Classical China

The Zhou Dynasty -1,122 B.C.E. – 256 B.C.E. The rise of the Zhou Dynasty justified the fall of the previous Shang Dynasty and the role of the Zhou as the new leader based on “the mandate of heaven”.

The Chinese Dynastic Cycle

The Period of the Warring States403 – 321 B.C.E. This period of chaos and civil war coincides with a time of cultural development known as The Golden Age of Chinese Philosophy

Confucianism Legalism Daoism The Golden Age of Chinese Philosophy

1. In what context did this belief system originate? 2. Identify the founder of the belief system. 3. What is the nature of people according to this belief system? 4. How should children be raised/educated? 5. How should society be governed? Who should rule? How should they rule?

Ch.8 – The Unification of China Political Centralization Under Qin Shihuangdi ( B.C.E.) - legalism (agriculture & military) - standardized laws, currencies, weights & measures, script The Han (206 B.C.E. – 220 C.E.) - Han Wudi: imperial expansion & administrative centralization

China’s Emperor – Image #1

2. What impression of the first emperor does this image convey? Do you think the artist sought to celebrate or criticize Shihuangdi? 3. What rationale could Shihuangdi use to justify his actions at the bottom of the image? 1. What signs of imperial authority are apparent in the image?

Qin Shihuangdi and China’s Empire – Image #2

Shihuangdi’s Burial Site– Image #2 2. What impression do their postures and facial expressions convey? 1. What does the burial site indicate about the nature of government/leadership in Qin China?

Ch.8 – The Unification of China

Economics of the Empire Silk Roads facilitated trade - silk, metallurgy Agricultural basis - agricultural basis of society

Ch.8 – The Unification of China Social Structure of China Imperial Bureaucrats Agricultural cultivators Conscripted workers Slaves

Ch.8 – The Unification of China Chinese Belief Systems The Golden Age of Philosophy Confucianism - values (respect, benevolence, filial piety all develop junzi) Daoism - disengagement from the world Veneration of ancestors - secular nature of society

Ch.8 – The Unification of China Chinese Belief Systems Ancestral Worship - secular nature of society - veneration of ancestors - oracle bones - mandate of heaven

Classical China PART 1 – Questions for Analysis 1. What were the most significant technological developments during the Qin and Han periods? Explain what impact those individual technologies had on Chinese society and other societies of the Classical Era. 2. How did Lui Bang and the early Han Dynasty contribute to the political legacy of China? What aspects of the Han political system were similar to the Persian system? PART 2 – Making Connections Explain the relationship between each of the following pairs. How does one lead to or foster the other? Be specific in your response. a. The Classic of Filial Piety & the Lawbook of Manu (Ch.4) b. Wang Mang & the Yellow Turbans