Ancient China

1. Ancient China Aubrey Schafer Zach Smith Jennifer Shaffer Micah Kowalski John Barton

2. Tang Dynasty’s Class System • Gentry • Upper class • scholar-officials and their families • gained status through education and civil service positions • Women did not do any work. • Urban Middle Class • merchants • Shopkeepers • skilled artisans • minor officials • Peasants • bottom of society • Laborers • Soldiers • Servants • Women worked in the fields to produce food/income

3. Qin Shi Huangdi • Dynasty began in 221 B.C. ended in 202 B.C. • Established an autocracy • Burned Confucian books • Made peasants build the Great Wall of China • Centralized China • more trade and irrigation systems • harsh taxes and repressive government

4. Mandate of Heaven • Zhou leaders thought the Shang king had been such a poor king, the gods had taken away Shang’s rule and given it to the Zhou • Royal authority came from heaven • Became central to Chinese view of government • Natural disasters were signs ancestral spirits were not pleased with a king’s rule • Chinese explanation for rebellion and the rise of a new dynasty

5. Han Dynasty • “Golden Age” • 202 B.C. – 220 A.D. • Ruled for more than 400 years • Liu Bang won battle against Xiang Yu and became the first emperor of the Han Dynasty • Established centralized government • Brought peace and stability to China • strengthened government and economy • Opening of the Silk Road • Confucianism became the official belief system • Advances in technology, education and culture

6. Economy and Trade • Jinshang Period (Western Zhou Dynasty, 770-476 BCE)- • Traded amongst themselves- silk, cattle, iron, fish, and salt. • Traded externally with ancient Greece, Turkey, and India. • Warring States Period (476-221 BCE)- • Iron took over bronze as primary metal in war during this period. • Iron trade increased along with grain as a new merchant class rose to power. • Unified Chinese Empire (Qin Dynasty, 221-206 BCE)- • Trade suffered and economy plummeted under first Chinese emperor for 15 years until his death. • Western Han ( Han Dynasty, 206 BCE-24 CE)- • Internal competition on the East Asian mainland fell due to the political process of building an empire. • A more integrated economic structure resulted of the empire. • Grain, rice and other grown crops ruled the trade during this period.

7. 編寫系統(Writing System) • Oldest know writing system that is still used today, almost five thousand years old. - Symbols used in writing are know as Han characters. - First East Asian country to develop its own writing system. • The total number of characters in the Chinese alphabet is recorded to be over fifty thousand. • Each character in the Chinese alphabet represents one spoken syllable. • Even though there are multiple dialects of Chinese spoken, the writing system is the same throughout the country.

8. Religion: Buddhism and Confucianism Buddhism • Buddhism was founded some 2,500 years ago in India, after all that time it still remains the prominent religion in the far eastern part of the world. Buddhism has developed a wide array of variations over the course of its history. Many different forms of this have been based on a number of different rituals. The teachings of Buddha, the enlightened one, is a common aspect in all variants of the faith. • Vesak is the birthday of the Buddha and the most important festival in Buddhism. On the first full moon day in May, Buddhists all over the world celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha in a single day. The name "Vesak" comes from the Indian month of that name in which it is held. Confucianism • The story of Confucianism does not begin with Confucius, nor was Confucius the founder of Confucianism. Confucius’ hero was Zhougong who was said to have helped consolidate, expand, and refine the ritual system. Confucius considered himself a transmitter who consciously tried to reanimate the old in order to attain the new.

9. Religion: Daoism and Legalism Daoism • Historically, the highest achievement of a Daoist is to achieve immortality through breathing, meditation, helping others and the use of elixirs. • Daoism had no troubles expanding in 200–700 AD, where more rituals and practices emerged. During this period, Daoism faced competition from the growing spread of Buddhism which came to China via traders and missionaries from India. Legalism • The classic Chinese philosophy of legalism is that human feelings and concerns come second to the order and politics of the nation. • The founder of the legalism school was Hsün-tzu, his thoughts were most importantly derived from the thinking that humans are inherently evil and are drawn to act in criminal or selfish behavior.

10. Technology • The weights and measurements system was put in place as early as 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. • The length of a forearm was considered as one chi, and the length of a finger was considered as one cun. And the amount a hand could hold was called a "ju", and the amount two hands could hold was called a "yi". Up to 4,000-5,000 years ago this system of crude measurements was put in place. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor established the measurement unit and his son standardized measurement units and regulated musical notes.

11. City Structure and Architecture • Common Houses • Small yard houses: built with open rooms, designed to block winds, and a square courtyard at its core • Free style homes: smaller houses without courtyards or much thought in the overall design • Religious Buildings • Mausoleums were built to bury emperors with Confucianism influence • Many Buddhist inspired pagodas were built during the Han Dynasty, along with many Buddhist temples and buildings built in 500 BCE • Cultural Buildings • Imperial buildings and palaces used yellow (a color signifying imperial importance) in the design often. An example of an Imperial building is the Forbidden City imperial building. • Taoism influenced symmetry in the designs, symbolizing balance

12. The Great Wall of China • Construction and military use of the beacon towers of The Great Wall began in the 9th century BCE during the Western Zhou Dynasty • In mid-7th century BCE, city walls were built and became the first part of the Great Wall of China • The project took over 1,700 years, each emperor adding more to the wall to defend their lands starting only with unconnected beacon towers. • It was built for defense, being around 25 feet high and 15-30 feet wide, and it is commonly known as the 10,000 li long wall (.5 km = 1 li) • The Great Wall can be seen from Earth’s orbit

14. Legal System: Legalism or Confucianism? • Confucianism philosophy • practiced social control and order only came from good education • the idea of good people and respect to the king will create order among the citizens • this caused doubts in writing laws because codified laws told people exactly how to act without further explanation • almost like moral reasoning… society being ashamed of the criminal and no longer socially accepting them was enough punishment • eventually, moral reasoning among people differed, making the law of what is accepted among the dynasties confusing • Legalism • Written laws and punishment for crimes was needed for social order • Focus was on the ruler of the dynasty so that he could tell what was law and what wasn’t • Ruler always had respect, his guidelines always were just in the eyes of the people • Confucianism later brought in some legalistic beliefs to form their way of government, combining the two legal systems created respect for leaders but also a respect for common people and morals

15. General Geography • The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers • The Yangtze is 4,000 miles long and is banked by fertile flood plains which are added to each year when the Yangtze floods. • The Yellow River is 3,000 miles long and floods each year. Because of this, settlers in ancient China often saw their homes destroyed year after year during flood season, but eventually the people learned techniques to control flooding. • The Himalayan Mountains • It contains several of the highest mountain peaks in the world, and experiences extreme cold in the winter and extreme heat in the summer. It created a physical barrier in the southwest.

16. General Geography Continued • The Gobi and TaklamakanDeserts • Most of the Gobi Desert is covered with rocks rather than sand. It is located in the northwestern part of China and is one of the driest deserts in the world. It is also a very cold place in winter, with nighttime lows reaching -40 degrees Fahrenheit. • The Taklamakan Desert is connected to the Gobi Desert, yet geographers and ecologists regard it as a separate desert. It sometimes goes by the name Sea of Death, for it has poisonous snakes, sand storms, and extreme temperatures.

17. Role of women • During the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.) Confucianism was adopted as the government's state doctrine. According to the Confucian structure of society, at every level were to occupy a position lower than men. Most Confucians accepted the subservience of women to men as natural and proper. At thewomensame time they bestowed women honor and power as mother and mother-in-law within their family. • Neo-Confucian Inspired Sayings: • "A woman's duty is not to control or take charge . " • "A husband can marry twice, but his wife must never remarry."

18. Military • The Chinese army predominantly used four classes of weapons, the Dao (any kind of long weapon not thrown), The Qiang (a type of spear), the Gun (simple staff), and the Jian (a sword). • After 600 B.C.E cavalry began to replace chariots, and rulers began to raise large armies of infantry. Peasants were conscripted to provide them. • About 500 B.C.E, General Sun Tzu wrote the Art of War, which was the world’s first military manual with quotes such as, “Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.” • About 400 B.C.E the crossbow was invented

19. Quiz!

20. What was the upper class in the Tang Dynasty class system called? • What was the Han Dynasty also called? • How does the Ancient Chinese system of measurements relate to the way we measure things today? • How do the Ancient Chinese faiths influence today’s religions? • What color was used in architecture to show imperial importance? • What were the two legal systems used during Ancient China and which one did they end up practicing? • What was the first Chinese currency? • What three other languages did ancient Chinese influence? • What is the importance of the deserts? • Which weapon was the most used?

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