Embedded Files
Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi
Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi
Main Idea: Qin Shi Huangdi used harsh methods to unify and defend China.
The problems in China from about 400 B.C.E to 200 B.C.E severely affected the progression of the people. During the Warring States Period, the rulers of powerful local states fought against one another and ignored the Zhou kings' mandates. One of these states heavily involved in these wars was the Qin. Its ruler, Zhao Zheng, took over neighboring states one by one, consolidating his power. Through war, Zhao reunified China under one ruler. In 221 B.C.E, the Qin ruler declared himself Qin Shi Huangdi (CHIHN SHEE•Hwahng • dee), which means "the First Qin Emperor." The Qin Emperor made changes in China's government that would last for 2,000 years.
A Powerful ruler, Qin based his rule on the ideas of Legalism. He had everyone who opposed him punished or killed. Books opposing his views were publicly burned. The Emporer made the central government stronger than ever before. He appointed government officials, called censors, to make sure government officials did their jobs.
Second in power to the central government were provinces and counties. Under Zhou kings, officials who ran these areas passed on their posts to sons or relatives. Under Qin, only he could fill these posts.
Legacy of Qin Shi Huang
Legacy of Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang unified China. He created one currency, or type of money, to be used throughout the empire. He also ordered the construction of roads and a massive canal. The canal connected the Chang Jiang in central China to what is today the city of Guangzhou (GWAHNG• JOH) in southern China. He used the canal to ship supplies to his troops in far-off territories.
Qin was the first man to control all of China. He died of natural causes, but he called himself First Emperor of China during his brief rule. Moreover, the name "China" stuck.
Qin was a legalist. A legalist believes that people are evil. That is why it is necessary to control every minute of their life—otherwise, they will hurt others.
Developed a bureaucratic system: The Emperor desired to control every minute of his people's lives. To maintain order, he divided his empire into 36 provinces, each with two government officials in charge. Under his system, the two officials were tasked with keeping an eye on each other. The provinces were further broken into smaller districts, each with two people in charge, and so it went. Each unit getting smaller and smaller, and each unit reporting to the one above it. People at all levels were paid very well.
Development of a spy network: It was not enough to have two people in charge of each little piece so that they could keep an eye on each other. Qin also developed a spy system so that all people kept an eye on each other. Spies were rewarded very well.
Qin had great power. His system of organization gave him complete control. He used that control to make the vast changes he felt China desperately needed to protect itself.
Life Under Qin Rule:
Life Under Qin Rule:
The Qin Dynasty only lasted for 15 years. Yet it is one of the most famous dynasties in ancient Chinese history. Emperor Qin ran his dynasty with absolute control. Punishment for those who disagreed with him was swift and harsh. You could be put to death simply by suggesting another way to do things. There was only Qin's way.
The Great Wall: The vast Gobi bordered the Great Wall Northern China. Nomads, people who move from place to place with herds of animals, lived in the Gobi. The Chinese knew them as the Xiongnu (SYEHN•NOO). The Xiongnu were masters at fighting on horseback. They often attacked Chinese farms and villages. Several Chinese rulers in the north built walls to keep out the Xiongnu. Qin set people to work building the Great Wall. He believed the country needed better protection. Just as cities had a wall built around them, he wanted a wall built around China. Qin Shi Huang forced farmers to leave their fields and work on connecting and strengthening the walls. The result was the Great Wall of China, built with stone, sand, and piled rubble. However, Qin did not build the wall that we know today. It was built 1,500 years later.
He significantly weakened the nobles: Qin took land away from the nobles causing them to lose most of their control and wealth. He did not want the nobles to band together to remove the Qin Dynasty from power. Anyone who fought this change was either buried alive or put to work building the Great Wall.
He significantly weakened the teachers and scholars: Censorship was introduced. Qin burned what he called useless books. If a book was not about agriculture, medicine, or prophecy, it was burned. The Scholars who refused to allow their books to be burned were either burned alive or sent to work on the wall. Qin did not want his people wasting time. He wanted nearly all the people to grow food.
He gave most peasants one of two jobs: Either a peasant was assigned to grow food or harvest silk. If they tried to do anything else besides their assigned job, they were put to death or sent to work on the wall. If people were slow or lazy, they were put to death or sent to work on the wall.
He built public works projects: Qin put some people to work building bridges, roads, canals, and flood control systems. The people he assigned to do this work either did the work they were assigned to do quickly and well or were killed or sent to work on the wall.
He created a law code: His law code applied to everyone. He created a vast law enforcement group to enforce those laws.
He created a system of standardization: Qin introduced one system of weights and measures, one system of money, the same written language, the same laws - all systems of standardization to be used all over China. No one argued with him.
Qin did not believe that he was cruel. His protection, standardization, and job assignment systems probably saved millions of lives from floods, famine, and war. Qin thought of himself as an outstanding leader. He used to say, "A thousand may die so that millions may live."
Qin had planned that his son would take over one day. After Qin died of natural causes, his son tried to rule the county. A peasant led a revolt against Qin's government officials. People all over the country joined in the revolt. The revolt was successful. That peasant became the new emperor. He called his dynasty the Han Dynasty.
Why Did People Rebel?
Why Did People Rebel?
Many Chinese viewed Qin Shi Huangdi as a cruel leader. Aristocrats were angry because he reduced their power. Scholars hated him for burning their writings. Farmers hated him for forcing them to build roads and the Great Wall. Four years after the emperor died in 210 B.C.E., the people overthrew his dynasty. Civil war followed, and a new dynasty soon arose.
The Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty
Main Idea: Developments during the Han dynasty improved life for all Chinese people.
The Han Dynasty was one of the great dynasties of Ancient China. Much of Chinese culture was established during the Han dynasty and it is sometimes called the Golden Age of Ancient China. It was an era of peace and prosperity and allowed China to expand to a major world power.
The Rise of the Han Dynasty
The Rise of the Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty began with a peasant revolt against the Qin Emperor. It was led by Liu Bang, son of a peasant family. Once the Qin Emperor was killed, there was a war for four years between Liu Bang and his rival Xiang Yu. Liu Bang won the war and became emperor. He declared himself Han Gaozu—"Exalted Emperor of Han." Although Han Gaozu threw out the Qin dynasty's harsh policies, he continued to use censors and divided the empire into provinces and counties.
Civil Service
Civil Service
One of the first things that Emperor Gaozu did was to establish The Civil Service. He gathered several educated men about him to help him run the empire. Later, Han emperors would establish examinations and schools to ensure that only the most intelligent men would run the government. This method of government would run for over 2,000 years.
What Was the Civil Service?
What Was the Civil Service?
The Han dynasty reached its peak under the leadership of Han Wudi (HAHN WOO• DEE), which means "Martial Emperor of Han." He ruled from 141 B.C.E. to 87 B.C.E. Because Wudi wanted talented people to fill government posts, job seekers had to take long, complex tests to qualify for the bureaucracy. Those with the highest scores got the jobs.
In time, Wudi's tests became the civil service examinations. This system for choosing Chinese officials was used for 2,000 years. The system was supposed to allow anyone with the right skills to get a government job. However, it heavily favored the rich as only wealthy families could afford to educate their sons for the difficult exams.
Students preparing for these tests learned law and history. More importantly, they studied the teachings of Confucius, which had become the official teachings throughout the empire. Students began to memorize the works of Confucius at age seven. After many years of schooling, the students took their civil service examinations. Only one in five passed. Those who failed taught school, took jobs as assistants to officials, or were supported by their families.
Major Advancements
Major Advancements
The period of the Han Dynasty was a time of invention and science. One of the most important inventions was paper. Paper allowed the government to keep records and pass on instructions throughout the empire easily.
Other vital inventions include iron casting, crop rotation, acupuncture, and advancements in medicine, mathematics, building, agriculture, engineering, and astronomy.
The Chinese Empire Grows
The Chinese Empire Grows
A large bureaucracy was needed to rule the rapidly growing empire. The population had grown from about 20 million under Han Gaozu to more than 60 million under Han Wudi. This happened in part because Chinese agriculture continued to thrive.
Over time, however, problems began to develop. When farmers died, their land was divided among their sons. When their sons died, their land was again divided among their sons. Over several generations, the amount of land a family had to farm became smaller and smaller. By the middle of the Han dynasty, the average farmer owned only about one acre of land.
With so little land, farm families could not raise enough to live. As a result, many sold their land to aristocrats and became tenant farmers. Tenant farmers work on land owned by someone else and pay their rent with crops. Eventually, aristocrats owned thousands of acres and became very wealthy, but the peasants remained trapped in poverty.
China's empire grew in size as well as in population. Han armies added lands to the south and pushed Chinese borders westward. The Han dynasty also made the country more secure. After Wudi's armies drove back the Xiongnu—the nomads to the north—China remained at peace for almost 150 years.
During this period of peace, new forms of Chinese literature and art appeared. In literature, the Chinese emphasized the recording of history. Scholars and historians wrote new histories of current events and made copies of old literature.
During the Han dynasty, the focus of art also changed. In earlier periods, artists primarily created religious works for the kings and nobles. Under the Han rulers, many beautiful works of art were created for wealthy families. For example, some wall carvings in such families' tombs feature scenes of everyday life and historical events. They also include highly decorated products made of the best quality silk.
Although the idea of filial piety had existed in the Zhou dynasty, it became essential during the Han dynasty as the ideas of Confucius spread and became popular. The stability of the government also helped to strengthen family ties. Although the new scholar class had significant influence over the government, Chinese society's social classes remained the same. Daily life was very similar to what it had been before.
An Era of Inventions
An Era of Inventions
New inventions during the Han dynasty helped Chinese workers produce more goods and manufacture more products than ever. Millers used newly invented waterwheels to grind more grain, and miners used new iron drill bits to mine more salt. Ironworkers invented steel. Paper, another Han invention, was used by officials to keep government records.
Chinese medicine also improved under the Han. Doctors discovered that certain foods prevented disease. They used herbs to cure illnesses and eased the pain by sticking thin needles into patients' skin. This treatment is known as acupuncture (A • kyuh • PUHNGK • chuhr).
The Chinese also invented the rudder and a new way to move the sails of ships. These changes allowed ships to sail into the wind for the first time. Chinese merchant ships could now travel to the islands of Southeast Asia and into the Indian Ocean. As a result, China established trade connections with people who lived as far away as India and the Mediterranean Sea.
Page updated
Report abuse