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Classical China

Classical China. Confucius Quotations. “Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it” “Study the past if you would define the future” “To see what is right and not do it is want of courage”. Zhou (1029-258 BCE). Came in from the north displacing the Shang rulers

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Classical China

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  1. Classical China

  2. Confucius Quotations • “Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it” • “Study the past if you would define the future” • “To see what is right and not do it is want of courage”

  3. Zhou (1029-258 BCE) • Came in from the north displacing the Shang rulers • Dynasty flourished only until 700 BCE • No powerful government. Ruled through alliances • Feudal period of China with rulers dependent on regional network of loyalties

  4. Greatest Impacts • Extended the territory of China by taking over the Yangtze River valley- “Middle Kingdom” • Heightened the role of the central government- Mandate of Heaven rule • Greater cultural unity, including language • Confucius (551-478 BCE) • Era of Warring States (402-201 BCE) • Regional rulers formed ind. armies and reducing the emperor’s power

  5. Qin (221 – 202 BCE) • Qin Shi Huangdi (First Emperor)- brutal ruler but effective in recreating order • Powerful armies crushed regional rulers • Extended China’s territory south (to present-day Hong Kong and northern Vietnam • Built the Great Wall in the north to protect against invasions (extended over 3,000 miles)

  6. Qin Greatest Impacts •  Regulations, national census, made Chinese written script uniform, terra cotta warriors (picture), Great Wall • Problems- very unpopular, high taxes • Qin Shi Huangdi Died in 210 BCE and empire collapsed

  7. Han (202 BCE – 220 CE) • Retained the centralized administration but reduced the brutal repression • Expanded Chinese territory pushing into Korea Indochina, and central Asia • Contact with India, Middle East

  8. Wu Ti (140-87 BCE) • most famous Han ruler promoted peace • Improved workings of the state bureaucracy • Urged support for Confucianism • Huns in the north increased invasions and central authority weakened • 220-589 CE- China in a state of chaos

  9. Political Institutions • Qin stressed central authority and Han built successful bureaucracy • Strong local units- relied on tightly knit patriarchal families, ancestor worship • Shi Huangdi provided a single law code and uniform tax system • Wu Ti- training academy for soldiers • Trained scholar- bureaucrats • Military and judicial systems • Intellectual life • o    Active economy helped trade

  10. Economy and Society • Agricultural society with typical features of huge gap between landed gentry and the peasants, esp. in terms of access to culture and language • In general, social status was inherited • Trade became increasingly important, esp. luxury items for the upper classes such as silks, jewelry and leather • Technological advances- paper, ox-drawn plows, iron mining and tools, production methods in textiles • Expansion of cities and agriculture • Tight family organization helped economic and social views of political life

  11. Confucius (Kung Fuzi) 551-478 • He taught that if people could be taught to emphasize personal virtue a solid political life would naturally result • Respect for one’s superiors • Primarily a system of ethics • Mencius- promoted Confucius’s teachings and slightly modified them • Wrote The Analects • Emphasis on individual virtuous behavior both by the ruler and the ruled

  12. Daoism • Religious philosophy that arose about the same time as Confucianism during the Zhou dynasty • Laozi (Lao-tsu)- furthered Daoism • Daoism embraced traditional Chinese beliefs in nature’s harmony and added a sense of nature’s mystery • General conditions of the world unimportant; harmony with nature is more important • Han rulers persuaded Daoist priests to stress loyalty to the emperor

  13. Legalism • Political thought based on pragmatism; viewed people as evil • Favored a state based on law and the strict enforcement of the law • Disdained Confucian values in favor of an authoritarian state ruled by force

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