Old China

Chinese Civilization

• Middle Kingdom– Referred to as center of the civilized world

– Limited contact with outsiders

• Emperor had no interest in opening relations with a kingdom he thought was inferior to China

Chinese Civilization-continued

• Contributions– Gunpowder

• Used in fireworks and cannons

– Method of printing• Block printing

– Seismograph• Used to measure earthquakes

Chinese Civilization-continued

• Contributions– Paper

• Used paper 1,000 years before Europeans

– Pottery• Luxury for wealthy Westerners

– Great Wall of China• Designed to keep invaders out• World’s longest man-made structure

Chinese Civilization-continued

• Acupuncture

– Method of inserting different-size needles into specific points of the body

• Needles used to lessen pain and cure diseases

Dynastic Rule

• Dynasty– A line of rulers from the same family

• Shang Dynasty– United Chinese villages around 1600 B.C. in

Huang He Valley

Dynastic Rule-continued

• Qin Dynasty– Laid foundations for system of government

that lasted more 2,000 years

– Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi held absolute power

• Created a bureaucracy to carry out his orders– Group of specialized government agencies

Dynastic Rule-continued

• Specialized agencies carried out large projects

• Qin ordered building of Great Wall of China– Longest man-made structure in world– Tourist attraction today

Dynastic Rule-continued

• Ming Dynasty– Built most of what remains today of the Great Wall of

China

• Terracotta Warriors– Army of baked clay figures buried with Qin dynasty

royalty

– Royal tomb carefully built to last which contains artifacts that show how royal lives were led in China

Mandate of Heaven

• Mandate of Heaven– Theory or idea Chinese used to explain the changes

in rulers

• Heaven, a force that controlled the universe, gave the emperor the mandate, or right to rule

• Emperor had to rule wisely to receive mandate– Disasters showed a dynasty had lost Heaven’s favor

• People could rebel to bring new rulers to power

Mandate of Heaven-continued

• Mandate of Heaven reflects Confucian idea that rulers must lead the people in a moral and upright way

• Confucian ideas guided all areas of government– Emperors used officials educated in Confucian

thought– Government set up an examination system for

government positions • Government changed little no matter who was the emperor

Questions

1. Confucian ideas guided all areas of government, so government policies and activities remained the same despite change in dynasties.

2. The empire was huge, its people were inventive, and the transportation system enabled China to become prosperous through trade.

Questions-continued

3. For its time, it was probably the largest fleet ever assembled and gone so far. It went as far as the African coast and had over 28,000 people.

4. Overseas expeditions meant contact with the ideas of other cultures, as well as trade and exploration. China believed it had everything its people needed. Therefore, it had no need of the outside world.