Shang Dynasty  Grew out of the banks of three rivers:  Huang He (Yellow River)  Chang Jiang (Yangtze)  Xi Jiang (West River)  Silk  Domesticated animals

Zhou Dynasty  Confucius  Taught virtue and responsibility  Righteousness  Do not to unto others what you not want other to do unto you  Famous saying  Making a mistake and not correcting it, making another mistake  The superior man blames himself; the inferior man blames others

Qin [Ch’in] Dynasty  Established China’s first empire   Shi Huangdi ( B.C.E)  Legalist rule   Centralized control  Military expansion  Book burnings – “Burning of the books”  Confucius writings  Built large section of the Great Wall

Shi Huangdi’s Terra Cotta Army

Individual “Tombs”

The Great Wall with Towers

Han Dynasty  Paper invented [105 B.C.E.]   Replacing early writings  Silk Road trade develops  Wood  Paint  silk  Buddhism introduced into China  Expanded into Central Asia

Emperor Wudi  Started public schools.  Colonized Manchuria, Korea, & Vietnam.  Civil service system   Confucian scholar-gentry  Revival of Chinese landscape painting.

Chang’ an The Han Capital

Liu Sheng Tomb His jade suit has 2498 pieces!

Han – Roman Empire Connection

Trade Routes of the Ancient World

Multi-Cultural Faces -- People Along the Silk Road

Sui Dynasty  Land redistribution.  Spread of Buddhism  Grand Canal constructed.  Established an army of professional soldiers.  People were overworked and overtaxed

The Grand Canal

The Grand Canal Today

Tang Dynasty  Excellence in:  Arts  porcelain  Science  Technology  Gunpowder  Fireworks  Printing

Empress Wu Zetian  The only female Empress in China’s history who ruled alone.   Searched for outstanding individuals to attract to her court.  Construction of new irrigation systems.  Buddhism was the favored state religion.  Financed the building of many Buddhist temples.

Daoism – Lao Zi  Dao De Jing  Principles:  A force brings life to the universe  Become one with this force (Dao)  Reject all formal norms  Discover the rhythm of nature  Ignore laws

Yin Yang Masculine Masculine Active Active Light Light Warmth Warmth Strong Strong Heaven; Sun Heaven; Sun Feminine Feminine Passive Passive Darkness Darkness Cold Cold Weak Weak Earth; Moon Earth; Moon