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Explore the rise to power of the Qin Dynasty under Emperor Qin Shihuangdi and the subsequent era of the Han Dynasty, witnessing significant advancements, governmental structures, and eventual decline.
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Unification of China Qin 221 – 207 BCE Han 206 BCE – CE 220
Qin Dynasty: Rise to power • Emperor Qin Shihuangdi • Powerful army & effective iron weapons (Disarmed regional military forces & fortresses) • Centralized rule • Administrative provinces and districts • Bureaucracy • Agricultural productivity • Private plots generous profits
Qin Centralization • Infrastructure • roads, bridges, defensive walls (Great Wall) • Built by conscripts • Standardized … • laws, currencies & weights • Chinese script across linguistic boundaries • currency and economic integration
1500 mi long • averages 25 ft height • 15 to 30 ft thick at the base -12 ft at the top • Guard stations and watchtowers are placed at regular intervals • The eastern part of the wall is earth and stone faced with brick • In the west it is merely a tamped earth mound.
Qin Rule • Suppressed all dissent • The Burning of the Books • Foundation of political and cultural unity BUT no universal acceptance of government • Civil insurrection at its end!
Han: Rise to Power • Mandate in 206BCE • Liu Bang restored order • policy of centralization • Han Wudi 141BCE -87 BCE • Enormous bureaucracy • Imperial expansion • Invasion of Northern Vietnam and Korea
Han Rule • Bureaucracy • (modeled after Legalist Qin) • Civil Service Exam (mobility?) • Taxes on agriculture, trade and craft industries Roads & canals to facilitate communication & trade • Monopolies on iron and salt production
Han Advancements • Expansion of Iron production • Shipbuilding, wheel barrows • Sericulture (Silk) expansion to south – and west – Silk Roads, contact with other Empires • Paper production • Medicine - acupuncture • Arts – jade, ivory, bronze
Han Decline • Social Tensions – widening gap between rich and poor • Political Failure Failed Land Distribution: Wang Mang • Later Han Dynasty • Yellow Turban Uprising (internal rebellion) • Outside invasions (Huns)
Schools of thought: Impact on Classical China Confucianism Han Dynasty State Philosophy Benefits? Drawbacks? Legalism Qin ShiHuangdi – first emperor of China Benefits? Drawbacks? Daoism Government? Popular religion The Arts Private Lives
Drawing Conclusions • How do the empires of India compare with those of China? • How does your understanding of Classical China reinforce the characteristics of the Classical Age? • What individuals of Classical Age had the biggest impact on China’s development?