CHINA TEST (all confirmed questions on here)
All Emperors we need to know:
SHANG - Fu Hao:
Shang queen who was also a general who led troops into battle
Was one of the consorts of Wu Ding, the Shang king under whom Shang power reached its zenith.
Inscriptions on the oracle bones also show that Fu Hao was involved in two aspects of royal life that were normally not open to women. She led numerous military campaigns against the neighboring Tu, Ba, Yi and Qiang tribes. One oracle bone, for example, asks whether Fu Hao should gather soldiers before an attack.
QIN - Ying Zheng/Qin Shi Huangdi:
First emperor of fully unified China
Only emperor of his Dynasty
Things he introduced:
Coinage
Writing reformation and Language
Begins the first great wall: called Li and was to act as a speed bump
Legalism
His tomb/terracotta warriors
HAN - Lui bang / Han Gaozu:
Founded the Han dynasty
He left the throne to his son Wu dai. He married empress Lu.
She is the backbone behind the ruling dynasty of the Han.
HAN - Empress Lu:
Empress Lü was the backbone behind the ruling of the Han Dynasty
First women to take control of China. She did this by eliminating all opposition. She keeps putting babies on the throne to maintain the throne. She is very brutal and rules ruthlessly. She continues to put her family on the throne and get them power.
HAN - Han Wudi:
Under Han Wudi, the hans reached the height of their power
Han Wudi was known for:
Expansion of China
Government monopolies
Sold/Selling government positions
END OF WESTERN HAN DYNASTY - Wang Mang:
He claimed that the Han lost the power of the mandate of heaven. This is how he gained control.
He was a Usurper (seizing power that they have no right to)
He makes nobody happy; He is not a legalist or a confucianist. He was in between which made both mad.
He becomes undone because there were a series of natural disasters. Even though he acted appropriately, the people took these natural disasters as signs of the losing of the mandate of heaven.
SUI - Sui Yangdi:
Emperor for 14 years
Considered a tyrant ; lots of tyranny in the ancient times
Important things done of his rule:
Sui Grand Canal: He built a canal connecting the Yellow river and the Yangtze river, normally used to move soldiers; Still used today, Worlds largest water way today.
He tried to conquer Korea but they were receptive to Chinese culture. Creating a more unified Korea.
Murdered his father and his brothers to seize control of the throne/power. Might have been used to move the military. Used for trade, communication, transport.
His rule ended by Assassination
JAPANESE PRINCE - Shotoku Taishi:
He liked to base a lot of his things off of China. This is a type of acculturation
Only emperors and important officials can enter the forbidden city.
He built a new capital city that represented the Chinese capital cities.
He made the first constitution with 17 articles following Confucian principles.
He is also credited with building many of the early great temples in Japan, such as the Hōryūji and the Shitennōji.
TANG - Tang Taizong:
Forces his Father out and kills his brothers to take power
He is known for changes and reforms:
Reforms to government and laws
Religious toleration
As a result of these things this led to the government becoming very rich.
TANG - Wu Zetian
Some people believe she was the first empress of China because of her seizing of power. Wu Zetian became a concubine of the 2nd emperor of Tang Dynasty (Tang Taizong) at age 14. Her role in his house was as a laundress.
When Gaozong died in 683 CE, Wu took control of the government as empress dowager, placing two of her sons on the throne and removing them almost as quickly.
Ruled as the first and only empress of China until a year before her death in 705 CE, at the age of 81. She was one of the most effective and controversial monarchs in China's history. As a leader, she favors Buddhism over other religions.
TANG - Tang Xuanzong:
He was the grandson of Wu Zetian. 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 maritime trading, decreed financial reforms, constructed temples and administrative complexes, built roads, and improved industry. He reorganized the military so that farmers were no longer conscripted against their will and built a professional army of veterans who were more effective in guarding the borders and reclaiming land from nomadic tribes.
Xuanzong left the throne and neglected his duties because of his love for women. He was already checked out from the government before he met her.
He paid little attention to governing, leaving power in the hands of his court. His rule represents the peak of the Tang Dynasty and the beginning of its end. He is an example of being the apex of the dynasty and the downfall of the dynasty.
TANG DURING XUANZONG - Lady Wu Hui-fei:
Who suggested he elevate a close friend of her family, Li-Linfu, to a more prominent position in order to take on some of the burden of rule. Li-Linfu was made chancellor, and since he was a close friend of the family, Xuanzong felt he could trust him, but he was wrong.
TANG DURING XUANZONG - Li-Linfu:
Was a corrupt and power-hungry man who only cared about advancing himself. While he played the part of the devoted servant of the emperor, he schemed to seize power himself and depose Xuanzong. The emperor suspected nothing and placed great trust in Li-Linfu. In 737 CE Consort Wu died, and Xuanzong withdrew further into his own pleasures and left the business of government to Li-Linfu.
Li-Linfu had no reason to undermine the emperor because he already had all of the power.
SONG - Wang Anshi:
He was a reformer, who cut government expenditures in half, loans money to peasant farmers, fixes prices of commodities, and builds schools. He established a village militia system. Wang’s reforms were unpopular, and he was forced to resign in 1074.
The Dynastic Cycle:
STEP 1: The New Dynasty
Restores peace.
Redistributes land to the peasants.
Appoints loyal officers and officials.
Repairs defensive walls, builds roads, canals, and irrigation projects.
This period is often referred to as a “honeymoon period” due to general happiness among the people.
After several generations, the New Dynasty becomes an aging dynasty.
STEP 2: The Aging Dynasty
Characterized by corrupt officials.
Loses control of the provinces.
Imposes a heavy tax burden on the peasants.
Allows defensive walls to decay.
Eventually loses the Mandate of Heaven.
STEP 3: Problems Symbolic of the Lost Mandate of Heaven
Include peasant rebellions, floods, famine, earthquakes.
Armed bandits appear in the provinces and foreign invasions occur.
As a result of these problems, a New Dynasty then claims the Mandate of Heaven and the cycle starts again.
The Mandate of Heaven
The Chinese belief that the heavens “bless” the rule of the emperor.
If the emperor is corrupt, brutal, cruel to the people, or generally a bad person, he risks losing the Mandate of Heaven.
Signs that the emperor has lost the Mandate of Heaven are natural disasters such as floods, fires, famines, earthquakes, etc.
Peasant rebellions and outside invasions are also signs of loss of the Mandate of Heaven.
When it is clear that the dynasty/emperor has lost the Mandate of Heaven, the ancient Chinese believed that they had the right to revolt and rebel against the emperor.
The Mandate of Heaven is similar to the European concept of Divine Right, which states that God put the king and his family on the throne.
The difference between the two is that the Chinese believed that the people have the right to revolt and rebel, but in Europe there was nothing the ruler could do that would allow the people to revolt and rebel. In Europe, to go against the king was not only a **crime