Dr. Vess's World Civilization Virtual Library

China from the Ch'in Empire through the Han

objectives:


1.  Be able to discuss the rise and fall of China's first empire

and the political philosophy by which it was operated.



2.  Be able to cite and discuss specific examples of Shi Huang Ti's

policies which illustrate the philosophy of legalism.



3.  Be able to discuss and answer the film guide questions and to

give specific examples from the reign of the first emperor in

response.



4.  Be able to discuss the major achievements of the Han dynasty,

and to understand its place in the context of other important

ancient empires such as that of the Romans.





5.  Be able to apply Confucian concepts to Chinese society under

the Han dynasty and to cite specific examples from this period to

illustrate Confucianism.



FOOD FOR THOUGHT:



Consider the legalist arguments for strong punishments and a stern

legal system.  What are the problems with such a theory?  Does

social unrest justify harsh measures?  What is lost when human

rights are forfeited?



Consider the concept of surrounding a nation with a wall.  What

assumptions does this endeavor imply?  Are they valid?  IS this a

practical concept?



     The reign of Ch'in Shi Huang Ti unified China.  Although he

predicted his rule would last 10,000 generations, fourteen years

after he took power, his reign was over.  During his reign he

abolished the internal walls of China, and began the Great Wall of

China, the only man-made structure visible to the naked eye from

the moon.  The Wall and massive tomb he left behind are testaments

to his cruel and repressive rule, during which he banned the works

of Confucius.  Although detested by the Chinese, his stern control

of China compliments the Confucian benevolent ruler who maintains

harmony and order.  We ironically derive the name China from the

name Ch'in Shi Huang Ti, one of history's most hated emperors.

     The Han dynasty which followed the collapse of the Ch'in

empire revived Confucianism although maintaining the structures of

Ch'in government.  The Chinese are still called the "people of the

Han," who pioneered the art of historical writing and maintained

the world's largest empire in the period 500 b.c. to 500 a.d.





                             OUTLINE



I. Introduction

     A. the Warring States period

          i. the scholar bureaucrat (shih)

          ii. roads and the silk trade

          iii. the decline of the nobility



II.  The Ch'in Empire: the first Chinese empire

     A. Shi Huang Ti, China's first emperor

          i. his personality

          ii. search for immortality

               a) legend of peopling of Japan

     B.   His reforms

          i.   the reunification of China

               a) meaning of his name

          ii.  the legalist philosophy

               a) law and order

               b) punishments

               c) outer compliance vs. inner virtue

          iii.  anti-Confucianism

               a) book burnings

               b) persecution of Confucian scholars

          iv.  the control of the nobility:

               a) abolition of the law of primogeniture

          v.  uniform standards 

               a) weights and measures

               b) for chariot tracks

               c) coinage

                    i) the Pan ling coin

          vi.  the Great wall of China and the barbarians

               a) how the wall was built

                    i) legends

                    ii) facts

               b) slave labor 

                    i) legends associated with the wall

               c) an occupation of the army

          vii.  the tomb of Shi Huang Ti

          viii.  the collapse of the Ch'in empire



II.  The Han  206 b.c.-220 a.d.

     A. The Chinese are still known today as the "the people of the

          Han"

         i) ch'in structures combined with Confucian philosophy

     B.  Chang-an -- the capital

          i. enormous walls

          ii. word for city meant wall



     C.  conquest and expansion:

          i. Wu Ti (141-87 b.c.)

               a) the ever normal granary system

               b) conquest of Vietnam and Korea 

                    i) Manchuria, Vietnam and Korea later separated

               c) conflicts with the Hsiung nu (Turks)

                    i) horses from the west

                    ii) the construction of the Silk Road

                    iii) contact with the West -- Rome through silk

                    trade

                    iv) China known as "seres" -- latin word for

                              silk 



     D.  Cultural contributions of the Han:

          i.   porcelain and lacquer

          ii.  paper (before 100 a.d.)

          iii. calculated the value of pi by 2nd century a.d.

          iv.  accurate calendar

          v.   seismograph

          vi.  wheelbarrow

          vii.  historical accounts of the Han dynasty

          viii.     revival of Confucianism

          ix. preservation of Ch'in structures



     E.  the collapse of the Han 

          i. expansion made self-sufficient

          ii. no longer need of expansion, which led to internal

                    chaos.

          iii. Wu Ti neglected affairs at home



III.  Period of Six dynasties until 589 a.d.

     A.   the Chinese Dark Age

          i. cultural reviviva;

               a) art and literature