classical+periods


 * Key Terms **


 * Shi Huangdi: **a warrior strongman who emerged by 221 B.C.E who united China by eliminating all his rivals and building a new imperial dynasty that promised to bring an end to the centuries of strife. The dynasty is called the Qin Dynasty. He proved to be a tyrant. His death in 210 B.C.E was the signal for resistance throughout the empire.Within thirty-five years he made himself the sole emperor of China.


 * Han :** A dynasty that replaced the Qin dynasty and lasted more than 400 years and saw the consolidation of Chinese civilization. Founded the largest, most effective, and most enduring bureaucracy in the preindustrial world by being the first to oversee the first civil service examinations and the professionalization of Chinese administration. References to themselves as the "sons of Han" proved critical to the survival of Chinese civilization in the centuries of war,foreign invasion, and internal division that returned returned when the Han dynasty collapsed in the early 3rd century C.E. Was established by a peasant leader.


 * Dao: ** An intellectual heritage that stressed the basic harmony of nature: every feature is balanced by an opposite. According to this philosophy, an individual should seek a way. This was intrinsic to diverse philosophies and religions established in the classical period, and they provided some unity among various schools of thought in China.


 * Zhou: ** A dynasty that lasted from 1029 to 258 B.C.E. but it only flourished until about 700 B.C.E. It was beset by a decline in the political infrastructure and frequent invasions by nomadic peoples from the border regions. The Zhou dynasty did not establish a powerful government, ruling instead through alliances with regional princes and noble families. It replaced the Shang dynasty and it came into China from the north. The alliance systems the Zhou used were adopted from the standard in agricultural kingdoms.


 * Confucius: ** Original name was Kung Fuzi and he was an opinionated and outspoken person who was a brilliant middle-aged scholar philosopher who applied for a high post in the bureaucracy of the small kingdom of Lu but was rejected. He wasn't a religious person but he didn't speculate about it.Was very big on social roles and so Confucianism is a system of ethics.


 * Great Wall: **A wall in the North that was built by Shi Huangdi to protect China against invasions. It extended over 3000 mile, and was wide enough for chariots to move along its crest. This was the largest construction project in human history that was built by forced labor, conscripted by the central bureaucracy from among the peasantry.


 * Silk Road: **trade in silk and other luxury products that generated a network of roads through central Asia, India, the Middle East, and even the distant Mediterranean during the Roman Empire.


 * Syncretion: **A common result of contact between cultures combining culture elements.


 * Patriarachy: **A system in which men dominate over everyday life and women's importance in society is defined by them.

**Philosophy Summary **

 Leadership Analysis Leader Analysis Sheet

Name of Leader: Qin Shi Huangdi

Lifespan: 32 years Title: First Emperor Country/region: China Years in Power: 221 B.C.E- 202 B.C.E Political, Social, & Economic Conditions Prior to Leaders Gaining Power: Became the leader when the country was in turmoil. The Zhou Dynasty had just fallen from power. The former leaders were trying to unite the country but they didn’t know how to accomplish that goal.

Ideology, Motivation, Goals: To unite the country as a whole. For the country to have only one central government and to have obedient people. Believed in brutality.

Significant Actions & events During Term of Power Built the Great Wall, Burning books that he believed would cause civil unrest. He created a new governing system that didn’t depend on other people loyalty but on the central government.

Short-Term effects: · Nobles came back into power in the Han Dynasty · Books of all kinds were allowed to be read again ·

Long-Term Effects: · The Great Wall · Governing people became much easier with one central government · The country is still unified · He was feared and still is · Some China history was lost

ESPIRIT CHART ON HAN
 * E || * China’s economy featured extensive internal trade and important technological innovations.
 * Trade became increasingly important during the Zhou and particularly the Han dynasties.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Much trade focused on luxury items for the upper class, produced by skilled artisans in the cities- silk, jewelry, leather goods, and furniture.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There was food exchange between the wheat and rice growing regions.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cooper also began to circulate which facilitated trade with merchants even sponsoring commercial visits to India. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">S || * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Peasants provided dues and services to their lords while also controlling some of their land.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Slave-holding was a major part of Chinese civilization.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Social status was usually passed from one generation to the next through inheritance, although unusually talented individuals from a peasant background might be given access to an education and rise within the bureaucracy.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Classical China had three main social groups: the landowning aristocracy plus the educated bureaucrats or mandarins made up the top group, next came the laboring masses which included the peasants and also urban artisans who manufactured goods. These people were condemned to a life of hard manual labor, sometimes worked directly on large estates but in other cases had economic independence. Finally came the mean people which included people with unmeaningful skills and so it included performing artists despite the fact that the upper classes enjoyed plays and other entertainments provided by this group, household slaves but their number was few and China didn’t actually depend on them for actual production.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mean people were punished for crime more harshly than other groups and were required to wear identifying green scarves. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">P || * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The power of the emperor, the development of a bureaucracy, and the expansion of state functions became the hallmarks of classical Chinese politics.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Expanded the powers of the bureaucracy.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It was the structure of this government that explained how such a vast territory could be effectively ruled for the empire was the largest political system in the classical world.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Relied a great amount on knit patriarchal families.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Landed nobles provided courts of justice and organized military troops.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wu Ti established examinations for his bureaucrats. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I || * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Invasions from nomadic groups were persistent.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Had a very good social system that people were able to move up to the higher class than only moving to the low class.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A peasant led the revolution against the Qin dynasty that created the Han dynasty. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">R || * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">China didn’t have a religion just a lot of philosophies.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Upper-class cultural values emphasized a good life on earth and the virtues of obedience to the state, more than speculations about God and the mysteries of heaven.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The emperor was basically the god but they tolerated other religions or philosophies if they didn’t disrespect the norm. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I || * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">China did not produce a single system of beliefs, as different groups embraced different values, with the same individual even turning to contrasting systems depending on his or her mood.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Confucianists did not explicitly seek popular loyalty. Daoism produced a durable division in China’s religious and philosophical culture. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">T || * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ox-drawn plows were introduced around 300 B.C.E. which greatly increased productivity. However, under the Han dynasty, a new collar was invented for draft animals, allowing them to pull plows or wagons without choking- this was a major improvement that became available to other parts of the world only many centuries later.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Iron mining was also well advanced as pulleys and winding gear were devised to bring material to the surface. Iron tools and other implements such as lamps were widely used. ||