Transcript Classical China - Federal Way Public Schools

Classical China
Qin and Han Dynasties
Before the Qin…
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Legalism
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The doctrine of practical and efficient
statecraft
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No concern with ethics and morality
No concern with the principles governing nature
Legalist doctrine
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The state's strength was in agriculture and military
force
Discouraged commerce, education, and the arts
Harnessing self-interest of the people for the needs of
the state
Called for harsh penalties even for minor infractions
Advocated collective responsibility before the law
Before the Qin…
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The social order
The ruling elites
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Trade networks linked China with
west and south
Peasants, the majority of
population
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Family and patriarchy
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Free artisans and craftsmen
mostly worked for elites
Merchants and trade were
important
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Hereditary aristocrats with
extensive landholding
Administrative and military offices
Manuals of etiquette
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Landless peasants provided labor
Women's work: wine making,
weaving, silkworm raising
Wood, bone, stone tools before
iron was spread in the sixth
century B.C.E.
Slaves, mostly war prisoners
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Early dynasties ruled through family
and kinship groups
Veneration of ancestors
• Belief in ancestors' presence and
their continuing influence
• Burial of material goods with the
dead
• Offering sacrifices at the graves
• Family heads presided over rites of
honoring ancestors' spirits
Patriarchal society evolved out of
matrilineal one
• The rise of large states brought focus
on men's contribution
• After the Shang Dynasty (1766-1122
BCE), females devalued
The Unification of China
• The Qin dynasty
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Qin, Located in west China, adopted
Legalist policies
• Encouraged agriculture, resulted in strong
economy
• Organized a powerful army equipped with
iron weapons
• Conquered other states and unified China in
221 B.C.E.
The Unification of China
• The Qin dynasty
– The first emperor was
Qin Shihuangdi (221
B.C.E.)
• Established centralized
imperial rule
• Project of connecting
and extending the Great
Wall
• Buried 460 scholars alive
because of their criticism
against the Qin
• Burned all books except
some with utilitarian
value
The Unification of China
• The Qin dynasty
– Policies of centralization
• Standardization of laws,
currencies, weights,
measures
• Standardization of
scripts
– Tomb of the First Emperor
(Qin Shi Huang), who
died 210 B.C.E.
• Tomb was underground
palace with army of lifesize terra-cotta figures
The Unification of China
• The Qin dynasty
– The collapse of the Qin dynasty
• Massive public works generated tremendous ill
will among the people
• Waves of rebels overwhelmed the Qin court in
207 B.C.E.
• Short-lived dynasty, but left deep marks in
Chinese history
The Qin Dynasty
The Unification of China
• The early Han dynasty
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Liu Bang; persistent and methodical; by
206 B.C.E. restored order
Early Han policies
• Sought a middle way between Zhou
decentralization and Qin overcentralization
• Han Wudi, the Martial Emperor (reigned 14187 B.C.E.), emphasized centralization and
expansion
The Unification of China
• The early Han dynasty
– Han centralization; adopted Legalist policies
• Built an enormous bureaucracy to rule the empire
• Continued to build roads and canals
• Levied taxes on agriculture, trade, and craft industries
• Imperial monopolies on production of iron and salt
• Established Confucian educational system for training
bureaucrats
The Unification of China
• The early Han dynasty
– Han imperial expansion
• Invaded and colonized northern Vietnam and
Korea
• Han organized vast armies to invade Xiongnu
territory (nomads from steppes)
• Han enjoyed uncontested hegemony in east
and central Asia
The Han Dynasty
From economic prosperity to social disorder
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Productivity and prosperity during the Former Han
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Patriarchal social structure
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Women's subordination; Ban Zhao's Admonitions for Women
Children obey and honor parents
Vast majority of population were cultivators
Iron metallurgy: farming tools, utensils, and weapons
Silk textiles; sericulture spread all over China during the
Han
Paper production; replaced silk and bamboo as writing
material
Population growth: twenty million to sixty million from 220
B.C.E. to 9 C.E.
From economic prosperity to social disorder
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Economic and social difficulties
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Expeditions consumed the empire's surplus
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Raised taxes and confiscated land of some wealthy
individuals
Taxes and land confiscations discouraged investment
in manufacture and trade
Social tensions, caused by stratification
between the poor and rich
Problems of land distribution
The reign of Wang Mang (9-23 C.E.)
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Land reforms by the "socialist emperor"
Overthrown by revolts, 23 C.E.
From economic prosperity to social disorder
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The later Han dynasty
(25-220 C.E.)
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Yellow Turban Uprising:
revolt due to problems
of land distribution
Collapse of the Han
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Factions at court
paralyzed the central
government
Han empire dissolved;
China was divided
into regional
kingdoms