Transcript Huang He River Valley

Chapters 2.4, 4.4 & 7.3:
Huang He River Valley - China
I. Geography
A. Northern China
B. North China Plain
C. Along Huang He River
II. Oracle Bones*
A. System of writing
B. Shang Dynasty
III. Social Classes
A. Upper = nobles
B. Lower = peasants
C. Lowest = Merchants
IV. Zhou Dynasty (1028-221 BCE)
A. Mandate of Heaven
1. Ruler chosen by god
2. Divine right to rule –
a. poor rulers lost the right/wise rulers kept it
b. floods = loss of right
B. Feudalism –
1. nobles given land for allegiance to the king
2. peasants worked the land paying nobles with
products from land
E. Technology
1. Roads, canals
2. Flood control systems & irrigation
3. Trade
4. Coined money
5. Blast furnace for iron - used for
weapons; crossbow
V. Confucianism (Chapter 4.4)
A. Founded by Confucius – scholar/teacher
(551BCE) during Zhou Dynasty
1. Wrote Analects - book of teachings
2. Not a religion – ethical system based on
right and wrong; no worship of gods
B. Became foundation for government and
social order
1. Civil service exam; education and
trained
civil service essential for good
government
2. bureaucracy = trained civil service
C. Confucius and the social order
5 relationships:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Ruler and subject
Father and son
Husband and wife
Older brother and younger brother
Friend and friend
VI. Patriarchal Family
A. Male dominated family
B. Diffusion to Southeast Asia, Japan,
Korea
VII. The Qin Dynasty
VII. The Qin Dynasty (gave China its name &
UNITED CHINA)
A. 221 BCE
B. Shi Huangdi = 1st emperor; autocracy
1. Ended power of warlords – all nobles lived in
palace
2. Confucian scholars murdered
3. Ordered construction of a life-size clay army to
protect him in next life
C. Legalist ideas - used to centralize gov’t
1. Use laws for order, punishment harsh
2. Government should control ideas and use
law and punishment to restore harmony
3. Books burned
Life size figures buried 16’ deep each with a different face
and carries a real weapon; 8,000 generals, foot soldiers,
chariots, and horses (some bronze) – 220 BCE
D. Began to build Great Wall
1. Used forced labor; work or die!
2. Stopped invaders from north
E. Expanded empire
F. Centralized government*
1. Roads
2. 36 districts
3. Standardized Chinese script (writing),
$, laws, weights and measures
4. Irrigation
5. Trade
6. High taxes, repressive government
The Great Wall of China
China - The Han Dynasty
Empire
Chapter 7.3
China - The Han Dynasty
Empire
Chapter 7.3
I. Han restores unity in China ~ 202 BCE
A. Liu Bang - founded Han Dynasty
1. Centralized gov.
2. lowered taxes
3. punishments less harsh
4. peace and stability
B. Emperor Wudi (grt. Grandson of Liu Bang)
1. Continued centralizing policies
2. “Martial emperor” –
a. expanded empire
b. Expelled nomads
c. Colonized Manchuria, Korea
3. Civil service and civil service test
4. Ruled from 141-87 BCE
C. Han Technology*
1. Paper
a. 1st printed books
b. 1st Chinese dictionary
c. Histories based on fact
2. Collar harness
3. 2 blade plow
4. Wheelbarrow
5. Suspension bridge
6. Compass
7. Gunpowder
E. Commerce*
1. Silk = top secret
2. Silk Road
3. Trade = cultural diffusion
a. Mahayana Buddhism introduced
to China toward end of Han Dynasty
b. assimilation encouraged
For 2,000 years the Silk Road and its extensions westward into the
Roman territory made up the world’s longest road. The travel distance
along the length of the road to its western extensions totaled 8,000 miles.
In addition to the goods that traveled the road, ideas also traveled including
Buddhism and Christianity.
F. Fall of the Han
1. Land divided equally among male heirs
2. Gap b/t rich and poor grew
a. small landowners debt increased
b. large landowners able to acquire
more land & pay fewer taxes
3. Wang Mang - overthrew Han
a. Inflationary policies = bad
b. All about following laws
c. Wealthy people upset – assassinated W.M.
d. Han restored = Later Han Years
The End!