Ancient Chinese

Civilization
Dynasties, the Mandate of
Heaven, the Silk Road
 Chinese civilization extends
backwards in history in an
unbroken chain for nearly
four thousand years.
Throughout this time, the
Chinese people have been
instrumental in developing
new technologies and
advancing human
knowledge.
 The Chinese have been
ruled by a succession of
dynasties (families that
pass the right to rule the
nation from one
generation to the next).
 Before China developed the ability to write down their
history, stories were passed down orally from one
generation to the next. The story of the Xia Dynasty is
such a case. (The Xia Dynasty is known is folklore as
the first dynasty.) For decades historians have believed
that the Xia Dynasty was just legend.
Then in 1959 evidence was found
that showed that this dynasty
may not have just been legend,
but may have really existed. The
truth about whether or not
the Xia Dynasty really existed
is still being debated.
 The Xia family would have
ruled China from around
2100 B.C.E. - 1800 B.C.E.
 Yu was the founder of the
Xia dynasty. He helped
establish the belief that the
community needs to pull
together to survive. The
Chinese worked together to
stem the flooding of the
Yellow River, hence the
emphasis on community
living. (cf. America and focus
on individualism)
 Like the Xia Dynasty, the
Shang Dynasty was once
thought to be only a myth
or legend. It is now
considered by all historians
as a true dynasty. Because
many historians do not
consider the Xia Dynasty a
true dynasty, the Shang
Dynasty is often called the
first true Chinese dynasty.
 The Shang Dynasty ruled
China from around 1500
B.C.E. until 1100 B.C.E.
During this 400 year
period of history, Chinese
tradition states that
thirty separate kings
ruled from a succession
of seven different
capitals.
 Shang kings were military chieftains with armies
between 3000-5000 strong. They fought against
rebellious vassals and foreign tribes. They also used
Bronze Age technology
 Shang kings were also the high priests – best qualified
to offer sacrifices to royal ancestors and high god, Di
 Kings used oracle bones to communicate with their
ancestors or high gods = earlier writings.
 Kings were buried in royal tombs with thousands of
treasures, human sacrifices, and hundreds of bronze
objects, including ritual vessels, weapons, mirrors,
tigers and jade.
Oracle Bones
Oracle Bones
Calendar
Excavation of Lady Hao’s tomb. Findings include: 468 bronze objects
including 130 weapons, 23 bells, 27 knives, 4 mirrors, and 4 tigers or
tiger heads, 755 jade objects, and 564 bone objects including nearly
500 bone hairpins and over 20 bone arrowheads, among other items.
Also included: 16 human sacrifices. Go to:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/videos/shang-dynasty-human-
sacrifice/
 One of the most
important contributions
made during the period
that the Shang Dynasty
ruled China was the
invention of writing. The
earliest written records
found in China come
from this time period.
 Development of ancestor worship
 Cities surrounded by walls
 Ancient written accounts of the Shang are found in
Records of the Grand Historian
 Sharp societal distinctions:
 King, royal family & aristocracy
 Craftsmen in cities
 Farmers were serfs of aristocracy
 The Zhou family was able
to defeat and overthrow
the last Shang Dynasty
king in 1050 B.C.E. They
claimed that the Shang
Dynasty had lost the
Mandate of Heaven due to
their poor governing. The
Zhou Dynasty would
become the longest lasting
dynasty in Chinese history,
lasting over 800 years.
 Zhou dynasty created the Mandate of Heaven = King
was the mediator between the people and Heaven.
When the king was overthrow it was because he was
cruel, decadent, etc. and therefore, Heaven removed
the Mandate to rule.
1.The leader must lead by ability and
virtue.

2.The dynasty's leadership must be

justified by succeeding generations.

3.The mandate could be revoked by

negligence and abuse; the will of
the people was important.
 Start here A new
The emperor
reforms the govt.
dynasty
& makes it more
comes to power.
efficient.

Lives of common
Emperor is people improved;
defeated !! taxes reduced;
farming encouraged.
The
Rebel bands find
Problems begin
strong leader who
unites them.
Attack the emperor.
Dynastic (extensive wars,
invasions, etc.)

Poor lose
respect for govt.
Cycle Taxes increase;
men forced to
They join rebels work for army.
& attack landlords. Farming neglected.

Droughts, Govt. increases

floods, spending;
famines occur. corruption.
 The Zhou set up a new
economy, rearranging
the affairs of the
kingdom. As they did
so, the borders of their
kingdom swelled, and
they were able to
maintain control over
the people they
conquered effectively.
 Zhou kings set up a feudal
society: They assigned
nobleman, who were
usually members of the
royal family, to serve as
regional rulers. These
nobleman owned the land,
and were given absolute
authority over it. The
peasants could not own
land, but instead worked
the land for the noblemen.
 This form of government
worked well for several
hundred years. However,
overtime the king slowly
became less powerful,
while the nobleman
grew in power.
 In 771 B.C. while fighting
against a rebellion, the
Zhou armies suffered a
terrible defeat. As a
result, the Zhou Dynasty
lost even more power to
the noblemen. They
managed to hang on to
power for another 500
years (western Zhou
Dynasty). Then in 256
B.C.E. the Zhou Dynasty
was finally overthrown.
 By 221 B.C.E. a man by the
name of Qin had overthrown
all remaining members of the
Zhou Dynasty, and all other
opposition, allowing him to
place himself as the ruler of
China.
 The Qin Dynasty would
only last about 8 years.
Yet during these short
years, this dynasty would
make changes that
would effect the history
of China for thousands
of years. So influential
was Qin, that the name
of the nation, China, is a
derivative of his name.
 In order to show his
importance and power,
Qin added a new name
to his own. He began
calling himself Qin
Shihuangdi, which
means Qin, the First
Emperor of China.
 Qin Shihuangdi
reorganized the affairs of
China. Instead of a system
based on noblemen, Qin
created a direct
relationship between the
ruler and his subjects,
based on uniform laws
and Legalism. He brought
administrative, economic
and military reforms.
 He also established a strict
set of written laws that
were recognized
throughout China, (Qin
Law Code) and setup
military control in each
region of China so that
local noblemen could not
rebel against the emperor.
All people are subject to me,
Every field harvest, and
Everyone can have enough food.
Qin Law Codes:
The most extreme penalty was death, but that penalty could be intensified by the
method selected for it. For example, the criminal’s entire family might be
executed. His corpse could be exposed in the marketplace, or his head mounted
on a pike to add disgrace to death. Various horrific forms of execution were
available, as well as a variety of pre-execution tortures of the grossest kind. Brutal
as these appear to us, they were not Qin inventions, but rather extensions of
conventional Warring States practices. More measured punishments for specific
levels of criminal behavior included, in descending order, castration, amputation
of both feet, of the left foot, cutting off the nose, and tattooing the face. These
were the five mutilating punishments. Below these were various forms of forced
labor, often accompanied by flogging, and the lesser mutilation of having one’s
beard shaven. Apparently, under certain circumstances or at certain ranks, these
punishments could be “redeemed” by payment of specified sums of money
Example of Qin Law:
Theft 1. Group theft. When five men commit robbery together and the amount
stolen exceeds as little as one cash, they are punished with the amputation of the
left foot and tattooing, and they are sentenced to terms at hard labor. If there is a
group of fewer than five men and the stolen goods exceeds 660 cash, they are
tattooed, their noses are cut off, and they are sentenced to terms at hard labor. If
the amount is between 220 and 660, they are tattooed and sentenced to hard
labor. If it is less than 220, they are banished.
 The First Emperor used
the peasants, forcing
them to work under slave
conditions to build build
roads, bridges, canals,
buildings, and he began
the most famous building
project of all, the Great
Wall of China. (The Great
Wall was officially
completed later during
the Ming Dynasty.
 Early emperors had built
walls in the northern
territories to protect their THE GREAT WALL

nation against attack from

outside forces. These walls
were spread across the
landscape, and not
connected. Qin ordered his
people to connect the
existing walls together, and
to expand them, eventually
covering a distance of over
4000 miles.
 First Emperor advocated strict meritocracy for
advancement in his kingdom, rather than birth or
wealth advantages
 Meritocracy emphasized promotion for officials and
solidiers based on merit and job performance. It did
not recognize hereditary titles.
 This becomes the foundation for the Chinese
Examination System.
 Standardized Chinese language script and weights and
measures
 4,000 miles of roads were built
 Foundation for the Great Wall was built
 Established the basic framework for the Chinese
government system with Prime Minister, departmental
divisions and creation of military districts
 Created direct tie between emperor and the people
First Emperor’s Tomb:
• Discovered 1973
• 7000+ terra cotta soldiers
• Miniature world same as
his world
• Craftsmen who worked on
tomb were buried alive so
no one could find it