Essential Questions: Why was the Great Wall built? Why was the Silk Road important?
I. Development of an Empire
A. Throughout China�s history, organized bands of barbarians from the north attacked
Chinese settlements
1. The Great Wall was built by Qin Shi Huangdi, as a line of defense against invasions
B. Government
1. China was governed by a succession of ruling families called dynasties
a. The Chinese believed that royal authority came from heaven
-A just ruler had divine approval or a mandate from heaven
-A wicked or unjust ruler could lose that mandate
C. Economy
1. The Silk Road improved trade and contact between China and other cultures as
far away as Rome
a. This vital road stretched from China, across central Asia to the Mediterranean
-Camel caravans traded jade, silk, and other valuable Chinese goods
D. China�s Contributions
1. Civil Service System
a. This system runs the day-to-day business of government
-The Chinese developed a system of examinations to select the most qualified candidate
2. Other contributions
a. Paper, porcelain, and silk
_______________________________________________________________________
Ancient China (Philosophies)
Essential Questions: What were Confucius�s views on politics? What were the main beliefs of the Daoists?
I. Philosophies of Ancient China
A. Confucianism had more influence on Chinese life than any other philosophy and
formed the social order of China.
1. It was developed by Confucius around 500 B.C. and taught:
a. The importance of family
b. Respect for elders
c. Reverence for the past and one�s ancestors
d. A code of politeness still used today
e. The importance of a strong but moral government
B. Daoism or Taoism contributed to forming Chinese values and culture
1. Around the time of Confucius, Laozi founded the philosophy of Daoism
a. Harmony with nature
-Withdraw from the world
b. Simple life and inner peace
-Give up material things
c. Humility
-A humble view of one�s importance
2. Yin/Yang represents opposites (e.g. good and evil)
a. The balance of these two forces is the key to life
-This ideal was important for both Daoism and Confucianism
__________________________________________________________________________
Ancient Chinese Life and Culture
Essential Questions: Why was the family the central institution in Chinese society? What were the artistic and scientific achievements of the Chinese?
I. Chinese Life and Culture
A. Family and Social Life
1. The ancient Chinese believed that the well-being of the state rested upon the well-being of the family.
a. Values governed family life
-reverence for family, respect for elders
2. The family not the individual was the most important factor in Chinese society
a. Each upper class family kept a careful genealogy
b. When a family member died, they became honored ancestors
3. Typically, an upper class family included a father, wife, sons with their wives and children,
and unmarried daughters
a. Often, all members lived in the same house
b. The father ruled the family
-He arranged his children�s and grandchildren�s marriages
4. Chinese women had fewer rights than men
a. They usually had no property rights
b. However, Chinese society taught great respect for mothers
-Within the household, these women held much power
B. The Economy
1. Chinese people lived as small village farmers
2. Trade and commerce quickly grew, especially when the Silk
Road linked China with the Mediterranean region
C. Arts and Sciences
1. The Five Classics
a. The texts used to train scholars and civil servants were known as the Five Classics
-The Book of Poems (one of the Five Classics) contains over 300 songs about
domestic life, joy, love and politics
b. Every well-educated young man studied the Five Classics
2. Science and Technology
a. Astronomy
-In 28 B.C., early Chinese astronomers first observed sunspots
-Sometime before A.D. 100, Chinese astronomers built instruments to track the planets
b. Chemistry
-The Chinese discovered substances for dyeing cloth
-They developed medicines based on herbs
-Chinese also developed a therapy known as acupuncture
c. Paper was first produced in 150 B.C.