1. Imperial China
600 BCE- 600 CE

2. Period of Warring States
B.C.E.
Period where there was not a centralized gov’t in China
Qin was the smallest, poorest, and most remote state
Being far away protected it from expense of warring period
Was a militaristic state

3. Qin prior to Empire Series of good rulers Not materialistic
Agriculture only economic base
Merchants and intellectuals seen as bad
No literature, music, or theater
Thought to be weak and barbaric by other Chinese states
Part of their strategy
Defeated all Chinese states by 221 BCE

4. Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE) Qin Shi Huang Di First Emperor
First to unite north and south China
Centralized Power
Gave land to peasants
Ended slavery (except domestic servants)
Weakened aristocracy
Ended primogeniture
Powerful Army
Bureaucracy
Created centralized tradition
Organized provinces and districts (xian)

5. Qin Dynasty Roads Defensive Walls
Combined northern walls into Great Wall
1 million laborers on corvee service
Not really effective, but was symbolic
Standardized laws, currencies, weights, and measures
Standardized Chinese script
Led to political and cultural unity

6. Opposition to Qin Rule
Emperor executed anyone who spoke out against him
Emperor buried 460 scholars alive
Burned all books on philosophy, ethics, history, and literature
After death of Qin Shi Huang Di, rebels killed government officials and burned state buildings

7. Terra-cotta Army Lishan Necropolis Took 700,000 to build tomb
Executed anyone who worked on it to avoid tomb raiders

8. Authoritative control
Li Si was prime minister
Legalism
Police system
Spies
Travel was forbidden without permission
Qin can be compared to Communist
“A thousand die so a million may live”

9. End of Qin Qin Shi Huang Di died
People were tired of the authoritative rule
Upper class upset about loss of power
Treasury was strained b/c of building projects
Li Si was arrested and killed for not having a traveling pass
206 BCE, rebels burned the palace

10. Early Han Dynasty Commander Liu Bang Used military force to gain power
Was from a peasant family
Used military force to gain power
Han Dynasty lasts 206 BCE to 220 CE
Longest Dynasty in Chinese history

11. Han Politics Liu Bang continued centralization of Qin
Confucian ideology
Ended control on travel and education
Lowered taxes
kept xian and standardization
Han Wu di 141 to 87 BCE
The “Martial Emperor”
Administrative centralization and expansion

12. Han Centralization under Han Wu Di
Legalist principles of government with Confucian bureaucrats
Imperial officers administered xian
Continued to build roads and canals to make administration easier
Levied taxes on agriculture, trade, and industries
Grain storage
Gov’t controlled iron, salt, and other essential industries

13. Han Confucian Education System
Han Wu Di created an imperial university
Based curriculum on Confucian philosophies
Established Imperial ideology
Thousands were admitted by the end of the Han Dynasty
Penitential Edict
Apologized for some legalistic moves

14. Han Expansion Gained control of Vietnam and Korea Challenge of Xiongnu
Nomadic group in the North
Han Emperors paid tribute to this group
China tried to make peace by political marriges
Han Wu Di eventually defeated them & gained a huge amount of land

15. Han Society & Economics
Patriarchal households
Filial piety
Most worked in the countryside
Created an agricultural surplus
Allowed for trade and manufacturing
Iron
Silk
Paper
Porcelain
Water powered mills
Horse collar

16. Han Culture Sima Qian wrote Records of the Grand Historian
Ban Gu wrote History of the Han Dynasty
Worked with his sister Ban Zhao
She wrote Admonitions for Women and The Seven Feminine Virtues
Confucian ideals about women prevailed

17. Demographics
Agricultural supplies allowed for a huge population growth
220 BCE: 20 million
9 CE: 60 million

18. Economic and Social Difficulties
Over extended treasury
Military expeditions against Xiongnu
Establishment of agricultural colonies
Attempt to raise taxes & take land from the wealthy slowed commerce
Gap between rich and poor grew
Peasants began to organize

19. Han Land Distribution Families sold themselves into slavery
Tenant farmers developed
Increased slavery
Put land control under small group of people

20. Reign of Wang Mang 9-23 CE –Xian (new) dynasty
Gained control as a regent
Attempted reforms
“Socialist Emperor”
Limited amount of land a family could hold
Ownership of land meant power
Broke up land and gave it to peasants
Created confusion
Poor Harvest and famine
He was assassinated in 23 CE.

21. Collapse of Han Han emperors attempted to create more control
Factions at court
Landed families
Luxurious living
Warlords in the countryside
Loss of trade
China split into regional kingdom for four centuries

22. Environmental problems
Deforestation
Slash and burn
Population increases caused this
Erosion and flooding
Caused by deforestation
Terracing
Extermination of animals due to hunts