Aim Does the Qin Dynasty deserve to be

Aim: Does the Qin Dynasty deserve to be called a “Classical” civilization? Period 2: 600 BCE – 600 CE NY State Standards 2 Common Core Standards RS 5, 7, 9, WS 1, 4, 8

Timeline of Chinese History so Far… Shang Dynasty • Shang Dynasty 1650 – 1027 BCE • Earliest Chinese civilization by the Yellow River • Earliest form of Chinese writing • Zhou Dynasty 1027 – 256 BCE • Feudalism • Believed Emperors receive the Mandate of Heaven. Zhou Dynasty If they lost it, then a new dynasty would take over (Dynastic Cycle).

I The Warring States 481 - 221 BCE A) Starting in 481 BBC China consisted of 7 “Warring States”. The Kingdom of Qin, in the north, had advantages: cavalry (mounted soldiers on horseback), a favorable location (its territory was well guarded from the east by mountains and had easy access to the North China plain through the Yellow River passes). B) Literary works of philosophy and religion from this time are limited to mostly Taoism, Confucianism, and Legalism because the first Qin Emperor decreed all “unacceptable” writing be destroyed.

The Warring States 481 – 221 BCE

The Warring States Continued… C) The Qin King Ying Zheng proclaimed himself Shi Huangti (first emperor) of China in 221 BCE. Shi Huangti used spies and bribery to prevent a grand alliance of the other 6 kingdoms against him. He created an army of 600, 000 conscripted (drafted) peasants. He appointed his generals based on ability rather than family name. He used his cavalry and armored foot soldiers to outmaneuver the enemy's bulky war chariots. In less than a decade, he had conquered all 6 enemy kingdoms. Shi Huangti

II Qin Dynasty 221 – 207 BCE A) The Qin Dynasty was the first centralized Chinese government to be ruled by an emperor (Shi Huangti). B) Shi Huangti abolished the old feudal system, which had distributed most lands to powerful lords. Instead, he divided China into 36 districts, each governed by emperor appointed officials. Shi Huangti ordered all the royal families of the conquered 6 enemy kingdoms to move to his capital city of Xianyang to keep watch over them. C) The government was based on the philosophy of legalism.

Qin Dynasty 221 – 207 BCE Continued… Liu Bang Epang Gong Qin Palace

Qin Achievements ü Unified China under 1 Emperor ü Standardized Chinese written characters ü Unified the currency (copper coins with square in the center) ü Began the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canal. ü Terra Cotta Army in Xian

The Terra Cotta Army The first Qin Emperor, Qin Shi Huangti, had an “army” of 6000+ life-size statues of soldiers, chariots, horses and weapons buried with him. Each statue’s face is different!

Legalism under the Qin Under Legalism, farmers were freed from feudal serfdom, and Shi Huangti reduced the power of the aristocracy. If a person did not obey the law, others were required to report him. If not, they were quartered or beheaded. Fear and control were the key features of legalism. Obedience rewards. Disobedience sent to work on building projects such as the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canal, or roads. Scholarship was strongly suppressed and literacy denied to the majority of the populace. Shi Huangti believed that uneducated people were easier to control. burning of books and execution of scholars.

Great Wall of China 1. The Great Wall of China is a system of defensive walls and towers. It was built in stages between 476 BCE and 1644 CE to protect China from the Xiongnu, Mongols, and other “barbarian” invaders from the north. 2. The Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching 5, 500 miles from east to west. 3. It did not succeed in keeping out invaders. However, it has become a symbol of Chinese achievement. 4. While it was begun under the Qin Dynasty, the wall we see today was mostly built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 CE). The Great Wall of China is often called the “longest cemetery on Earth”, as over 1, 000 workers died while building it. Archaeologists have even discovered human remains buried under sections of the wall.

Great Wall Watch Tower

The Grand Canal, about 1, 200 miles in length, is the longest man-made waterway. It was begun under the Qin dynasty, but began to be linked together under the Sui.

Qin Society Primogeniture eliminated (practice of having eldest son inherit all property and land) Continuity: Patriarchal; women had few rights Emperor Bureaucrats & wealthy landowners Peasants Workers & Artisans Merchants Soldiers

Decline of the Qin There were peasant revolts due to the harsh rule. In 207 BCE, a peasant army led by Liu Bang in 206 BCE seized the Qin capital Xianyang, ending the rule of the Qin.

Key Vocabulary ü Great Wall of China ü Legalism ü Liu Bang ü Qin Dynasty ü Qin Shi Huangdi ü Terra Cotta Army ü Warring States