China

1. China 200 BCE-900 CE

2. Qin Unifies China • 221 BCE Qin unified the empire • Conquered north China and defeated the Xiongnu • Border tribes (related to Huns) in north/west • Massive public work projects • Constructed Great Wall to keep out Xiongnu • First emperor was Qin Shi Huangdi • Tomb held 7000+ terra cotta soldiers

3. Economy and Administration • Built canals and river transport systems • Ruled through bureaucracy • Chosen based on ability • 40 administrative units called “commanderies” • Standardization • Weights and measures • Coinage • Legal code • Written Chinese language • Political and cultural unification of China

4. Ideologies of Empire • Importance placed on philosophy • Three schools of thought emerged during late Zhou and Warring States Period • Confucianism • Daoism • Legalism

5. Confucianism • Kong Fuzi (Confucius) sought to reform China by redefining Chinese political and ethical thought • Felt government depended on good officials • Canonized five earliest historical texts • Added The Analects • Ideas welcomed under the Han Dynasty • Evolved over time

6. Legalism • Qin rejected Confucianism and favored Legalism • Strict laws and strict enforcement for good government • Rewards for those who follow laws, punishment for those who don’t

7. Confucianism vs. Legalism • Collided during Qin Dynasty • Prime minister Li Si (280-208 BCE) recommended the Confucian classics be collected and burned • Confucian backlash against Qin • Qin Shi Huangdi had 460 scholars burned alive • Mandate of Heaven • Enduring concept of Chinese imperialism • An omnipotent heaven conferred the emperor’s ability to rule • Natural disasters show loss of mandate

8. Daoism • Founder was Laozi • Key text was Daodejing(“The Way and its Power”) • Philosophy of spontaneity in the face of nature and the cosmos • Mystical, not political • Believe in a natural order (Dao) • Diminished view of government • Over time, the Chinese embraced both Confucianism and Daoism

9. Fall of Qin Dynasty • Within 4 years Qin Shi Huangdi’s death, Qin empire collapsed • Oppressed 90% of the empire and sent hundreds of thousands to fight the Xiongnu at the Great Walll • Fight over succession to the throne • Between emperor’s son, Li Si, and the eunuch Zhao Gao • Internal conflict, murder, and suicide • Rebels broke into the capital at Xianyang and captured power • In 206 BCE, the rebel leader Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty

10. Han Empire • Empire remained united under different ruling families • Confucian-based • Appeared in history, imperial academy (established by Emperor Wu), law, and society • Court historians appointed • Confucian knowledge as basis of promotion • Chinese legal system developed in 51 BCE • Women urged to be self-sacrificing

11. Military Power • Large standing army (300,000-1 mil) • Men between 20-56 were conscripted • Incessant battles with Xiongnu and other tribes along the Wall • Forced open a corridor through Gansu to open markets from the west • “Tributary System” • Neighboring tributary group acknowledge Chinese dominance and offer tribute to emperor

12. Economic Power • Military-agriculture colonies for military defense and economic development • Population in north declining and south increased • Immigration and natural growth along with flooding and wars • Earliest census taken in year 2 CE • Expansion of iron industry • Trade from the Gansu corridor • Horses, silk • Began to nationalize industry under Emperor Wu

13. Interregnum • Though no clear succession maintained under the Han, it usually ran smoothly • In 1 BCE, Emperor Ping (8 years old) inherited the throne • Regent, Wang Mang, appointed to run until Ping died in 9 CE • Wang Mang continued to rule but alienated everyone • Immense flooding of Yellow River, Xiongnu invasion, rebellion of Han nobles, and revolt of Red Turbans brought down Wang Mang and reinstated the Han

14. Fall of Han • Later Han dynasty did not have the old strength • Made alliances with barbarians • Led to sinicization of foreign peoples • Moved capital south to Chang’an • Yellow Turban revolt led by Zhang Je broke out in 184 CE • Triggered string of revolts • Four factions struggled for power • Child emperor, bureaucrats, eunuchs, women of the court • Last Han emperor, Xian abdicated in 220 CE

15. Disintegration • China divided into three states after fall of Han (Wei, Wu, and Shu) • Briefly united under Jin (Chin) from 265-316 CE • Then China divided north and south by the Huai River Basin • Remained united culturally and ethically • Assimilation characterized the north • Common cultured referred in “People of Han” • Most powerful of nomadic conquerors were most assimilated • Northern Wei (Toba Wei) ruled from 386-534 • Adopted Chinese bureaucracy, customs, and contributed their own administrative practices

16. Buddhism • Buddhism entered China from India during the Han dynasty • Religion of compassion in midst of pain • Was opposed early by Confucian scholars and Daoists • Why accepted? • Nomads began accepting the foreign religion • Favored by the merchant class in India and spread to merchant class in China • Gained favor in regional courts and grew to millions of followers • Mixed Confucianism and Daoism bringing cultural innovations

17. Sui Dynasty • Founded by Emperor Wen, a general from the north • Large, loyal standing army by raising status of militia • Used crossbows and armor • Won popular loyalty by combining Confucian, Daoist, & Buddhist practice • Centralized authority with local power base • Centralized legal code • Completed Grand Canal and rebuilt the capital • Required labor of 5.5 million people with nearly 50,000 police • Capital provided transportation of produce between north/south • Declined because of economic strain and military losses in Korea and Central Asia

18. Tang Dynasty • Leading Sui General, Gaozu, established the Tang dynasty in 618 • Extended China’s reign to Mongolia, Turkestan, central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran • Examination system for bureaucracy • Art and technology improvements • First block printing • Buddhist religious art • Ceramics and porcelain • Machinery and windmills • Pharmacopoeia • Poetry and meditation

19. Imperial China • Within China, many tribal groups assimilated • Seen as mutually beneficial • Expanded to the west and northwest did not last long • In the south and southwest, many groups assimilated with the Chinese • Han dynasty conquered Annam (Vietnam) and incorporated it into China resulting in a love-hate relationship for years • Adopted Confucian ideas and bureaucracy • Adopted Mahayana Buddhism from China • Revolts against Chinese customs • Trung sisters led revolt in 29 CE and evicted the Chinese, ruling for two years

20. Chinese Influence in Korea • After the fall of the Han in 220, Korea broke free of direct Chinese control • Chinese hegemony influenced the Korean peninsula • Adopted from early Chinese Shang Dynasty • Own written system called han’gul based on phonetics • Confucianism, law codes, administration, literature, art, and Mahayana Buddhism came to Korea via China • Capital of Kaesong modeled on Tang capital Chang’an

21. Chinese Influence in Japan • Immigrants from China and Korea came to Japan between 200 BCE-500 CE • China never conquered Japan, but Japan accepted Chinese cultural hegemony • Written language brought to Japan via Korean scribe Wani in 405 CE • Japanese dynasty used Chinese characters, Confucianism and Buddhism combined with Shinto • Calendar, government, and “constitution” modeled from China

22. Japan • Political infighting brought Fujiwara to power in 645 • Adopted Chinese culture, religion, and government to unify Japan • Proclaimed Taika (great change) reforms in 646 • Administration, roads, redistribution of land • Japanese ruler claimed divine right • Cannot be revoked (unlike Mandate of Heaven)