LESSON
TheRiseandFa}l
of Dy*asties
Thinking
on Your Own
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Zhou had seizedPower
ffh"
a hrge Part of Chinabv
I
"f
chiefs
1045s.c. Flowever' Iocal
known as warlords ruled
BY
stateswithin the emPire'
the 400sB'c', thesewarlords
the
had seriouslYweakened
The
power of the Zhotrulers'
it"rlo.d. fought one another
As
for power andterritory'
WhYwas Qin Shihuangdi
hated?
What were the long-term
;ii;;i" of the Han DYnastY?
and more
time went on, more
these
wars broke out among
local chiefs'
lA battle I
lbetween I
lChinese I
lwarlords 1
is known as the
400s to the 200s e'c'
the
from
period'
The
Confucius tried
That is the reason that
P"tiod'
States
Warring
wanted to bring
accept his ideas' He
to get the warlori=;
to the emPire'
p"I"" and stabiliqr
Qin DYnastY
in his effort to
C,onfucius was unsuccessfirl
warlords' The Qin
change the ideas of the
with their iron swords'
were more successful
n"U
of the
in ,rrB.c', thePeoPIe
9: Y" ruler'
of mostof China' The Qin
won control
qt tltttttangdi (curN SHUR'trwoNc'DEE)'
first emperor'
d-""br"d himself Chinat
C h a P t e r5
o
u
For the first time, China
had a single centralized
t"r"_I
goverrunent. Before Qin
Shihuangdi, local lords ruled
their own states. The new
,rrr/
a.q-a.p
emperor removed the local
lords. He divided China into
provinces and counties.
Bureaucrats were appointed
to overseethe new regions.
A bureaucrat is a government
official who enforces the rules
of the government. Under the Zhou DynasSr, government
positions had been passed down from father to son. O_in
Shihuangdi ended this practice. He also set up the censorate.
The members of this department were known as censors. Their
job was to check up on the bureaucrats.
Qin Shihuangdi establishedan army to keep
order and to protect China. A system of roads was
built to make it easier to move troops quickly from
place to place. One area that needed protection was
the northern frontier. The Xiongnu (SveN.Noo)
were threatening the region. They were nomadic
herders who raised sheep, cattle, and goats. They
were also fierce fighters. To keep them out of China,
Qin Shihuangdi had the Great Wall built across the
c.40O-22Ie.c.
Warring StatesPeriod
221-206e.c.
Qin Dynasty
2 0 2 s . c .e- . a . 2 2 0
HanDynasty
northern resion.
The Great wall was one of the reasonsthat the peasantsturned
against the Qin Dynasty. The wall was built with the forced labor of
peasants. It was also an expensive project. Qin Shihuangdi placed
heary taxes on his subjects to pay for the wall and for his armies.
Han Dynasty
The leader of the peasant revolt
against the Qin was Liu Bang
(r,vou.noNc). He was a peasant
himself. His victory over the
Qin gave him great power.
He took the name Han Gaozu
the first Han emperor'
(HaHN Gow'DZoo) and declared himself
For more than 500
The Han I)lmas{y lasted for 400 years'
under the Han'
years, China was peaceful and ptotp"tots
Chinese
Han Gaozukept the governmentstructure
that Qin Shihuangdihad setup' China
remained divided into provinces and
the Qin's
counties. Han Gaozu also adopted
useof appointedbureaucrats'Over tim;' fhe
H"n d".r"lopeda civil serviceexamto find
FIan rulers
the best qrr"lifi"d civil servants'
.
1' r , - - r^for
setup . ."hoolto train candidates
government
'
l-tft"i.rrism
,
-r-, r rre sLuus'Lo
rver students learned
worK. The
r
and Chinesehistory and law'
i
ry
I
tr
f;
**" a list of the
tfrinOsthat Qin
{
{
strong(S)or harmed
{
sninu*ngol1":
{
1 :iott::,T:ti:i::
tretnedChinabecome
rL' vvrrlv
1 ilr *:ffi;;;';
i
3
--" to each item on
next
"
1
i Yowlist' Shareand
oO1*t your list with a
and
Han Gaozu replaced the harsh laws
Ii ^artner.
a
/-\'
n,r
'*=:- . - -**-"punishments of the first emperor' 9rn
'Shihrr".rrdi
^
of
teaching
had forbidden the
Confucianism' The Five
Confucianism. Han Gaozu adopted
peace and order in Chinese
Constant Relationships supported
position of the emperor'
sociefr. They also strengthened the
of China tripled'
During the Han Dynas$r' the population
60 million' The empire also
It went from 20 million p"opl" to
extended the empire north'
grew in land area' Han armies
south, and west'
Qin Shihuangdi
name w1s ZhaS
Beforehe becameeniperor,Qin Shihuangdi's
He declaredhimself
Zheng. ShihuangdimeansFirst Emperor'
is how the name
the First Emperorof the Qin' or Chin' This
"CNna"began.
of Qin
Caliinghimself ernperoris just one example
that his dynasty
Sf"flt""gOi's boasting'He atso claimed
lastfort0,o00generations_about250'000years.
He based his
Qin Shihuangdiwats a ruthless emperor'
and severepunishment..T" .
on Lesalism.He goirerneowithharsh laws
;ffiil;;;i;;;#ffi;;;";*n'*"
nuifoino
andtoworkonrr11
topayhishtaxes
f::fTtj n
hepunished
h"L' oratiseranda y:]i
get aroundto them
vvvr\: afraidhe wouldnever
as thoughhe
lrE were
i\-ii::,T:
as utuuvrr
next Qin empen
death,the peasantsrebelled againstthe
only l L years'
was supposedto last 250,000yearslasted
o
a
o
By A.D. 770, Han control over China was slipping. There were
peasant revolts over living conditions. Rival military leaders
fought for power. In220, a rebel general seizedpower. However,
his rule did not last. For the next 400 years, China was the scene
of civil wars and invasions by nomadic people from the north.
The Silk Road and Sea Routes
Beginning around 200 s.c., China becamepart of the
international trade network. Chinese merchants traded along
land routes and sea routes. Their ships sailedthroughout
Southeast Asia and into the lndian Ocean. The land route
became known as the Silk Road. This was becauseChina's
most important
trade good on this
route was silk. The
Silk Road stretched
4,000 miles from
eastern China to tne
$
'
Aussta
Ur,
:'
j
Roman Empire.
ii,,;
Besides silk,
;',lr"-""
{-,
Chinese merchants
' i:3
Hangzshoui
traded spices, tea,
and porcelain.-a
I
type of fine pottery.
Ivory, cotton cloth,
pepper, and gems
]o
if
South:i
Chinaff
'. Sea
Arabian
,. Sea
:_1
ts
tr
flowed east and west
Oc Eo
from lndian
merchants. Roman
merchants sent
INDIAN
OCEAN
woolen and linen
ruld
cloth, glass, and
gems to the east.
ile
.He
nen
at
Putting It All Together
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irvlri+ i-'{v*sr t}'Lle* Fa;:;*firal-:i:sr* pxpiaill iiilti\,,tlr.* Q:tt ar'd }{nn
iiiff*relli,.
h\ruiii:it+s w*r* {i^is $i,iiiLoi}n{i. i:*lAi tlt€it 1'vr:,;3
Early Chinese Clvllizations [67
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..urro*1-
o
a
rd
(D
New Dyoasries
in Chin-a
-'-il
PP
"-
Thinking on your Own
As you readthis lesson,createa timelinein your notebook.Include
datesand factsfor the five dynastiesdiscussedin this lesson.
n.o. 58l, the Sui
Jn
IDynasgr brought order to
China. With the collapse of
the Han Dynasfr in 220, the
Chinese people had endured
more than 500 years of civil
war. The Sui rulers reunified
the Empire. Among their
lasting contributions was the
building of the Grand Canal,
Explainwhy the Tangand
SongDynastiesare called
GoldenAges.
How was the yuan Dynasty
similar to earlier
dynasties?
Summarizehow yong Le
attemptedto restore
Chinasgreatness.
which made it easier to ship
rice from the south of China
to the north.
The Tang and
581-618
Sui (swnv)Dynasty
Song Dynasties
618-907
Tang(rnrwc)Dynasty
The Tang and Song
Qrnasties
ruled during what are called
960-1279
Song(somrrc)
Dynasty
Golden Ages in Chinese
history. China was prosperous
1279-t368
Yuan(voo.nnn)Dynasty
during these periods and
extended its influence into
1368-1644
Ming (mwc)Dynasty
new lands. These periods
were also times of great
cultural achievements.
The leaders of the T"tg
Dynasty expanded the area of chinese rule and influence
in
Asia. The T.rg Empire extended from the pacific
ocean ro
The Spread of Culturesin Asia
the
I
the Tibetan people' Through
Tibet. Tang armies conquered
spread east into Korea' Japan'
trade, China's i"fl""tt"Jlater
and Southeast Asia'
st
tried to end corruption in
Tang and Song emperors
6r""d
t"
civil servi:"^:I"t"*
They t"Jot"d the ancient
,o.r".n"rn.nt'
service
seekers had to pass a civil
fill government pott"' Office
teachings' That kept powerful
exam based on Confucian
their relatives to offices'
officials from appointing
brought prospentJz
The Tang and Song DJrnasties
power of the wealthy
to China. TL"y [mitel the
from them to give to the
landowners, taking land
The Tang and Song
with other
peasants. The growing trade
Dynastieswere
for
nations also created business
GoldenAges.
As a result'
What do You think
merchants and craftspeople'
cities grew
this Phrasemeans?
the population of China's
for
Write a definition
rapidly.
GoldenAge.Share
were
The Tang and Song DYnasties
your definition with
Among
a partner.Combine
periods of cultural advances'
invention
your ideas and write
ih" mo.t important was the
woodblock
one definitionfor
of printing. It b"gt" with
the Phrase.
China' in
printing on PaPer in Tang
1
1
iI
*
s
f *u*
ertl
Cflina Sea
PACIFIC
OCEAN
.South
ahina Sea
Bay of.
Bengal
,NDIAN
OCEAN
Chapter 12
q-o/ffi
Chinese arusts us
painted scenes of,
if peopte were in:
they were usuallY,
What was rmPo:
the grandeur of
Howe-ver, PeoPle,
carnels, qnd o!
were often tlte st
statues bY Tane
artists. Brightly
statues ofler a
how PeoPIe lo<
what:they did
Tang and Song
H
o
a
€
o
P+
o first used in fireworks
. used in guns and cannons by the 1200s
woodblock
printing
invented printing
European printing
200 years before the
press
o improved the production method
. became valuable trade good under the
Ming
. developed process 900years befbre
Europeans
. used for swords and farm tools
o improved woodblock
printing
the ear\r 200s. Each page was carved in wood. By about the
year 1000, printers of Song China had created moveable t;rpe.
This allowed a printer to use the same t;rpe to print many
different books.
As in earlier d;masties, peasant unrest over taxes helped to
weaken T.rg power. In907, rebels ovefthrew the emperor.
A series of civil wars followed. By 960, a general of the Song
.-,
,,
Fli; ,-' 't
Seg-of'.
,lapai
rneiFp
of the Mongol Empire
of the Golden Horde
ofthe Creat Khan
of Chagatai
of Persia
",F*b
OCEAN
a
ign of the Yuan Dymasf
-.:
.:E..
f
to
clan was strong enough
declare himself emPeror'
ff
The Song were unable to
hold the Tang EmPire together'
within
Attacks bY rebel grouPs
loss
the Empire resuhed in the
:ff'.*il;;;;;;,
Mongols
in battle
or china'
begantheirconquest
theMonsors
Mongol Invaders:
The Yuan DYnastY
roared
(;nHN'cuHs xauN)','h" *"i?^"]t
Under Genghis Khan
the
the northern section of
atj
1215
itt
China
into
"o"O""ted
was
Khan died in 1227' his empire
Genghis
When
country.
dividedamonghitfo"rsonsintoterritoriesknownaskhanates'
the
of his grandsons' overthrew
ln1279,Kublai Khan' one
Khan then
support of his army' Kublai
rhe
Witi
Dynast;r'
Song
himself ruler of China'
d""ln
"d
for his
Khan took a Chinese name
Kublai (roo'eluu)
to
H" followed a policy similar
Yuan
1-o'ot^)'
dynasry
il*J;?:,"ff1#?ffiJ;"y
\
spent
Poro
Beiiins
to
I HH-W::il:=*"Jl."l*f
r-na1t1r
Kublai
for?:,T:T,^T:P:#:,
*uun* worked
YTt
I ii::^",:
exasser
sometimes
PoIo
to Italyhe "
returned
I *g:"
numbers'
ffi":ffi;;;
il]
rn The
wrote about what he had seen
n-^trate
Travels
of Marco Polo.
66Thereare withfurthe city ten
l^'or t-""f.et
rrlaceg.
rnarket places'
irJt"ip"r squares shopsalong the
besidesirurtrmerable
#;;:
I
what he saw,especially
I
HtLT,in this excerptmightbe
I
exaggerated?
II wry_oovouthinkPolomish
exaggeratedwhat he saw't
iilh sirleor theig.t'qg:: #
fo't]'p
street'
l': tnu*isthernain
i5?"1'Jff1"'i:il;,Tft"ti'ffi#
mruiing in a straigrrt tin"
from -oneenrt of the city to th
arul
in wirlth
brirtges' Thesgt"'"0:
tJ-convenient
fo*
fiy
other. It is crossed Tany
to the rnain street'
from
miles
I
fgtu
squaresare
canal' otr the ne
"*t-itirJi'it"tu"r
squ#"'
tne
or
sine
5t;tt11-lEarre for mercha*ts wl
on the opposre
lrrovidei
warehouses
sto'e
large
stan*
'a'k of this
goods and effects' They
their
ana-otfrer-pii*iift
fnaia
of tht
from
arrive
tt'" martet-squares' ftr ea'chcome
thus situat"a "orio"t[rrtfy "f6r""io
ilJt";";;io fiftv. thousan. persons
fro:n
uoud';1j;{:
i'
.ays
rhree
tttat cotrl* lre desire
;#
them
*i
and
rrply
the markers
"Ji"r"
s
o
Q
Genghis Khan's. Both allowed the
conquered Chinese
bureaucrats to remain in place at
the local level. Higher revel
jobs, however, were filled
by Mongols. Separat" 1..i.
governed chinese and Mongors
in the Ernpire. The chinese
were also required to pay tribute
to their Morgol rulers. No
Chinese could serve in the army.
-'-il
o
lD
?
o-
Kublai Khan re-established law
and order in china. He had
roads built and revived trade along
the silk Road. Arabs,
Russians, Italians, and other traders
made their way to chinese
cities. China prospered under his
rule.
However, Kublai Khan was not satisfied
with the size of his
empire' He sent troops into southeast
Asia and Japan. They
were successful only in conquering
\4etnam.
Later Yuan emperors could not keep
peace and order. Like
earlier emperors, later emperors
were corrupt themselves, or
allowed others to take bribes and
misuse their power. peasants
were angered by hearSr taxes that
were used for military
campaigns. In 1568, zhuyuanzhang,
a Buddhist monk, or
hol;z man, led an army of peasants
against the Mongols. The
peasants succeeded in toppling
the yuan Dynasty.hhu
changed his name to Ming H*g
Wu and took the title
Emperor of China. The Ming Dynast;r
was born.
The Ming Dynasty
Mirg Hong Wu was succeeded as
emperor by his son yong
in 1598. Yong Le set about restoring
China,s greatness.
!e
Since the days of Kublai Khan,
China had lost control of
vietnam' Yong Le sent an army to
retake it. He had the Great
wall strengthened. He also built the
Imperial city. This is a
walled city-which still stands_within
ih.
of
".p;tJl "if
Beijing. Beautiful gardens, great
courqrards, and flowing
waterways fill the Imperial City. The
emperor,s palace and
government offices were there. yong
Le built th^" I-p".i.l
City to send a message
about the wealth and power
of the emperor.
During Yong Le's rule,
fleets of Chinese ships made
The Spread of Culturesin Asia
Asia' India' and the Arabian
seven trips to explore Southeast
the
HUH)' a trusted official' led
Peninsula. ZhengHe ('luxc
merchants' and soldiers sailed
expeditions. About 28'000 sailors'
440
or trip' The largest ship was
on 62ships for the first voyage'
*"lgh"a l'500 tons' One hundred
feet long. The averag" thip
ships to
l""gth of the first Portuguese
years later, the tt'"'["
500
Tho"" ships averaged about
reach Asia was ot'ty ZO f""i'
that
was far more advanced than
tons. Chinese naval technologr
The voyages ended after Yong
of European nations at the time'
sure why but offer some theories'
I-e's death. Historians are not
influence on the Chinese'
Confucianism was a strong
and the way that things had
Confucianism honored tradition
of exploration brought new
always been done' The voyages
These new ideas might upset
goods and ideas back to China'
officials may have
tradition. As a result, government
to end the voyages' It is also
convinced the new emperor
the
voyages was a factor' In time'
possible that the cost of the
ships could travel bevond
Ming limited how far Chinese
China' The Chinese had
decided that their waYSwere
o\
The Ipr"uo
the best and everyone else's
were inferior.
'
,o",r,"
rF
dhir" i":n
sea-'?.
lrI
/NDIAN
OCEAN
nile3 at Equator
ocEAN
Like other Chinese d;masties'
the Ming Qmas{Y slowlY
weakened. The final blow came
tn 1644 from a Peasant revolt
that overthrew it' The Manchus'
who lived north of the Great
Wall, saw an oPPortunifr' TheY
it'
swept into China, conquered
and set up the Qitg (cHrNc)
DlmasQY'
Putting It All Together
wrlte downthe
of chinesedynasties.
fue
factsabouteachdynasty'With
names,d.ates'and'threeimportant
like the ones that introduce
a partner create a visual timeiine
needto plan aheadto figure out
eachunit in this book' Youwiil
paper'
will take on your sheetof
how rnuchspaceeach dynasty
168
ChaPter 12