Classical China
Rise of the Qin! The Qin developed a very effective military state during the Warring States period.! The developed a system in which the whole society was mobilized and directed towards the objective of expanding Qin power and conquering other states.! These ideas were first formulated into a political philosophy with emphasis on laws by Shang Yang who was the chief minister of the Qin.
Legalism! Han Fei developed these ideas further adding an emphasis on rewards and punishments. Creating the official legalist doctrine! Qin rulers implemented harsh punishments for crime that were universal for all classes of society.
The Qin Dynasty! The Qin replaced the Zhou Dynasty it employed Legalist ideas to subdue the warring states.! In 221 the the Qin ruler assumed the name Shi Huangdi, which means First Emperor.! Shi Huangdi halted internal battles, defeated invaders, and crushed all resistance to his rule within China.
Political opposition! Shi Huangdi employed a policy he call strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches! He commanded all noble families to live in the capital city under his suspicious gaze. This policy uprooted 120,000 noble families.! Seizing their land, the emperor carved China into 36 administrative districts. He sent Qin officials to control them.
Qin rule! To prevent criticism, in 214 BCE. Shi Huangdi and his prime minister murdered hundreds of Confucian scholars.! They also burned books of Confucian thinkers and poets.! Shi Huangdi established an autocracy a government that has unlimited power and uses it in an arbitrary manner.
The Burning of books and the Burying of Scholars
Qin Social Advances Shi Huangdi built a highway network more than 4,000 miles long. He set standards throughout China for writing, law, currency, and weights and measures. Under Shi Huangdi irrigation projects increased farm production and trade blossomed because of the roads system. Trade made the new class of merchants wealthy harsh taxes and repressive government made the Qin regime unpopular
The Great Wall! The Great Wall of China arose on the backs of hundreds of thousands of peasants.! The wall builders worked neither for wages nor for love of empire. They faced a terrible choice: work on the wall or die.! Many of the laborers worked on the wall and died anyway, victims of the crushing labor or the harsh winter weather.
The Great Wall of China From the Yellow Sea in the east to the Gobi Desert in the west, the Great Wall twisted like a dragon s tail for thousands of miles. Watch towers rose every 200 to 300 yards along the wall. In the time of Shi Huangdi, hundreds of thousands of peasants collected, hauled, and dumped millions of tons of stone, dirt, and rubble to fill the core of the Great Wall. Slabs of cut stone on the outside of the wall enclosed a heap of pebbles and rubble on the inside. Each section of the wall rose to a height of 20 to 25 feet. N 40 The Qin Dynasty, 221 202 B.C. MONGOLIA KOREA (Approximate) Anyang n g Great Wall He 100 E Qin Dynasty Extent of Zhou Dynasty 0 g 1000 Kilometers TIBET IM AL AYA Ch an gj i Taiwan S Jiang i H East China Sea 120 SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Visual Sources Luoyang Hao Ch'ang-an (Xi'an) Yellow Sea an Although Shi Huangdi built the earliest unified wall, the wall as it exists today dates from the later Ming Dynasty (1368 1644). e W ei H 500 Miles 0 a Hu N
The Fall of the Qin! Three years after the second Qin emperor took office peasants rebelled.! Shi Huangdi s son wasn t a strong ruler and could not suppress these rebellions.! By 202 B.C.E. the Qin gave way to the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty! in 202 B.C. Liu Bang declared himself the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, which ruled China for more than 400 years.! The Han is divided into two periods the former Han ruled for two roughly two centuries until 9 C.E.! After a brief period when the Han were out of power, the Later Han ruled for almost another two centuries.
Han China! Lui Bang followed Shi Huangdi s policy of establishing a strong central government.! He destroyed rival kings power and set up a government in which central authority controls the running of the states.! He established hundreds of local provincials called commanderies.
Liu Bang! In the western half of the empire Liu Bang appoints officials that governed over provincial territories.! In the East military leaders controlled territories autonomously.! Liu Bang won popular support by departing from the strict legalist practices of Shi Huangdi.! He lowered taxes and softened harsh punishments.
Consolidation! By the early 2 nd century BCE. Independently controlled eastern territories became unruly.! Liu family manipulates these leaders against each other and slowly integrates these territories into the imperial system.! By 150 BCE. All eastern territories are under direct imperial authority.
Empress Lu! After Liu Bang s death one of his wives seized control through her son.! She outlived her son and retained control by naming an infant king.! Empress Lu was the first female ruler of the Empire
The Martial Emperor! Wudi reigned from 141 B.C.E. to 87 B.C.E. Longer than any other Han Emperor.! He was called the Martial Emperor because he adopted the policy of expanding the empire through warfare.! He saw the state as an instrument for good and believed the government should be used to solve problems.! He created Government monopolies on critical commodities like salt alcohol, and iron to regulate pricing against private interest.
Confucianism! Mostly, Chinese emperors rewarded loyal followers with government posts.! Others obtained Gov t post by testing their knowledge of Confucianism.! Wudi set up a school where hopeful job applicants from all over China could come to study Confucius s works.
Xiongnu! The Xiongnu were fierce nomads that often raided Han s northern territory.! The early Han emperors tried to buy off the Xiongnu by sending them thousands of pounds of silk, rice, alcohol, and money.! When Wudi realized that the bribes were simply making the Xiongnu stronger, he sent more than 100,000 soldiers to fight them.
The early Han emperors tried to buy off the Xiongnu by sending them thousands of pounds of silk, rice, alcohol, and money. Usually, the Xiongnu just accepted these gifts and continued their raids. 80 E du sr Dunhuang KA N TAKLIMART DESE T JAPAN an l l o g He w R.) 60 E Kashgar PERSIA ER Yellow Sea H u( Y e. ASIA Lanzhou E 140 Merv E MONGOLIA DES GOBI Kuqa Ctesiphon 120 100 E Han Dynasty, 200 B.C. A.D. 220 N 40 Luoyang Ch'ang-an Nanjing (Xi'an) H Luoyang ua ll o ng H wr e.) ASIA H e Y Ch'ang-an ( IM AL J z e ian R. g ) Former Han, 200 B.C. AYAS Nanhai (Guangzhou) Ganges R. Pataliputra Yellow Sea (Xi'an) 0 ng Jia.) g R a n g tz e n a C (Y h PACIFIC OCEAN 0 0 500 Miles 1,000 Kilometers South China Sea 0 PACIFIC OCEAN g an t Ch ang (Y 1,000 Miles 2,000 Kilometers South China Sea N Han Empire at its greatest extent, A.D. 220 Han protectorate (influence) Xiongnu regions Great Wall Silk Road GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Maps 1. Place What was the approximate size, in square miles, of the Han Empire at its greatest extent? 2. Location Along which border did the Chinese build the Great Wall? Why did they build it there and not in other places?
Change in Policy! Wudi s military adventures and centralized gov t cause severe economic strain on the empire! Han Wudi to finance his ventures he raised taxes confiscated land and personal property from wealthy individuals! After his death in his policies were challenged the Salt and Iron debates of 81 BCE. Led to the dismantling of government monopolies.
Wudi s successors! After Wudi s death the Imperial court becomes less engaged in the affairs of administration and leaves the administration of the empire to their officials.! Corruption and exploitation becomes rampant amongst these official who saw opportunities to gain wealth through their political influence.
Economic problems! By the first century BCE. Social and economic differences generated serious tensions.! Economic problems forced many small landowners to to sell their property under unfavorable conditions! By the end of the first century BCE land had accumulated in the hands of a relatively small group of individuals who owned vast estates! Poorer classes began to organize rebellions in hopes of attaining a greater share of Han resources.
Wang Mang! Wang Mang was a powerful and respected Han administrator.! He he served as regent in the early late first century CE. when a two year old boy inherited the Han imperial throne.! Wang Mang claimed the imperial throne in 9 ce.! Wang Mang tried to implement a system of land redistribution, which was largely up popular among landowners who rebelled infear of losing power.
Wang Mang! Wang Mang s life and dynasty were ended in 23 ce. After a coalition of disgruntled landlords and desperate peasants overthrew his empire.! Within two years the a recovered Han dynasty returned to power, but ruled over a much weaker realm.! This period is known as the Later Han
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Han Gov t! The Han emperor s relied on a complex bureaucracy and a vast imperial army.! He levied taxes to raise money.! Chinese peasants owed part of their yearly crops to the government. Merchants also paid taxes.! Besides taxes, the peasants owed the government a month s worth of labor or military service every year.! With this source of labor, the Han emperors built roads and dug canals and irrigation ditches.
Technology! Paper was invented in A.D. 105. Before that, books were usually written on silk.! Another technological advance was the collar harness for horses.! The Chinese perfected a plow that was more efficient because it had two blades.! They also improved iron tools, invented the wheelbarrow, and began to use water mills to grind grain.
Agriculture and Commerce! During the Han Dynasty, the population of China swelled to 60 million, which created a large demand for agricultural products.! The government established monopolies on the mining of salt, the forging of iron, the minting of coins, and the brewing of alcohol.! Spurred by the worldwide demand for silk, Chinese commerce expanded along the Silk Roads to most of Asia and, through India, all the way to Rome.
Women in Han China! Ban Zhao also wrote a guide called Lessons for Women, which called upon women to be humble and obedient but also industrious.! Confucian teachings had dictated that women were to devote themselves to their families.! A few empresses wielded great power. Daoist and later, Buddhist nuns were able to gain an education and lead lives apart from their families.
Han decline! During the Han the system of rewarding officials for services in offices through grants of land becomes universal.! Soon individual estates compete in the market and a new aristocratic elite develops.! These aristocrats compete for power and influence within the Han Bureaucracy.
The Fall of the Han! According to custom, a family s land was divided equally among all of the father s male heirs.! Small farmers often went into debt and had to borrow money from large landowners, who charged very high interest rates. If the farmer couldn t pay back the debt, the landowner took possession of the farmer s land.! Large landowners were not required to pay taxes, so when their land holdings increased, the amount of land that was left for the government to tax decreased.
Decline! Military strongmen also wielded power and competed for influence within the Han Government.! These groups along with Eunuchs within the imperial court caused divisions within the Han government.! In addition Local landowners began to intensify their exploitation of the peasantry.! In 184CE. a major peasant revolt further weakened Imperial authority
The Yellow Turban Rebellion Causes: 1. high government taxes used to fund public works projects and garrisons along the Silk Road. 2. Exploitation by wealthy landowners 3. Agrarian crisis and famine in northern territories coupled with Floods along the Yellow River.
Outcome of Rebellion! Military gained a glorious victory however the cost was very high.! Government offices were destroyed, magistrates were killed and many districts were cut off from centralized rule.! Military and local leaders gained self-governing status which fueled later feuding and divisions within the empire
The Era of the three Kingdoms! In 220 the country divided into three kingdoms ruled independently.! This age is remembered for its great adventure and clever military strategy.