Western Zhou: BCE

› The rise of the Zhou  The last Shang king was toppled by the Zhou. › Political organization  Used princes and relatives to rule regions  Mandate of Heaven created

“T’ien Ming” The Mandate of Heaven 1.The leader must lead by ability and virtue. 2.The dynasty's leadership must be justified by succeeding generations. 3.The mandate could be revoked by negligence and abuse; the will of the people was important.

The Dynastic Cycle A new dynasty comes to power. Lives of common people improved; taxes reduced; farming encouraged. Problems begin (extensive wars, invasions, etc.) Taxes increase; men forced to work for army. Farming neglected. Govt. increases spending; corruption. Droughts, floods, famines occur. Poor lose respect for govt. They join rebels & attack landlords. Rebel bands find strong leader who unites them. Attack the emperor. Emperor is defeated !! The emperor reforms the govt. & makes it more efficient. Start here 

 Veneration of ancestors  Belief in ancestors' presence, continuing influence  Filial Piety-respecting elders and parents  Patriarchal society – men in control

- Iron weapons helped regional authorities to resist the central power. Territorial princes became more independent. › Nomadic invasions › Warring States Period ( B.C.E.) › Rise of Qin state

 The Qin State and Dynasty › Organized a powerful army equipped with iron weapons › unified China in 221 B.C.E. › Legalism used  Qin Shi Huang-di › King of the Qin proclaimed himself First Emperor, 221 B.C.E. › Established centralized imperial rule › Held sons of nobles as hostages; demolished nobles castles › Project of connecting and extending the Great Wall in order to protect against invasion.

 Cruel Repression of resistance. Burned non-traditional books.  Standardization: › laws, currencies, weights, measures, writing  The collapse of the Qin dynasty 206 BCE › Cruelty generated ill will among people (Tomb of Emperor- Terracotta soldiers and army to protect him 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses)

 China’s major money maker in ancient times was silk.  Invented paper, chopsticks, gunpowder, matches, compass, and umbrella  Art consisted landscape paintings done on tapestries  Ancient China mix of extreme wealth and poverty

› Iron metallurgy › Silk textiles › Paper production › Porcelain production › Silk Road established for trade › Grand canal will be built later so trade could occur between north and south China.

 Social tensions between the poor and rich  High Taxes › Rebellions occurred  weakened  Rule through large families, gentry  Rise of Eunuchs in government as new source of power › Collapse of the Han – 220 CE  Factions at court paralyzed the central government  Han empire dissolved  China was divided into regional king

› Liu Bang  Restored order, established dynasty, 206 B.C.E. › Early Han policies  centralized rule like Qin but not Legalist.  Han centralization › Built an enormous bureaucracy/civil service to rule the empire › Continued to build roads and canals

 Western Intrusions › Intrusions of Persians (520 B.C.E.) and Alexander (327 B.C.E.)  Chandragupta Maurya › The founder of the Mauryan empire › Chandragupta's empire embraced all of northern India  Chandragupta's government › Government procedures devised by Kautalya, the advisor of the empire › The political handbook, Arthashastra, outlined administrative methods (next slide)

 Ashoka Maurya (reigned B.C.E.) › Chandragupta's grandson, › The high point of the Mauryan empire › Policies of encouraging agriculture and trade › Converted to Buddhism › Built roads, hospitals, temples.  Decline of the Mauryan Empire › Ashoka died in 232 B.C.E. › Suffered from economic difficulties  The empire collapsed by 185 B.C.E.

 The Gupta Dynasty › After Mauryans, India was controlled by regional kingdoms › Chandra Gupta won control and created Gupta dynasty › Supported revival of Hinduism › Golden Age  Developed concept of zero  Infinity  Decimal system  Arabic numerals  Gupta decline › Invasion of White Huns weakened the empire › After 500 C.E., Gupta dynasty ruled in name only › Large regional kingdoms dominated political life in India