Chinese Dynasties
Mandate of Heaven Divine approval thought to be the basis of royal authority
Dynastic Cycle Historical pattern of the rise, decline and replacement of dynasties
Shang Dynasty 1600-1027 BCE
Zhou Dynasty (JOH): 1050-256 BCE Longest lasting dynasty Period of Warring States: 403-221 BCE Confucius 551 BCE-479 BCE
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE – 206 BCE Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi “First Emperor” Subdued warring states and unified China Doubled China’s size Unlimited power Centralized and standardized China: laws, weights, axle wheels
Terracotta soldiers Guard tomb of Shi Huangdi
Great Wall of China Made poor people work on huge defensive wall Extended and close gap in north almost entire length of border
Killed Opponents Killed hundreds of Confucian scholars to prevent criticism Burned books
Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE) Golden age Model for many dynasties People of China still refer to themselves as Han
Silk Road Open for trade Ancient Trade route linking China and West China sent silk west
Advancements under the Han Paper in 105 CE Civil service system for jobs put into place. Exams.
Sui Dynasty 581-618 CE Completion of Grand Canal Millions worked for years on this 1000 mile waterway, which used existing waterways and built new ones to successfully link North and South China for the first time in history Others continued with Great Wall Numerous workers died
Grand Canal
Tang Dynasty 618-906 CE Great poetry Only Female Emperor: Empress Wu Zhao (woo jow). Lived 625-705 CE Helped to expand over Korea Continued exam system for governing class
Song Dynasty 960-1279 CE Foreign trade flourished Great advances under Tang and Song in movable type and gunpowder Improved acupuncture Introduction of Islam to China along Silk Road Hangzhou: major city of Song Dynasty. Like a massive park today. Marco Polo visited it and declared it the most beautiful city on earth (about 1 million at the time)
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)(YOO AHN) First Mongol Dynasty. But followed established Chinese traditions and methods of governing Extended Grand Canal
Genghis Khan Created largest empire world had known Began conquest of China. Completed by his grandson, Kublai Khan. Plundered cities. Killed citizens or took them as slaves.
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE) Forbidden City: 9,999 rooms Very large and surrounded by moat Restored Great Wall
Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) Last dynasty in China Manchu Dynasty This dynasty lost to Western powers in, for example, the Opium Wars
Works Cited Beck, Roger B. World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2009. Print. Kublin, Michael, Hyman Kublin, and Hyman Kublin. China. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. Print.
Exit Slip Which three dynasties seem to you to have had the most influence on China? Why?