1. EARLY CHINA

2. China is the oldest, longest, continuous civilization in the World.

3. Geographical Influences
Mountains, sea, and desert provide some protection and isolation
Vulnerable to northwest
River valleys
Yellow (Huang He) earliest civilization - damaging floods
Yangtze- very important in unification- transportation- irrigation

4. Geographical Influences
intensive garden-style agriculture
Did not adopt the plow until very late
unique soil: loess

6. Shang Dynasty Bronze metallurgy from 1200 BCE State monopoly
Horse-drawn chariots, other wheeled vehicles
Large armies
Political organization: network of fortified cities, loyal to center
1000 cities
Capital moved six times
Impressive architecture at Ao, Yin
Other regional kingdoms coexist: Sanxingdui

7. Shang Dynasty Distinct Characteristics Other Features silk
no animal milk or milk products
ancestor worship
central place of the family
Other Features
ornate architecture
chopsticks
ideographic script
still readable by modern Chinese
divination

8. Organizations Other Distinctions
peasants support nobles, officials, bureaucracy, etc.
government centered in towns
warrior elite
poor live in primitive conditions
Other Distinctions
between rich and poor
price of civilization ?
between male and female
infanticide
Foot-binding
arranged marriages
multiple wives

9. Zhou dynasty B.C.

10. Zhou (Chou) Dynasty, 1122-256 BCE
Longest Chinese dynasty
No law codes: rule by decree
“Mandate of Heaven”
Aggregation of villages opposed to Shang leadership
Decentralization of authority
Development of cheap iron weaponry ends Shang monopoly on Bronze
Early money economy

11. Zhou (Chou) Dynasty (cont)
Feudal society- emperor gave out fiefs
Shang thought they had a divine right- Chou rulers had responsibility
Zhou did take title “Son of Heaven”
compared to medieval Europe - had a code for dress, fighting etc.
no contracts

12. Decline of the Zhou Dynasty
Decentralized leadership style allows for building of regional powers
Increasing local independence, refusal to pay Zhou taxes
Iron metallurgy allows for widespread creation of weaponry
Northern invaders weaken Zhou dynasty, beginning 8th c BCE
771 B.C. Zhou driven east
Internal dissention: the Period of the Warring States ( BCE)

13. The Eastern Zhou ruled until 256 B.C. power held by local aristocrats
first Chinese literature
evolution of bronze technology

14. Zhou Political Theory the Mandate of Heaven universal monarch
favors consolidation
xenophobic
Emperor is the Son of Heaven
feudal monarchy

15. The Period of the Warring States
771 B.C.
dozen-plus states
balance of power until 500’s
period of consolidation by warfare
warfare chronic

16. The Period of the Warring States, ca. 500 B.C.

17. The Good Old Days breakdown of “traditional family values”
no trust or confidence in government
filled with thieves, liars, and murderers
no respect for the ancestors
“Why do the wicked flourish?”

18. Intellectual Development
response to crisis and uncertainty
Confucianism
a sort of philosophy
Taoism (Daoism)
a sort of religion

19. Ancient China Way of Life- Confucianism
Moral and ethical code highly developed treat everyone with consideration
Advocated paternalistic government
Value on family head- ancestor respect
Values- loyalty, righteousness, wisdom, sincerity
very practical and humanistic Gentility

20. Daoism (Taoism) LaoTzu (Lao Zi)
contemporary of Confucius
Tao= the road way
Absolute=sum of existence
Goal to bring people into harmony
very introspective
not as influential as Confucius

21. Ancient Philosophies
About 500BCE Buddha, Confucius, Greek Philosophers and Chinese - Lao Tze
Called a flowering period
India more concerned with cosmos and soul
China more concerned with ethical life on earth
Ironic comparison of Asoka and Shi Huangdi

23. Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty 221-206 BCE
dominated by “The First Emperor”
Qin Shi Huangdi (Chin Shi Huang Ti)
Got rid of feudal lords
Massive public works projects; massive conscription for labor
constructed roads
The Great Canal
The Great Wall – sacrifice
Unified China in 221 BCE

24. Set up a centralized bureaucracy, which was the basis of his rule.
Resistance to Qin Shi Huangdi
Emperor orders execution of all critics
Orders burning of all ideological works
Some 460 scholars buried alive
Others exiled
Massive cultural losses
Military draft
Set up a centralized bureaucracy, which was the basis of his rule.
Gave land to peasants
Legalist rule

25. Massive Tomb found in 2oth c.

27. Han Dynasty 202BCE-220 CE (Roman Times)
rebellion of peasants
Lui Bang
a successful failure
ruled for 400 years
new bureaucracy
emphasis on centralization
weakening of the aristocracy
imperial expansion
destruction of the Legalists
the Confucian educated elite
improvement in women's’ status
beginnings of “secret societies”

28. Han Dynasty 202BCE-220 CE
Similar: built cities, officials to carry out edicts, heavy taxes collapsed under invasions and internal revolts
contact along the Silk Road, Buddhist Missionaries to China
combination of Confucius and legalism
advanced in science and literature
invented rudder, paper, magnetic compass, acupuncture
Short period of Civil War- Sui Dynasty connected two rivers with canal- over extended

29. Population Growth in the Han Dynasty
General prosperity
Increased agricultural productivity
Taxes small part of overall income
Produce occasionally spoiling in state granaries

30. Tang Dynasty 618-907 CE Contributions
Internal renewal(improved lives of people) and external expansion
Used formal civil service exam to recruit-set up university
Tried to equalize land holdings- fought corruption
literature and art flourished- Tang horses p 203
Inventions- paper during Han- used for clothes and tp- 589 used for writing- invented printing, gun powder, encyclopedia

31. Song(Sung) Dynasty 960-1279 moved the capitol east-
economic expansion- used paper money,
used abacus-
Silk Road traffic at height
when dangerous went to sea routes
first period of great oceanic commerce
trades tea, silk and porcelain for exotic woods and precious stones

32. The Mongols Loosely organized clans in a state of stress; nomadic
Genghis Kahn- son of impoverished noble with army of less than 130,000 conquered Asia
mastered military tactics on horseback- pursue and ambush, firelance, took China
Kublai Kahn- grandson Yuan dynasty at Peking- adopted Chinese ways- lasted 100 years- gave way to Ming dynasty