Strong Rulers

Unite China

Strong Rulers Unite China

Learning Objectives:
Understand how Shi Huangdi unified China and
established a Legalist government.
Outline why the Han period is considered a Golden
Age of Chinese civilization.
Analyze how the Silk Road facilitated the spread of
ideas and trade in China.
Analyze why Buddhism spread through China.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Terms and People

Shi Huangdi First Emperor who used brutal

methods but created a united China

Wudi the most famous Han emperor, who

strengthened the government and economy

monopoly complete control of a product or

business by one person or group

expansionism increasing a countrys territory

civil servant an official in the government

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Terms and People

warlord a local military leader

acupuncture a medical treatment in which the

doctor inserts needles into the skin at specific
points to relieve pain or treat illness

Shi Huangdi Unifies China

From his base in western China, the powerful ruler
of the state of Qin rose to unify all of China. An
ancient Chinese poet and historian described how
the ruler crushed all his rivals: Cracking his long
whip, he drove the universe before him,
swallowing up the eastern and the western Zhou
and overthrowing the feudal lords.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Zheng ended feudalism and proclaimed

himself Shi Huangdi, First Emperor.
He followed a philosophy called Legalism, which
stated that the only way to impose order was to
pass strict laws and impose harsh penalties.

Shi Huangdi
unified his
empire by:

Standardizing weights
and measures
Producing Qin coins
Building roads

Shi Huangdi Unifies China

Shi Huangdi was the founder of the Qin dynasty.

His strong authoritarian government unified China.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

One of Shi
Huangdis
greatest
accomplishments
was to link
existing feudal
walls into the
Great Wall to
protect China
from invasion.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

The Great Wall has been extended over

the centuries. It remains Chinas most familiar landmark.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

With the death of Shi Huangdi in

210 B.C.E., the Qin dynasty ended.
Emperor Gao Zu rose to power and
the Han dynasty began.
The most famous
Han emperor,
Wudi,
strengthened
government and
the economy.

He improved
canals and roads
and imposed a
monopoly on
iron and salt.

Shi Huangdis Terra Cotta Army

Shi Huangdis Terra Cotta Army

Shi Huangdis Terra Cotta Soldiers & Cavalrymen

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

The Qin and Han dynasties were

very different.
Qin

Han

Employed cruel
Legalist policies to
maintain control

Eased Legalist polices

and lowered taxes

Collected heavy taxes

and used forced labor

Emperor Gao Zu
appointed Confucian
scholars as advisers

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Wudi pursued expansionism, fighting

battles to extend Chinas borders.
He linked
China to
the West
with the
creation
of the Silk
Road trade
route.

The Han Dynasty Creates a Strong China

The Silk Road stretched from China to the Mediterranean. New ideas, as well as goods, were
exchanged along the Silk Road.

Describe two possible travel routes for a shipment of silk traveling from Taxila to
Babylon.

The Han Golden Age

Han rulers left their stamp on all areas of Chinese
life. Han China made such tremendous advances
in so many fields that the Chinese later called
themselves the people of Han. Han China
lasted for over 400 years. Its rulers presided over
a golden age in government, technology, and the
arts.

The Han Golden Age

Zhang Heng developed the earliest known seismograph to detect and measure
earthquakes. Tremors move a pendulum that opens the jaw of the dragon. The
event is recorded when the ball drops from the dragons mouth into the mouth
of the toad below.

The Han Dynasty Creates a Strong China

As emperor, Liu Bang took the title Gao Zu (gow
dzoo) and set about restoring order and justice to
his empire. Although he continued earlier efforts to
unify China, he lowered taxes and eased the Qin
emperor's harsh Legalist policies. In a key move, he
appointed Confucian scholars as advisers. His
policies created strong foundations for the Han
dynasty, which is dated from 206 BCE. until 220 CE.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

The Han emperors made

Confucianism the official belief
system of the state.
They also held
that civil
servants
should get their
jobs by merit.

Under this system, a

man would start in a
clerical job. He could
then take tests to
advance to higher
levels in the civil
service.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

The Han dynasty eventually weakened

and could no longer control warlords.
Peasants paid heavy taxes and, burdened by
debt, abandoned their villages and joined groups
of bandits.
Warlords overthrew the Han emperor in A.D. 220,
and China broke up into several kingdoms.

Invaders moved in from the north and set up

their own states.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

The Han period was a golden age of

tremendous achievements in China.
Han astronomers measured
Science and movements of stars and improved
medicine
calendars. Doctors promoted
acupuncture.
Technology Artisans learned how to make
and
paper and build better ships.
engineering
Bronze casting and silk making
The arts
improved, and artists produced
fine jade carvings.

Buddhism Spreads to China

By C.E. 100, missionaries and merchants had
spread Mahayana Buddhism from India into
China. At first, the Chinese had trouble with the
new faith. For example, Chinese tradition valued
family loyalty, while Buddhism honored monks
and nuns who gave up the benefits of family life
for a life of solitary meditation. In addition, the
Chinese language had no word for an unfamiliar
concept like nirvana.

Buddhism Spreads to China

This giant statue of Buddha was carved directly into a

sheer cliff that leads to a Buddhist temple in China.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Shi Huangdi and the

Han rulers united
China, and its
civilization flourished.
China would break up
and be united many
times throughout the
centuries.
After centuries of
disunity, the Sui dynasty
appeared in 581 C.E..