zhou Dynasty attacked the Shang Dynasty

In 1050 B.C. the Zhou ruler, King Wu, claimed victory over the Shang Dynasty

Zhou Dynasty believed the heavens ordered the attack on Shang

Zhou Dynasty

Virtues: good qualities, needed to lead the people

Book of Documents: an early Chinese text, calls Heaven’s order to claim rule over China the Mandate of Heaven

Division of Classes

KingKing

Nobles

Peasants

Division of Classes

King was at the top of Zhou Society Everyone owned loyalty to the king King gave land to nobles in return for

military service Kings used nobles armies for protection

Division of Classes

Nobles received land in return for military service

Nobles ruled their land as separate states, governing in whatever way they wanted

King would use Nobles armies for protection

Division of Classes

Peasants lived on the land owned by the nobles and farmed it

For the right to farm a noble’s land, the peasant had to serve in the noble’s army

Life filled with hardships Peasants farmers supplied king with an

endless number of workers

Zhou Dynasty

Under the Zhou kings China’s civilization grew

By 700 B.C. more people lived in china than anywhere else in the world

The Decline of the Zhou Dynasty

Kings would be strong rulers, however eventually weakened

People to north and west of the Zhou kingdom invaded the valley of the Wei River

Warring Kingdom Period

Invaders would capture the Wei River Valley, Zhou had to move their capital

Power would weaken and nobles increased

The collapse of Zhou would bring China into a time of warfare

The Period of Warring States

771 B.C. dozen-plus states balance of power until 500’s period of consolidation by warfare

warfare chronic

The Period of the Warring States, ca. 500 B.C.

The Ideas of Confucius

One of China’s most important thinkers, Confucius

Lived during the Warring Kingdoms Period Confucius is often called China’s first

philosopher Philosopher: is a person who studies the

meaning of life

The Ideas of Confucius

He spent much of his time thinking about ways to improve society and restore order in China

China’s first teacher Used short sayings to teach his ideas

Confucius (ca. 551-479 B.C.)

poor family well-educated in the “classics” ambitious (wanted to be a bureaucrat...) couldn’t get honest work...so he became a

teacher

Kung Fu-Tse

Tomb of Master Kung

Confucius, con’t

wrote nothing--his followers wrote about him

difficult to separate myth from fact the Analects

his “sayings”

Important Confucian concepts

Ren – innate goodness in human beings Li – normal standard of conduct the TAO –what is appropriate no speculation on metaphysics

Confucian Ideas

Ethics and politics Avoided religion, metaphysics

Junzi: “superior individuals” Role in government service

Emphasis on Zhou Dynasty texts later formed core texts of Chinese education

Confucius, con’t

a failure? ideas spread by students adopted by the Han dynasty

Taoism

Mo Tzu: ca. 470-391 B.C. Lao Tzu: 4th or 3rd century

taught about the Tao

Taoism

supplied the metaphysical multiple lines of thought very fluid

Taoism

Critics of Confucianism Passivism, rejection of active attempts to change

the course of events Founder: Laozi, 6th c. BCE The Tao te Ching (Classic of Way and of

Virtue) Zhuangzi (named for author, 369-236 BCE)

The Zhou (Chou) and Qin

rise of the Qin new technology gave land to peasants new military draft new bureaucracy

The Qin and the Legalist tradition ideology of rule absolute power of the ruler people existed to serve the state destroy Confucian philosophy?

The First Emperor

Qin Shihuangdi (r. 221-210 BCE) founds new dynasty as “First Emperor”

Dynasty ends in 207, but sets dramatic precedent

Basis of rule: centralized bureacracy Massive public works begun

Incl. precursor to Great Wall

Shi Huangdi

united China in 221 B.C. ruled by the Legalist theory massive conscription for labor

China under the Qin dynasty, 221-207 B.C.E.

Resistance to Qin Policies

Emperor orders execution of all critics Orders burning of all ideological works Some 460 scholars buried alive Others exiled Massive cultural losses

Tomb of Shi Huangdi

The Great Canal

Rise of the Han

rebellion of peasants Lui Bang a successful failure

Han dynasty

ruled for 400 years new bureaucracy emphasis on centralization

weakening of the aristocracy imperial expansion destruction of the Legalists

East Asia and central Asia at the time of Han Wudi, Ca. 87 B.C.E.

The Han Dynasty

Han society

the Confucian educated elite free peasants non-free peasants improvement in women's’ status beginnings of “secret societies”

Population Growth in the Han Dynasty

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

220 BCE 9 CE

Population (millions)

General prosperity Increased agricultural

productivity Taxes small part of

overall income Produce occasionally

spoiling in state granaries

Facts It is located between

Mongolian grasslands and the farmlands of Han.

It is about 10 meters high. It is five meters wide. The wall stretches from east to

west for about 5000 kilometers.

The wall runs up and down along the mountains and valleys.

Construction The Great Wall was built as a

defensive fortification by the three following states – Yan, Zhao and Qin.

Construction of the first section began no later than the 6th or 7th centuries B.C.

The last section was added on between the 14th and 17th century A.D.

It went through constant repairs during the later dynasties.

Purpose of Creation The reason the Chinese created this astonishing wall

was to defend China. A lot of people think that this wall was built to keep the

Mongolians out, but eventually the Mongols would have gotten over it since it isn’t very tall. So instead of keeping them out, it slowed them down.

In reality, it began as independent walls for different states.

The idea of joining the wall came from the emperor Qin Shihuang.

This is the perspective of how big the Great Wall is.

From on side of America to another.