Ancient China:

Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han

Dynasties
SSWH1-SSWH2

SSWH1 ANALYZE THE ORIGINS, STRUCTURES, AND INTERACTIONS OF SOCIETIES IN THE ANCIENT WORLD FROM
3500 BCE/BC TO 500 BCE/BC.
B. DESCRIBE THE SOCIETIES OF INDIA AND CHINA, INCLUDE: RELIGION, CULTURE, ECONOMICS, POLITICS, AND
TECHNOLOGY.

SSWH2 IDENTIFY THE MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHINESE AND INDIAN SOCIETIES TO 500 CE/AD.
B. DESCRIBE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE CIVILIZATION UNDER ZHOU, QIN, AND HAN.
C. EXPLAIN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPACT OF HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM ON INDIA, AND CONFUCIANISM ON CHINA.
D. EXPLAIN HOW GEOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTED TO THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE AND IDEAS, INCLUDE: SILK ROADS AND
INDIAN OCEAN TRADE.
 Vocabulary
 Mandate of Heaven - the Chinese belief that the gods picked the emperor to rule but
the gods could also remove a bad emperor from power.
 Confucianism - a philosophy that was concerned with ensuring social order and good
government
 Daoism - a philosophy that stressed the importance of nature. By living naturally,
harmony could be achieved
 Legalism - People are evil in nature, strict laws and violent punishments are needed to
keep order
 Wudi - A Han Dynasty emperor who set up grain reserves throughout the empire to
control prices during supply and demand changes
 Shi Huangdi - A Qin Dynasty emperor who ordered the construction of the Great wall
of China
 Acupuncture - Acupuncture is the practice of inserting needles into the skin to cure
disease or relieve pain. This practice is still widely used today.
 The Silk Road - A Trade route that extends from China to Rome that goods and ideas
are transferred along
 E. Napp
The first known dynasty of China was the
Shang dynasty. This dynasty united the
people living around the Huang He and
Yangtze river valleys.
 E. Napp
The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any
other Chinese dynasty.
 The Zhou Dynasty

E. Napp
 Around 1027 B.C., the Zhou conquered the Shang.

 The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other Chinese dynasty. It lasted
from 1027 B.C. to 221 B.C.

 Zhou rulers claimed the right to rule or the Mandate of Heaven.

 Mandate of Heaven

E. Napp
 The Mandate of Heaven was the Chinese belief that the gods picked the
emperor to rule but the gods could also remove a bad emperor from power.

 The Mandate of Heaven can be viewed as the right to rule.

 The ruler kept the Mandate of Heaven for as long as he ruled effectively.
 The Zhou Dynasty was the first Chinese Dynasty to use the Mandate Of
Heaven
Philosophies and Religions of China

 1. Confucianism – Founded by Confucius

 He stressed the importance of order to achieve harmony.
 Confucius believed that if people knew and did what they should do, then harmony
would occur.
 Rulers relied on the ideas of Confucianism
 Confucius developed a philosophy that was concerned with ensuring social order
and good government

 2. Legalism – Official Qin Dynasty policy

 People are evil in nature, strict laws and violent punishments are needed to keep order
 Feudal rulers used legalism to keep order
 Philosophies and Religion Continued
 3. Daoism – Founder is Lao Tzu
 Daoism was a philosophy that stressed the importance of nature. By living naturally,
harmony could be achieved.
 A religion that rejected conflict
 Emphasized flexibility and yielding
 Daoist priests contributed to science and medicine
4. Buddhism – Founder is Siddhartha Gautama
-Key Beliefs – Escape Suffering & promise of personal salvation
-According to Buddhism, the goal of Buddhism is to reach enlightenment through meditation.
 Buddhist belief of union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth is
known as nirvana.
 Factor that helped Buddhism spread through China is Mahayana Buddhism offered
escape from suffering and the promise of achieving salvation.
 Standard

 Why is the standard important? (what does it do?)

 SSWH2 Identify the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies to
500 CE/AD
 Describe the development of Chinese civilization under Zhou, Qin, and Han.
 Explain the development and impact of Hinduism and Buddhism on India, and
Confucianism on China.
 Explain how geography contributed to the movement of people and ideas, include:
Silk Roads and Indian Ocean Trade.
 SSWH1 Analyze the origins, structures, and interactions of societies in the
ancient world from 3500 BCE/BC to 500 BCE/BC.

D b. Describe the societies of India and China, include: religion, culture,

economics, politics, and technology.
 What does it mean to?
 Describe?
 give an account in words of (someone or something), including all the relevant characteristics, qualities, or events.
 Analyze
 examine methodically and in detail the constitution or structure of (something, especially information), typically
for purposes of explanation and interpretation.
 Justify
 show or prove to be right or reasonable.
 Infer
 deduce or conclude (information) from evidence and reasoning* rather than from explicit statements.
 Support (used Underpin definition) better for context
 support (a building or other structure) from below by laying a solid foundation below ground level or by
substituting stronger for weaker materials.
 support, justify, or form the basis for.
 Confucius
 Consider the following statement and
answer the questions about the statement
and picture.
 American wedding tradition would have
all women in the wedding be a
“bridesmaid”, wearing a dress by the
bride. Let’s say the woman in this
wedding was the best friend of the groom.
They are breaking tradition by having a
“groomswoman”. What elements of the
picture would Confucius agree with?
 Qin Dynasty

 Shi Huangdi conquered the Zhou Dynasty and abolished feudalism

 The Qin ruler was the first Chinese ruler to call himself emperor.
 Shi Huangdi was a harsh but strong ruler.
 He introduced a uniform system of writing.
 The Chinese were forced to obey his rules.
 He ordered the execution of people who disagreed with him.
 Shi Huangdi promoted unity, repaired/extended roads, and standardized writing,
measurements, and coins.
 Under the rule of Shi Huangdi

E. Napp
During Qin Dynasty, the Chinese
began building the Great
Wall of China.
 The Great Wall of China was built
to protect China from nomadic
invaders.
 The Han Dynasty

 Golden Age of Chinese History

 The Big Idea
 The Han dynasty created a new form of government that valued
family, art, and learning.
 Main Ideas
 Han dynasty government was based on the ideas of Confucius.
 Family life was supported and strengthened in Han China.
 The Han made many achievements in art, literature, and
learning.
Emperor Lui Bang of the Han Dynasty

 Liu Bang, a peasant fighting in a rebel army, became emperor due to the Chinese
belief in the mandate of heaven.
 He was the first emperor of the Han dynasty.
 Well liked by both warriors and peasants, Liu Bang released the country from
strict Legalistic practices and focused on people’s immediate needs.
 Liu Bang lowered taxes, gave large plots of land to supporters, and set up a
government that expanded on the ideas of the Qin
 Emperor Wudi
of the Han Dynasty
 In 140 BC, Emperor Wudi took the throne and shifted the
country’s focus back to a strong central government.
 Confucianism became the official government philosophy.
 Wudi built a university that taught Confucian ideals, and
awarded his officials with higher rank if they were familiar with
Confucian principles.
 Emperor Wudi set up grain reserves throughout the empire to control prices
during supply and demand changes.
 Traveling the Silk Road
Traders brought Chinese ideas and goods to the West and Western ideas and goods
to China

To the West from China To China From the West

 Silk  Ivory
 Porcelain  Gold
 Magnetic compass  Music
 Gunpowder  Astronomy
 Papermaking  Mathematics
 Printmaking  Buddhism
 Confucianism  Islam
 Cultural Achievements

 Calendar
 Sun dial - A device for telling time, the sundial uses the position of
the shadows cast by the sun to tell the time of day.

 Acupuncture - Acupuncture is the practice of inserting needles into

the skin to cure disease or relieve pain. This practice is still
widely used today.

 Seismograph - This device measures the strength of an earthquake.

Chinese scientists believed that the movement of the earth was a
sign of evil times.
TITD

 Based on yesterday’s lesson,

 How did the concept of the Mandate of Heaven create an opportunity that shaped
the Golden Age of Chinese History?
Study Questions