Qin and Han China WHAP General Info Qin

Qin and Han China WHAP

General Info Qin Dynasty Han Dynasty 221 B. C. - 206 B. C. – 220 A. D. First Emperor The Most Famous Ruler Qin Shih Huangdi Wu Ti Dynasty It was short-lived. Dynasty It lasted over 400 years.

Geography Qin Dynasty • Extended Chinese territory to the south • Reached up to present-day Hong Kong on the South China Sea and Northern Vietnam.

Geography Han Dynasty • Extended to Korea, Indochina, and Central Asia.

Trade §Maritime Silk Road- origins in the Han dynasty. §The 7000 mile route spanned China, Central Asia, Northern India, and the Parthian and Roman Empires. §Raw and processes silk transported along the overland silk road. §The maritime routes opened by Emperor Han Wudi provided access to the Roman Empire via India. §Increased the number of foreign merchants present in China

War §The Yellow Turban Rebellion 184 A. D. Through Taoism, Zhang Jue began to convince masses of people that the Han rulers had lost the Mandate of Heaven. Subsequently, he called for a full blown rebellion which turned out to be extremely violent and destructive, and eventually lead to the downfall of the Han dynasty. §Chu-Han War 206 B. C. Liu Bang conquered the troops of the Qin Dynasty. After four years of war Liu Bang defeated his rival and established the Han Dynasty.

Agriculture • The Emperors encouraged the development of agriculture. • Grew rice, and wheat, and provided salt. • Under Wu Di’s reign the Lou Che was invented, which was used for ploughing and sowing. This saved manual labor. • Silk was invented and was used as currency.

Population Growth & Decline u. With the advanced technology, farming flourished more. As farming became more productive, population thus naturally increased. u. As the rulers expanded the Chinese territory toward such countries as Korea and Vietnam, population increased as more land was gained.

Disease l. Bubonic Plague not only decreased population, but also disrupted trade, industry, finance, and society. l. European Plagues spread over the silk roads brought down the Han Empire. l. Small Pox, Measles, Chickenpox, and Rubella spread throughout countries through trade. l. The East-West trade linking Rome with china through the Silk Road introduced Small pox and measles to China. l. Writings were found suggesting that an ancient disease called Leprosy existed. Can be referred to as Leprosy or Syphilis. l. May have been introduced into China from India.

Migrations v l. Inter-migration within China As the empire expanded southward into present day Hong Kong, and later further towards Korea, Indochina, and Central Asia, people moved to these new areas as they provided new opportunities for farming, and overall wealth and prosperity.

Social Structure §Aristocracy & Bureaucracy §Skilled laborers, Iron workers, farmers, etc. §Unskilled laborers §In Han China, there was a three tier social system. At the top of this was the Aristocrats and Bureaucrats, followed by the skilled laborers (iron workers, farmers, etc) and then the unskilled laborers which included people like servants.

Gender Structure l. Women were subordinate and had their own clearly defined roles. l. Women sometimes gained power as mothers in law of younger women brought into the household. l. Same gender hierarchy existed among children. Boys > Girls l. Considered the head of family, the oldest son who had the most authority other than his father, inherited everything.

The Arts Qin Dynasty • The arts did not exist in the Qin Dynasty because Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered musical instruments and art forms to be burned. He considered them an unnecessary item in China because it taught people to have their own thoughts. Han Dynasty • Emperors and musicians during the Han Dynasty wished to bring back the arts. • They wanted to adapt to Confucian thought, which considered music as an intellectual pursuit. • Office of Music (Yuefu) was created to collect the folk music of China • During the Han Dynasty 829 people were employed in three orchestras.

Literature/Sacred Writings/Writing System l. Confucian writing l. Several writers elaborated Confucian philosophy during the Han dynasty. l. Learning and reciting poetry became significant part of Chinese education l. Five Classics: Were used in civil service examinations. Included historical treatises, speeches, and a discussion of etiquette and ceremonies lmost commonly used script: Lishu script. They used it because it was faster and more accessible, which they needed for governmental issues. l. During the Qin Dynasty, the language was unified as one dialect.

Government Shih Huangdi Structure l. He provided a single law code for the whole empire l. Established a uniform tax system l. Appointed governors to each district. These rulers had legal and military powers. They also had their own lower rulers for smaller regions. l. Epitome of effective centralized government

Government Han Dynasty Structure l Established 130, 000 bureaucrats. Had to take examinations. l. Judicial matters were done by local governments. l. Military was not extremely strong. l. Emphasized Confucian philosophy as an official Chinese values. . l. Sponsored public works (irrigation/canal systems) l. Standardized currency to facilitate trade l. Regulated agricultural supplies

Family Organization v. Patriarchal families v. Extended family networks through brothers, uncles, grandparents, and others. v. The practice of ancestor worship was important to family authority among the affluent landowners. v. Village authority was supreme over family rule among the ordinary farmers.

Religious Beliefs Buddhism l. Buddhism originated in northern India during the 6 th century. l. Han Buddhism was popular during the Han Dynasty. l. Emperor Tai Wu persecuted Buddhism. Taoism/Daoism l. Taoism was popular during the reign of the Han Dynasty. l. Under the Qin Dynasty schools of Taoist philosophy began to emerge. Confucianism l. Confucianism was popular during both dynasties.

Changes Continuities Civil service examination Confucianism-Legalism-Taoism Silk Road Paper, gunpowder, seismograph, roads, canals, great wall Centralization of authority Standardization of script, language, currency, weights measurement Zhou-Chin-Han Tribute- payment to trade with Meritocracy Bureaucracy Population growth Standard taxation Growth of empire Agriculture Patriarchy Role of family Ancestor worship Mandate of Heaven Dynasties Impact of geography Role of nomads Independent innovation Role of citizen to provide public works, military service ( corvee labor) Ethnocentrism ( m. Iddle Kingdom)

IN East Asia from 600 B. C. E-600 C. E the establishment of a civil service Bureaucracy under the Han Dynasty and the elevation of gifted students under This meritocracy would illustrate dramatic departures from traditional China, However, the persistence of patriarchy and traditional Chinese values Would predominate Chinese culture through state-sponsorship of Confucian values and the 5 relationships. In China during the classical age (600 B. C. E-600 C. E, the Mandate of Heaven would continue to be a guiding principle of dynastic rule, agricultural productivity would be essential to maintain the populace but the opening up of the silk route during the Han Dynasty would bring great external developments as they extended their territorial boundaries From 600 B. C. E-600 C. E in Classical China the consolidation of political authority Would be cemented under Chin Shi Huang Ti, massive building projects would ensue Like the great wall to protect against Nomadic invaders, however, the role of Importance of family and ancestor veneration Would be a core belief to hold society Together. Eastern Asia from 600 B. C. E- 600 C. E would continue to rely on Agricultural production with 90%of the population remaining peasant Farmers, their reliance on river valleys for both the Yellow and Yangtze would Continue to focus on irrigation projects, however, the extension of territorial Boundaries starting with the Qin and further with the Han would illustrate the Dynamic military prowess of these burgeoning Chinese Empires.

From 600 B. C. E-600 C. E in Classical China the consolidation of political authority Would be cemented under Chin Shi Huang Ti, massive building projects would ensue Like the great wall to protect against Nomadic invaders, however, the role of Importance of family and ancestor veneration. Would be a core belief to hold society Together Chin Shi Huang Ti would utilize his legalist philosophy to consolidate China under the Chin Dynasty standardizing weights, measurements and language Every time infrastructure fell into disarray, the government’s responsibility in accordance with the mandate of Heaven was to fortify and rebuild Family and its emphasis would continue in the role of ancestor veneration and reinforced through the Confucian 5 relationships. With a formerly diverse and fragmented population, this use of force coerced the population to fall in line with Chin Dynasty policy or face the dire consequences. The divine will of the ancestors paved the way for dynastic succession to protect and serve the obedient subjects or face the loss of the mandate. The belief that everything began with the family was a staple of maintain order and stability from the top ( emperor) down to older brother and younger brother)