China PERSIAN Chart for Classical Civilizations Key

ERA: 8,000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E. / (1029 B.C.E. – 258 B.C.E.) China
(Zhou) (Qin)
POLITICAL

Ruled through alliances with regional princes and noble families
Dynasty came into China from the north and replaced the Shang rulers (claimed direct link through ancestry to the Shang)
China’s period of feudalism where rulers depended on a network of loyalties and obligations to/from landlords and vassals
Rulers gave land to the lords and their families in exchange for their supporters providing loyalty, troops, and taxes.
Expanded territory, but caused or complicated problems for the central rule of the government
Mandate of Heaven–the belief that the gods (heaven) gave the rulers the right to rule
Zhou state disappeared and gave rise to the Qin after independent armies of regional rulers decreased the power of the emperor

Single law code
Last Zhou ruler deposed by regional ruler who became emperor after 35 years – Qin (‘Dynasty) Shih Huangdi (First Emperor); brutal ruler (legalism philosophy) who restored order to China following the decline of the Zhou
Ordered nobles to appear at his court and took control of their feudal states
China organized into large province ruled by bureaucrats (non-aristocratic) appointed by the emperor, who appointed lesser bureaucrats who were in charge of smaller regions
Expanded south to present-day Hong-Kong on the South China Sea and northern Vietnam
Burning of books common (threat to autocratic rule)
Unpopular policies such as attacks on intellectuals, high taxes, and construction of the Great Wall led to the downfall of the Qin as peasant revolts broke out

ECONOMIC

Land expansion increased agricultural lands (wheat growing in the north and rice growing in the south)
Use of copper coins

Uniform tax system
Used forced labor, conscripted or drafted by the government from among the peasantry
National census (provided data for collections of tax revenues and labor services)
Standardized coinage and weights and measures through the entire realm to facilitate trade
Promoted the manufacturing of silk cloth

RELIGIOUS

Banned human sacrifice
More restrained ceremonies to worship the gods
Stressed a harmonious earthly life, with balance between earth/heaven
Ceremonies to venerate or respect ancestors
Confucius became a spokesman for the great days before the decline of the Zhou (political virtue and good government); mostly appealed to the upper classes; peasants maintained polytheistic beliefs, focusing on the spirits of nature

SOCIAL

Use of chopsticks – encouraged politeness
Gap between the nobles (2% of the population) and the peasants
“mean” = lowest possible status; people who performed rough transport and other unskilled jobs
Inherited social status (but could move up with merit)

/
INTERACTIONS

ARTS

A set of Five Classics – written in early part of Zhou dynasty and edited during the time of Confucius; basics of civil service exams in the Han period, including histories, speeches, etiquette, ceremonies (over 300 poems about love, joy, politics, and family life appear in the Classics ofSongs)
Calendar with 365. Days (practical work in science was encouraged)

ENVIRONMENTAL

Sponsored public works such as new irrigation projects and canal systems for agriculture