23 February 2010

1. Please take out your notes and a pencil

2. Wait quietly

Ancient ChinaAncient China

2000 B.C.- 220 A.D.2000 B.C.- 220 A.D.

The Xia Period to the Han The Xia Period to the Han DynastyDynasty

Xia Legendary Period

2000 B.C. to 1700 B.C. We know about this period through stories “Superheroes” taught people how to:

1. Find food2. Make clothing3. Build shelter4. Control flooding 5. Grow crops

Shang Dynasty The First Dynasty in China 1760 B.C. – 1500 B.C. Huang River Valley Farming was the way of life Grew: grains, millet, rice Raised animals

Huang (Yellow) River

Shang (continued) Bronze developed Melting together copper and tin Oracle Bones used to predict the

future First written records in China

• Smelting Bronze

Oracle Bone

Wrote questionsHeated with fireCracks gave answers

Zhou Dynasties Zhou defeated the Shang in 1027

B.C. This period lasted more than 800

years 2 Dynasties:

1. Western Zhou Dynasty

2. Eastern Zhou Dynasty

Western Zhou Dynasty Capital city: Hao

Most people were farmers

Grew wheat, rice, beans, and fruit

Women harvested crops and made silk

Eastern Zhou Dynasty 770 B.C. – 221 B.C.

Capital city: Luoyang (in eastern China)

Referred to as the “Golden Age”

Eastern Zhou Advancements

New system of money

Flood control, irrigation, canal building

Built walls to protect villages from nomadic raiders

Begin to use IRON to make weapons and tools

Other Changes (Eastern Zhou)

King’s power weakened due to constant warfare

Traditions challenged, new ideas emerged

More people became scholars, teachers, and government officials

Nomadic raiders

Nomadic Raiders

Qin Shi Qin Shi HuangdiHuangdi

Qin Dynasty 221 B.C. – 206 B.C. Civil war took place at the end of

the Zhou Dynasty The “Qin” state won Qin Shi Huangdi became China’s

first emperor Divided into 36 provinces

Shi Huangdi built the Great Wall to protect against

northern invaders

Qin Dynasty Advancements Centralized the government The Great Wall was built Standardized systems:

1. Money2. Weights3. Measures

End of the Qin Dynasty

Peasants revolted against the rule of Shi Huangdi

Han Dynasty 206 B.C. – 220 A.D.

First Ruler: Han Gaozu

Han Gaozu 1st ruler of the Han Dynasty

Peasant leader in the revolt against Shi Huangdi

Ended the ban on books imposed by the Qin Dynasty

Wu Di Han Emperor 141 B.C. – 87 B.C. Made many changes:

1. Took land from nobles, divided it, and gave it to commoners

2. Took power away from people who

challenged him

Wu Di (changes)3. Taxed imports and exports4. Built new roads to increase trade5. Supported education and the arts6. Encouraged accurate historical accounts to be written7. Civil Service jobs given due to skill, not family position

Han Dynasty Inventions Middleman Porcelain Paper and Ink The Silk Road