China’s Empire

Philosophy and Social Order

• Confucius• Most influential scholar• Lived during time when Zhou dynasty was in shambles• Studied and taught history, music, and moral character• Could restore social order, harmony, and good gov’t through

5 relationships• Ruler and subject• Father and son• Husband and wife• Older brother and younger brother• Friend and friend

• Children should practice filial piety• Respect for their parents and elders

• Wanted to show rulers how rule effectively• Confucius is appointed Minister of Justice• After resignation, Confucius’ ideas were kept and studied in a

book called the Analects

Confucian Idea About Gov’t

• Education could transform a humbly born person into a gentleman

• Laid ground work for a bureaucracy• Trained civil service (people who run the gov’t)

• Confucianism is never a religion but an ethical system• Becomes foundation for Chinese gov’t and social order

Daoists Seek Harmony

• Laozi is key figure• Natural order was only thing important• Universal force called the Dao (“the Way”) guides all things

• Beliefs turn into Daoism• Search for knowledge and understanding of nature• Led to people pursuing scientific studies such as alchemy,

astronomy, and medicine

Legalists and Harsh Rule

• Believe that highly efficient and powerful gov’t was the key to restoring social order• Gov’t should use the law to end civil disobedience and

restore harmony

• Teach that a ruler should provide rich rewards for people who carried out their duties well• Disobedient should be punished harshly

• Believed in controlling ideas as well as actions• Encourage leaders to burn all material that might encourage

people to think critically about gov’t

I Ching and Yin and Yang

• I Ching = book of oracles• Answered ethical or practical problems• Threw set of coins, interpreted the results, and then read the

proper oracle

• Yin and Yang• Created by ancient thinkers• Two power that when put together represent the natural

rhythms of life• Yang = Masculine qualities in the universe• Yin = Feminine qualities in the universe

The Qin Dynasty

• Short lived dynasty in 3rd century B.C. • 13 yr. old ruler who applied Legalist ideas• Qin ruler assumes name Shi Huangdi or “First Emperor”• Began rule by:• Halting the internal battles that had taken China’s strength• Defeating invaders and crushing internal resistance to his

rule• Attacked the invaders north of the Yellow River and south

into Vietnam (doubled China’s size)

• Acted to crush political opposition at home• Commanded noble families to live in the capital city under

close watch• Killed many Confucian scholars• Burned “useless” books• Established an autocracy• Government in which the ruler has unlimited power

• Built road network of 4,000 + miles• Forced peasants to work against their will

• Created irrigation projects to increase farming• Merchants become higher class

Great Wall of China

• Discourage invaders from attack• Built by peasants• “Work on the wall or die”• Many worked and died anyway

• One of few human made objects that can be viewed from space

Goodbye Qin Dynasty

• Peasants rebelled 3 years after the second Qin emperor took office• Leader from Han lands pushes army into capital city

• Qin Dynasty gives way to the Han Dynasty