1. Early Society in Classical China

2. Essential Questions
What are the continuities and changes between the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties?
What are the multiple facets of Ancient Chinese religion?
What are the main characteristics of the Chinese philosophies?

3. The Zhou 1029 BCE to 258 BCE The Qin 221-207 BCE
Classical China Civs.
The Zhou 1029 BCE to 258 BCE
The Qin BCE
The Han 202 BCE – 220 CE

4. ZHOU Qin Confucianism Agricultural Kingdom
Alliance system- gave estates to friends and family to secure rule
Government: King
Mandate of heaven -  The emperor was granted the right to rule by heaven
Misbehavior  withdrawal of king
Decentralized Gov’t- nobles w/ estates
Confucianism
Shi Huangdi – emperor of China
Reduce power of nobles- stress central authority
Totalitarian structure: state above the ppl
Legalism instead of Confucianism
Abolished primogeniture
Abolished slavery
System of roads ; built Great Wall
Standardization and Organization essential

5. Han Dynasty- Political Institutions
Founder Liu Bang
Combined elements of Legalism with Confucianism
Emperor Wu- period of expansion
Mandate of Heaven- emperor as a divine being, his word is law
Highly skilled bureaucracy (Administration of a government chiefly through departments staffed with nonelected officials.)
Civil Service Exams – enter bureaucracy

6. Han cont. Not highly militaristic Sponsorship of intellectual life
Confucian thought supported
Active in economy- standardization of currency ; store grain and rice
Taxation
Annual labor required of peasantry for public works projects

7. Religion
Shamanism- China's oldest indigenous belief system; "agitated or frenzied person“
Shaman are viewed as bridges between their communities and the spiritual world

8. Religion
three different kinds of spiritual beings; 1) ancestors-dead relatives; 2) ghosts, the angry souls of people who died in accidents or without getting married; and 3) gods, the souls of dead people who lived meritorious lives
Animism: collective worship of spirits and dead ancestors rather than individual gods
every living thing-mountains, special rocks, landscape formations—has a spirit

9. Religion Ancestor Worship
Ancestors are generally honored and appeased with daily and seasonal offerings and rituals

10. Religion Belief in gods/goddesses
Guanyin (Kuanyan), the Goddess of Mercy, the most popular deity in China
The god Fachu is worshiped by people who are recovering from an illness or who want to succeed in business

12. Cultural/Intellectual Aspects
Promotion of common language = mandarin
Use of IRON
Bronze ware making
Expansion of the Eunuch system

13. Confucius 551-478 BCE Philosophy expressed in Analects
“proper balance and order in human relationships” would bring about social and political harmony
Respect for social superiors
Governments exist to serve the ppl
Govt reflects family unit
Virtuous leadership
Benevolence, Propriety, Filial Piety were practiced by scholar-gentry
People are naturally good

14. Warring States Period 402-201 BCE Disintegration of Zhou
Regional rulers gain control
King = figurehead

15. Legalism Authoritarian political philosophy Disliked Confucianism
Shang Yang was founder d. 338 BCE
Rule by force
State is above the individual
Strict laws were essential to control human nature
People are naturally evil

16. Daoism “The Path” Emerged under the Zhou
Followers criticize the Confucian emphasis on hierarchy and duty
Live in harmony with nature
Order and harmony of nature is the basis of stable social order
Encourage a life of reflection and introspection
Immortality