The Qin and the Han

The Qin and the Han China is in a state of upheaval! The nomadic Zhou were in power. There are wars and other troubles happening in the land. According to the Mandate of Heaven what is happening?

From the state of Qin (where the word China originated) a new emperor came to power! • Emperor's name was Shi Huangdi (shee-hwahng-dee) in 221 B.C. • The name means First Emperor • He would eventually expand and unify China • Legalistic Ruler

Shi Huangdi As Emperor • Ended internal fighting within states • Expanded the country to it’s largest size • He had many critics and had confusianists killed • Burned books with ideas or schools of thoughts that he did not like

In effort to unite China, he… • Weakened nobles by taking away their land and making them live at the capitol so he could keep an eye on them • Made everything the same : weights, coins (shapes and sizes) and writing • Linked lands together by highways and irrigation system • He paid for this by taxing everyone (this led to starvation and suffering among many people) and forcing peasants to work

The Great Wall • Ordered the Great Wall to be built • Known to some as the World’s largest cemetery because of the many people who died constructing (making) or in the battles around it • These deaths caused great resentment • Stretches two thousand miles through mountains and deserts • Put up originally to protect from warriors in the North who swept down and raided cities • Expanded and rebuilt many times

Qin Dynasty Ends…Son tried to rule but a Civil War broke out

The assassination attempts were unsuccessful and Shi Huangdi looked healthy. Still the great emperor was nearing death. Soon, Shi Huangdi was dead before his tomb was completed. Shi Huangdi’s loyal advisors were not ready to take over his empire so they disguised his death by piling dead fish on his body to hide the smell • While Shi Huangdi was still alive, practices of Legalism and brutal torture were Shi Huangdi’s most useful tools. But ultimately, Shi Huangdi did help the kingdom by militaristically unifying the country and standardizing the written language so the subjects could work together toward a common goal.

Han Dynasty • Liu Bang as emperor • Military general defeated She Huangdi’s son • Ended war and reunified China • 202 B.C Han Dynasty Begins • Kept similar policies but made punishments less harsh and lowered taxes • Peasants owed a month labor so they built canals, irrigation, and road • Began a bureaucracy • A government where rulers choose officials to run offices or bureaus

Bureaucracy • Officials helped rulers rule • Enforced rule • Put family members and trusted people in government position • Gave a system of confucianism tests to see who was the most ethical

Liu Bang dies!! • Who will rule? • No one old enough to rule so the Empress Lu took power and reigned with her son • Continued to put infants on throne to continue to rule • When she died all her relatives were executed

What? NOW what happens… • A descendant (someone who is related to) of Liu Bang comes into power • Wudi ruled from 141-87 B.C. • Called Martial Emperor • Used war to expand China • Expanded to as big as it is today • Faced many issues but managed to stay in power for 422 years (202 B.C.- 220 A.D.)

Life in Han China • many people were farmers living in villages in small one or two story houses • Rich farmers had one or two oxen • Meat was expensive so the diet consisted of little meat and vegetables • Cities were centers of trade, education, and government • Entertainment- musicians, jugglers, acrobats • Even street gangs 

The Qin and the Han