Ancient China

Fighting Between Kingdoms/States:

  • What characterized the period between 400 B.C. and 221 B.C. in China? (Remember this was the period of chaos) The Warring States Period (481/403 BCE - 221 BCE) describes the three centuries when various rival Chinese states battled viciously for territorial advantage and dominance. Ultimately the Qin state was victorious and established the first unified Chinese state.

  • Qin Empire:

    • Who was the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty? The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty was Qin ShiHuangdi.

    • What actions did Qin ShiHuangdi take to centralize power in the Qin Dynasty? Qin ShiHuangdi  created a single monetary system and ordered a building/system of roads throughout the Qin empire. He also took away land from the aristocrats and gave it to the peasants. Peasants had to pay taxes for these. This helped to take away power from the aristocrats and got more money from the peasants.

    • Describe the significance of the Terracotta Army in Qin ShiHuangdi's rule. The Terracotta Army signified Qin’s army going with him into the afterlife. Traditionally, the servant of the ruler would go to the afterlife with the ruler, however a who army was too many people to just kill. 

    • What was the purpose of creating the Terracotta Army? The purpose of the Terracotta Army was to bring 6,000 individuals into the afterlife with Qin.

      • Remember terms like individuality. 10 different heads

    • Who were the Xiongnu, and why were they a concern for the Qin Empire? The Xiongnu were people who lived north of China and threatened the Qin Dynasty. They rode on horseback.

    • How did Qin ShiHuangdi address the northern threat? Qin ShiHuangdi addressed the northern threat by building the great wall of china. 

    • Define Legalism and explain its role as the official ideology of the Qin Dynasty. Legalism was the official ideology of the regime. Legalism believed that humans were evil by nature.  It was divided into 3 parts of the centralized state.

    • What were the three divisions of the centralized state in the Qin Dynasty? : Civil Division, Military Division, and Censorate.

    • Why did the Chinese people become frustrated with the first Qin emperor? Chinese people became frustrated with the first Qin emperor because he was the only ruler for the Qin Dynasty and had no kids. They hated that they had to follow Legalism, lack of free speech, harsh taxes, and forced labor projects that were instituted by the ruler himself. 

    • What factors led to the collapse of the Qin Dynasty?  Many people (especially farmers) rebelled against the tyranny that Qin provided. 

Han Dynasty

  • Who founded the Han Dynasty, and what was his background?  Liu Bang founded the Han Dynasty. He came from a peasant family and not much is known about his childhood. He made his way to leadership by being a good scholar.

  • How did Liu Bang's approach to rule differ from Qin ShiHuangdi's? Bang transitioned from Legalism structure to Confucianism. 

  • Why did the Han Dynasty replace Legalism with Confucianism? In Confucianism, there is a focus on personal ethics and mortality.  Han believed that it was important for families to raise their children on Confucian beliefs to keep order. 

  • How did the Civil Service Examination contribute to Confucian influence in government? The Civil Service Examination made it so that government roles would be filled based of of knowledge rather than blood. This made it so that the smartest and most qualified person took on the role. 

  • What challenges did free peasants face during the Han Dynasty? During the Han Dynasty, free peasants were forced to serve in labor services for 1 (random) month out of the year. The other month was spent serving in the military.  These two months were not paid for and meant that the crops they were farming were not being properly cared for. This meant that the family wasn’t getting enough food or money. 

  • How did the government address the issue of population increase and limited land? When the population increased, each family was limited to 1 acre of land. This made it extremely difficult to provide a plentiful supply of food for the family, with enough food left over to sell for money. This led the free peasants to become tenant farmers. This meant that they lived on another person’s land and had to pay money and/or crops to live there. It was a loss of freedom. If the cost was not paid, then you would be put in jail. This was especially problematic, because the Bureaucracy did not want to stop this process. 

  • Explain the role of iron casting in technological progress during the Han era. Iron casting (steel) widely helped with agriculture and economic prosperity. This was the first time that ironcasting was so widely used. From the Han Dynasty, ironcasting flourished widely. 

  • What were the key technological advancements of the Han Dynasty? In the Han Dynasty, the invention of the rudder and the fore-and-aft rigging allowed ships to sail into the wind. This greatly helped with trading advancements as well. 

  • How did Confucianism influence education and values in the Han Dynasty? In the Han Dynasty, books were created that were key works of the Confucian school. They became required reading for generations of Chinese school children. This introduced children to the behaviors they would have to practice as adults. 

  • What were the main cultural achievements of the Han Dynasty? In the Han Dynasty, Confucianism became the state religion. Additionally, the Silk Road was created and completely altered Chinese history (and trade) for the better.

  • Identify the factors that contributed to the decline of the Han Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, weak rulers amused themselves with pleasures of court life. This led to the decline of the central government. The power of the central gov’t was an important aspect of Empire success in this time. Great noble families filled the gap, amusing huge landed estates and forcing free farmers ro become their tenants. The empire also weakened bc of Nomadic raiders from the north. In 190 AD nomadic people and peasants rebelled and reached the central city of the Han Dynasty. Since no one could control the massive region of China, a civil war among the area would take place. 

  • What events marked the end of the Han Dynasty? The end of the Han dynasty was marked when the civil war broke out and the weak rulers could not keep control.

Schools of Thought in Ancient China

  • Confucianism:

    • What were the core principles of Confucianism, and how did it shape the society? Key principles of Confucianism include that it was political and ethical rather than spiritual. Confucius( the founder) believed that it was useless to speculate on spiritual concepts. One of the main points it focused on was that if humans could act in harmony with the universe then their own affairs would prosper.  

    • Be able to explain the two elements and the concept of the Five Constant Relationships in Confucianism. The 2 elements of Confucianism are Duty and Humanity. Duty described that people had to lower their own interests to the broader needs of the family and community. Family and government always came first. Duty was often expressed in the form of work ethic; if each individual worked hard to fulfill his or her duties, then the affairs of society as a whole would prosper well. The second element of Confucianism was humanity, This taught compassion/empathy for others. 

    • Know: Said that government service should be open to all men of superior talent and not limited to those of noble birth

    • The 5 Constant relationships were Parent and child, husband and wife, older and younger sibling, older and younger friend, and ruler and subject. He said that every single group has a DUTY to the other. If every duty is fulfilled by these 5 relationships there is peace in the civilization. 

  • Daoism:

    • Who is Laozi, and what are the main ideas of Daoism?

    • Laozi is known as the old master. There is no proof that he truly existed.

    • “The way of the dao (way)”

    • The main idea is that you should just let nature take its course and whatever happens happens

    • How does Daoism differ from Confucianism in its approach to life?

    • Confucianism says that it is the duty of human beings to work hard to improve life on earth; through action. Daoism says that the way to follow the will of Heaven is not through action but in action. Daoism also embraces the way of life and Confucianism believes people can improve the way of life. 

  • Legalism:

  • Describe Legalism regarding human nature. Legalism believed that humans were evil by nature.

  • Why did Legalists advocate for a strong ruler and strict laws? They advocated for this, because this is what they thought was needed for an ordered society

  • How does this differ from Confucianism and Daoism? Confucianism and Daoism both focused on the relation of man and their way of life. Legalism focuses on structure and the idea that man was incapable of being good.