1. Ancient China

2. Chapter Seven Section Three
Han Emperors in China
Chapter Seven
Section Three

3. China Objective
Explain how the Chinese dynasties affected Chinese civilization, ethical systems, government, technology, commerce, and culture.

4. Setting the Stage under Shi Huangdi, the Qin Dynasty had unified China
Shi Huangdi established a strong government by
conquering the rival kings who ruled small states
throughout China
after Shi Huangdi died in 210 B.C. his son proved to
be a weak, ineffective leader
China’s government fell apart

5. Guided Reading Answers
1. List the two powerful leaders that emerged after a civil war.
a. Xiang Yu (shee*ANG yoo)
b. Liu Bang (LEE*oo bahng)
2. In 202 B.C. the final battle was fought between the two powerful leaders. What was the outcome?
> Liu Bang won and declared himself the first
emperor of the Han Dynasty

6. Guided Reading Answers
3. The Han Dynasty, which ruled China form more than
400 years, is divided into two periods.
4. The Former Han ruled for about two centuries until
A.D. 9
5. The Later Hun ruled for almost another two centuries.
6. What was Liu Bang’s first goal?
> was to destroy the rival kings’ power
7. Define centralized government:
> a government in which power is concentrated in
central authority to which local governments are
subject

7. Han Dynasty (400 Years)
Liu Bang fought and won a civil war thus beginning the Han Dynasty
Liu Bang lowered taxes
moved away from Legalism
won the support of the people
Emperors choose their favorite wives as the empress and one of her sons as the successor
usually caused distractions for the ruler and led to competition between families

8. Guided Reading Answers
8. When Liu Bang died in 195 B.C., who really became
emperor? > his mother – Empress Lu   
9. Liu Bang’s great-grandson took the throne and
continued Liu Bang’s centralizing policies.
10. Wudi, who reigned from 141 B.C. to 87 B.C. , held the
throne longer than any other Han emperor.

9. Guided Reading Answers
11. Why is Wudi called the “Martial Emperor”?
> he adopted the policy of expanding the Chinese
empire through war

10. Han Dynasty (400 years)
first set of enemies were the Xiongnu (shee*UNG*noo) = fierce nomads known for their deadly archery skills from horseback
raided China’s settle farmland
took hostages
Stole grain, livestock, other valuable items
Han emperors tried to buy off the Xiongu by sending them thousands of pound of silk, rice, alcohol, and money
Xiongu accepted these gifts and continued their raids

11. Han Dynasty (400 years) bribes were making the Xiongnu stronger
Wudi sent 100,000 soldiers to fight them and made allies of their enemies
conquered the largest territory of all the dynasties (Manchuria, Korea, Vietnam)
By the end of Wudi’s reign, the empire had expanded nearly to the bounds of present-day China

12. Guided Reading Answers
List the structure of Chinese society under the Han
Dynasty.
A. Emperor
B. King and Governor
C. State Officials and Nobles and Scholars
D. Peasants
E. Artisans and Merchants
F. Solders Very Bottom Slaves
13. The Chinese believed their emperor to have divine
authority, they accepted his exercise of power. He
was the link between heaven and earth.
14. The Chinese emperor relied on a complex
bureaucracy to help him rule.

13. Guided Reading Answers
15. Define civil service: the administrative departments of a government – especially those in which employees are hired on the basis of their scores on examinations

14. A Highly Structured Society
Emperor was key to
prosperity or disasters
Emperor did not rule alone
(government officials)
civil service jobs came
through an examination
knowledge of
Confucianism = methods
of testing

15. Guided Reading Answers
16. List the advances in technology that influenced all aspects of Chinese life. a. paper invented in 105 A.D. b. collar harness for horses c. perfected a plow = two blades d. improved iron tools, invented the wheelbarrow, used water mills to grind grains 17. What was the most important and honored occupation? Agriculture 18. List the established monopolies. a. mining of salt b. forging of iron c. minting of coins d. brewing of alcohol

16. A Highly Structured Society
167 B.C. Imperial Edict = agriculture
the most important and honored
occupation
“Agriculture is the foundation of the world. No duty is greater. Now if [anyone] personally follows this pursuit diligently, he has yet [to pay] the impositions of the land tax and tax on produce…Let there be abolished the land tax and the tax on produce levied upon the cultivated fields”
-- Ban Gu and Ban Zhao in History of the Former Han Dynasty

17. Guided Reading Answers
19. Spurred by the worldwide demand for silk, Chinese commerce expanded along the Silk Roads. 20. Define assimilation: the adoption of a conqueror's culture by a conquered people

18. Guided Reading Answers
21. List the several writers who helped to unify Chinese culture by recording China’s history.
Name
Lived Years
Name of Book and What it Entailed
Sima Qian
(SU*MAH chee*Yehn)
145 B.C. to 85 B.C.
* Records of the Grand Historian
* compiling a history of China = ancient to
Wudi
Ban Biao
(BAHN bee*OW)
Ban Gu (bahn goo) = sone
3 A.D. to
54 A.D
* History of the Former Han Dynasty
Ban Zhao (bahn jow) = daughter
* Lessons for Women
* called upon women to be humble and
obedient, but also industrious

19. Guided Reading Answers
22. What was one of the main problems the Han emperors faced? > economic imbalance caused by customs that allowed the rich to gain more wealth at the expense of the poor 23. What was the difference between poor farmers and rich farmers? > poor farmers inherited smaller plots / hard time raising enough food to sell or feed the family / went into debt / borrowed money from large land owners who charged high interest / couldn’t pay lost the land > rich farmers not required to pay taxes / increased land holdings = tax decrease

20. Fall of the Han Dynasty
Economic imbalance between the rich and poor caused by local customs:
land divided up amongst family upon death farm sizes decreased and so did profit
wealthy farmers paid no taxes
Wang Mang overthrows the Hans ending the First Han Dynasty
printed more $$$ to help pay for country’s debt
established granaries to feed poor
took land from the wealthy and gave to the poor who lost their farms
landowners furious
merchants raised prices because there was more $$$ in circulation (inflation)
11 A.D.= massive flood killed millions

21. Guided Reading Answers
24. Wang Mang, a Confucian scholar and member of the court, took the imperial title for himself and overthrew the Han, thus ending the first half of the Han Dynasty .

22. Rise of the Han Dynasty (Again)
2nd Han Dynasty reestablished
attempted to regain trading posts along Silk Road
became financial prosperous
internal weaknesses continued (same economic weakness and political issues)
by 220 A.D.- Han Dynasty splits into three rival kingdoms
The Han Dynasty’s rule lasted over 400 years and the Chinese people today call themsleves “the people of the Han”

23. Miscellaneous Information
the civilization that was vulnerable to outside invasion because of their geography was the Sumer / Mesopotamia
Egypt = Nile River
India = Ganges and Indus Rivers
Sumer = Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Han Dynasty = Yellow Sea

24. Essential Question
Do you think a ruler who followed Confucian or Daoist ideas would have built the Great Wall? Why or why not?
Write three complete sentences in the summary location on your note sheet

25. China Objective
Explain how the Chinese dynasties affected Chinese civilization, ethical systems, government, technology, commerce, and culture.