3. China’s Success Farming
For thousands of years people have settled along China’s rivers. Just in Ancient Egypt, The Yellow River and Yangzi Rivers left fertile soil along the river beds which were ideal for farming.
Famers grew rice and domesticated animals such as pigs and sheep.
21-Complex societies sprang up as a result of the needs of flood control, transport, and protection inherent to intensive farming communities.

4. Section 1: Han Contacts With Other Cultures
Essential Question:
How do the people, events, and ideas that shaped ancient China continue to influence the world?
The Big Idea:
Trade routes led to an exchange of new products and ideas among China, Rome, and other peoples.
If you were there: You are a trader traveling along the Silk Road to china. This is you first trip. You are traveling through many mountains, deserts, and terrible weather. You expect to make a good profit from silk. You are also curious about China and its people.
What do you expect to find in China?

5. 22-Main Ideas
Farming and manufacturing grew during the Han dynasty.
Trade routes linked China with the Middle East and Rome.
Buddhism came to China from India and gained many followers.

6. Farming and Manufacturing
At the time of the spread of Buddhism to China, the Chinese people were skilled iron workers. They manufactured swords and suits of armor. They created an iron plow.
23-Chinese people created silk, a soft light, highly valued fabric.
They raised silk worms, and unwound the silk threads from their cocoons. The method of creating silk was a secret, punishable by death.

7. Trading Routes
Chinese people traded pottery and silk to people outside of China. Traders used a series of land routes to take Chinese goods to distant buyers. This famous route was called the Silk Road.
24-The Silk Road was a 4000-mile network of routes stretched westward from China across deserts and mountain ranges, through the Middle East, until they reached the Mediterranean Sea.

9. Buddhism Comes to China
When Chinese people came in contact with people from India. Quickly Buddhism from India spread throughout China. Buddhism provided the Chinese people with more hope than the traditional Chinese beliefs. If offered a rebirth to suffering, this promise was appealing to the Chinese people.
25-Buddhism was an example of diffusion, the spread of ideas from one culture to another.
Reading Check: Why were Chinese people attracted to Buddhism?

10. Mandate of Heaven Confucianism Daoism Legalism
Section 2: What systems and philosophies were in China before Buddhism?
Mandate of Heaven
Confucianism
Daoism
Legalism

11. Mandate of Heaven
26-The rulers of China were said to posses the mandate of heaven, a belief that heaven gave them the power to rule.
For example the mandate of heaven is said to have given the Zhou ruler the power to conquer first Chinese state, the Shang Dynasty. The Zhou king granted land to people in return for loyalty and military support.
27-The Zhou king gave land to the lords, or people of high rank.
The lords paid taxes and provided soldiers to the king when needed.

12. Losing the Mandate of Heaven
Hundreds of years later the Shang Dynasty would collapse under rival Shang armies. As the nobles and Zhou family fought between one another their power lost power. This was known as the warring period.
28-This is an example of Chinese dynasty (family of rulers) collapsing to what is known as a self-fulfilling prophesy. This is a belief that becomes real because people believe in it.
Floods, famine, disease, and invasions were all signs of losing the Mandate of Heaven and lead to people leading revolts and claiming the Mandate for themselves.
29-Often these were symptoms of a weak government not responding to disasters appropriately.

13. Confucius and Society
During the Zhou period thinkers came up with ways to restore order in China. Confucius was the most influential teacher in China. Confucius was the title “Master Kong.” Confucius felt China was overrun with dishonesty and disorder. Confucius believed that the Chinese people had to return to ethics.
30- Ethics are moral values. The ideas of Confucius were known as Confucianism.

14. Here are the main ideas of Confucianism: a few of the basic guidelines to restore order in China:
People should be respectful to one another.
Leaders should be kind, and lead by example.
Learning is a process that never ends.
Heaven expects people to behave well and act morally.
All family members should be loyal to one another.

15. Over centuries these beliefs became the dominate beliefs in China.
Confucius traveled to many different regions, he became a respected teacher. His ideas were passed down to his students and later compiled in a book called the Analects.
31-Confucianism became a guiding force in human behavior and religious understanding in China.
Over centuries these beliefs became the dominate beliefs in China.
Reading Check: Who was Confucius and what were his beliefs on behavior?

16. Daoism and Legalism
Daoism (Dow-ih-zum) takes its meaning from Dao, meaning “the way.”
32-Daoism stressed living in harmony with the Dao, the guiding force of reality.
Daoism was developed as a result of Confucianism. They believed that the Dao gave birth to the Universe. They felt that the government should stay out of people’s lives. They believed that people should avoid interfering with the nature of each other. They should be like water and let things flow the natural way.

17. 33-Daoists believed the universe is a balance of opposites.
For example, male and female, light and dark, or low and high.
Opposite forces should be in harmony.
While Confucianism focused a persons attention on the human world. Daoists paid more attention to the natural world. Daoists regarded humans as part of nature, not better than any other thing.

18. Legalism
34-Legalism, the belief that people bad by nature and needed to be controlled,
Contrasted with Confucianism and Daoism. Legalism was a political philosophy without religious concerns. Legalism felt society needed strict laws to keep people in line and punishments should fit the crimes.
For example, citizens should be held responsible for each others conduct. A guilty persons relatives should also be punished.

19. They wanted appointed officials to run China, not the nobles
They wanted appointed officials to run China, not the nobles. They urged China to always be prepared for war.
At the same time, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism competed for follows in China. The Legalists were the first to put their ideas to work in China.
Reading Check: How did Daoism and Legalism differ in their theories about government?

21. Section 3: Back To The Han Dynasty
Essential Question:
How do the people, events, and ideas that shaped ancient China continue to influence the world?
The Big Idea:
The Han Dynasty created a new form of government that valued family, art, and learning.
If you were there…You were a young Chinese student from a poor family. Your family has worked hard to give you a good education so you can get a government job and have a great future. Your friends laugh at you. They say only boys from rich families get good jobs. They think its better to join the army.
Will you take the exam to join the army? Why?

22. 35-Main Ideas
Han dynasty was government was based on the ideas of Confucius.
Family life was supported and strengthened in Han China.
The Han Dynasty made many achievements in art, literature, and learning.

24. Family Life
The family were a important to Chinese society. Society was based on Confucian concept of Filial Piety.
36-Filial Piety: obedience and devotion to parents/grandparents /leaders/Emperors.
-Shown through supporting and providing gifts.
Filial Piety works both ways with leaders also needing to respect their subjects.
How does this secure both loyalty and social divisions in Chinese society?

26. Why do you think Chinese society placed such importance on the family?
The Revival of the Family
37-Children were taught to respect their elders.
To disobey a parent was a crime. The father was the head of the family and had absolute power. Children were encouraged to serve their parents. Boys were valued more than girls.
Why do you think Chinese society placed such importance on the family?

27. 38-Han Achievements
Han artists became experts at figure painting, including portraits.
Han China is known for its poetry. They developed the fu style, which combined prose and poetry.
Han Chinese invented paper.
Han inventors created the sundial. The sundial told the time of day.
Han inventors created the seismograph, a device the measures the strength of an earthquake.
Acupuncture or the practice of inserting needles through the skin to relieve pain.
Emperor wanted to know the movements of the earth because they believed that eathquakes were signs of future evil events.
Reading Check: What advances did the Chinese make during the Han period?

29. Great Wall of China
Over hundreds of years several walls were created to stop the raids of nomadic northern tribes. It was under the Han that theses walls were connected. Let us learn about what happens when a powerful tribe decides to go around those walls.