Chapter 2Classical Civilization: China

Ms. Sheets

University High School

Early Chinese settlement

• 1.7 million years ago– pre-historic hominids– southwest China– fossils provide evidence

• 500,000 years ago– Homo erectus; “Peking man”– Northern China (near Beijing)

Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE)first documented rule in China after Xia dynasty

Patterns in Classical China

• 3 dynasties covered many centuries

– Zhou– Qin– Han

• Dynasty- family of kings• The first dynasties were very strong, but

over time became more unstable.

The Dynastic Cycle

Beginnings of feudalism

• King loyalty, military service, profits

• Nobles

• Peasants protection

Patterns in Classical China

• Over time, dynasties grew weak:– tax revenues declined– social divisions increased– Internal rebellions– periodic invasions

• When one dynasty declined, another dynasty would emerge– Usually dynasty would emerge from a family

of a successful general, peasant rebellion– Dynasties are cyclical

Afro-Eurasia in 500 BCE

Zhou Dynasty

1029-258 BCE

• Came into China from the north and displaced the Shang dynasty.

• Declined because of political infrastructure and invasions; complete chaos for last few centuries

• Never established a powerful government• Very long rule; ruled through alliances, regional

princes and noble families

World in 350 BCE

Zhou Dynasty, cont.

• Based on an alliance system (feudalism)– Rulers gave land to family members – In exchange, tax revenues and military troops

were to be provided – Depended on loyalties and obligations

• Extended territory of China – Moves into the Yangtze River valley

• Ruled based on “Mandate of Heaven”– The idea that heaven transferred power of the

dynasties

FeudalismKing/Emperor

Lords (Loyal Supporters)

Peasant Farmers (Serfs)

Owns all of the land

Holds supreme

power over everyone

Receives crops from

Lords

Rules land and Serfs

Provides protection for

Serfs

Sends soldiers to fight for

King

Farm the land and keep some

food

Gave food to Lords for

protection

Zhou Dynasty, cont.

• Promoted the use of one standard language – Mandarin Chinese

• Eventually, regional rulers formed independent armies

• Great thinkers try to restore order and social harmony through education

• Zhou dynasty ended after the Era of the Warring States (402-201 BCE)

Zhou Dynasty

Classical China• Zhou Dynasty (1029-258)

– Mandate of Heaven– Feudalism

• Decline of Zhou Dynasty– Confucianism– Daoism– Legalism

• Warring States Period– Kingdom of Qin began

expanding during the 3rd century BCE

Qin Dynasty (221-201 BCE)

• Qin Shi Huangdi- first emperor of the Qin dynasty– Took control of feudal estates, knew the

problem with the Zhou dynasty laid within the feudal nobles who rules lands

– Developed his own non-aristocratic officials to oversee provinces

– Had powerful armies who crushed any uprisings

– Brutal ruler

Qin Dynasty, cont.

• The Great Wall of China began construction– Over 3,000 miles long– Built to protect from outside invasion– Largest construction project in human history– Built by forced labor, many died

Qin Dynasty, cont.• National census

– Could calculate tax revenues and labor services more efficiently

• Standardized coinage, weights and measures

• Uniformed Chinese written script– Officially made a single,

unified language• Government furthered

agriculture– New irrigation projects

Qin Dynasty (221-202 BCE)• Used Legalism to

restore order• Land reforms weakened

aristocracy– Peasants were given land

rights to farm remote territories

• Centralized bureaucracy• Unified China

– Standardized script, laws, and weights & measures

Qin Dynasty, cont.

• Shi Huangdi was very

unpopular among

Chinese citizens– Burned books– Taxed heavily– Large military expansion

• After Shi Huangdi died, Qin dynasty ended

Afro-Eurasia in 200 BCE

Early Han Dynasty (202 BCE-9 CE)

• Founded by Liu Bang– Longest dynasty in

Chinese History

• Conquered northern Vietnam, Korea, and Central Asia– Tribute System

• Monopolized iron, salt, and liquor

Han Wudi (Wu Ti)• Ruled from 141-87 BCE

– Supported Legalism

• Two Goals– Centralize government– Expand the empire

• Reforms– Expanded bureaucracy– Started an imperial university– Confucian examination system– Expanded the Silk Roads

Han Dynasty (201 BCE-220 CE)

• System of examinations to prepare civil servants

• Extensive expansion of Chinese territory• Contact with India, Parthian Empire,

Roman Empire• Invasions and a weak central government

ended the dynasty.– Invasions led by the Huns

• Between 220-589 CE, China was in a state of chaos

Han Dynasty

Political Institutions in China • Most tightly governed people of any large society in the world• Belief in unity and desirability of a central government• Power of the emperor

– Qin Shi Huangdi- provided single law code and uniform tax system

– Qin and Han- strong local government • Development of a educated, professional bureaucracy

– Qin stressed central authority – Han expanded powers of bureaucracy

• Civil service tests for bureaucrats • Expansion of state functions

– Regulation of agricultural production to control costs– Government produced salts and iron

Political Institutions of China

• Strong patriarchal societies • Individual families were linked through extended

families• Ancestor worship• Not incredibly militaristic

– Did not depend on expansion

• Standardization of weights and measures facilitated trade

• Government was able to reach the common people

Religion and Culture in China

• Rulers in the Zhou dynasty maintained a belief in a god or gods and stressed the importance of a harmonious earthly life

• Confucianism thought spread throughout China

• Daoism was known to be the spiritual alternative to Confucianism

Confucianism • Chinese ethical and philosophical system based on relationships and personal virtue

• Developed from the teachings of Confucius (551-478 BCE)

• Focuses on human morality and wrong action

• Self regulation• Focused on the proper exercise

of political power by the rulers• Analects of Confucius- words of

Confucius • About 6 million people still

practice Confucianism in the world today; predominant philosophy in Classical China

Confucian Beliefs

• Confucian ethical teachings include the following values:

• Li: includes ritual, propriety, etiquette, etc.• Hsiao: love within the family: love of parents for

their children and of children for their parents • Yi: righteousness • Xin: honesty and trustworthiness • Jen: benevolence, humaneness towards others;

the highest Confucian virtue • Chung: loyalty to the state, etc.

Main Ideas

• Restore social order, harmony and good government to China

• Ethical systems based on relationships and personal virtue

• Emphasized family– Filial piety - respect for parents and elders is

necessary for order

• Early Zhou Dynasty was seen as perfect society– Inferiors devoted to service– Superiors looked after dependents

Confucianism

• Five Basic Relationships in Society– Ruler/Subject– Father/Son– Husband/Wife– Older Brother/Younger Brother– Friend/Friend

• Chinese gentleman - education and moral standards; birth status not important

• Bureaucracy - those who help run government– Courteous, precise, generous, just/fair

Legalism

• Qin and early Han periods• Strict system of rewards and punishments• Favors authoritarian state ruled by force• Human nature is evil and required

constraint, discipline• Army to control people• People to work for the government• Never really worked in China, but saw

itself in policies and ideologies

Legalism

• Practical, political reaction to Confucianism– Han Feizi - 3rd century BCE

• Powerful and efficient government is key to restoring order

• Laws will end civil war and restore harmony• Rewards to good subjects and punish

disobedient• Rulers must control ideas and actions of

people• Favored by Shi Huangdi during Qin dyansty

Daoism

• Founded by Lao Tzu (5th Century BCE)• A more religious philosophy than Confucianism• Promoted a set of ethics

– Humility and frugal/humble living– Learning is irrelevant– Harmony with nature

• Secret rituals and ceremonies, mystery, magic• People should follow certain, personal paths to

self-knowledge • Spiritual alternative to Confucianism • Not as reliant on education and learning • Many emperors favored Daoism

Chinese Art• Mostly decorative• Chinese calligraphy became popular.• Artwork on bronze, pottery• Carved jade, ivory• Woven silk screens• No monumental buildings or large monuments• Great Wall• Palaces and tombs

Terracotta Army

• Created around to 210 BCE defend Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi’s tomb

• Purpose: to help Shi Huangdi rule another empire in the afterlife

• Over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots, 520 horses were buried in four pits around the tomb

• Terracotta- clay-based unglazed ceramic • Still excavating mausoleum

Science in China • Emphasized practical over theoretical• Accurate calendar (444 BCE)

– 365.5 days

• Adept at astronomy– Observed movements of Saturn

and Jupiter• Developed an early seismograph

– Measures earthquake strength

• Medical research– Principals of hygiene and anatomical knowledge

Economy and Society in China

• Sharp and considerable gaps between the upper class and the majority of people

• Focused on agriculture; extol virtues of peasants– Yangtze River Valley provides wheat in north,

rice in south, encouraged population growth

Economy and Society in China, cont.

• Social classes were passed down from one generation to the next– Very hierarchical society– Patriarchal– Tight family structures valued– Not permanent; could move up in social status

Social Groups in China

• 1. Landowning aristocracy and educated bureaucrats

• 2. Laboring masses: peasants and urban artisans – Farmer peasants– Manual labor– Produced manufactured goods

• 3. Mean (average) people: – Performing artists – Punished more harshly than other groups– Household slaves (very few people)– People with unskilled jobs

Trade in China

• Extensive internal trade• Zhou and Han dynasties traded regularly• Trade focused on luxury items

– Silk, jewelry, leather goods, furniture

• Traded food between wheat and rice growing regions

• Copper coins• Trade was not a focal point of Chinese

society (Confucian value of learning, not making money)

Technological Advances in China

• Ox-drawn plows (300 BCE)– Collar created that did not choke the animal

• Iron mining– Use of pulleys to bring material from mine to

surface

• Water-powered mills – Furthered manufacturing

• Paper– Helped the government

Families in China

• Agriculturally based • Importance of unity• Power of husbands and fathers• Power of parents

– Children could be punished severely for disobedience

• Role of women- could gain power through sons and gained power as mother-in-law

• Property rights- oldest male child inherited property