Chapter 3



Chapter 3

On line Study Guide

Chapter Outline

Land and People of China

Dawn of Chinese Civilization: Shang Dynasty

Political Organization

Social Structures

The Zhou Dynasty

Political Structures

Economy and Society

Hundred Schools of Ancient Philosophy

Confucianism

Legalism

Daoism

Popular Beliefs

Rise of the Chinese Empire: Qin and Han

Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.E.)

Beyond the Frontier: Nomadic Peoples and the Great Wall of China

Fall of the Qin

Glorious Han Dynasty (202 B.C.E. - 221 C.E.)

Confucianism and the State

Society and Economy in the Han Empire

Decline and Fall of the Han

Daily Life in Ancient China

Humble Estate: Women in Ancient China

World of Culture

Metalwork and Sculpture

Language and Literature

Music

Conclusion

Chapter review/summary

Like the ancient civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia, early Chinese cultural development sprang up along great river systems, the Yellow and Yangtze. Chinese culture grew in almost complete isolation until the Han dynasty and created a unique and vibrant civilization. The Chinese built a great empire that dominated East Asia, both culturally and politically. Confucianism became a state ideology and provided order in a fast growing population. Aided by a bureaucratic system based on education and merit, Chinese institutions and cultural values survived the incursions of nomadic peoples. Chinese civilization has varied little over the last 3000 years and retains much of its ancient roots.

Terms/Persons to Know

legendary founding rulers

neolithic settlements

Yellow River

Yangtze River

northern frontier

Xia dynasty

Shang dynasty

oracle bones

Xinjiang

Shang king

veneration of ancesters.

Banpo

clans

social classes

Zhou dynasty

Zhou king

Rites of Zhou

mandate of Heaven

well field system

social classes

water control projects

agricultural advances

silk

hundred schools of ancient philosophy

Heaven

yang and yin

Yi Jing

Confucius

Analects

dao

duty

human heartedness

Legalism

Daoism

Lao Tzu

Dao De Jing

wu wei

popular beliefs

"Period of the Warring States"

Qin dynasty

Qin Shi Huangdi

centralization

Xiongnu

Great Wall

Han dynasty

Liu Bang or Han Gaozu

State Confucianism

civil service examination

farming and trade policies

territorial expansion

Han Wudi

Wang Mang

Xin dynasty

Cao Cao

filial piety

the five relationships

Bao-jia system

daily life

Chang'an

women

Shang bronzes

tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi

Chinese characters

calligraphy

written and spoken Chinese

music

sheng

Glossary

Analects

divination

Mapwork

Map. 3.1. Shang China

Locate on this map the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, sites of the two earliest river valley civilizations in China.

What was the importance of the city Anyang to the Shang dynasty?

Which of the capital cities of the later Zhou dynasty appears on this map? Was this their eastern or western capital?

Map 3.2. China during the Period of the Warring States

Why were these principalities Qu, Wu, and Yue originally formed? Which dynasty had accomplished this division?

How did the rivalries between the Qu, Wu, and Yue states lead to the formation of the Qin dynasty?

Where was the state of Qin located?

Map The Qin Empire, 221-206 B.C.E.

What areas did the Qin control?

What area had been added to the empire under the Qin?

Map 3.3. The Han Empire

Why were fortifications originally built on the northern frontier of China? Why did India face a similar problem from the north?

Which of the Chines emperors is credited with building the Great Wall? Is this legend or fact? To what dynasty did he belong?

How far did Han emperors extend China's boundaries to the south, north, and west?

Map 3.4. Trade Routes of the Ancient World

Which of China's dynasties is especially known for its major expansion of trade? What restrictions did this same dynasty place on Chinese merchants?

With which countries did ancient China enjoy a beneficial trade relationship? What Chinese goods were especially prized by others?

From which foreign countries did China import wine? tortoiseshell? weapons? Which countries bought Chinese slaves and glassware?

How were goods transported along the Silk Road? What other routes were available? How far west did Chinese trade extend?

Datework

Chronology: Ancient China

Why is the Shang dynasty considered China's first organized state?

What factors led to the collapse of the Shang dynasty? The Zhou? The Qin? The Han? Are the factors different, or are there issues that continue to confront Chinese governments throughout antiquity?

What motivated Wang Mang to seize power from the Han court?

Chapter Timeline: First Settled Agriculture to Han dynasty

How much later than the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt does China's first organized state, the Shang dynasty, begin?

Do the Neolithic revolution and the Bronze Age also begin later in China than they did in Mesopotamia and Egypt? What about India?

Chronologically order these dynasties: Qin, Zhou, Shang, and Han. During which dynasty did Confucius live?

Approximately when does the invention of writing occur in China? The iron plow? To which two dynasties do these innovations belong?

Primary Sources

Han Primary Source:

A Treatise on the Yellow River and Its Canals: Sima Qian, Historical Records

Why might we expect the Yellow River to feature prominently in early accounts of Chinese accomplishments?

After the (possibly legendary) Yu, which other Chinese emperors are concerned with water control and land reclamation?

Why do these same concerns occupy ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Indian societies?

Which other (possibly legendary) emperors are credited with early technological advances?

Zhou Primary Sources:

Life in the Fields: The Book of Songs

Throughout Chinese history, the peasants or farm laborers underpin economy and society. What other classes exist? What are their relationships to each other?

What evidence does this document provide for the "well field system" practiced under the Zhou dynasty?

Is there any reference to the "Big Rat" here? Why not? Who most likely authored this anonymous song? Who would have been its intended audience?

Environmental Concerns in Ancient China: The Book of Mencius

In what ways is Mencius counseling his emperor to forego short-term gain for long-term prosperity? Did the Zhou emperors heed this advice?

Why is Mencius concerned that the emperor "not interfere" with agricultural workers or their fields during the growing season? What form might such interference have taken?

What evidence do you see here for the traditional value placed on filial piety? For the "five relationships"?

Confucian Primary Source:

The Way of the Great Learning

Why is an understanding of Confucius considered vital to any study of Chinese history? What relevance do his ideas have in today's China?

Is The Great Learning part of the Analects?

What is Confucius teaching about the dao here? How is this Chinese concept being translated into English? How else might this word be translated?

What, according to Confucius, was the highest good?

What were the differences between Confucius' philosophy the philosophies of Legalism and Daoism?

Daoist Primary Source:

The Daoist Answer to Confucianism: The Way of the Dao

Putting content aside for the moment, describe the stylistic difference between Confucian and Daoist writings. How does this difference in presentation reflect these philosophies' very different goals?

What is the legendary Lao Tzu teaching about the dao here?

Daoist philosphers and painters valued nature very highly. What evidence do you see for that emphasis here?

How do these excerpts reflect the universal principles yang and yin?

Late Zhou Primary Source:

The Art of War: Selections from Sun Tzu

What do the ideas of Sun Tzu have in common with Legalism?

Who is the intended audience of this work?

What is Sun Tzu teaching about the dao here? How is his conception of the dao different from that of Confucius or Lao Tzu?

What quality does Sun Tzu most prize in a general, knowledge or boldness? Why?

Qin Primary Source:

Memorandum on the Burning of Books: Sima Qian, Historical Records

What does Li Su fear about the publication of independent opinions by conflicting philosophical schools?

Whos is excepted from the book-burning decree Li Su proposes? Why?

What books are to be spared? What books are especially censured? Why? (For the Book of Odes, see the Zhou primary source below.)

What punishments does the author suggest Qin Shi Huangdi inflict on those who disobey? How would not only the decree, but these punishments, have benefited the emperor?

Zhou Primary Source:

Love Spurned in Ancient China: The Book of Songs: The Odes

What opportunities outside of marriage would have existed for the female singer of this song?

To what class would the married pair have belonged?

What is revealed about ancient Chinese popular religion in the second stanza?

In light of "the five relationships," in the penultimate stanza, why does the female singer indicate that she will return home, but will not tell her brothers of her husband's misbehavior?

Artwork

Shang Dynasty Art:

Shell and Bone Writing

Does the writing on oracle shells and bones resemble the characters in the Chinese alphabet?

The messages on these oracles were usually in the form of a question; the crack indicated the gods' answers. What might the questions of an early emperor have been? Of a common person?

What evidence do these oracle materials provide about early Chinese belief in anthropomorphic gods?

Zhou Dyansty

Music in the Confucian Era

Why might the bells have been placed in a tomb?

Why are bronze bells so rare in ancient times?

What use did bells serve in Chinese society?

Qin Dynasty:

Qin Shi Huangdi

For what achievments is Qin Shi Huangdi considered one of the most influential emperors of

China?

Why is he also considered one of its most ruthless emperors?

Which of the "hundred schools" of philosophy influenced him most?

The Great Wall

What did the Chinese call the nomads who lived to the north? At what periods in Chinese history did they represent the greatest threat?

Why is Qin Shi Huangdi remembered as the builder of the Great Wall? In what sense is this true?

For what other work of monumental architecture is the First Emperor of Qin most remembered?

Han Dynasty

A Prized Possession

What similarities are there between the tombs of ancient Chinese and ancient Egyptian rulers?

Why might the nomadic peoples of the Central Asian steppes have developed chariots prior to the Chinese?

Agricultural photograph:

Flooded Rice Fields

How do the requirements of intensive rice farming influence the traditional Chinese family unit?

How does rice farming help to explain the value placed on cooperation and loyalty?

Han Art:

Han Pottery House

What picture of Chinese ancestor worship and the afterlife emerges when this artwork is considered together with the Shang bronzes, the Han jade suit, and the tomb and tomb soldier of Qin Shi Huangdi?

Pottery houses are found in the tombs of both sexes. Given the dual roles of men and women in Chinese society, what grave goods would you expect to find in the tombs of males? Of females?

Shang Wine Vessel

Why were bronze vessels used by royalty? What is their significance?

What kinds of motifs in Egypt or India are comparable to the dragon in China?

Qin Art:

Qin Shi Huangdi's Tomb

How far outside the burial mound of the First Emperor of Qin have archaeologists found terra-

cotta soldiers?

What other objects were buried in the underground mausoleum complex? Why?

How was Qin Shi Huangdi's purpose similar to that of an Old Kingdom Pharaoh building his pyramid? How was it different?

Tomb Soldier (Qin Shi Huangdi's Tomb)

Do the individualized features on the terra-cotta soldiers' faces support of refute the theory that these figures are intended to replace actual human sacrifices?

At what stage of progress are the archaeological excavations of this complex today?

Quiz

Multiple Choice:

1. Which of the following is NOT one of the legendary rulers who helped to found ancient China?

a. Huang Di

b. Shen Nong

c. Confucius

d. Fu Xi

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 61.

b. incorrect, p. 61.

c. correct, p. 61.

d. incorrect, p. 61.

2. From which direction did the Chinese face their greatest threat?

a. south

b. from the sea

c. the west

d. the north

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 62.

b. incorrect, p. 62.

c. incorrect, p.62.

d. correct, p.62.

3. Where did Chinese civilization begin?

a. along the Yangzte river

b. along the Yellow river

c. along the southern coast

d. all of the above

Ans. a. correct but so are b and c, p. 61

b. correct but so are a and c, p. 61

c. correct but so are a and b, p. 61

d. correct, p. 61

4. What was the first Chinese dynasty?

a. Xia

b. Shang

c. Angshang

d. Qin

Ans. a. correct, p. 63

b. incorrect, p. 63

c. incorrect, p. 61

d. incorrect, p. 73

5. What invention, which may have been introduced from the west, helped the Shang to rise to power in China?

a. bronze

b. spoked wheel and chariot

c. agriculture

d. gunpowder

Ans. a. incorrect, pp. 63-64

b. correct, pp. 63-64

c. incorrect, pp. 63-64

d. incorrect, pp. 63-64

6. Approximately how many common family names are used in China today?

a. 1 million

b. 50,000

c. 400

d. 1,000

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 64

b. incorrect, p. 64

c. correct, p. 64

d. incorrect, p. 64

7. What is the longest reigning dynasty in Chinese history?

a. Shang

b. Zhou

c. Qin

d. Han

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 65

b. correct, p. 65

c. incorrect, p. 72

d. incorrect, p. 72

8. According to the Rites of Zhou, kings ruled

a. with divine right given by god.

b. because they were talented and virtuous.

c. because they had a mandate of Heaven.

d. both b and c.

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 66

b. correct but so is c, p. 66

c. correct but so is b, p. 66

d. correct, p. 66

9. Which of the following was NOT a technological innovation of the Zhou period?

a. Min River water control project

b. introduction of iron tools

c. introduction of millet

d. use of natural fertilizer

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 67

b. incorrect, p. 67

c. correct, p. 67

d. incorrect, p. 67

10. Ancient Chinese philosophy divided the cosmos into two opposing forces known as

a. tien and mien.

b. shang and di.

c. yao and dao.

d. yang and yin.

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 68

b. incorrect, p. 68

c. incorrect, p. 68

d. correct, p. 68

11. Confucius’ sayings are collected in the

a. Analects.

b. I Ching.

c. The Great Learning.

d. Dao.

Ans. a. correct, p. 69

b. incorrect, p. 68

c. incorrect, p. 69

d. incorrect, p. 69

12. Which of the following is part of Confucius’ understanding of the Dao?

a. All humans should have compassion for others.

b. Individual desires come before the family and community.

c. Life is a process of interaction between good and evil.

d. There is no order to the universe.

Ans. a. correct, p. 69

b. incorrect, p. 69

c. incorrect, p. 68

d. incorrect, p. 69

13. Which of the One Hundred schools of Chinese thought believed that only a strong ruler could keep order in society since man’s basic nature was corrupt?

a. Daoism

b. Confucianism

c. Mencius

d. Legalism

Ans. a. incorrect, pp. 70-71

b. incorrect, pp. 69-70

c. incorrect, p. 70

d. correct, p. 70

14. In popular Chinese beliefs, when a human being died

a. he went directly to heaven.

b. he lived in the atmosphere before going to hell.

c. he could haunt relatives who did not honor him with rituals.

d. he became part of the universe.

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 71

b. incorrect, p. 71

c. correct, p. 71

d. incorrect, p. 71

15. Which dynasty created the first unified government in China?

a. Han

b. Zhou

c. Qin

d. Shang

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 76

b. incorrect, p. 73

c. correct, p. 73

d. incorrect, p. 73

16. All of the following were reforms in the Qin dynasty EXCEPT,

a. standardized weights and measures

b. harsh penal code

c. direct taxation of peasants by the state

d. private commerce and manufacturing expanded.

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 74

b. incorrect, p. 74

c. incorrect, p. 74

d. correct, p. 75

17. Who were the Xiongnu?

a. nomadic, warlike peoples on China’s northwestern frontier

b. Chinese nobles

c. warlike peoples on China’s southern frontier

d. the mountain people of western China

Ans. a. correct, p. 75

b. incorrect, p. 75

c. incorrect, p. 75

d. incorrect, p. 75

18. Who founded the Han dynasty?

a. Qin Shi Huangdi

b. Xiongnu

c. Liu Bang

d. Pang An

Ans. a. incorrect, p. 73

b. incorrect, p. 75

c. correct, p. 76

d. incorrect, p. 76

19. Which of the following was NOT an idea that the Han borrowed from the Qin system of government?

a. state Confucianism

b. tripartite division of power

c. the system of provinces and districts

d. merit system

Ans. a. correct, p. 77

b. incorrect, p. 77

c. incorrect, p. 77

d. incorrect, p.77

20. What is filial piety?

a. concept whereby family members subordinate themselves to the male head of the household

b. concept of worshipping dead ancestors

c. the method for making steel

d. concept of legalistic government rule

Ans. a. correct, p. 78

b. incorrect, p. 75

c. incorrect, p. 77

d. incorrect, p. 78

True/False:

1. Twenty-three percent of China is arable land.

a. true

b. false*

a. incorrect, only 12% is arable, p. 62

b. correct, p. 62

2. The king in China serves as the intermediary between heaven and earth.

a. true*

b. false

a. correct, p. 64

b. incorrect, the king receives the mandate of heaven to rule on earth, p. 64

3. Zhou era farmers worked only the lord’s land.

a. true

b. false*

a. incorrect, Zhou farmers also worked private plots of land, pp. 66-67

b. correct, pp. 66-67

4. Confucius believed humans behaved in accordance with their individual dao.

a. true*

b. false

a. correct, p. 69

b. incorrect, each individual has their own dao or “way” to follow in life, p. 69

5. By the Han era, rice was the staple crop throughout China.

a. true

b. false*

a. incorrect, millet was the staple crop in the north, p. 81

b. correct, p. 81

Short Answer/Essay

1. Explain the “mandate of heaven.”

Ans. p. 66

• Idea central in Zhou dynasty

• Heaven was impersonal law of nature instead of a deity

• Heaven maintained order in universe throught the Zhou king

• Not divine right rule

• King ruled because of talent and virtue

• Had to rule with compassion and efficiency

• Need to keep gods happy to protect people

• If king failed, then he lost mandate and could be overthrown

• Cardinal principle of Chinese rule

2. Describe Confucianism.

Ans. pp. 68-70

• Confucius provided a politically, ethical philosophy

• Believed in a rational order of the universe and should focus on here and now

• Humans should act in harmony with universe and then would profit

• Assumed all persons had their own dao (or way) to follow

• Individuals should subordinate own aspirations to those of family and community

• King should set example

• Believed in “human-heartedness” or compassion

• Also believed in merit system

• Became state philosophy

3. Compare Confucianism and Legalism.

Ans. pp. 68-70

• Confucius provided a politically, ethical philosophy

o Believed in a rational order of the universe and should focus on here and now

o Humans should act in harmony with universe and then would profit

o Assumed all persons had their own dao (or way) to follow

o Individuals should subordinate own aspirations to those of family and community

o King should set example

o Believed in “human-heartedness” or compassion

o Also believed in merit system

o Became state philosophy

• Legalism argued humans evil by nature and corrupt

o Believed in the need for strong, controlling government to keep order

o Wanted government by superior men and impersonal laws

o Felt social order only comes from action of state

o Believed in harsh punishments and strong leader

4. Compare the Qin and Han dynasties.

Ans. pp. 72-79

• Qin (221-206 BCE)

o Established by strong man Qin Shi Huangdi

o Tried to institute Legalistic government

o Book burnings and littledissent

o Highly centralized government with 3 main ministries to control

o Harsh penal code

o Much standardization

o Divided landed estates

o Required head of clans to live in capital city

o Government monopolies established

o Expanded territory

o Created much opposition to his rule

• Han (202BCE-221 CE)

o Advanced Chinese civilization

o Founded by a commoner

o Abandoned harsh rule

o Kept centralization begun under Qin

o Confucianism became state ideology

o Kept much of government infrastructure

o Land returned gradually to powerful nobles

o Mostly great prosperity

5. Describe importance of filial piety.

Ans. pp. 80-81

• Family of great importance in China particularly as labor intensive agriculture

• Members of family subordinate themselves to the male leader of the household

• Very hierarchical system

• 5 relationships were key: son to father, wife to husband, younger brother to older brother, and all to king, friend to friend

• needed proper behavior to keep order in community and for society to function efficiently

Internet Exploration

To learn about the pronunciation of the Chinese language and how it is written go to



For an introductory essay to Confucianism go to



To learn about traditional Chinese music see



To see examples of Chinese calligraphy and its various styles go to



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