The Warring States Period 403 BC – 221 BC Times were violent and bad… (the simple version) So philosophers tried to solve the problems with new ways of thinking about things…

The Warring States Period 403 BC – 221 BC All things are connected and people should return to nature. People should not try so hard to get things because that only causes others pain. People should not rule others. Lao TzuConfucius Qin Shih Huang Di Create a large specialized government (bureaucracy) and give everyone a job based on their ability. The Emperor is like the father of a family: Everyone should obey if you are kept fed and safe. Scare people into following the rules - - it is the only way to maintain order and unite the country after the Warring States Period.

The Warring States Period 403 BC – 221 BC (the simple version) Peace Duty Follow the rules… OR ELSE!!!!!

The Qin Dynasty 221 BC – 206 BC The end of the Warring States Period finally came when Qin Shih Huang Di, king of the kingdom Qin brutally conquered the rest of the 6 kingdoms and took control of all China, thus giving it its name. For the first time all of China was united. To keep it that way Emperor Qin used Legalism. He felt that the only way to stop China from returning to the Warring States Period was make many laws and brutally enforce all of the laws - - if people were scared of the laws, they wouldn’t dare fight against the Emperor. Qin Shih Huang Di outlawed books about Taoism and Confucianism for example. To stop people from keeping loyalty to their old kingdoms, Qin Shih Huang Di used strict laws to unite everyone. For example, there was only one official language, one type of currency (money). There was also a large nation wide economy, he built many roads that went all through China, and he began the building of the Great Wall of China.

The Qin Dynasty 221 BC – 206 BC (the simple version) Qin Shih Huang Di conquered all of China and ended the Warring States Period He ruled using Legalism, he was mean and brutal to his people….. but after a while, the people of China liked being united.

The Taoist Han Dynasty 206 BC – 140 BC After Qin Shih Huang Di’s death, the Chinese rejected his son as the emperor. They did not want Legalism anymore. However, they did want to stay united. The roads and other things Qin Shih Huang Di had done had made China the most advanced, and richest place in the world. The short reign of the Qin Dynasty was replaced by the Taoist Han Dynasty. The Hans promised to keep the country united, but they would not be cruel like Qin was. To change the government they went back to the Hundred Schools of Thought and selected Taoism assuming that it was the best way to rule.

The Taoist Han Dynasty 206 BC – 140 BC (the simple version) After Qin Shih Huang Di died, people in China didn’t want to be ruled by Legalism anymore. The Han Dynasty ruled using Taoism. They gave people much more freedom with the benefit of unity. So….

The Confucian Han Dynasty 140 BC – 220 AD Han Emperor Wu Di felt that ruling with Taoism made China too weak. Wu Di thought China was becoming divided without a strong government. He also wanted to make China stronger economically, and take power away from the aristocracy. Wu Di changed China from Taoism to Confucianism. He created a new Bureaucratic system in which boys would take a test. The tests were all about Confucianism. The ones that did the best got the best government jobs, no matter how rich their family was. The system worked very well for a long time, and China again became very strong and advanced. However, the aristocracy formed armies and conquered the Confucian Han Dynasty in 220 AD to get their power back.

The Confucian Han Dynasty 140 BC – 220 AD (the simple version) Emperor Wu Di thought Taoism made China weak so he changed China over to Confucianism. Boys took tests on Confucianism, the better they did, the better job they got. It worked very well. Eventually, the Aristocracy took over the Han Dynasty because they weren’t automatically getting the best jobs.