Early China. Background knowledge of early Imperial China

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1 Early China Background knowledge of early Imperial China

2 Move from Ancient to Imperial China The Shang Dynasty was the first Dynasty in Ancient China ( B.C.) Zhou Dynasty conquered the Shang Dynasty and was the longest dynasty in China lasting 800 years until 221 B.C.

3 Zhou Dynasty B.C.

4 The Qin Dynasty Qin Dynasty conquered the Zhou Dynasty and was the first unified, multi-national and power-centralized state in the Chinese history. It only lasted from 221 B.C. to 206 B.C. Emperor Qin carried out many reforms in politics, economy, military affairs and culture.

5 Emperor Qin s Key Points All major powers including politics, economy, military affairs were in his hand He standardized weights and measures and stipulated that the round coin with square hole He standardized the written character Great importance on infrastructure: irrigation works and road building projects Great Wall of China, was first built under his order He stressed hard labor, heavy taxes, and rigorous law and military service

6 Emperor Qin Shi Huang the Oppressor

7 Shihuangdi the Oppressor Many of those whom Shihuangdi conquered obeyed him from fear rather than seeing him as their legitimate ruler or as having heaven's mandate, and some in various areas continued to fight his rule. To further secure his rule, Shihuangdi tried collecting weapons from all those not in his armies. He saw danger in what people thought, and in 213 BCE his agents began confiscating books that he thought were dangerous: all books other than those on subjects thought practical, such as agriculture, forestry, herbal medicine and divination. The confiscated books were burned, except for one copy of each, which were to be kept from the public in the state's private library. Among the burned books were the centuries old writings of Confucius and books by followers of Confucius. Future generations of Confucianists would see Shihuangdi as evil, and they would accuse him of having buried 460 scholars alive -- a misunderstanding. Instead, he had merely had them executed. He had disliked hearing their complaints.

8 In 210, at the age of forty-nine, Shihuangdi, became sick while on one of his journeys, and he died. His palace supporters murdered some of Shihuangdi's top aids, withheld news of Shihuangdi's death and sent a forged note to Shihuangdi's son and heir, ordering him to commit suicide, which he did. Then they elevated to the throne a younger son of Shihuangdi, a boy whom they hoped to control. Some in areas recently conquered by Shihuangdi saw in his death an opportunity to break from Qin rule, and some intellectuals came out against the rule of Shihuangdi's younger son. Peasants decided it was an opportune time to express their displeasure with imperial authority, the result largely of their having suffered too much forced labor on Shihuangdi's many construction projects. Some commoners began killing local officials. Among common people there arose local leaders who led them in rebellion. In an attempt to regain their former powers, noble families began organizing their own gangs of armed men.

9 Early during the chaos, a middle-aged rebel leader and former Qin policeman named Liu Bang gathered an increasingly large army under him. He allied himself with a more powerful rebel, a noble named Xiang Yu, who was organizing military operations against Qin rule and hoping to re-establish the privileges of his family. Respecting the power of Liu Bang's force, Xiang You made him prince of the district of Han. Shihuangdi had claimed that his dynasty would last 10,000 generations, but the rebellion was too great for his son and the supporters around him, and in 206 BCE an army under Liu Bang defeated the Qin army and entered the capital city: Xianyang. All members of the royal family were slaughtered, including the boy-emperor. Xianyang was burned to the ground, and the state library that contained the only copy of various forbidden books burned with it. The centuries old writings of Confucius and others would have to be recreated from memory and imagination.

10 Qin Dynasty B.C.

11 The End of Qin In 207 B.C., Xiang Yu's army defeated the Army of Qin and, in 206 B.C. Liu Bang swept into the capital which finally ended the Qin Dynasty. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, war broke out between Liu bang and Xiang Yu. It was known as the Chu-Han war, and it lasted for four years, ending with the victory of Liu Bang, who later established the Western Han Dynasty.

12 With the Qin emperor defeated, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu warred against each other. Xiang Yu was a brilliant general and a colorful leader, but he relied too much on ruthlessness as a means of winning obedience. He slaughtered defeated troops, and in taking cities he looted and seized attractive women. Liu Bang was colorless but he made an effort to conciliate and convert those he defeated. He was a more attractive leader, and he surrounded himself with bright and sound thinkers. More than coercion was contributing to success in creating order. Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu, and in the year 202, having established military supremacy, he made himself emperor of all China. The era of Chinese history called the Han had begun.

13 Liu Bang founder of the Han Dynasty

14 Han Dynasty The Han Dynasty established Chang'an (the present Xian) as its capital city in 202 B.C. In Chinese history, the Han Dynasty consisted of two dynasties: the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 24 A.D.) and the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). During this period there were 24 emperors on the throne. Emperors Gaozu, Wendi, Wudi and Xiandi were among them.

15 Han Dynasty 206 B.C 220 A.D.

16 Early Years The early Han Dynasty was a period of peace and prosperity. It was a world power at that time with interests in literature, arts, culture and technology. The Han Dynasty achieved numerous unparalleled and praiseworthy successes. Some of the achievements at that time still influence the lives of the Chinese people today.

17 Basic Goals Like the Qin before the m, the ma in goal of the Ha n was the uni fica tio n of China. This proc ess was final ly compl et e during Wu Ti's reign ( B. C.) Hi s reign was a perio d of great mili tar y expa nsio n.

18 Western Han Successes Agriculture grew with the development of better iron tools. Crop rotation was also practiced from 85 B.C. onwards. Paper is developed The expansion led to trade with the people of inner Asia. The Silk Road was developed and consisted of numerous routes through the mountains that the traders followed.

19 Ancient Silk Road

20 Education Grows Education became more important and many encyclopedias were produce namely the Book of the Mountains and Seas. Sima Qian, ( B.C.) also wrote his famous Records of the Historian. This history book became the model by which all other histories would follow. Poetry, literature, and philosophy flourished during this time. Confucianism was established as the basis for correct official and individual conduct and for the educational curriculum.

21 Troubles Begin The original Western Han Dynasty was overthrown when the wealthy families gained more power than the emperor Wang Mang. The families became allied with each other through marriages and were responsible for the selection of officials. A secret society of peasants known as the Red Eyebrows and the descendents of the Han dynasty eventually joined in an uprising, and, it was the armies of these nobles, under the leadership of Liu Hiu, who killed Wang Mang in 22 A.D.

22 Soldiers found Wang Mang in his throne-room reciting from his collection of Confucian writings, and Wang Mang was silenced by a soldier cutting off his head.

23 In the five years following the death of Wang Mang, millions died fighting as rival factions vied with each other for power. The most successful of the rival factions was led by the Han prince, Liu Xiu. He surrounded himself with educated men, and he was popular among his troops. His army was the only force that did not loot when capturing towns, and this helped him win hearts and minds.

24 Han Prince Liu Xiu

25 Liu Xiu proclaimed himself emperor, restoring the Han dynasty -- to be known as the Later Han, or East Han, dynasty. He moved the capital eastward to Luoyang, which he also controlled. For eleven more years he had to combat rivals. He absorbed some bands of Red Eyebrow rebels into his army, and his army killed other Red Eyebrows in great numbers.

26 Diplomacy Grows Fifty envoys from Central Asia were recorded in 94 A.D., and Japanese envoys visited in 57 and 107 A.D. The reported arrival of an emissary from Andun (the emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) bringing ivory, rhinoceros horn, and tortoiseshell suggests a direct link to Rome in 166 A.D. The development of paper, water clocks, sundials, astronomical instruments, and the invention of a seismograph in 132 A.D. attest to the technological and scientific sophistication that marks this period.

27 New Paradises Having become more aware of the world beyond China, the Chinese heard more rumors about wonderful places. Taoists - who still rejected Chinese civilization as corrupt and who idealized nature and wilderness -- helped spread descriptions of far-away places of godliness and paradise.

28 Taoists A Taoist named Zhang Jue, offered magical healing, treated all ailments with water and words and called his method of healing the "Way of the Highest Peace." Zhang Jue also spoke of the Han rulers as having lost the Mandate of Heaven, and he proclaimed their imminent fall of Han rule.

29 Trouble Begins Again The country begins again to fall in great disarray, meaning that people lived a very hard life. The rule of Lingdi intensified all kinds of social (divides) contradictions that caused the insurgency to rise. Despite military success, economic and political struggles overtook China.

30 Yellow Turbans Zhang Jue's Yellow Turban rebellion occurred in 184 A.D.- yellow signifying their association with the element earth as opposed to the element of fire.the rebellion spread, and people from all corners of the empire began robbing and killing.

31 Uprising Millions of people die during the fighting, leaving land for the peasants, and often, the freedom of debt as the lenders had died. This uprising serves to unite the factions who had previously been fighting one another because they needed to unite to defeat the Yellow Turbans.

32 The End Despite defeating the Yellow Turbans, China did not return to a united state. Rather a war for supremacy took place among China's generals. The Han Dynasty came to an end and the Three Kingdoms of Shu, Wei and Wu emerge. The Three Kingdoms begin a period of romance, heroism and chivalry though some may disagree.

33 Han Dress

34 Han Statues

35 References Metropolitan Museum of Art Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Minnesota State University EMuseum

36 Early China Questioning KNOWLEDGE Which dynasty did the Qin Dynasty conquer? When did the Qin Dynasty exist? What were the major accomplishments of Emperor Qin Shi Huang? Why was Emperor known as The Oppressor? COMPREHENSION How would you compare Qin Shi Huang To Liu Bang? How would you contrast Liu Bang and Xiang Yu? What facts demonstrate that the Silk Road helped make the Han Dynasty a success?

37 Questioning APPLICATION How would you illustrate that education grew in Early China? What would be the results if the Book of Mountains and Seas was never produced? How would you change the treatment of wealthy people to prevent revolution? ANALYSIS What is the relationship between Red Eyebrows and the Wealthy in the Western Han? How was Liu Xiu able to win the hearts and minds of the towns people? How do you compare The successes of the Qin and Han Dynasties?

38 QUESTIONING SYNTHESIS Predict the outcome if Liu Xiu had not absorbed many of the Red Eyebrows. What would happen if the Silk Road had not been established? How would you explain the reasons that the Yellow Turbans gained power? EVALUATION Why did the Yellow Turban uprising unite many factions within China? What are the differences between accepting Confucianist and Taoist beliefs? What is you opinion of the Three Kingdoms being a period of romance, heroism and chivalry?