Empires: Roman and Han WHAP/Napp

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“When Liu Bang (r. 206 – 195 B.C.E.) prevailed in the warfare that ended the Qin dynasty, the empire remained intact. One ruling family fell and another took its place… But the empire itself continued united under a single emperor. The principal Legalist ministers who had guided the Qin were replaced, but the administrated bureaucracy continued to function. Change came in the leadership style of the new dynasty. Liu Bang was himself a commoner and a soldier, perhaps illiterate…but as his ministers he chose educated men with Confucian principles. Slowly, a new social and political hierarchy emerged, with scholars at the top, followed by farmers, artisans, and merchants…

The influence of Confucianism appeared in four areas. First, history became more important than ever. The appointment of Sima Tan and then of his son Sima Qian as court historians, established the tradition of imperial record keeping. The Confucian notion of the importance of tradition and continuity prevailed over the Legalist idea of discounting the past. Second, in 124 B.C.E., the most powerful and longest lived of the Han rulers, Wudi or Emperor Wu (r. 141 – 87 B.C.E.), the Martial Emperor, established an elite imperial academy to teach specially selected scholar-bureaucrats the wisdom of Confucius and its applicability to problems of governance. The emperor also declared that knowledge of the Confucian classics would be a basis for promotion in the imperial civil service…In Han times, the landed aristocracy still gained most of the places in the bureaucracy, but the principle of appointment and promotion based not on birth but on success in an examination in the Confucian classics was finally established during the Tang dynasty (618 – 907 C.E.).

Third, an imperial conference of Confucian legal scholars was convened in the imperial palace in 51 B.C.E. to codify and establish the principles for applying case law…Finally, Confucian scholars, both male and female, began to establish principles for the conduct for women. Confucius had spoken of the importance of five relationships in human society: ruler-subject; father-son; husband-wife; older brother-younger brother; and friend-friend. The first four were hierarchical relationships of superior-inferior. Little, however, had been written about the role of women. During the Han dynasty, several Confucian scholars addressed the issue. They urged women to be self-sacrificing, serving others, especially the males in their lives: father, brother(s), husband, and son(s).” ~ The World’s History

1-Identify one continuity and one change in China with the rise of the Han dynasty. ______

2-Describe the new social and political hierarchy under the leadership of Liu Bang. ______

3-Identify the four areas in China influenced by Confucianism. ______

4-What did Emperor Wudi establish? ______

5-Why is it valid to state that the Han dynasty established a meritocracy (a system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead based achievement) in China? ______

6-Describe the Five Relationships of Confucianism. ______

7-How did Confucianism affect women in China? ______

  1. Overview – Roman and Han
  1. Flourished at roughly same time (200 BCE-200CE) but no direct contact
  1. Rome
  1. Began as a small city-state in Italian peninsula in 8th century BCE
  2. Originally ruled by king but aristocrats overthrew around 509 BCE
  3. Established a republic: patricians, wealthy landowners, dominated
  4. Two consuls Advised by patrician assembly or Senate
  5. Conflict between patricians and plebeians (commoners) led to changes
  6. Twelve Tables, Roman written laws, offered plebeians’ protections
  1. Established office of tribune (Representative of Plebeians)
  1. Launched empire-building enterprise - took more than 500 years
  1. Between 264 -146 BCE, Punic Wars with Carthage
  1. Wealth of the empire enriched a few with large estates and slaves
  2. A small group of military leaders depended on the poor
1.Brought civil war to Rome during the first century BCE
2.After civil war, an emperor, Caesar Augustus (r. 27 BCE – 14 CE)
  1. First two centuries CE, security and prosperity - Pax Romana
  1. Han Dynasty
  1. Did not create something new but restored something old
  1. The Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties had existed before
  2. But by 500 BCE, unity vanished in the era of warring states
a)During the Qin Dynasty, Shihuangdi (r. 221-210 BCE) adopted Legalism
  1. A philosophy based on harsh punishments to ensure obedience
  2. Dissident scholars executed – Books burned
  3. Called himself “first emperor”
  4. Laid the foundations for a unified Chinese state
  5. Began construction on Great Wall of China
a)To keep invaders out – keep “barbarians” out
  1. Erected a mausoleum with some 7,500 life-size ceramic soldiers
  2. Imposed a uniform system of weights, measures, and currency
  3. Standardized the written form of the Chinese language
  1. The Han dynasty followed (206 BCE – 220 CE)
1. Retained centralized features of Shihuangdi’s creation
2. Consolidated state: established patterns that lasted until 20th century
3. Established Confucianism as the dominant philosophy
III. Similarities
  1. Invested heavily in public works (roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, walls)
  2. Invoked supernatural sanctions to support rule
1. Romans viewed deceased emperors as gods
2. Chinese-emperor Son of Heaven  Mandate of Heaven
  1. Both absorbed a foreign religious tradition (Christianity and Buddhism)
IV. Collapse of Empires
  1. The Western part of the Roman Empire collapsed in 476 CE
  2. In China, many free peasants turned into impoverished tenant farmers  Led to a peasant revolt known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184 CE
  3. But China would be unified again while Europe  fragmentation

1-When was the Roman Republic established? ______

2-Describe the social classes of the Roman Republic. ______

3-Why did conflict exist between the social classes of the Roman Republic? ______

4-What were the Punic Wars? ______

5-Identify one cause of civil war in Rome. ______

6-When was the Roman Empire with an Emperor established? ______

7-Who was the first emperor of the Roman Empire? ______

8-What was the Pax Romana? ______

9-Who was Shi Huangdi? ______

10-Explain the philosophy of Legalism. ______

11-Identify one effect of Legalism on Chinese society. ______

12-Why did construction begin on the Great Wall of China during the Qin dynasty? ______

13-How did Shi Huangdi “unify” China? ______

14-How was the Han dynasty similar to the Qin dynasty? ______

15-How was the Han dynasty different from the Qin dynasty? ______

16-Identify one similarity between the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire. ______

17-What was the Yellow Turban Rebellion and why did it weaken the Han dynasty? ______

18-How did the years following the collapse of the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire differ? What happened in China that did not happen in Western Europe? ______

19-Define political fragmentation. ______

20-The Comparative Essay prompt from the 2010 World History AP examination:

Analyze similarities and differences in methods of political control in TWO of the following empires in the Classical period.

Han China (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.); Mauryan/Gupta India (320 B.C.E.–550 C.E.);

Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E.–476 C.E.)

Identify a similarity between Han China and Imperial Rome as well as a difference and write a valid thesis statement for the prompt. ______

1. Which of the following was NOT one of Rome's cultural legacies?
(A) The Romans preserved Hellenic philosophy.
(B) The Romans built roads and fortifications that have lasted for centuries,
(C) The Romans adopted the Islamic faith as the official faith of the empire.
(D) The Romans made Christianity the official faith of the empire.
(E) The Romans adopted a legal code still in some use today.
2. Which of the following most often characterizes a meritocracy?
(A)A well-defined tribute system with a method of recordkeeping
(B)Increasing use of civil service exams to fill government positions
(C)Clear rules of succession for leadership transitions
(D)Establishment and publication of a uniform system of law
3. Confucianism encourages its followers to:
(A) Learn from foreigners better ways to excel
(B) Believe that their rulers were not in any way divine
(C) Seek principles of science
(D) Follow ethical rules that promoted harmony and order
4. In a patriarchal society
(A)The leader holds absolute power.
(B)Power resides with the men.
(C)Religious leaders dominate politics.
(D)Trade is severely restricted by the government. / 5. Which of the following best describe BOTH the Roman and Han empires?
(A) Neither empire was linked to the Silk Roads.
(B) Both empires used the family as the model for state organization.
(C) Mounting costs associated with defending imperial frontiers led to economic and political crises.
(D) New religions were easily assimilated into existing imperial religious ideologies.
6. In comparison to other classical societies, the Roman Empire:
(A) Relied more heavily on slavery to meet its needs for military expansion
(B) Invented fewer new engineering techniques
(C) Contributed more original scientific theories
(D) Valued merchants less and gave them lower class status
7. The Mandate of Heaven governed the relationship between the ruler and the ruled in
a)China
b)Japan
c)France
d)Ghana
8. When Rome conquered a foreign land, it usually:
(A) Visibly executed local leaders to set an example of who was in charge
(B) Outlawed any preexisting native religions and persecuted anyone who refused to convert to the Roman religion
(C) Allowed considerable autonomy to local leaders and customs as long as the area cooperated with Roman rule
(D) Opened libraries and universities to study and collect local art, technology, and ideas