China

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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

Chinese SocietyDuring 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/SubjectParent/Child

Husband/WifeOld/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

DaoismDaoism

◘ 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 Dynasty221 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

districts- keep 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……….