Transcript Slide 1
Chinese During Foundations Amanda G. Arundel High School Political Systems •First Dynasty of China, esatblished by Yu the Great •Credited with taming the great floods of China and dividing it into nine reigions Misc •Disputed dynasty due to lack of reliable historical evidence Technology •Development of calender on oracle bones •Evidence of Bronze Casting Political System •Rather than being based on fatherson relationship, descent relied on eldest brother-youngest brother lineage Social environment •Slaves were often owned by state, rather than private ownership •Feudal government with many territories •Last Shang king overthrown by rebel slaves •When slave owner died, slaves would be buried alive in rituals •Social hierachy existed with kings over military nobility, peasants, slaves Historical Background •First recorded dynasty of China Religious Practices Economic Status •Favored crops such as millet, wheat, barely •Domesticated silkworms, oxen, pigs, dogs, sheep •A lot of government involvenment in agriculture •Besides ancestor worship, believed to have gone back to prehistoric China, worhsipped Shang Ti •Practiced human sacrifices when royalty died or commemorating a new temple. Economic Developments Political periods •Money economy Western Zhou; •Greater markets •When Zhou first came to power until barbarian invasions forced them East Eastern Zhou: •Spring and Autumn Period; feudal lords taking advantage of weak king •Warring States Period; one territory of China trying to gain control of the other Religion Cultural Continuity •Banned human sacrifice and praticed cult of heaven •Became a golden age of Chinese thought •Used Shang gods in their mythology •Legalism; belief in need for strong government to control wicked citizens Rise to Power •Semi-nomadic tribe that settled in China •Gained power and used alliances with city states to overcome Shang Misc •Added Yangtze River to territory •Standardized spoken language •Confucianism: way of harmonizing man with man through different relationships •Taoism: way of harmonizing man with nature, great emphasis placed on life and search of immortality Importance •Very short dynasty •Lasted for about a decade •China’s name derived from Qin, also known as Chin •Began the Great Wall •Great weight placed on legalism •Strict rule, caused resentment and was overthrown after first emperor’s death Trade •Development of Silk Road increased trade and cultural diffusion Technology and Resources •Increased Iron production •Led to relations with Rome and the Kushan empire to the introduction of Buddhism from India •Use of canals and irrigation •Ox-drawn plows used for efficient agriculture •Water powered mills •Paper Political Pratices •Contrary to popular belief, Han dynasty believed to have slowly implemented Confucian ideals into Legalist government Social Status •Used Legalist system for common people yet reserved Confucian pratices for bureacracy •Increased social stratification of the elite, peasants/artisans, and unskilled laborers •Patriarchial emphasis grew •Gave civil service exams; mostly intended for educated •Abolished the feudal system, centralized the government Fall of Han •Han Dynasty fell after 9 CE, but was later restored •Second Dynasty did not reunify China as it had intended Intellectual •Greatest Chinese historian Sima Qian wrote historical records of early China Bibliography http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/models/chinahist