Transcript Chinese Dynasties - Townsend Harris High School

Chinese Dynasties
Shang 1700-1027 B.C.E.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/timeline.html
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
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Shang religious pitcher
1300 BCE
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.com
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Zhou Dynasty (1027-221 B.C.E.)
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/zhou.html
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
Zhou Achievements
• 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
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
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Differences
• Zhou began a feudal system of land ownershipland 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
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Era of Warring States 475-221 B.C.E.
• Emergence of
philosophies
• Confucianism
• Daoism
• Legalism
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)
Confucius saw five major human relationships that
should be governed by li, or propriety. Those
relationships are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Ruler and subject
Father and son
Husband and wife
Oldest son and younger brothers
Elders and juniors (friends)
www.faithresource.com
Image-google
Legalism
• Involved strict punishments for people who
disobeyed laws, regardless of social
standing
• Laws had to be obeyed by everyoneadministrators carried them out (but they
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were not “above” the law)
“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.
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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.)
Chinatravelguide.com
• Legalism
Google images
A brief Review in Global History and Geography
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Army of Clay Soldiers from the Tomb of Shi Huangdi
http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art101/Art101B-10-China/WebPage-Full.00012.html
Han Dynasty(206 B.C.E.- 220
A.D.)
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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.
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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
The Three Kingdoms (220-265
A.D.)
• 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
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Chin Dynasty (265-420 C.E.)
•
•
•
•
Disorder
Power Struggles
Defeated by Huns
Defeated Chin fled to
Nanking (317 C.E.)
where they ruled as
Eastern Chin.
Northern and Southern Dynasties
420-588 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
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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
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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.
THE SOCIAL SYSTEM
OF THE TANG DYASTY
SOCIAL AND
GENDER
ROLES
Gentry
Peasants
(produced)
Merchants
(made $$ off of others)
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 valued
Than girls. When a girl married she was required to become part of her husband’s family
And could never remarry.
Song Dynasty 960-1279 C.E.
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• 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) NeoConfucianism
• Song were not a strong
military power,
Confucianism did not hold
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.
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Zheng He
• 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.
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Qing Dynasty 1644-1911 C.E.
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• 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.