The Qin Dynasty 221 BC 210 BC Founded

The Qin Dynasty • 221 BC – 210 BC • Founded by Shi Huangdi, The First Emperor • Used Legalist Principles to unify China under a centralized government 1. Ended Feudalism 2. Standardized weights & measures 3. Standardized currency 4. Standardized Chinese writing system 5. Extended roads and canals

The Great Wall • Shi Huangdi’s most remarkable and costly achievement • Connected defensive walls built by feudal rulers • 25 ft. tall, made of pounded earth and stone topped with a brick road • Many workers died during its construction • Built to keep nomadic invaders out and Chinese in • Symbolic of the emperor’s power, and the division of the civilized world from the uncivilized • Forced labor and heavy taxes led to a peasant revolt against the Qin.

The Han Dynasty • 206 BC- AD 220 • Most famous emperor was Wudi (141 BC- 87 BC) • Increased the territory under Chinese rule • Ruled according to Confucian principles 1. Appointed Confucian scholars as officials 2. Set us the civil service exam system to choose the most qualified officials

Strengthening the Economy • improved roads and canals • Set up granaries to store surplus food • Set up a monopoly on iron and salt • Opened the Silk Road, a 4000 mile long trade route linking China to the west. 1. Silk and spices went west 2. Cotton, glass, new foods, Buddhism arrived in China

Han Achievements • Developed acupuncture • Invented paper making • Invented the rudder • Practical inventions üStirrups üFishing reel üWheelbarrow üSuspension bridge