Chinese Dynasties

APWH 2015

Dynasties

Xia- 22nd-18th Centuries BCE (neolithic)

Not recognized as dynasty by historians due to no central

authority & outside influence.

Shang 18th-1122 BCE

Zhou

Western 1122-771 BCE

Eastern 721-221 BCE

Shang

Used ancestral worship to legitimize their rule

Dynasty claimed that they can communicate with God b/c their
ancestors are more divine

Demonstrated this practice through use of Oracle Bones

Zhou

Predicted/describe end of Shang Dynasty

Said last Shang ruler was unfocused, corrupt, lived in excess

& immoral which will lead to its demise

Zhou said the Heavens disapproved of Shang Dynasty &

Zhou should have power b/c Heavens have designated Zhou
with the power Mandate of Heaven

In reality, Zhou had more powerful army which massacred the

Shang Dynasty.

Zhou are first to claim Mandate of Heaven

Mandate would end in 1911 when replaced with Peoples

Mandate

Evidence used to convince people that Dynasties have the

Mandate:

Things go okay & improve

Stating I have the power, you dont if you had the power,
you would be ruler.

Middle Imperial Period

Tang Dynasty (608-907 CE)

Due to Chinas Openness, it prospered (rulers were only part Chinese)

Women rode horsed, dancing girls from Persia (pre-Islamic)

Diversification of food due to Silk Roads

Banking System & paper money

Proliferation of poetry

Today, Chinese very proud of this period.

Late Imperial Period

(Modern China)

Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126 CE)

Capital is in N. China off Grand Canal

Development of Tea culture, rice patties

Create steel industry in capital & is steel giant until Britain assumes
position

Appointment of people to gov. positions based on talent and civil service

examination

Song Dynasty is invaded by nomads which will push the Dynasty South

(nomads led by Jurchen estab. Jin Dynasty in 1127 in North)

Jurchen Dynasty

Brings Buddhism to China which is embrace b/c Jurchen is not

Chinese

Salvation is ones own fate

No God

Jurchen worships ancestors

South Song Dynasty (1127-1279 CE)

Yue Fei - considered hero for wanting to defend China against

Jurchen

Genghis Khan (1167-1227) & Mongols

never reached nor conquered China

Khubulai Khan (1214-1294)

grandson of Genghis Khan does conquer China

Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)

Rule by Khubulai Khan who was an active ruler

Peking (Beijing) becomes capital

Marco Polo

Did he really go to China? Left out signf. chunks of Chinese culture

No record of Marco Polo in Mongol or Chinese documents

Polos descriptions do not match up pertaining to battles and being

a magistrate of a city.

During Mongol period, Chinese drama flourishes &

Chinese novels

Mongols discriminated against Southern Chinese

Religious tolerance of all faiths.

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Defeat Mongols by Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398)

Restore examination system

banned word pig so people could not criticize Zhu

impose censorship

Editied Mencius philosophy b/c Zhu did not want his people to
question whether or not he is fulfilling his moral duties

population was greater than 100 million

Great Wall was rebuilt by Young Emperor (1360-1424)

Constructs the Imperial Palace Forbidden City- 15th

century

ordinary Chinese could not enter

builds the Temple of Heaven, where the Emperor

would preform rituals to keep the Heaven, Earth and
Man Alive.

Zheng He (1371-1433)

Chinese Muslim bureaucrat & ethnicity

He built a navy, took them out to sea traveling SE Asia

Sometimes had up 400 ships in his armada

Beginning 15th century, Chinese had superior ships & technology

compared to Europeans.

Voyages to collect animals, not to colonize.

Emperor abandons navy & takes apart ships due to idea that this is a waste
of money.

Jesuits Arrive (1552-1610)

Christianity takes hold in Japan, have some success in China

Jesuit, Meccu Ricci has success in China b/c Chinese stop going to sea to
explore

Riccis map of the World to spread ideas

Jesuits in China told Chinese it was okay to worship ancestors but they
needed to worship son of God

Got Jesuits in trouble by Pope for allowing worship of ancestors.

Fall of Ming Dynasty (1644)

Emperor refused to meet with minsters, abandoned his duties

Environmental factors such as drought.

Gov. continued to demand tax payments, even though agriculture

failed

Led to revolt by a postal worker in South

Manchu people threaten from North-East

Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911)

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

The Manchus- semi-nomadic peoples that adopted Chinese

customs prior to conquering China

Shunzhi Emperors Edict- Chinese men had to shave their hair &
have long braid which was forced upon them

Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722)

Second emperor at 8 years old

Expands Chinas power & territory

Qing remained in Power due to accommodations (merchants &

elite) & compromise:
1.Ethnic groups

tolerant of all

created system of mobility for all Chinese

2.Cultural

patronize Confucian & Buddhist pursuits

intellectual support of literary works

3.Political

Dual rule- One Manchurian & one non-Manchurian

4.Economic
Do not challenge current order
Do not seize land except for one area of rebellion
Do not mess with tax system
Landowning elite are not disturbed
No unrest
Cost of Accommodation
Lost the Manchu distinctiveness (became more Chinese)
Chinas gov. lost ability to mobilize late 19th century-early 20th
century

Qing Expansion

By 1741, largest empire in the world with 142 million people

seize control of Mongolia, Muslim regions, Taiwan in West, Tibet &

push Russians north.

Manchus create multi-ethnic & multi-national empire

Economic

Handicraft Production:

Peasants turned to artisan production due to crop failures

focus on textile production

spinning, weaving by hand

wooden looms used until 1960s

Peasants hired themselves out as laborers, raised silk worms

China is growing but not developing enough to sustain growth = standard

of living remains poor

Disorder & External Threats

Qing regulated trade

foreigners had to pay a high fee to trade in China

British were determined to gain more trading ports due to trade

imbalance

To adjust trade imbalance, Britain began selling Opium (which

was already being used in China for medicinal uses)

Due to high demand, the Qing Dynasty was unable to prohibit

the invasion of Opium

It wasnt just the British who were selling Opium in China, U.S.A. was
also selling without the knowledge of the Chinese.

The British gov. give royal charters or monopolies in China which led
to the rise of opium dens

Chinese Response to Opium

Propaganda

Register opium addicts & put them into groups

Sanitariums

Arrest Chinese dealers & seize their property

Confront foreign smugglers

Opium Wars

Opium War 1839-1842

Ends with Treaty of Nanjing which does not mention Opium

Conditions in the Treaty mean the British are treated on their

own terms due to extraterritoriality

China has to pay indemnities

War ends with establishment of The Peoples Republic & Rise of

Mao Zedong

Economic Shifts

Not defending borders against opium

Lack of tax revenues led to decreased security

French gain access to Chinese Ports and send missionaries

1845, U.S. signs a treaty with China containing most favored nation
status

Meaning, we get same access as all other nations.

Extraterritoriality

Westerners should not be subjected to Chinese laws

Each Westerners extraterritoriality is their own land.

Just like foreign embassy and diplomatic status

Extraterritoriality is abolished with new government

Footbinding

Was not practiced by Manchus, Mongolians, middle class and poor

Practice by no more than 50% of the population

Internal/External Threats
1.Opium
2.White Lotus Rebellion 1795-1803
3.Nian Rebellion 1851-1868 (due to floods)
4.CiXi- Empress Dowager 1853-1908

A concubine to Emperor until she has his son

Dowager ran China behind scenes

5.Muslim Revolts

unrest tied to taxation & levies over silver mines.

Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)

Led by Hong Xiuquan, a Christian convert

he believed he was Jesuss younger brother and was able to convince others of it.

Planned to create a heavenly kingdom

Redistribution of land, sexual equality but segregation of sexes,

communalism

50 million killed and displaced.

Rebellion ends when rich Chinese send their own men to defeat the dissenters b/
c the Chinese gov. could not do it.

Chinese Responses
1.Self-Strengthening

better technology to defend China against foreigners

2.Reform

Hundred days Reform 1898

Influenced by success of Japans modernization

3.Rebellion/Revolution

against current system in China

Boxer Rebellion 1900

Xinhai Revolution 1911

End of Qing Dynasty