china-]

What are the the three steps of the dynastic cycle?

• Step 1- brings peace and land is given to the peasants. They repair walls, canals, and irrigation projects. This is known as the honeymoon period

• Step 2- corrupt officials, losing control of the provinces, imposing heavy taxes on the peasants, allowing the walls to crumble/ Aging dynasty 

• Step 3- peasants rebellions, floods, fires. The mandate of Heaven that the emperor is blessed by the heavens and if the emperor is bad the gods will send the people a message.The Chinese believe when the emperor has lost the mandate of heaven that they have the right to rebellion.

What is the mandate of heaven?

The chinesse beleif that heavens bless the rule of the emperor. If the emperor is corrupt, brutal or cruel to or is just a bad person in general, the people have the right to overthrow him. It is similar to divine right, but in Europe you can't overthrow the king because they said it was a crime against god.

Who was Fu Hao?

She was the queen consort. She was the head of wo dings army and she was his head advisor. She has the best preserved tomb of the Shand dynasty 

Who was Qin Shi Huangdi?

Became the first emperor of China, he is where the name China comes from, he became powerful because of legalism, standardized coinage, and changed the shape, standardized Chinese writing called calligraphy, standardized language, the wall of ten thousand li/ Starts the great wall of china.

Who was Liu Bang?

Began his life as commoner, gives land back to the peasants, lowers taxes, hires loyal officials, and gives land away to loyal officials. 

Who was empress Lu?

Huidi died in 188 B.C. and Empress Lü placed an infant on the throne that died shortly after. He was quickly replaced with another infant. Through the use of puppet emperors, Empress Lü was able to rule the Han Dynasty on her own without being overthrown by her rivals. Throughout her rule there were families who had just as much or more of a right to have their children on the throne. Empress Lü is said to have murdered all the princes who were a potential threat to her rule. No matter if it was an infant or a pregnant soon to be mother, they would end up dead.  Although she was ruthless in her ways of maintaining power, she offered the empire much needed stability under her rule. 

Who was Han Wudi? 

Under him the Han dynasty will reach its apex/ land wise, he passed a law saying that all sons get a piece of their fathers land when he dies, he rejected trade and went with government monopolies, he sells government official stops to wealthy people.

Who was Wang Mang?

He is a usurper, which is someone who claims the throne and who has no legal right to it, he also tries of be a legalist, he angers the rich and poor people, during his reign there are floods, famines and natural disasters, the peasants rebel and paint their eyebrows red, and he is beheaded 

Who was Sui Yangdi?

Most known for the grand canal that connects the yellow river and the Yuhang river, he did this to move his military, he was considered a titrate, he is murdered by one of his own generals.

Who was Tang Taizong?

Kills all 4 of his brothers and becomes emperor, considered one of the greatest Chinese rulers, tolerance - he will expand religious tolerance allowing other religious to practice, reformed the government and allowed foreign trade, he would listen to criticism

Who was Wu Zetian?

She was 14 years old and she became a concubine. Once the emperor dies she marries his son. And once he dies she puts 2 of her sons and puts them on the throne and quickly removes them. She names herself as emperor. She becomes like the female egyptian pharo heptepsut. She was a very strong Buddhist.

Tang Xuanzong

Under Xuanzong's reign the Tang Dynasty began its golden age. Xuanzong abolished the death penalty, improved the economy through security on the Silk Road, increased maritme trading, decreed financial reforms, constructed temples and administrative complexes, built roads, and improved industry. He is remembered as the “brilliant emperor” because of the success of his advisers, not for his own successes.

Daoism

Refers to the way. This way is nature, that nature is the way things should be done. And that if you let nature take its course that things will go by orderly. They did not follow man-made things such as taxes, emperors, kings because they are not a part of nature. Appease to the lower class.

Important philosopher of Daoism

Lao Zi. wrote the Laozi

Confucianism

They kind of believed in Daoism but not as a way of nature. They believed that society is a reflection of the intended order of heaven itself. Respecting the social order is encouraged, meaning that confusionism encourages behaving in responsible ways, surviving to the ruler and you should follow them. Apeased to the lower class

Filial piety

The concept that all children bend to the will of their father

Mencius

Follows Confucianism but adds other elements. These elements are a greater emphasis on the natural goodness of human beings. Meaning that they want the ruler to act this way or they will be removed. This idea places a condition of responsibility on the ruler. 

Legalism

-A philosophy from Li Si who argued humans were not inherently good but are weak and corruptible. As a result humans must be forced by strict laws and strict punishments to work for the common good. A related development of meritocracy, the idea that people advance based on merit rather than by personal connections or family connections.

These two philosophies are dominant under the Qin Dynasty.  

Legalism and meritocracy

Sia dynasty

Shang dynasty

They had cities and built temples, had a king who was also the high priest; ,making them a theocracy, believed in a god called di, believed that that the god and king would talk to each other, worshiped older people, servants were buried with their masters, did human sacrifices, introduced the first form of chinese writing,

Oracle bones-were used to make important decisions 

Zhou dynasty

Longest lasting of all the Chinese dynasty, they are the first to start the dynastic cycle, zhou claimed the Mandate of Heaven to justify their rule, they lost their power due to feudalism because they take away the rights to move goods and food around and then turn on the emperor, they became very good at bronze work that would not rust, they introduce coinage into China

Feudalism

When the king gave away land to the princes to control. This will go wrong because they will loose control of them.

Qin dynasty

United much of what we know as China today, protected on one side by mountains, the Qin only have potential rivals for power in one geographic direction which will ultimately give them an advantage.

Han dynasty

The Han Dynasty leaves several lasting legacies including the invention of paper in 100 AD by Cai Lun and the beginning of the Chinese civil service examination system. Emperor Wen of Han introduced recruitment to the civil service through examinations. Perhaps the most significant Han Dynasty legacy, is that modern China still identifies itself with its Han past.

Sui dynasty

Most known for the grand canal that connects the yellow river and the Yuhang river.

Tang dynasty

It is considered a golden age for its cultural achievements, territorial expansion, and relative openness to foreign cultures, including the flourishing of Buddhism and the establishment of Chang'an as a major world city.

Sung dynasty 

This is the time of educational learning, Neo-confusionism -its just confusionism being brought back around, A moving printing press, They went to north vietnam and came back with a new type of rice(allowed double cropping)

Yin and yang

Is good in evil and there is evil in good