Unit 5: Lesson 4: Strong Rulers Unite China Q&A

What did the Qin Emperor Shi Huangdi consider a leader's greatest virtue?

strength

How was Gazou able to raise a new empire?

Anger over persecution and other harsh policies under Shi Huangdi led to revolts that toppled the Qin and left the region open to new leadership.

What factors helped Buddhism spread through China?

Buddhist missionaries and traders from India had spread Mahayana Buddhism to China. Buddhism was popular in times of crisis, as it promised escape from suffering. The Buddha was seen as a compassionate god. Through prayer, good works, and devotion, anyone could hope to gain salvation.

How was the Silk Road used to bring ideas to and from China?

Chinese technologies such as paper, printing, gunpowder, and the magnetic compass all traveled west on the Silk Road, as did Confucian ideas. Cultural influences, like Buddhism and Islam, were absorbed into China from its trading partners. New knowledge about astronomy and mathematics also spread to China from Arab, Indian, and European sources.

How does Legalism differ from Confucianism?

Confucianism focuses on the good in people and expects rulers to behave in a righteous manner toward those they rule in order to preserve social order. Legalists believe that people are basically evil and must learn goodness. Rulers must show strength and achieve order through strict, harsh laws and punishments.

Why was a well-ordered civil service of benefit to the Han government?

It created a network of Confucian scholar-officials who had won their government positions through merit rather than family ties. This would suggest they were the most qualified to be an official. Also, it created a strong system of Confucian values within Chinese government that lasted for centuries.

How did Emperor Wudi change government?

Emperor Wudi replaced the system of family relations with a civil service based on merit.

How does the concept of filial piety relate to Buddhist principles?

Filial piety refers to the Confucian teaching of honoring one's parents. By A.D. 400, Chinese Buddhist monks had absorbed some of the ideas of Confucianism, and stressed the importance of filial piety.

How did Shi Huangdi impose allegiance to a central government?

He abolished feudalism and replaced feudal states with military districts run by loyal government officials. He gave the nobles' lands to peasants and forced noble families to move to the capital so he could monitor them.

Why did Emperor Wudi impose a monopoly on salt and iron?

It provided the government with a revenue source other than taxation.

Why do you think the Silk Road is sometimes called the Road of Civilization?

It was the way in which far-flung cultures exchanged goods, technologies, and ideas. This exchange of ideas, goods and technologies contributed to the growth of civilization.

What are some of the key contributions made by the Qin and Han dynasties that had a long-lasting effect on China's development as a classical civilization?

Qin dynasty: Great Wall, standardized weights, measures, and coins, uniform system of writing, extended roads and canals; Han dynasty: Silk Road; civil service system, expansion, Confucian government and belief system

Why was the Han period considered a Golden Age of Chinese civilization?

The Han period resulted in many advances and achievements in government, science, medicine, technology, engineering, and the arts. The Silk Road was established, and canals and roads improved.

How did the Han try to unify China?

by lowering taxes and rolling back Legalist policies as well as by hiring Confucian scholars as royal advisors

What are some examples of Han inventions or technologies still used today?

the basic method of paper-making, metal riding stirrups, wheelbarrows, steering rudders for ships, acupuncture, suspension bridges