Ancient China

Daoism

Harmony with nature and the universal order are beliefs of

terra-cotta statues

In 1974, farmers east of Xian discovered:

hempen-bound bamboo scrolls to write on, yet by the 2nd century CE had invented the papermaking process which created a writing medium that was both cheap and easy to produce. The invention of the wheelbarrow aided in the hauling of heavy loads.

Inventions of the Han dynasty?

What is a filial piety?

Is a virtue of respect for ones parents, elders, and ancestors.

Annual flooding

Known as the "River of Sorrows" due to its floods, it gained its name because of the colored silt it carried to the ocean:

Confucius

Master Kung or First Teacher

Xiongnu

Nomadic group that threatened China's security, forcing them to build the Great Wall

Qin Shihuangdi

Qin Shi Huangdi, First Chinese Emperor. A ruler from the western state of Qin united and subjugated the Warring States and formed China in 221 B.C. He declared himself the first emperor of China and named himself Shi Huangdi (meaning First Emperor).

had strong central governments.

Similarities between the Qin and Han dynasties?

Laozi

was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer.

Qin

new dynasty created in 221 B.C

Terracotta army

A collection of sculptures depicting the armies

Analects

A collection of short literary extracts

Logograms

Chinese script used symbols or characters to represent objects, called:

duty and humanity.

Confucianism encouraged the idea of

Describe Qin Shihuangdi's reign. (How did he become China's emperor? What were two memorable feats he accomplished during his reign? How did his reign end?)

Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 BC - 210 BC) fascinates people when they talk about the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses - his two greatest achievements. As the first emperor of China, he indeed has a profound influence on Chinese history and cultureQin Shi Huang, born as Ying Zheng in 259 BC, was the son of the king of the Qin State. At the age of thirteen, he succeeded his father's regality. Ying Zheng was very aggressive and ambitious at an early age. He assumed full power at 22 by ridding himself of his premier, Lu Buwei, who acted as regent while he was a minor. He wanted to unify and subjugate all the states like Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi by the powerful political, economic and military strength of the Qin State. Ying Zheng realized his ambition and built the first feudal and centralized empire in Chinese history in 221 BC. This was what we called - the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC). Ying Zheng was the first emperor of a united China, so he proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huang.

Huang Di

First Chinese Emperor. A ruler from the western state of Qin united and subjugated the Warring States and formed China in 221 B.C.

Han

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China. Founded in 206 BC when the rebel leader Liu Bang successfully ended the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty lasted for four centuries and is considered a golden age in Chinese history.

Keep order

The Legalists believed that a strong ruler was needed to:

Which philosophy did the Qin dynasty adopt? Which philosophy did the Han dynasty adopt? How did these philosophies guide their rule?

The Qin rulers conquered all the other states and some surrounding regions. However, their dynastic rule from 221-206 BC was the shortest in the region's history. Their empire fell apart after only 15 years. In only 9 years in successive wars from 230 to 221, the Qin conquered every other region of the former Zhou Empire. Then the Qin conquered outlying regions to the south all the way to Vietnam and to the north towards Korea. They had the biggest empire in the region's history until then. The society was very centralized to the point that every dissenter against the rule of the court was killed, tortured, or sent for forced labor, and most literature was destroyed. The people were enslaved for wars and great construction projects. The absolute power that the emperor and staff wanted for themselves corrupted them, and the dynasty quickly ended in assassinations and foolish policies and the people rebelled.

Zhou

The Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE) was the longest-lasting of China's dynasties. It followed the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE) and it finished when the army of the state of Qin captured the city of Chengzhou in 256 BCE.

censorate

The agency created by the Qin that checked on government officials

Yellow river

The longest river in China, one of two rivers that fueled civilization there:

Great wall

The system of walls linked by Qin Shihuangdi

Legalism

What philosophy was adopted by the Han rulers?

They're not really religions. They are just philosophies that teach us the ways we should live our lives e.g. how we should treat others

Why are Confucianism and Daoism considered philosophies, not religions

Mandate from Heaven

Zhou dynasty claim to rulership

Oracle bones

artifacts that help archeologists learn about Shang dynasty

Liu Pang

founder of Han dynasty

Shang

had first written records

Describe the "dynastic cycle" in China. (Why did dynasties rise and fall?)

is a pattern explaining the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties between 1650 BCE and 1644 CE. The cycle states that as dynasties age, they begin to abuse their power. This abuse causes the dynasty to lose the Mandate of Heaven, or the divine right to rule, and collapse.

Xia

left no written records