Chinese Dynasties

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/timeline.html

Shang 1700-1027 B.C.E.

Shang (1700-1027 BCE)• Bronze weapons• Bronze fittings for chariots and harnesses• Used earthenware for vessels (metals were scarce

in China)• Did not use ploughs, used hoes• Had tools of wood and stone• Descent was from older brother

to younger brother

Shang religious pitcher1300 BCEMnsu.edu

ORACLE BONES

• Oracle bones-made of turtle shells (question asked, it was fired. Crack it produced answered the question)

• Writing was pictographic and then became ideographic

• By 1200 BCE the Shang had a sophisticated system of writing

http://www.logoi.com/notes/chinese_origins.html

Shang religious practices

• Worshipped “Shang Ti” supreme god that ruled over lesser gods

• Human Sacrifice-When a king died hundreds of slaves and prisoners were killed. Sometimes they were beheaded first, sometimes thrown in alive

• For an event (I.e. the founding of a temple) there would be human sacrifice but with fewer victims

Chinatravel1.comMnsu.edu

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/zhou.html

Zhou Dynasty (1027-221 B.C.E.)

Mandate of Heaven• The Zhou told the people that the gods

became angry at the Shang and had now chosen the Zhou to rule

Brief Review in Global History and Geography

http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa/ninvest/ming/dynasticcycle.htm

• Made the first books

• Astronomers studied planet movements and eclipses, developing an accurate calendar

• Learned how to make silk from the cocoons of silkworms

• Silk became a valuable Chinese export

Zhou Achievements

A Brief Review in Global History and Geography

Similarities between the Shang and Zhou

• Zhou vessels were nearly identical with Shang

• Zhou adopted Shang writing system, administrative techniques, and rituals

• Incorporated some Shang gods as lesser gods

Msnu.edu

Differences

• Zhou began a feudal system of land ownership-land was given to vassals of the king in elaborate ceremonies

• The Zhou banned human sacrifice• Descent passed from father to son (patriarchal)• The capital was divided in two so the Zhou would

not have to live directly with the conquered Shang

Mnsu.edu

• Emergence of philosophies

• Confucianism• Daoism• Legalism

Era of Warring States 475-221 B.C.E.

http://www2.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/warringstates.htm

Philosophies

• Confucianism- Confucius (551-479 B.C.)

• Legalism- Han Fei Zi (d. 233 B.C) and Li Si (d. 208 B.C.)

• Daoism- Laozi (604-531 BCE)

www.faithresource.com

Image-google

Confucius saw five major human relationships that should be governed by li, or propriety. Those relationships are:

1.      Ruler and subject2.      Father and son3.      Husband and wife4.      Oldest son and younger brothers5.      Elders and juniors (friends)

Legalism

• Involved strict punishments for people who disobeyed laws, regardless of social standing

• Laws had to be obeyed by everyone- administrators carried them out (but they were not “above” the law) Wsu.edu

“The law does not fawn on the noble....Whatever the law applies to, the wise cannot reject nor can the brave defy. Punishment for fault never skips ministers, reward for good never misses commoners.”-Han Fei. A Legalist Writer:Selections from The Writings of Han Fei (c. 230 BCE)

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/hanfei.html

Daoism

"The most traditional view is that 'yin' represents aspects of the feminine: being soft, cool, calm, introspective, and healing... and "yang" the masculine: being hard, hot, energetic, moving, and sometimes aggressive. Another view has the 'yin' representing night and 'yang' day.

Source: "Where does the Yin Yang Symbol come from?"

Qin 221-207 B.C.

Mnsu.edu

Shi Huangdi• Abolished old feudal states and divided country

into military districts, each ruled by an appointed official

• Standardized weights and measures• Created national coins• Repaired canals and roads• Standardized language and writing of China• Great Wall of China (about 214 B.C.E-204

B.C.E.)• Legalism Google images

A brief Review in Global History and GeographyMnsu.edu

Chinatravelguide.com

http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art101/Art101B-10-China/WebPage-Full.00012.html

Army of Clay Soldiers from the Tomb of Shi Huangdi

Han Dynasty(206 B.C.E.- 220 A.D.)

Mnsu.edu

Han Rulers

• Liu Bang took control of China in 210 B.C.E. after the death of Shi Huangdi.He reduced taxes and eased the policies of the Qin dynasty.

• Wudi became emperor in 141 B.C.E. He established the civil service system and administered civil service exams (based on Confucian philosophy).

• Wang Mang (r. 8 C.E.- 23 C.E.) confiscated land from the rich to give it to the peasants and was executed by the Red Eyebrows, a secret society.

Wsu.edu

Women in the Han Dynasty

• Some religious recluses (like nuns) received an education and so did some noblewomen

• Confucian philosophy held that men are superior to women

• Women could not take civil service exams and were thus excluded from government

Brief Review in Global History and Geography

Han Achievements

• Chinese learned to make paper out of wood pulp• Invented wheelbarrow, the fishing reel, and the

rudder (steers ships)• Developed acupuncture, discovered herbal

remedies, and anesthesia. Scholars wrote texts on chemistry, zoology, and botany.

• Artists created carvings of jade and ivory. Some worked in bronze, ceramics, and silk

Brief Review in Global History and Geography

• Period of disunity and civil war

• Even though it had been there since the First century C.E., Buddhism spread throughout China

• Tea discovered (became popular later)

• Porcelain developed

The Three Kingdoms (220-265 A.D.)

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• Disorder• Power Struggles• Defeated by Huns• Defeated Chin fled to

Nanking (317 C.E.) where they ruled as Eastern Chin.

Chin Dynasty (265-420 C.E.)

Northern and Southern Dynasties420-588 A.D

• Period of disunity• Buddhism flourished in the North • Idea of an afterlife appealed to the

peasantry (as well as reincarnation)• Non-Chinese rulers were not committed to

Confucianism or Chinese shamanistic religions

• Confucianism moved South

Mnsu.edu

The Sui Dynasty 580-618 A.D.

• Expanded empire• Built granaries • Fortified Great Wall of China near the northern

border• Confucianism began to regain popularity as the

nobles gained importance• Unsuccessfully tried to attack Korea four times• This defeat led the Eastern Turks to attack China

and China was split into smaller states

Mnsu.edu

T'ang 618-907 A.D.

T’ang Achievements

• Forced Vietnam, Korea, and Tibet to become tributary states (Sinification)

• Japan sent missions to China to study Chinese culture

• Revived civil service system and exam• Redistributed land to peasants• Built canals• Poetry (I.e. Li Po)

Tributary States – “Sinification”• Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Tibet had to pay tribute to the

Tang regularly in order to avoid punishment.• Japan – (Heian Period 700s-1100s) Kyoto (the capital) is

almost an exact copy of the architecture of Tang China’s capital, Chang’an (Xian)

• Japan develops “Japanese” Samurai culture with the decline of “Sinification” during China’s Song Dynasty

• These states did, however, benefit from the Tang’s intellectual and material culture (i.e. Neo-confucianism).

• Delegations from the “outside” (i.e. Japan and Siam) had to perform the kowtow, a bow (the head touches the ground several times)-in the royal presence. This reinforced ethnocentrism in China.

Gentry

Peasants(produced)

Merchants(made $$ off of others)

THE SOCIAL SYSTEMOF THE TANG DYASTY

Many women held great authority. There were women who managed the family finances, Imposed discipline, and supervised servants. Still, boys were still superior and more valuedThan girls. When a girl married she was required to become part of her husband’s familyAnd could never remarry.

SOCIAL ANDGENDERROLES

Song Dynasty 960-1279 C.E.• Used 4-deck ships that could

carry 500 men• Performed the first autopsy on

a Southern Chinese captive in 1145 C.E.

• Administered civil service exam

• Zhu Xi developed (enhances) Neo-Confucianism

• Song were not a strong military power, Confucianism did not hold military in high regard

Mnsu.edu

Yuan Dynasty 1279-1368 C.E.• Mongols banned Chinese

from government positions• Chinese were far better

educated than Mongols• Mongols treated foreigners

better than native Chinese• Marco Polo served as Kublai

Khan’s envoy• As the Chinese became

poorer and nobles revolted, the Mongols had less interest in holding onto China

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Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 C.E.• Improved peasant life• Kept taxes low• Encyclopedias were written

about geography, medicine, and music

• Dictionaries were written, the Chinese language was simplified

• 1405-1433 C.E. Zheng He explored as far as East Africa. After his last voyage his records were destroyed and ships were restricted to smaller sizes.

Mnsu.edu

Zheng He

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Qing Dynasty 1644-1911 C.E. • Manchu were foreign rulers of China

(from Manchuria-now northeastern China)

• Required Manchu style of dress-and men had to shave their heads

• Outlawed footbinding• Forbade intermarriage between Manchus

and Chinese• Opium Wars-Hong Kong was ceded to

Great Britain (1842)• Spheres of Influence established by

Europeans• Emperors became younger and had to

rely on advisors• Empress Tzu Hsi was opposed to

modernization reforms. Her two year old was placed on throne (1909-1911)

• Revolutionaries took control of China and the republic of China arose.

Mnsu.edu