China

Geography of China Two Rivers make up the farming area of China Huang He (Yellow River) flows out of the western mountains through the Gobi Desert. Its picks up the yellow soul of the Gobi giving the river its’ yellow color Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) crosses central China creating a massive and fertile river valley

Geography of China As huge as China is only 10% of the land is suitable for farming To the north is deserts and mountain To the west is the very dry Tibetan Plateau and mountains These geographic feature keeps China isolated trough much of her development

The Dynastic Cycle China’s history can be traced by this concept called the dynastic cycle The dynastic cycle is based on the idea of the “mandate from heaven” Mandate from Heaven- the law of nature gave the king the authority to rule. Heaven can give this power and take it back

Xia Dynasty Began around 4000 Years ago We know almost nothing about it

Shang Dynasty Founded around 1750 BC War like culture The territory was divided into provinces ruled by War Lords The King/Emperor picked the war lords Writing developed The concept of ancestor worship developed

Shang Dynasty Excelled in Bronze Casting

Fall of Shang By the 1000’s BC the Shang empire had a series of bad rulers and lost the Mandate from heaven A ruler from the state Zhou over threw the Shang Dynasty creating the longest lasting Dynasty in China’s History Zhou Dynasty (1045 BC-256 BC)

Zhou Dynasty

Silk is discovered Daoism and Confucianism develops Chinese Classical Art begins

Zhou Dynasty Silk Production

Daoism (Taoism) Based on the teaching of Laozi The beliefs of Laozi were written down in the Tao Te Ching or “The Way of the Dao” Man is part of the Universe and Nature Man should learn to live with nature and achieve a balance In action is often better than action

Confucianism Based on the teachings of Kongfuzi, Master Kung His teaching were written down in a work called the Analects Confucius felt that in order was critical to society Your personal interest and wishes need to be subordinate to that of society You should do your duty for the betterment of society The ruler should lead by example

Confucianism Believed in the 5 Constant Relationships Ruler to Ruled Father to Son Husband to Wife Elder Brother to Younger Brother Friend to Friend

Confucianism Believed in filial piety The duty of the children to listen, take care of and be loyal to their parents Confucius also taught compassion and empathy to your fellow man “Do not do unto others what you would not wish done to you”

Legalism Human being ARE evil In order to keep order, you need harsh, strict laws and ruler willing to enforce them They believed that only harsh punishments would keep man in order

Qin (Quin) Dynasty 400 BC to 200 BC a bloody Civil War torn the Zhou Dynasty apart In 221 BC the rule of the state of Qin, Qin Shihuangdi, defeated his rivals and started the Qin Dynasty

Qin Dynasty Created a single monetary system Ordered unified road system built through out the empire Built the Great Wall of China to keep northern invaders out

Qin Dynasty The first emperor of Qin, had the terra-cotta army made Tarra-cotta is form of art base molding and baking clay to make shapes ‘Archeologists believe that this army was made to escort him into the afterlife There are 6,000 statues in just the first pit alone They are complete individuals with clay horses army and weapons

Terra-Cotta Army

Qin Dynasty Set up a centralized government

Han Dynasty The harsh rule and over taxation of the Qin dynasty caused revolt When the emperor of Qin died in 210 BC another Civil War broke out

Han Dynasty 202 BC a peasant leader named Liu Pang gained control of China He immediately discarded the harsh policies and legalism of the Qin Dynasty He adopt the teachings of Confucius as his model of government

Han Dynasty Government positions were awarded based on merit. Students studied the works of Confucius and were tested. Those who score high enough were awarded government jobs This is called Civil Service System

Han Dynasty Paper was invented The Silk road was established to promoted trade between the east and the west Steel was developed Monks from India visited China spreading the teaching of Buddha

The Fall of Han Towards the end of the Han dynasty a series of weak rulers came to power Noble land owners slowly came to power and forced poor peasant to sell them their land 220 AD peasant uprisings and civil wars brought an end to the Han dynasty