Cagalpin, Analen Lucero, Jeselle Dynasty Shang Dynasty (1766 BC - 1122 BC) BSN 3-2 Contributions y Preceded by the

only vaguely known Xia Dynasty and the legendary 3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors. y A relatively small state centered on the Yellow River valley, this was a bronze age culture mostly known today for the workmanship of its artifacts and its position in the development of Chinese culture. y And also oracle bones. Lots of oracle bones. y Perhaps better remembered for events and people towards the end of the period and their influence on later Chinese culture than for anything the dynasty actually did. Generally characterised as feudal since the Zhou emperors were nominally rulers of a pretty large territory, but only directly ruled a relatively small royal domain The Qin Dynasty was the dynasty that redefined China. The emperor of this era wanted to conquer the warring states that the Chou dynasty had in essence created. This emperor succeeded and China was one nation once more. Upon conquering all the warring states, the emperor pronounced himself as the first emperor of China or, Shih Huang Ti. The unified China was larger than it ever was. This was the first time outside forces acknowledged the existance of another race of people, and aptly named the nation China after the then current dynasty, the Qin. The first emperor not only unified China, but went about standardizing writing, weights, and measures throughout his kingdom. This was used to promote internal trade among the newly aquired states. The states each had their own standards of measuring and weighing, and the Qin emperor wanted his kingdom to be as one to strengthen it. This standardization was good for the weights and measurements but was not good for philisophical ideas. During this time, many schools of thought were outlawed; only legalism was given official sanction. In 213 BCE, all the books of the opposing schools of thought were burned except for the copies held in the Qin imperial library. The only way for emperor to keep

Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC)

Qin (221 BCE-206 BCE)

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his nation together was to have all his subjects think the same way. Any deviation would throw China back to the hundreds of years of warring. The Qin empire was vast. The first emperor pushed China's borders South to current day Vietnam, and current day Korea. But the central kingdom was still in the Yellow River Valley. Regardless, of all the accomplishments of the Qin, the best known is the Great Wall of China. The construction of the Great Wall of China did not come without a price. It came with massive financial burden as well as human life. This led to resentment of the Qin emperor by his people. Not only that, the intellectuals were not happy with the emperor either; the books they coveted were burned at his hands. By this time, the emperor had grown old and he did not want to face death. He wanted to be immortal. He set all the court scientists and doctors to work to make some sort of medicine that would make him a god. The doctors came up with a deadly solution that they truely thought would work. The medicines the doctors prescribed were pills that contained traces of mercury which eventually lead to the emperors death. When the emperor died, China went into a rage, and a rebellion against the Qin dynasty ensued, leading to the next dynasty, the Han.

Early Han (206 BCE 9 AD)

y y y y y y y y y y y y y

Silk Road Papermaking Iron technology (cast iron) plowshares;Moldboard plow (kuan) Glazed pottery Wheelbarrow Seismograph (Chang Heng) Compass Ship's rudder Stirrups Drawloom weaving Embroidery for decorating garments Hot Air Balloon Chinese Examination System During the revolt, a courtier, Wang Ming, deposed and infant emperor and established the short Xin dynasty. Slavery was abolished in this time and the peasants' lives were improved. State monopolies on salt, iron, and coinage were strengthened and new monopolies were created.

Xin (9 AD 23 AD)

Late Han (25 AD 220 AD)

Wang Ming tried to do too much and this lead to his downfall. He tried to pass legislation on land but it was repealed. A large rebellion, led by a group known as the Red Eyebrows, succeeded in killing Wang Ming and restoring the Han dynasty. A horse of the Late Han Dynasty (2nd century AD).Nevertheless the Eastern Han emperors failed to put forward any groundbreaking land reforms after the failure of its precedent dynasty. Rife bureaucratic corruption and bribery contributed into lingering adverse consequences of land privatizations throughout the dynasty. Prestige of a newly founded dynasty during the reigns of the first three emperors was barely able to hinder the corruption; however Confucian scholar gentry turned against eunuchs for their corrupted authorities, while consort clans and eunuchs struggled for power in subsequent reigns. None of these three parties was able to improve the harsh livelihood of peasants under the landholding families. Land privatizations and accumulations on the hands of the elite affected the societies of the Three Kingdoms and the Southern and Northern Dynasties that the landholding elite held the actual driving and ruling power of the country. Successful ruling entities worked with these families, and consequently their policies favored the elite. Adverse effects of the Nine grade controller system or the Nine rank system were brilliant examples. Taiping Taoist ideals of equal rights and equal land distribution quickly spread throughout the peasantry. As a result, the peasant insurgents of the Yellow Turban Rebellion swarmed the North China Plain, the main agricultural sector of the country. Power of the Liu royalty then fell into the hands of local governors and warlords, despite suppression of the main upraising of Zhang Jiao and his brothers. Three overlords eventually succeeded in control of the whole of China proper, ushering in the period of the Three Kingdoms. The figurehead Emperor Xian reigned until 220 when Cao Pi forced his abdication. In 311, around one hundred years after the fall of the Eastern Han, its capital Luoyang was sacked by barbarians.

Three Kingdoms Era (AD 220-280)

Wei, Shu, Wu. Often referred to as Cao Wei after its

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Wei Dynasty (220 AD-265 AD) Shu Dynasty (221 AD-263 AD) Wu Dynasty (222 AD 280 AD) y

founder Cao Pi, son of Cao Cao; Shu Han as successors to the Han; and Dong Wu after its location in the east. Very famous period, the setting of a major Chinese novel (well, one very famous one and presumably others), many Chinese operas, movies, TV series, and all those games from Koei. Came about due to the collapse of the power of the Han emperors. Some date the beginning of the period to the Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184AD. From 190AD on, China was divided among feuding warlords before the three kingdoms around 220. Wei conquered Shu in 263 and the period ended with the overthrow of Wei by the Jin dynasty (265) and the subsequent conquest of Wu (280). porcelain Block Printing Grand Canal Coinage Standardization

Sui (589 618 AD)

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Tang Dynasty (618-907)

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Tea Po Chu-i (poet) Scroll painting Three Doctrines (Buddhism, Confuscianism, Taoism) Gunpowder Civil Service Exams Brandy and whiskey Flame-thrower Dance and Music

Sung (969 AD -1126 AD)

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Magnetic compass Rocket and multi-stage rockets Printing (movable type) Guns and Cannons Landscape painting Winemaking Chinese Opera Porcelain Chain Drive Mechanism

Yuan ( 1279 AD- 1368 AD)

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Paper money Magnetic Compass Blue and white porcelain Guns and Gunpowder Landscape painting Chinese Theater, Opera, and Music

Decimal Numbers

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Manchu (1644 AD 1912 AD)

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The first Ming emperor, Hongwu, laid the basis of an authoritarian political culture. Despite early expansion, it was an inward-looking state with an emphasis on its agrarian base. Gradual burgeoning of the commercial sector; important changes in the economy and social relations in the latter part of the dynasty; also a vibrant literary scene as represented by publication of the novel Journey to the West. A Manchu dynasty. Continued the economic developments of the late Ming, leading to prosperity but also complacency and a dramatic increase in population. The acclaimed novel Dream of the Red Chamber was written in this period. Strains on the polity were intensified by a rapid incorporation of substantial new territories. Its authoritarian structure was subsequently unable to meet the military and cultural challenge of an expansive West.