Ancient China

1. Ancient China

2. Great wall of china • The Great wall was made out of stone wood and bricks • Some purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. • The defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watch towers, troop barracks, and signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire.

3. Block printing • It started in the Tang dynasty(618-906) • It began as blocks cut from wood used to print textiles and then used to reproduce short Buddhist religious texts that were carried as charms by believers. The Diamond Sutra scroll is the world's earliest dated printed book.

4. Chinese character writing • Chinese characters constitute the oldest continuously used system of writing in the world. • Chinese characters number in the tens of thousands

5. Questions? Q)How old is the diamond sutra? A)Chinese calendar date is for May 11 868. Q) How Long is the Great Wall of China? A)About5,500 miles

6. Social structure From most respected to least respected: • Emperor and family • Aristocracy- people of power; people with Gov. positions • Bureaucracy- scholars and functionaries (scribes) • Eunuchs- servants in the palace • Clergy- authoritative positions in the church • Peasants- most of population; labored in fields • Artisans/traders- urban working class • Slaves- experienced most discrimination

7. Qin Shi Huangdi • First emperor of China (221 B.C. - 206 B.C.) • Continued the expansion of China, the Great Wall of China, and standardized Chinese writing

8. Mandate of Heaven • Determines if an emperor is fit to be a ruler • Originated during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-1256 BCE) • Four principles: • Right to rule is granted by heaven • Only one Heaven– therefore only one ruler • Right to rule is based on virtue of ruler • Right to rule isn't just for one dynasty

9. Han Dynasty- “Golden Age” • Dynastic cycle: when a new ruler comes in from another blood line, a new dynasty starts • Reunited China after Huangdi’s death • Split into two different periods: • Western/Former Han (206 B.C.–9 A.D.) • Eastern/Later Han (25 A.D.–220 A.D.)

10. General Geography • China covers most of Asia stretching 5000 km across east Asia • It is the worlds 4th largest country • China borders 13 different countries • The climate of china is diverse, being tropical in the south and subarctic in the north close to Russia • China's northernmost point lies along the Heilong Jiang in Heilongjiang Province in the cold-temperate zone • China has many combinations of terrain, as n rugged mountain areas to low flat lands as in desserts and plains • The highest point in China is mount Everest, the highest point in the world

11. General Geography Q.) What is the size in kilometers of China? A.) 9,596,961 km2 Q.) What bodies of water does China border? A.)The south China sea, East China sea, Korea bay and Yellow sea

12. Military • The Chinese military stated with the first dynasty's • There were over 50 dynasty's • Each dynasty evolved as time went on and there weapons and military became more advanced and intelligent • The terracotta army is a very famous in the ancient Chinese warfare. The army was built to scare away enemies and make them thing they were real solders when really they were made of terracotta

13. Military Q.) during what dynasty was the terracotta army formed? A.) The Qin dynasty Q.) What was the most powerful dynasty in terms of warfare? A.) the Qing dynasty

14. Technology • Their where Four Major Chinese Inventions that directly affected the growth and economy of the nation and the world. • The Major four included the compass, Gunpowder , Papermaking , and printing. • Gunpowder was first implemented in samurai techniques and then later in fireworks and finally in warfare. • The Chinese also where the first to include the zero symbol , as well as develop counting rods, and even the early Pascal's triangle which is still used to this day

15. Continued • As each new Ruler/Dynasty came into power, the length of the measurements changed drastically , to the point where it was confusing for business men to keep It consistent . For example, during the Shang dynasty one ( chi ) was equivalent to .1675 meters but in the Qing dynasty it was equal to .3080 meters. Gilded Bronze Ruler - 1 chi = 231 cm. Western Han (206 BCE - CE 8).

16. Economic trade • The Economy Fluctuated drastically throughout different periods/ dynasties in china • For instance, in the Jin shang Period, the people traded silk, cattle , iron, fish and salt, with countries like Greece and India. But then in the Warring states period, trade expanded into a global unit, diversifying trade, and expanding the country's thirst for war as well, gaining weapons and as well as trading ideas and inventions and military services .

17. Questions? • what number does is Chinese Suanpan (abacus ) limited to? • What was the most profitable trade/trades in China?

18. Religion/Faith Buddhism • Founder: Siddhartha Gautama (lived from 566-480 B.C.) • Meditated under a tree for his search to find the truth of the world. • He then became known as the Buddha meaning “Enlightened one” Four Noble truths • Truth of suffering • Truth of the cause of sufferings • Truth of the end of sufferings • Truth of the end path that leads to the end of suffering Karma • Good or bad actions a person takes during their lifetime.

19. Cycle of rebirth • 3 fortunate realms • Realm of demigods • Realm of gods • Realm of men • 3 unfortunate realms • Animals • Ghost • Hell

20. Confucianism • Built on an ancient religious foundation to establish the social values, institutions and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society. • The founder of Confucianism is Master Kong (551-479 BCE) did not intend to find a new religion, but to interpret and revive the unnamed religion of the Zhou dynasty, under which many people thought the ancient system of religious rule was bankrupt. • The core of Confucianism is humanism, or what the philosopher Herbert Fingarette calls "the secular as sacred." The focus of spiritual concern is this world and the family, not the gods and not the afterlife.  •  Confucianism broadly speaking does not exalt faithfulness to divine will or higher law. This stance rests on the belief that human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor especially self-cultivation and self-creation.

21. Legalism • Taught that people were, at their most basic level, evil instead of good. Under Legalism, one of the worst crimes that a person could commit was to be disloyal to their rulers. • In order to curb the urge to do wrong, a rigid system of punishments were put into place. If someone were to exhibit behavior that was evil or selfish, they would be punished. • It was the state or country that had to come first instead of individual wants or needs. • The country was divided up into a number of administrative provinces, and the system of writing was standardized throughout the country. • Family units were divided up into groups of ten. It was thought that many of these activities would make it easier to control the Chinese population and prevent someone from sowing dissent in the country. • Many important books were burned. It was believed that people did not need to read, and that the only guidance they needed was the series of laws that governed the country. • Books that had been written on the topics of farming, weaving and divination were spared as they were believed to have some merit. Many scholars were also burned alive if they refused to give up their libraries.

22. Daoism • Taoism is a philosophy or way of life that may have been started by a man named Lao Tsu (or Lao Tzu) who lived a little before Confucius, about 600 BC. Tao means the "way" or the "path". According to the traditional story, Lao Tsu worked as a librarian in the emperor’s library  • Lao Tsu believed that the way to happiness was for people to learn to "go with the flow." Instead of trying to get things done the hard way, people should take the time to figure out the natural, or easy way to do things, and then everything would get done more simply. This idea is called "wu-wei", which means "doing by not doing". • Lao Tsu also thought that everything alive in the universe shared in a universal life-force. There were two sides to the life-force, which are called the yin and the yang • The yin (the dark side) is the side of women, the moon, things that are still like ponds, and completion and death. The yang (the light side) is the side of men, the sun, things that move like rivers, and creation and birth. Everyone has some yin and some yang in them, and Taoism says that it is important to keep them balanced.

23. Role of Women • The women in ancient Chinese culture lived according to the rules set by Confucius in his analects. According to Confucius, women were not equal to men and were not worthy to have literary and education. For almost two thousand years, the life of the Chinese woman was unbearable. • During the years of growing up, a Chinese woman had to listen to her father and other male members in the family. • A woman in ancient China was not given a name; instead she was called "daughter no1", "daughter no2" and so on. • After marriage, an ancient Chinese woman would serve her husband like a slave and could not raise her voice. • Men were allowed to have more than one wife. If the husband of a young Chinese woman died, she was not allowed to remarry. The death penalty was given, if she remarried. The main job of a woman in ancient China was to bear sons.

24. Questions? • Question • How where Women Treated in ancient china based on Confucius laws? • Answer • They were treated unfairly and were slaves to the men not only that they were married to, but the men they lived with as well. • Question • What is considered Bad Karma? • Answer • Bad Karma: • Frequent • Repetitive action • Determined intentional action • Action performed without regret • Bad Action against extraordinary people (Gods, Kings, rulers etc.)

25. Citations http://www.asianartmall.com/eunicharticle.htm http://socyberty.com/history/the-class-structure-of-tang-dynasty-society/ http://totallyhistory.com/tang-dynasty-social-structure/ http://asianhistory.about.com/od/ancientchina/f/What-Is-The-Mandate-Of-Heaven.htm http://china.mrdonn.org/mandateofheaven.html http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/greatwall/Emperor.html http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hand/hd_hand.htm http://www.china.org.cn/e-gudai/8.htm http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/China/Ancient-China-Economy/2411 www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm asiasociety.org/countries/religions-philosophies/Confucianism http://webpath.follettsoftware.com/resource/viewurl?encodedUrl=keZ8pL8j9gKBTdMZILLCoii28wg-DNihGtE3ky08Psg&version=1&appsignature=Destiny&appversion=10.5.6.0+%28RC6%29 http://webpath.follettsoftware.com/resource/viewurl?encodedUrl=xUMsoEQkARFywBNMVZiGIOCI3tZGdxLyYAeBcEHP9rE&version=1&appsignature=Destiny&appversion=10.5.6.0+%28RC6%29 http://webpath.follettsoftware.com/resource/viewurl?encodedUrl=ckNX_h27bCFPSuZnn2QXdGGOP8zoKfcevdxBYSS8xiQ&version=1&appsignature=Destiny&appversion=10.5.6.0+%28RC6%29 http://ancientstandard.com/2011/02/28/legalism-in-ancient-china/ library.thinkquest.org/07aug/01579/aparsa1.html