World History Name _______________________________________________

(Ancient China Unit) Date _____________ Pd ______

Ancient China Guided Notes

I. Ancient China Geography

a. Much of China’s ancient people developed in isolation of each other.
i. Environmental extremes kept them separate
b. Yellow River and Yangtze River provided fresh water, fertile soil, and transportation to people
i. Yellow River
1. “Cradle of Chinese Civilization”
a. Here where Chinese civilization begins
2. 6th longest river in the world
3. Also called “Huang He” River
4. Farmers mainly grew millet and wheat
5. Yellowish tint from sand blown into water from the Gobi Desert
ii. Yangtze River
1. 3rd longest in the world
2. Also called “Changjiang” River
3. Warmer climate, since in south, allowed for rice cultivation
4. Eventually, land along the Yangtze became richest in all China
c. Taklimakan and Gobi Deserts
i. Taklimakan Desert
1. Extreme temperatures, shifting sand dunes, and poisonous snakes kept people out
ii. Gobi Desert
1. Rocky desert that saw constant invasions from northern Mongols
a. Eventually leads to construction of Great Wall of China
d. Tibetan Plateau
i. Part of Himalaya Mountain chain
1. 16,000 feet above sea level
ii. Both Yellow and Yangtze Rivers start here

II. Chinese Philosophies

a. Confucianism
i. Not a religion but a philosophy based on the teachings of Confucius around 500 BCE
1. A way of thinking and behaving rather than believing
ii. Confucius taught that to have order in the world…
1. People should have compassion for each other
2. Everyone must live up to their obligations
a. Must respect those who are “superior” in every relationship
i. Ruler and Subject
ii. Father and Son
iii. Husband and Wife
iv. Older Brother and Younger Brother
v. Friend and Friend
3. Filial Piety: deep respect for elders, teachers, and family members by young people
iii. Its major book is called the Analects; a collection of sayings of Confucius.
iv. One of the things that Confucius advised was for the Chinese government to establish a civil service
system.
1. The civil service is where government jobs are given out, not by favor but by passing exams.
a. These jobs would be given out to those who were qualified and not by who was
popular or related with the rulers.
 b. Daoism
i. Like Confucianism – Daoism was a set of teachings promoted by Laozi in early 500s BCE
ii. Taught that a universal force, called a Dao, guides all things
1. Dao is natural. It cannot be controlled, therefore, you should let it do its thing.
2. “Go with the flow” and do not fret about things you cannot control.
iii. Worrying about matters and trying to control what you cannot only leads to suffering.
1. Be a “leaf in a stream” and just let go.
iv. A major concept of Daoism is Yin and Yang.
1. This is a belief in a dualist world.
2. It is found in Daoism and many other Eastern philosophies.
3. There is a constant harmony between light and dark, good and evil, hot and cold, male and
female
4. You need one in order to have the other.
5. This balance is what keeps the universe together.

c. Legalism
i. Founded by Han Fei around 240 BCE.
ii. States that a highly efficient and effective government is the key to social order and harmony.
1. Strict rules and harsh punishments are good because they maintain the order.
2. Ideas and actions are to be controlled.
3. People will be good because they will fear the consequences of not.
4. The Qin Dynasty is notorious for adopting this view around 220 BCE.

III. Qin Dynasty

a. First dynasty to rule over all of China
i. Lasted from 221 BCE to 207 BCE
b. Emperor Shi Huangdi was very cruel and oppressive to his people, and shortly after his death the dynasty
collapsed.
i. Had complete control over the empire.
ii. Ordered construction of Great Wall to begin to keep out invading Mongols.
1. Although current wall is from Ming Dynasty in 1500s CE.
iii. To prevent people from thinking (and learning) he burned all books and had scholars executed.
1. Many rulers do this to maintain power.
iv. Set a common currency to be used throughout the whole empire (made things run much smoother)
v. Centralized the government by dividing China into 36 administrative districts
vi. Set a common form of writing that all teachers were forced to teach
c. Near the end of his life Shi Huangdi grew extremely paranoid.
i. Drank mercury thinking it would make him live forever (very toxic)
ii. Ordered his tomb to be constructed that would be guarded by 7,000 terra cotta soldiers and surrounded
by lakes of mercury to protect him in the afterlife.
1. Discovered in 1974

IV. Great Wall of China

a. Started under Qin Dynasty and Shi Huangdi
i. Built to keep out Mongol and Hun invaders
b. Originally just piles of dirt, straw
i. In 1500s, Ming Dynasty revamped the wall with bricks
c. Current wall stretches over 5,000 miles long.

V. Mandate of Heaven
a. Chinese emperors used the Mandate of Heaven to rule over their people.
 i. Mandate: the authority to carry out an action
ii. To have the Mandate of Heaven means one has approval of the gods to rule.
b. If everything in the kingdom is fine, it is because the gods see him as a good ruler.
c. If times are bad (famine, drought, war), the ruler might lose the favor of the people and a revolt would be
acceptable.
i. He would lose the mandate and it would pass to a new ruler.
ii. Competing families vying for power would claim the ruler no longer has the mandate as a means to
gain support.
d. As new families replace old, and the Mandate of Heaven is lost then gained, this completes what is called the
Dynastic Cycle.

VI. Han Dynasty

a. Largest of the ancient Chinese civilizations and the one in power during ancient China’s Golden Age.
i. Replaced the Qin in 207 BCE and lasted until 220 CE.
b. Conquer most of modern-day China.
c. Set up a very strong centralized government with capital in Chang’an.
i. Workers chosen based on civil service exams; chosen based on merit instead of popularity with emperor
d. Established extensive trade network known as the Silk Road to trade with Europe, India, and Middle East.
i. Also used network to unite China
1. Establish one written language in China despite many spoken languages.
e. Invented paper, wheelbarrow, water mill, and harness
f. Buddhism reaches China from India and flourishes.

VII. Fall of the Han Dynasty

a. By 210 CE, the Han had fallen into disarray.
i. Empire had expanded too large to control.
ii. Many of the tribes they conquered still controlled valuable Silk Road routes and demanded payment for
safe passage.
iii. Emperors became more and more corrupt, only sought lives of amusement.
iv. Heavy taxation forced peasants to dodge their taxes, which left government constantly short of funds
and underdeveloped military
v. The Hans began to lose power in their lands and warlords start to take over.
b. A period of chaos takes over China called the “Three Kingdoms” and would not reunify for over 350 years.