1. Ancient India and China (2600 B.C.-A.D. 550)
Lesson 5 Strong Rulers Unite China

2. Analyze why Buddhism spread through China.
Ancient India and China (2600 B.C.-A.D. 550)
Lesson 5 Strong Rulers Unite China
Learning Objectives
Understand how Shi Huangdi unified China and established a Legalist government.
Outline why the Han period is considered a Golden Age of Chinese civilization.
Analyze how the Silk Road facilitated the spread of ideas and trade in China.
Analyze why Buddhism spread through China.

3. Key Terms
Shi Huangdi
Wudi
monopoly
expansionism
civil servants
warlords
acupuncture

4. Shi Huangdi Unifies China
From his base in western China, the powerful ruler of the state of Qin rose to unify all of China. An ancient Chinese poet and historian described how Zheng (jeng) crushed all his rivals: “Cracking his long whip, he drove the universe before him, swallowing up the eastern and the western Zhou and overthrowing the feudal lords.”

5. Shi Huangdi Unifies China
Legalism Establishes Harsh Rule
Emperor Forces Unity
Building the Great Wall
Qin Dynasty Collapses

6. Shi Huangdi Unifies China
Shi Huangdi was the founder of the Qin dynasty. His strong authoritarian government unified China.

7. The Han Dynasty Creates a Strong China
As emperor, Gao Zu set about restoring order and justice to his empire. Although he continued earlier efforts to unify China, he lowered taxes and eased Legalist policies. In a key move, he appointed Confucian scholars as advisers. His policies created strong foundations for the Han dynasty, which lasted from 202 b.c. until a.d. 220.

8. The Han Dynasty Creates a Strong China
Emperor Wudi Brings Great Changes
The Silk Road Links China to the West
Scholar-Officials Run the Government
The Han Civil Service System
The Han Empire Is Overthrown

9. The Han Dynasty Creates a Strong China
The Han emperor, Wudi, receives a letter from a messenger.

10. The Han Dynasty Creates a Strong China
Analyze maps The Silk Road stretched from China to the Mediterranean. New ideas, as well as goods, were exchanged along the Silk Road. Describe two possible travel routes for a shipment of silk traveling from Taxila to Babylon.

11. The Han Golden Age
The Han period was one of the golden ages of Chinese civilization. Han China made such tremendous advances in so many fields that the Chinese later called themselves “the people of Han.”

12. The Han Golden Age
New Advances in Science and Medicine
New Ideas in Technology and Engineering
The Arts Flourish

13. The Han Golden Age
Zhang Heng developed the earliest known seismoscope to detect and measure earthquakes. Shock waves move a pendulum linked to a mechanism that opens the jaw of the dragon. The event is recorded when the ball falls from the dragon’s mouth into the open mouth of the toad below.

14. Buddhism Spreads in China
By a.d. 100, missionaries and merchants had spread Mahayana Buddhism from India into China. At first the Chinese had trouble with the new faith. For example, Chinese tradition valued family loyalty, while Buddhism honored monks and nuns who gave up the benefits of family life for a life of solitary meditation.

15. Buddhism Spreads in China
Looking Ahead

16. Buddhism Spreads in China
This giant statue of Buddha was carved directly into a sheer cliff that leads to a Buddhist temple in China.

17. Quiz: Shi Huangdi Unifies China
Which of the following statements best reflects a Legalist point of view?
A. People are born good and only learn greed through life. A strong ruler must impose severe punishments on those who break the law.
B. People are born good and are best ruled by an emperor who treats them fairly and with respect.
C. Strength is the most important characteristic of a successful ruler. Firm laws and harsh punishments are the best way to keep social order.
D. People are born evil, and it is the responsibility of the ruler to be an example of goodness and fair government.

18. Quiz: The Han Dynasty Creates a Strong China
One of the first things the emperor Gao Zu did to demonstrate that his rule would be different than the Qin was to
A. appoint an even number of Legalist and Confucian advisers.
B. choose Confucian scholars as government adivsers.
C. extend the Great Wall even further into nomad territories.
D. reinforce a civil service system based on inheritance.

19. Quiz: The Han Golden Age
One of the ways Wudi was able to raise money for his government without raising taxes was to
A. require the payment of a special fee on goods coming through the Silk Road.
B. establish a monopoly on the sale of iron and salt.
C. demand a large yearly tribute from the areas he conquered and brought under his rule.
D. charge higher fees on the examinations required to become a civil servant.

20. Quiz: Buddhism Spreads in China
Buddhism appealed to many people in China because
A. it promised that devotion would end suffering and lead to eternal happiness.
B. the faith was already very similar to traditional Chinese beliefs that put responsibility to the family above all else.
C. it offered a nonviolent way to blend the basic beliefs of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism.
D. it offered followers a path to wealth and security.