Diversity of China

History of Money in China Initially used cowry shells etc. Zhou used bronze coins Warring states- every state had their own forms- shaped like spades/knives etc. Qin- standardization- all must use copper coins with hole in them- to put on a string – design lasts until the 20th century- Salaries paid in copper coins and/or grain, taxes paid in copper coins and/or silk and/or grain

History of Money in China (cont) 400 years between Han and Sui- 10 different kingdoms used 10 different currencies Sui and Tang unify currency again- gold, silver, silk for big stuff, copper for every day purchases (unless they ran out of copper for the bronze- then iron- but it rusts) Song first used paper money- it continued to be used from 1050-1400s (about 300 years before it was common in Europe)

Aristocracy the highest class in certain societies, especially those holding hereditary titles or offices a form of government in which power is held by the nobility. China’s aristocracy rises and falls depending on the political situation

Han Synthesis Synthesis: Combination of ideas to form a theory or system The first Han ruler was a peasant so he used a variety of Chinese ideas to maintain legitimacy: Mandate of Heaven Legalist practices of the Qin- he eased up on the torture and flagrant executions – slowly as the Han became more confident (felt they had earned the Mandate of Heaven) they became less harsh Confucianism: the early Han conquered on horseback but realized they couldn’t rule by horseback- needed smart people who knew the rituals to perform important tasks- put Confucian exams into place Daoism: they used systems of Yin and Yang to explain many practices- from medicine to the afterlife (which became a more spiritual concept so goods in tombs became replicas – not the actual objects)

Bureaucracy a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives. the officials in a bureaucracy, considered as a group or hierarchy. For our purposes, these are the Confucian scholars who pass the exam and then have important jobs in the government- beginning in the Han dynasty

Commercialization China’s “Mona Lisa” the Beijing Qingming Scroll form the Song Dynasty showing commercialization and urbanization Process of bringing products to market. Song Chinese farmers produced items to sell and used the money earned from sales to buy things they needed- instead of trying to make everything themselves