Classical China

Three Schools of Thought Notes

Essential Questions

• How did Shi Huangdi treat people who opposed him?

• Under the Chinese civil service system, who could become government officials?

• Summarize the differences in how Confucius, the Legalists, and Daoists viewed government.

• Explain Yin and Yang. • Explain Legalism.

Confucianism - Founder

• Confucius– Lived from 551 to 479

B.C.E. which was during the Zhou dynasty

– Lived in eastern China

Confucianism – Main Beliefs

• Social order, harmony, and good government could be restored if society was organized around five basic relationships:– Ruler and subject– Father and son– Husband and wife– Older and younger brother– Friend and friend

Confucianism – Main Beliefs

• Children should practice filial piety, respect for their parents and elders– a. Part of the general code still used in Chinese

society

Confucianism - Effects

• Creation of a bureaucracy, a trained civil service, in China– Education became important to career

advancement

• The Analects was a collection of Confucius’ teachings and sayings

• Spread beyond China, influenced civilizations all over East Asia

A Student knows that they are failing a class. How do they

handle the situation?

• Inform parents and apologize for not living up to the standards expected; promise to try harder

Daoism - Founder

• Laozi– Believed to have lived in

the 6th century B.C.E.

Daoism – Main Beliefs• Natural order is more important than the

social order• Human beings should live simply and in

harmony with nature• True harmony comes from balancing the

opposite forces of nature– Yang = masculinity-heaven-active-Yin = feminine-earth-passive

• Everyone must discover the Dao, “the way”, for themselves

Daoism - Effects• Daoists made

contributions to astronomy and medicine

• Influenced Chinese thought, writing, and art

• Encouraged rulers to rule less harshly

• Simple Life and inner peace

• Harmony with nature

A Student knows that they are failing a class. How do they

handle the situation?• Not worry about it and hope the problem

will go away. (A Daoist more probably would try to recognize why they are failing, and do something to change their behavior if it would make them happier)

Legalism - Founder

• Hanfeizi– Lived from 280 to 233

B.C.E. which was the end of the Zhou dynasty

Legalism – Main Beliefs

• Highly efficient and powerful government is the key to social order

• Governments should control thinkers and their ideas, and enforce strict laws with rewards for good behavior and harsh punishments for bad behavior

• Rulers should have absolute power and be backed by the military

Legalism - Effects

• The Qin dynasty seized control of China and admired Hanfeizi’s writings, they adopted strict Legalist ideas

• Many people were put to death for disloyalty and other crimes

A Student knows that they are failing a class. How do they

handle the situation?

• Inform parents, expect and accept punishment

What is Confucianism?

• CONFUCIANISM: For a peaceful society of virtuous people, rule by example. A ruler must have virtue himself, like a good father. Family relationships are very important in society. Do not do to others what you would not like done to yourself.

What is Legalism?

• LEGALISM: Rule by strict laws. People are not good by nature and they therefore require a great deal of discipline and regulation. All power should rest in the hands of the ruler.

What is Daoism

• DAOISM: Human nature is neither bad nor good. People should just live simple lives in harmony with nature. Politics is senseless

Scenario #1

• Friend: Your close friend is cheating on his/(her) girlfriend/(boyfriend), who is also one of your closest friends. What do you do?

Scenario #2

• Teacher: You catch a student cheating on an exam. What do you do?

Scenario #3

• Parent: Your child has been caught smoking weed. What is his/her punishment?

Scenario #4

• Chief of Police: Your city has recently had an increase in crime, specifically burglary and property damage. How do you go about decreasing the crime rate?

Scenario #5

• President: Your economy is suffering and people are getting angry with the job loss and the increase in living prices. How do you go about fixing the problem?

Classical China

Chinese Empires Notes

Qin dynasty - Leaders

• Qin Shihuangdi, “First Emperor of Qin”– Used Legalist ideas to control warring states

and unify China– Used military might, spies, bribery, and

alliances to conquer rival states– The Qin dynasty collapsed shortly after he died

• Li Su, the prime minister

Qin dynasty – Life in the empire

• Divided territory into 36 districts– Each had three officials who governed:

• One controlled the army• Another controlled the laws and agriculture• The third reported to the emperor

• Murdered hundreds of Confucian scholars and burned “useless” books

• Standardized writing, law, money, weights, and measure to make trade easier

Qin dynasty – Great Wall of China

• Built to protect the Qin dynasty from attacks by northern nomads

• Took 10 years to construct the 1,400 miles of wall

• Made of layers of earth pounded into wooden frames that held everything together

• 300,000 men built it, some soldiers and some peasants who were forced to work

Han dynasty - Leaders

• Liu Bang– A rebel who had gained control of the Han

kingdom and conquered the Qin army

• Empress Lü– Took over control when Liu died in 195 B.C.E.– She was one of his wives

Han dynasty – Government

• Established a centralized government, a central authority controls the running of a state

• Hundreds of commanderies, local officials of provinces, reported to central government

• Lowered taxes, softened harsh punishments, moved away from Legalism

• Civil service system, civilians obtain government jobs by taking examinations

Han dynasty - Accomplishments

• Paper was invented in 105 B.C.E., this made books cheaper and education spread

• More efficient plow, iron tools, the wheelbarrow, watermills to grind grain

• Government had monopolies on salt mining, iron forging, coin minting, alcohol brewing– Monopoly: complete control over the production

and distribution of certain goods

Han dynasty - Accomplishments

• Doctors discovered a type of wine that could be used as an anesthetic

• Invented the seismography, which detects earthquakes, and the magnetic compass

Han dynasty - Decline

• The gap between rich and poor increased due to land taxes

• A series of inexperienced emperors replaced one another from 32 B.C.E. to 9 C.E.

• In 220 C.E. the Han dynasty dissolved into three rival kingdoms