1. CHINESE EMPIRE Chapter 9

2. Thursday, February 26, 2015  Homework: Read section 1 (starting on page 274)  Do Now: Please take out your homework from yesterday

3. The Qin  Qin was a mountainous kingdom located in northwestern China  Beyond the kingdom, there were foreign lands of Asia  Although by the late Zhou dynasty, Qin had become the strongest kingdom in western China, King Zheng wanted more power!

4. Uniting the Warring States  Kin Zheng of Qin was ruthless, he defeated each kingdom one by one  By 221 BC, Qin forces defeated their last enemy and united China  There are still challenges: Languages and customs varied Rebellion may occur Invasion by nomads

5. The First Emperor  The Qin ruler decided that the Chinese needed to become one people by one government  King was too small of a word for such a vast empire  He then declared himself Shi Huangdi – “First Emperor”  “Huagdi” is tied to the gods and legendary rules of China’s past

6. The Great Wall  Before the Qin unification, the smaller kingdoms had walls to protect themselves from other kingdoms  Shi Huagdi had these walls torn down and began work on one of the largest public works projects in history  The Great Wall A long wall running east and west along his empire’s northern border to defend the empire from nomads living close by

7. Protection  Building the wall was dangerous and many workers died  It did not always keep invaders out, but other emperors who followed also relied on the wall for protection

8. Establishing Standards  Shi Huagdi knew he needed to standarize daily life  Standards for economy  Standards for culture  Anyone who did not follow the standards was punished as a traitor  Most importantly, the empire established a single written language

9. Establishing Standards  Transportation became standardized  The government established a standard length for the axles of all vehicles, making travel between different areas easier  All carts and wagons could travel in the same ruts on the same roads  A uniform set of weights and measures was also set into place  This made trade easier  Currency was the same throughout China

10. Organization  Shi Huagdi introduced the concept of centralization (central government system)  He organized China into 36 provinces  Each province was divided into counties  Each county had a leader who reported to central government who then reported to the emperor  To prevent rebellion, Shi Huagdi forced thousands of noble families to move to the capital where spies could watch them

11. A Legalist Government  In the alte Zhou dyansty, the Qin rulers brought in advisors to help make the Qin stronger  Shang Yang was a very important advisor who belonged to a school of thought called Legalism  According to this, a strong leader and a strong legal system are needed to create social order

12. A Legalist Government  The Qin kings took more direct control over the common people with heavy taxes and labor requirements  The kingdom became stronger and more orderly  Shi Huagdi became very interested in harsh laws and following Legalist Han Feizi

13. Rules and Punishment under Legalism  Han Feizi did not agree with Confucianism  Instead, he believed people must be forced to do good  This was done by making strict laws and enforcing them  Shi Huagdi made a uniform legal code across his empire with very severe punishments  Ex: a thief could face physical punishment as harsh as cutting off the feet or nose  Ex: less serious theft may receive punishment of harsh labor such as working on the walls or the roads

14. Censoring Thought  The First Emperor tried to control Chinese thought by censoring ideas he found dangerous or offensive  Debate about the government was banned  People could not praise past rulers or criticize the present one  Books that did not support his policies were burned

15. Fall of the Qin Dynasty  About 3 years after Shi Huagdi’s death, the dynasty collapsed  A soldier named Chen Sheng led a rebellion  He was leading troops north to defend the borders of China, but a storm of heavy rains delayed them  He knew that arriving late would have a severe penalty so he and his men decided they had nothing to lose by rebelling

16. Fall of the Qin Dynasty  As news of Chen Sheng’s uprising spread, many others rose up to support him  Qin generals tried but could not put down these rebellions  Knowing the punishment for failure, some of the generals joined the rebellions  The rebels joined together long enough to defeat the Qin, but then began fighting amongst themselves and chaos erupted AGAIN