Transcript File - Mr. Williams

 Born in 551 B.C. to a noble but poor family
 Brilliant scholar known for wisdom
 Wanted to be an advisor in the
government, but teachings conflicted with
Qin government officials
 Teachings focus on ethics and proper
behavior
 Ren – concern for others
 Li – appropriate behavior
 Society function best if everyone follow ren
and li
 Everyone have proper role to play in
society.
 Young people obey elders and subjects
obey rulers.
 Confucianism is philosophy, not religion
“Success depends on
previous
preparation, and
without such
preparation, there is
certain to be failure.”
Confucianism
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=bxzPp_Fh1nA
Liu Bang
 Qin Dynasty collapsed,
which led to years of fighting
for control.
 Peasant, first Han emperor
 Earned people’s loyalty and
trust, well-liked.
 Lowered taxes for farmers,
made punishments less
severe, gave land to
supporters, relied on
educated officials to help
him rule.
Emperor Wudi
 Took throne in 140 BD
 Stronger government
 Took land from lords
 Raised taxes
 Controlled grain supply
 Made Confucianism the official
government philosophy and
even began university to teach
Confucian ideas.
 If passed an exam on Confucian
teachings, could get
government position. Must be
recommended though, so
mostly wealthy or influential
families kept control.
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Emphasis on Family
Children respect elders
Father – head of
household, absolute power
Honor ancestors with
ceremonies and offerings
Boys valued more highly
than girls. Chinese
proverb: “Raising
daughters is like raising
children for another
family.”
Social Classes
 Han Dynasty collapses
 Period of Disunion – 220 to
589
 Sui Dynasty – 589-618
 Began Grand Canal, links
northern and southern China
 Tang – 300 years
 Golden Age
 Conquered lands, reformed
military, created law codes
 Empress Wu – Only woman
to rule China, intelligent,
talented, vicious
 Song – from 960-1279, about
300 years
 Civil service exam
 Extremely difficult
 Study perhaps 20 years
 Last 72 hours, locked in room
 Memorize entire Confucian
texts
 Cheating by copying on clothes
or paying bribes
 Passing meant life as a scholarofficial, an educated member of
government
 Sundial – Uses shadows
to tell time
 Seismograph – measures
strength of earthquakes
 Acupuncture – inserting
needles at specific points
to cure disease or relieve
pain
 Paper – first bound books
 Woodblock printing –
entire page carved into a
block of wood
 Movable type – carved
letters can be rearranged and
reused
 Paper money – lighter,
easier to handle than coins
 Porcelain – thin pottery
 Gunpowder – used
primarily for fireworks
and signals rather than
as a weapon
 Magnetic compass –
allowed sailors and
merchants to travel vast
distances
 Connected China in the
east with the Roman
empire in the west
 Traded silk, spices, gold
 Temujin united the nomadic
people of Mongolia (north of
China) and lead them in an
invasion of China.
 Given new title: “Universal Ruler,”
or Genghis Khan
 Brutal, bloody conquests in which
entire cities and villages were
demolished and all people killed.
 Controlled most of Asia within 20
years and the Mogol Empire, or
Yuan dynasty.
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Genghis Khan Brutality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqHUmWFOegI
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Related to Khan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmcmtGn16ig
 Kublai Khan – grandson of
Genghis, came to power in 1260,
completed conquest and declared
himself emperor of China.
 Mongols different ethnic group
from Chinese: different language,
gods, clothing, customs.
 Chinese view them as rude and
uncivilized foreigners, however
Mongols not force Chinese to
accept their way of life.
 Settled the country, established
peace, increased contact with the
West.
 Italian merchant who
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traveled in and around
China between 1271 and
1295.
Highly respected by the
Mongols.
Served in Kublai Khan’s
court for 17 years.
When he returned to
Europe, he wrote about his
travels.
Much of what we know
about the Yuan dynasty
comes from his accounts.
 They decide to invade Japan.
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Violent storms and fierce
defenders destroy most of their
forces.
Economy already weak from
expensive building projects.
Chinese people rebel.
Zhu Yuanzhang, a former
monk took charge of a rebel
army and overthrew the
Mongols.
The Ming dynasty is born.
 1368-1644, nearly 300 years
 One of the most stable and
prosperous times in
Chinese history
 Zheng He, greatest sailor of
the period led seven grand
voyages, one with more
than 60 ships and 25,000
sailors and many ships
more than 300 feet long.
Sailed to more than 30
foreign nations, bringing
back representatives.
 Incredible building
projects started.
 A huge palace complex that
included hundreds of
imperial residences,
temples, and other
government buildings.
 Named so because common
people were not allowed to
enter the complex.
 Over 9,000 rooms
 Forbidden City
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=fl-eg-J6Wv4
 After defeating the
foreign Mongols, the
Ming entered a period of
isolationism, a policy of
avoiding contact with
other countries.
 Sailing fleets dismantled.
 Foreign trade banned.
 As a result, for the first
time, China began to fall
behind technologically.
Real or Not?
 Historians don’t know. Poem written
about her 1,300 years ago and a novel
about her written centuries later.
 According to legend, she disguised
herself as a man in order to serve in her
ailing father’s place in the army. She
served for 12 years and gained high
merit. She was very skilled at Kung Fu
and swordsmanship. After she returned
home, her comrades came to see her
and found out she was a woman. The
emperor wanted to appoint her to a high
post, but she refused. The emperor
detained her, so she hung herself in
protest. The emperor was offended, so
no accounts were written about her in
history books.