Transcript China - Fulton County Schools

China
O
Zhou Dynasty
(1100 B.C.E.- 221 B.C.E.)
• Wu, the former leader of Shang
territory took over capital and
established the Zhou
Map of Zhou
About the Zhou…..
• Zhou in its heyday- the “Imperial Period”
• Mandate of Heaven- authority to
rule from heaven- began during the Zhou
dynasty
• set up agricultural system- nobles own land
and peasants worked land- term feudal has
often been applied to the Zhou period
(compared with medieval Europe)
Technological advances….
• Iron came into general use
• Built roads, and expanded foreign trade
• Added crossbow (centuries earlier than
Europeans)
• cavalry
• Iron plow, irrigation system and flood
control
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Chinese Society
During Zhou Dynasty
3 main classes: landowners,
peasants and merchants (90%
peasants)
Filial Piety – respect for
parents/ancestors
Hierarchy in family – males
dominated
Valued baby boys more than girls
The Downfall of the Zhou
Dynasty
• Toward the end of the dynasty, nobles
began to fight among each other for
power
• Farmers had to fight in armies which
produced many crop failures and food
shortages
• Soon the empire was weak and taken
over by a more powerful king
• The Hundred Schools of thought
were said to have developed during
the Zhou dynasty. Examples
include:
• Confucianism
• Legalism
• Daoism
• These philosophies focused very
little on supernatural or eternal life,
instead focused on life in this world
and how it should be lived
Confucianism
End of the Zhou dynasty was a
time of disorder and Confucius (a
scholar) wanted to restore the
order in China
522 B.C.E- Confucius begins to
teach
Confucianism (cont’d)
Taught social harmony and good
government would come to China if
people lived according to principles of
ethics, good conduct and moral
judgment
Reciprocity
“Do not do unto others as you would
not want others to do unto you”
Confucianism (cont’d)
• Confucianism is an ethical system of
right and wrong, NOT a religion
• It stresses good relationships,
especially in the family
Five Relationships
 Ruler/Subject
 Parent/Child
 Husband/Wife
 Old/Young
 Friend/Friend
• Each relationship has certain responsibilities
to follow
• 479 B.C.E- teachings were collected into
works called Analects
Confucius on Women
• Confucius maintained that it was a law
of nature that women should be held
under the domination of men since
women were the source of disorder and
disruption of the harmony of the
community
• “As a girl, she must obey her father.
As a wife, she must obey her husband.
As a widow she must obey her son.”
How were they viewed
in regards to Confucianism???
• Scholars  most important in society,
they make knowledge
• Peasants or farmers  have a natural
role to fulfill in society, they make food
• Artisans  also have a practical job in
society, they make products
• Merchants  the “lowest of the low”,
viewed as parasites who get rich off
others
Daoism
◘ advocates a simple honest life and
noninterference with the course of
natural events
◘ The Yin and Yang are used to represent
this thought
Legalism
• advocating strict legal control over
all activities, a system of rewards
and punishments uniform for all
classes
Qin Dynasty
221 B.C.E. to 206 B.C.E.
• For the first time, China was
completely united as one empire
Map of Qin
ShiHuangdi
• The First (Shi) Emperor (Huangdi)
The Rule of Qin Shihuangdi
the good…
• New ideas about communication helped unify
China
• Reorganized the empire into military districtskeep local lords from taking over
• Developed a system of weights and measures
and standardized coins
• Instituted a uniform writing system
• Educated men, not nobles ran the country
the bad…..
• Relied heavily on Legalist scholar
advisers- became a very strict ruler
• Imposed taxes on land owners and took
away land from local lords
the ugly……
• Censored books and burned books that
were not practical subjects
• Scholars could not even talk of the past
The Background of the Excavation
o In 1974, workers digging a well discovered a
pottery head of a human figure
o What they found was an ancient burial-site of
the first Chinese Emperor Qin Shihuangdi.
o Qin wanted the afterlife to be the same as his life
on earth.
o To substitute for the actual humans, Qin
ordered a massive clay army to be produced for
his protection.
• Some 8,000 figures have been uncovered
grouped in battle order, facing east, to
protect the emperor, who lies in his
mausoleum
• The army consisted of 7,000 warriors:
archers, foot soldiers, cavalrymen, and
charioteers of various rank, 500 chariot
horses, 130 war chariots, and 110 cavalry
horses
The Great Wall of China
Another Brick in the Wall…
• Zhou rulers had built walls to prevent
nomadic attacks from the North (p. 108)
• Shi Huangdi was determined to close the
gaps to extend the wall the length of the
empire
Back Breaking Work
• Peasants forced to work on the wall for no
pay
• If they did not work they died
• If they did work, they could still die from
working conditions and harsh weather
The End of Qin
• After Shi Huangdi’s death, peasants
revolted and formed a strong army to
defeat the emperor thus ending the Qin
Dynasty
• Liu Bang, a military officer from a peasant
background, led the defeat of the Qin
Dynasty and declared himself emperor of
the new Han dynasty……….