Transcript Under the Dynasties Under the Dynasties

A Tour of China: Part One
Under the Dynasties
The Under the Dynasties tour includes ancient
sites from Beijing and Xian (shee-EN).
1 of 4 earliest agricultral civs on earth
Dynasty
Xia
Shang
Zhou
Qin
Han
Sui
Tang
Song
Yuan
Ming
Qing
The Dynasties
2200-1750
around 1700-1027
1027-256
221-206
206 BCE-220 CE
589-618
618-907
960-1271
1271-1368
1368-1644
1644-1911
Time Period
BCE
BCE
BCE
CE
CE
CE
CE
BCE
CE
CE
Mandate of Heaven:
Right to rule. Divine
approval thought to be
the basis of royal
authority. Could lose it.
The Great Wall was first united under
the Qin dynasty .
It is a series of walls 25 feet high and
15 feet wide and extends over 1,500
miles. It was
built by about 700,000 laborers who
piled up an estimated 180 million cubic
meters of earth to form the core of the
wall, which was supposedly built over
the bodies of deceased workers. The
wall was made to keep out the raiding
nomads from the
north. It did provide an easy method
of transport for soldiers, goods and
equipment.
The Great Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
but it is not protected by any specific laws or managed by
any special office or curator. As a result, vandalism is visible.
Tourism does provide business for these persistent vendors who were
at the very top section of the “Danger Road” selling Great Wall
labeled water, cigarettes, wine and postcards. Each day these men
walk up the long trail to the wall (rather than pay the gondola fare) just
to sell items to tourists.
Emperor Shi Huangdi’s Tomb Army of Terracotta Warriors
Found in a field outside of Xian in 1974, the first vault contains 6,000
figures of warriors and horses that are over 2,000 years old. The warriors
held weapons that were still sharp when unearthed. The tomb discoveries
have revealed important information about ancient battle formations and
strategy, as well as a rigid military hierarchy.
The vanguard of the army was the archers, followed by soldiers
armed with spears and axes, then the battle chariots. Each
soldier has unique facial features and expressions.
Q: Who was Shi Huangdi and why did
he create such an extensive tomb for himself?
Shi Huangdi was the first emperor of the Qin
Dynasty. Took throne at age 13. Totalitarian Rule.
•Doubled China’s size
•Unified China
•Ordered all nobles to live in capital (approx.
120,000 families) and seized their land
• Standardized legal code, currency, written language,
as well as a weights and measures system. 4,000 mile
highway system.
• Demanded exorbitant taxes from his subjects.
•Burned Confucian books and scholars.
•Consumed by beliefs in longevity and reproduced his
empire on earth to take it all with him in his life after
death.
Figure restoration is a meticulous and time consuming
process. The soldiers are pieced back together and the adhesive
putty is covered with a more authentic looking and less conspicuous
colored paint.
This is one of the residents of
Xiyang village, who in 1974 was
helping to dig a well and unearthed
bronze weapons and pieces of broken
terracotta. The group’s discovery
led to the excavation of Qin Shi
Huang’s tomb . There are still many
figures to be uncovered, but
archaeologists are waiting to find a
way to preserve the
paint found on the ancient warriors
before conducting more digs. Today
this discoverer signs books about the
site for tourists, which provides an
income and preserves his notoriety.
The Temple of Heaven
was constructed in 1530
under the Ming dynasty.
It was used by the emperor,
the Son of Heaven, as a
prayer and ritual site to
request good harvests,
seek divine guidance and
atone for the sins of the
people. It is round because
a circle represented heaven,
while the earth was square.
All architectural features
are in multiples of nine b/c
odd numbers were
considered heavenly.
A man plays a traditional
Chinese instrument,
called an erhu (are-who),
in the park surrounding
the Temple of Heaven.
An erhu has two strings
and produces a fiddle-like
sound.
Beijing: The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the palace for Ming and Qing emperors until
1911. The palace was forbidden to everyone except the emperor, his
concubines and eunuchs for nearly 500 years. The city was constructed in
1406 but has undergone extensive rebuilding because of fires and looting that
occurred over the years.
The throne room
This is the emperor’s
sedan. It was his mode
of transport to and
from the Temple of
Heaven for his rituals
and ceremonies.
The eunuchs who
defended the emperor’s
private quarters had
to pass a difficult test.
They had to shoot an
arrow from the inner
courts
into the hole of the stone
target in the distance.
If they failed they
were not allowed to
guard the emperor’s
living quarters.
There are several artistic details that adorn the Forbidden
City. One is the presence of the 12 powerful animals.
Note that the dragon is the last and largest animal,
since it is symbolic of the emperor.
Dragon head rainspouts-a decorative and functional
feature in the Forbidden City.
Lion heads appear on doors and bronze caldrons. The
bronze caldrons served as water vats in case of fire.
The ceiling paintings have symbolic colors, elaborate
patterns and images of the dragon in imperial yellow.
Maintaining the Forbidden City for the millions of tourists it attracts
requires a lot of manual labor. One man restores damaged paint above
the lintel, a woman sweeps the area clean, while men
refurbish the central walkway with new blocks.
Guardian lions at the gate: the male has
the world in his paw while the female has a
cub representing posterity in her paw.
The dragon and pheasant stand before the Hall of
Benevolence and Longevity. The dragon symbolizes the
emperor and the pheasant the empress. A mythological
creature greets visitors of the Summer Palace. It is believed
that the creature will ward off evil spirits. It has a tiger’s body
that is covered in scales, a dragon’s head, goat’s feet and horns.
Traditional Qing style silk robes, hair pieces and shoes
worn by women of the court.
Traditional style boats move passengers along
Kunming Lake for additional views of the
Summer Palace.
Emperor Qinglong expanded the Summer Palace in the 18th
century, but the Empress Dowager, Cixi, began rebuilding it in
1888 (with money that was supposed to build a modern navy).
The Summer Palace sits along the shores of Kunming Lake.
Red lanterns light the way to Prince Gong’s garden opera house.
The Beijing Opera, started in 1790 under Emperor Qinglong, is a mixture of
singing, dancing, acrobatics and action packed fight sequences. Painted face
roles are typically warriors, heroes, statesmen and demons.
Elaborate costumes and make-up are specialties of the Beijing
Opera. The mastery of weapons and well choreographed
battle sequences keep spectators entertained.
The End
Citations:
Liou, Caroline, et al. Lonely Planet China, 7th Edition. Melbourne:
Lonely Planet Publications. 2000.
Roberts, J.A.G. A Concise History of China. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press. 1999.
Your Task: Dynasty Extension
Project
• Goal: Expand your learning about the
dynastic period of Chinese History.
• Options: Review ideas on the list & pick
one OR design your own project (must have
a writing component).
• Have fun learning about this fascinating
era!