...Tong Zhang Pre-Modern East Asian History China: Introduction Written records of Chinese civilization date back to 1200 BCE. Naturally many parts of China have become worldwide attractions due to historical richness. The Dynasties of China covered in this chapter will be: Shang (1600 – 1050 BCE), Zhou (1046 – 256 BCE), Warring States Period (475 – 221 BCE), Qin (221 – 206 BCE) Han (206 BCE – 220 CE). Henan Museum, Zheng Zhou Yellow River Valley (Shang) Today, Zheng Zhou is the provincial capital of the Henan Province and is a fast growing city that is one of the centers of technology and politics in China. Lying on the southern bank of the Yellow River (Huang He) Zheng Zhou is home to many beautiful pagodas, Shaolin Temples, and amazing sceneries. Though a bustling megacity today, Zheng Zhou has been an integral part of since the Shang Dynasty of China starting in 1600 BCE. During the Bronze Age, the huge country we call China today had hardly developed. At the time, people understood very little so the base of Chinese culture known as Di (or god) was created. Di gave the Shang people a sense of predictability and understanding of the world. For example, they used Di to predict whether a harvest was to be good or bad. The Shang people communicated with Di through Oracle Bones and Pyromancy. Ritual specialists would use fire to strike a special oracle bone. The grains in the bone would crack in a certain direction and the Shang people would take that as a sign...
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...The first important point which should be mentioned is the central government structure and a good government can influence one dynasty’ prosperity. In the Qin dynasty, government was greatly bureaucratic, and the emperor was at the top of hierarchy. Qin Shi Huang gained the supreme power in politics, economy and military. Besides, the emperor grasped the all final decision makings, which means all policies have to go through the emperor’s hand, and nobody can intervene in the emperor’s word. Moreover, in central government, the emperor set up officials, such as the Prime Minister, Yu Shi Da Fu(Supreme Censor) and Tai Wei(Commander in Chief), to help him carry out his determinations, but the emperor still suffer heavy government affairs because...
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...growing agricultural population. V. Political factors: Presence of a king with distinguished roles. VI. Environmental factors: Stability of environment, natural boundaries. 2. Discuss the major features of the following in the early Chinese history showing those that have affected development of the modern world. 1. Political structures 2. The Chinese economy 3. Social structures 1. Political structures China had a government ruled y dynasties, united under one dynasty but often competing dynasties in controlling different regions. Ancient China’s resources, large areas and large populations demanded a strong central government. When one of these regional dynasties became dominant their king would become the emperor. The government these dynasties created tended to be very autocratic and even despotic, ruthlessly enforcing...
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...considered the 8th world wonder to some, there have been many new exciting discoveries about China’s first emperor and the Chinese civilization. The 7,000 and counting terracotta warriors were discovered by a local farmer who was digging a well for his family. The Terracotta Warriors were made during the rule of Emperor Qin Shi Huang- who was the first emperor to rule China as a whole in Chinas known history. The terracotta warriors were created and then fired in a kiln 100’s at a time by the citizens and craftsmen inside of the Qin Empire. Terra Cotta warriors were very important to Chinese culture. Even, archeologists are excavating the...
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...terracotta army provides evidences on the Chinese cultures and their way of life during the time when it was built. The terracotta army reflects the overall society structure during the Qin Dynasty, but it also reflect their religious belief in the afterlife, and how important it was to them. The terracotta army was discovered on March 1974 by a group of local farmers who were digging a well. More specifically, it...
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...been sentenced to death and would never leave this place alive. Under these terrible conditions thousands of unhappy human beings managed to construct one of the most beautiful works of art ever seen.” (Capek, 2008, p.27) The terracotta warriors are a collection of sculptures that depict the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of china. The terracotta warriors are a form of funerary art that were buried with Qin Shi, and were created to serve and protect him in the afterlife. He also had the warriors built to ensure that Qin Shi had loyal followers after his death. It is believed that the Terracotta Army were created around the time of 3rd century BC and were discovered in 1974 by local farmers of Lintong in the Shazznxi province. It has been estimated that there were around 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots and 670 cavalry/horses that were buried in the pits of Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum. The purpose of this historical investigation is to determine what the discovery of the Terracotta warriors shows us about ancient Chinese society, and why it is important to preserve them? To ensure a well developed exploration of the Terracotta Warriors it is essential to examine the emperor, Chinese society, the army, construction and structure of the warriors, burial vaults and...
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...to surpass that of the United States by 2020. It also has a long and colorful history, and one of the greatest unanswered archaeological riddles of all time. Qin Shi Huang Di, originally named Ying Zheng, changed his name after being crowned the first emperor of China. He is perhaps the most renowned and reviled ruler of Imperial China. His achievements during his fifteen years of rule (221 – 210 BCE) are staggering. Most notable of these is the Great Wall of China, but his greatest accomplishment, and the country’s greatest mystery may well be his own tomb (Sayre, 2011). Many unanswered questions surround this burial mound. The site achieved world-wide recognition in 1974, when farmers accidently stumbled upon an underground chamber filled with life-size statues. The discovery of the terra cotta warriors has led to a monumental project uncovering four pits, with an estimated 8,000 figures. To date, the entire complex, with all its contents, has yet to be revealed (Jing, 2009). Historical records indicate the site took at least 700,000 workers to construct over 36 years (originally started in 246 BCE, when Zheng was crowned the king of Qin at the age of thirteen). The pit excavated for the tomb is approximately 820,000 square feet, and dug in layers that reached an overall depth of 100 feet. Si Ma Qian’s Shi Ji, a court historian from the Han Dynasty wrote, “The tomb is filled with models of palaces, pavilions and offices as well as fine vessels, precious stones and rarities...
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...My Last Words: Qin Shihuangdi Reginald Leron Butler HUM 111 Dr. Aurello D. Givens November 26, 2014 My Last Words: Qin Shihuangdi My life began over 2,000 years ago in the seven states known today as China. At the age of 13 I took the throne as emperor, but due to my youth and lack of leadership, I had to relinquish power to my father figure, Prime Minister Lu Buwei. Lu Buwei was a very successful business man in Qin who introduced a sustainable tax system to the land as well as manufacturing and trade. Buwei efforts along with his involvement with the powers that be at the time brought great fortune to Qin which also created an economic climate for war. Buwei reign would last for 8 years until he was caught trying to take my throne, in an assassination attempt, when I was just 24 years of age. Lu Buwei latter took his own life in fear that I would come after him in his exile (Szczepanski, 2013). In the wake of the Prime Ministers death, I was able to take full control of my kingdom and in doing so I made some changes to the legislation. Because there were many assassination attempts on my life, paranoia took its toll on me, shaping my thoughts and actions. Due to this revelation, I had to make a change in legislation to fit my needs. First I banished all scholars from my court. Next I took away all freedom of expression of those that would oppose me. I even change the currency so that instead of many coins being accepted by merchants there would now only be...
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...The Terracota Army The Terracota Army The Terracota Army was discovered in 1974 in China. The emperor Qin the first ordered that at his death they should build an army of 7,000 men. The army was buried in his grave so the army will carry him in the next life. This was many years ago, during Qin´s empire, therefore anybody knew about of its existence. In the year of 1974, in one place in China called Xian, a group of farmers were working on his crops and were making a well to take out water, but instead of water they found pieces of broken people figures and bronze weapons, they had armor and each carried a weapon that could be bow, spear or sword. Immediately they alerted the authorities and the notice got to Beijing, and they sent to Xian one group of archeologists, and unburied one large number of warriors and horses of terracotta. The Terracota is a mixture of clay and soil. First the good land is chosen, washed and mixed with sand to make good clay. The terracotta warriors and horses were made piece by piece. The human figure is made from the bottom up. First they built the base platform. Then they made the hollow body and arms. Head and hands are made separately and then join the body. Figures were left to dry in the shade. Of all the work the hardest part is the head, as it must be unique and different personality traits. The horses were made in different parts, head, neck, body, four legs, tail and ears are glued together and are sculpted and dried. The...
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...The first emperor’s tomb, which is located about 1.5 kilometres east of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang mausoleum, 35 kilometres East of Xian contained 7500 life sized terracotta models of the emperor’s army, from foot soldiers and crossbowmen to charioteers and officers. Each was based on a real life soldier. The first tomb was discovered in 1974 by a group of farmers digging a well, and additional chambers were discovered in 1976. With the farmers discovering the warriors not intentionally this is known as a chance find. The procedure they went through to uncover the warriors was once the farmers discovered the head of a warrior they then called Yuan Zhongyi an archaeologist who first arrived in 1974, with his college Zhao Kangmin who originally collected all the broken pieces of the warrior and then reconstructed the first terra-cotta warrior. Mr Yuan Zhongyi then exposed, processed and recorded the evidence found, this then was the method that the archaeologist were using to uncover more of the tombs. The tomb was excavated by hand, because any use of machinery would/could have disrupted the evidence and could have destroyed the entire army of warriors. Some of the handheld instruments they used were, Marshalltown trowel- used for digging and unearthing artefacts and features, paintbrushes- used for delicate work around artefact and features, Sunnico Pointing Trowel- another tool to use for digging, and several others. Pit 1 is the largest of the three pits. It measures 230...
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...Siyao Xu Dr. Fisk CSCI 301 Term Paper Revision #1 24 November 2012 Internet Censorship of the People’s Republic of China 2000 years ago, in Qin Dynasty. The ancient Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang launched the infamous event "Burning of the Books". He burned all the books from the countries he conquered and thousands of Scholars were killed. Why it happened? The reason is simple, Qin Shi Huang wanted to censor any of the information either threat him or his nation. Today, the speed and the scale of the Internet development in China is incredible. However, development always accompanied with troubles. The globe is connected with the Internet. China is in front of a crossroads, a more open Internet society or another "Burning of the Internet"? The rest of the article will discuss the following points. 1. The background of the Chinese Internet censorship 2. Legal basis and requirements 3. Chinese Internet censorship measures 4. Cases of Internet censorship 5. The impact of Internet censorship 1. The background of the Chinese Internet censorship “The 23rd China Internet Development Statistics Report” released by the China Internet Network Information Center, CNNIC, in January 2009, according to the report, as the end of 2008, the number of Internet users in China had reached 298 million people, the number of mobile Internet had reached 117.6 million people. Internet penetration rate is 22.6%. Chinese netizens more than the United States, are the highest...
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...China in Africa Christopher Ransom On October 24, 2013, Professor Deborah Brautigam, from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, spoke on China’s impact in Africa. She began by discussing China’s thirst for resources in the area and how it was evident from her very first visit to Liberia in 1983. Professor Brautigam has written two books on the subject: Chinese aid and African Development and The Dragon’s Gift, so she seems to be a very reliable source of information. Initially one would think that the involvement is very big with twenty-five big dams built by Chinese funding, but a closer look shows that only five of the twenty-five were actually relevant operations of the Chinese. With that said, she did say that the engagement with Africa does present a very difficult situation with the tree and ivory demand of China. The high demand of both these goods makes for a very unhealthy and dangerous situation to the environment of Africa. Professor Brautigam then spoke on the partnership of China and Sudan and the deadliness of this. China is the largest supplier of guns to Africa. It goes without saying that this is not a good thing and results in a very dangerous atmosphere. Even with all of the downsides to the partnership of China and Africa Professor Brautigam did want to strip away all of the myths of the relationship. To begin she discussed how long they have been there, which has been since about the 1950s and has really ramped...
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...the basic harmony of nature: Every feature is balanced by an opposite, every yin by a yang. According to this philosophy, an individual should find a way, called Dao, to relate to this harmony. Patterns in Classical China China has maintained the clearest links to its classical past. Already a pattern was set in motion that lasted until the early part of the 20th century. Dynasties would start rule, develop strong political institutions, and encourage an active economy. But afterwards, the dynasty would grow weaker and tax revenues declined, while social divisions increased in the larger society. As one dynasty went down, another emerged and repeated the pattern. * Three dynasties covered the centuries of classical China: Zhou, Qin, and Han. Zhou The Zhou dynasty lasted from 1029 to 258 b.c.e. The dynasty only until about 700 b.c.e. flourished. They replaced the Shang rulers. It was then declined by political infrastructure and frequent invasions by nomadic people from border regions. * Government was not very powerful. * Rulers didn’t have the means to control their territories directly. * In exchange for land, supporters were supposed to provide the government with troops and tax revenues. * Extended territory by taking over the Yangtze river valley. (Middle Kingdom) * Wheat grew in the North and rice in the Southpopulation growth. * Difficult to communicaterely on loyal supporters. * Began the spoken language of Mandarin Chinese ...
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...Chen Hanyu A0110820B Tutorial D5 Question 1: Introduction For this paper, I will be discussing two opposing ideologies, Confucianism and Legalism. Towards the later part of ancient China (e.g Han dynasty), states started to adopt a mixture of Confucianism and Legalistic ideology. Why did Legalism and Confucianism fall off? In this paper I will explore and provide my own insights on the shortcomings of both ideologies; how Legalism was more persuasive in getting people to accept their ideas and more effective as an ideology and how Confucianism lost out in both aspects. Persuasiveness of Legalism The central idea of legalism was to provide absolute power to the person in charge and the supremacy of authority. Legalists like Han Fei Zi believed that human nature was “evil” and strict rules should be in place to ensure order, similar to a shepherd and sheeps3. With this theory in mind, the idea of absolute power was very attractive to rulers of states. Rulers will exercise the “two handles” of reward and punishment accordingly to keep their subjects obedient and loyal. This ideology is even more appealing towards newly founded states that lack in the department of control over its subjects. If states can adopt the legalistic way of ruling, rulers can exercise their control over the whole state to maintain order. Therefore it is more likely for rulers to be persuaded into adopting legalism as their state ideology since it aligns with their objectives. When compared to Confucianism...
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...I did not know it would take me going half way around the world and nearly killing myself to overcome my fears. My sixth grade year had reached the end and so had my years at Homer Pittard Campus School. I had been there for seven years and had grown to know everyone in my grade. Before the graduation we had a brunch. At the end of it the teachers passed out fortune cookies that were made specifically for everyone. I remember the crackling of the cookie and the sound of the paper being pulled out. The fortune inside stated, “You will walk the Great Wall of China.” I did not think much about it at that time. Eventually, everyone got their fortunes and had to go on stage and present. Most of them were comical. For example, one of the fortunes read, “You will work at Starbucks,” but when it was time for me to present, no one laughed. They just nodded their heads like they agreed with the fortune cookie. Three years later I saw a glimmer of hope for the prophecy to become true. It was a normal day of my ninth grade year. I survived another grueling day of high school and walked out of school with friends. We waited for our parents to pick us up, wishing we were old enough to drive ourselves. Our routine trips my dad and me made to get home, he always stopped at the mailbox and told me to get the mail. We had an old mailbox that would screech at you when you tried to open it. When I finally managed to open it, there was only one envelope reading People to People on...
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