Ancient China: Ancient China Annie Pritchard


Art: Art


Jade: Jade Jade was believed to preserve the dead People believed that jade has special/magical properties Jade was originally used on ceremonial occasions The quality of jade used to be very good but became less and less quality Jade was used commonly in daily life in the Tang and Song dynasties


Jade: Jade


Bronze: Bronze Bronze was used to make: Vessels used for ritual Pots Bells Mirrors Weapons


Bronze: Bronze


Silk: Silk The ancient Chinese people’s silk was used worldwide They kept their methods a secret Silk was a very unique type of art in ancient China


Silk: Silk


Ceramics: Ceramics The Chinese ceramics were very high quality The ceramics reached a highly advanced stage around the time of the Shang dynasty (1500-1050 BC) The design of Chinese kilns allowed their ceramics to be evenly heated


Ceramics: Ceramics


Ink: Ink Chinese ink was around the time of the Han dynasty 206 BC-220 AD The brush on the tool used with ink was usually made with animal hair Ink was made from animal glue and pine soot


Ink Picture: Ink Picture


Paintings: Paintings Around the time of the Tag Dynasty Painted on silk, stone and wood The brush pen was made of animal hair Ink that was used to paint was usually made from pine soot and animal glue (also writing ink)


Paintings: Paintings


Gunpowder: Gunpowder The Chinese were the starters of the use of gunpowder and because of their invention, it had spread through all the countries and was being used for military (guns) Gunpowder was said to be one of the greatest Chinese inventions


Gunpowder: Gunpowder


Shih Huang Ti: Shih Huang Ti Part of the ch’in dynasty Lead to the building of the great wall of China


Shih Huang Ti: Shih Huang Ti


Religion: Religion


Confucianism: Confucianism Taught loyalty Unselfishness Courteous A good citizen was someone who did their duty for the government (they used Confucianism to convince others to do their duty)


Confucius: Confucius Confucius was born in 551 BC Grew up and became a politician and a philosopher Was alive when the Chou dynasty was decaying He believed that the decline was occurring because China had abandoned the traditional ways of thinking and living their lives


Confucius: Confucius


Buddhism: Buddhism Finding peace through a “eightfold path” Rightness of views Intention Speech Action Effort Livelihood Mindfulness Concentration


Siddharta Gautana: Siddharta Gautana He founded Buddhism in the 500’s He was called “the enlightened one” and Buddha His belief and goal of Buddhism was to throw off self interest through meditation and right living


Taoism: Taoism Started around 600 BC Invented by Lao Zi-he invented the “path” to contentment “Tao” literally means “the path” or “the way” He follower has to pursue Tao They shouldn’t try to change nature Not forcing nature to do something it wasn't meant to do


Taoism-Lao Zi: Taoism-Lao Zi


Law and Courts: Law and Courts


Confucianism/Legalism: Confucianism/Legalism Legalism is everyone is born bad by nature and needs to be punished Legalism was organized through laws and punishments Confucianism-Human behavior was formed through education


Law: Law Criminal Law had been declared by various rulers Chinese law is one of the oldest legal traditions in the world Chinese law has been based on the Confucian philosophy for most of its history People who went into law had to have good education


Military: Military


The Shang Dynasty: The Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty’s kings could mobilize large armies for warfare They had huge numbers of workers to construct defensive walls and elaborate tombs They made most of their weapons out of bronze


Historical Military: Historical Military China had and still has the worlds most advanced military Their ancient military started at about 1500 BCE up until the present day Most armies were divided into three divisions


Military: Military


Weapons: Weapons Dagger-Axes Spears Bows Cross-Bows


Spear: Spear


Technology: Technology


Inventions: Inventions The Chinese have made some of the greatest inventions yet The compass Clocks (the shadow clock) Medicine Acupuncture Herbs/Herbal medicine Gunpowder Food Pasta Paper Toilet paper Other paper goods


Architecture: Architecture


Roofs: Roofs Roofs were one of the most important parts of a house or a building Curved roofs were said to ward off evil spirits (evil spirits were straight lines) The shape of every roof has some sort of significance The more wealthy people had rafters on their roofs-they were said to be for higher class and they were more expensive Most roofs were curved


Chinese Roofs: Chinese Roofs


Materials: Materials Tiles Stone Bricks Red Gray Wood (wooden structures) Very vulnerable for earthquakes Easily flammable


Chinese Stone Building: Chinese Stone Building


Influences on…: Influences on… Vietnamese architecture Korean architecture Taiwanese architecture


Features of a Chinese House: Features of a Chinese House Dining room Kitchen Most houses had a shrine Most Chinese architecture emphasizes the horizontal axis Living room Almost every house had two wings on either side of the shrine The wings were said to be for the junior members of the family


Writing: Writing


Dizhaun Writing: Dizhaun Writing Etched on bronze vessels Late Shang to Chou dynasties (1100 bce-700 bce) Overlapped with the Oracle bone script “Greater seal”


Xiaozhuan: Xiaozhuan “Lesser Seal” This writing is not as angular as modern writing It still exists and is used for calligraphy and seals It is much like modern Chinese script Less pictographic than Oracle Bone


Xiaozhuan: Xiaozhuan


Lishu: Lishu Used during Qin and Han dynasties “Clerky Script” Chinese writing hasn’t changed in over 3,500 years


Lishu: Lishu


Jiaguwen: Jiaguwen Oracle bone script They etched characters on turtle shells and animal bones Lasted from middle to late Shang dynasty (1500 bce-1000 bce) They wrote pictographic which stylized drawings of objects that they represented Earliest form of Chinese writing Bones were used for divination in royal courts Then they became known as “oracle bones”


Jiaguwen: Jiaguwen


Government: Government


Ch’in Dynasty: Ch’in Dynasty 221 bce-206 bce Stabilized China Ch’in means China Their laws were strictly enforced (they were influenced by legalists) The west first heard about china during the Ch’in dynasty Developments Standardized system of weights and measures Carried out irrigation projects Gave peasants lands to live on They build the great wall of China for defense (202 bce-220 ce)


Han: Han Brought Confucianism into the government system Scholars who had studied Confucianism ran the government Developments Paper Writers recorded China’s history People first learned of Buddhism


Qing/Manchu Dynasty: Qing/Manchu Dynasty 1644-1911 Unable to stop China from being overrun by foreigners Britain defeated China in Oplum Wars Chinese people thought that Manchus had lost Mandate of Heaven Japan seized Formost (now Taiwan) Began to support nationalists China was ruled by different parts British French American Japanese German Russian


Shang Dynasty: Shang Dynasty 1766 c -1040 bce The first dynasty to have written records Believed in human sacrifice When a king died, any of his slaves were buried with him When a king died, his oldest brother became king Developments 30 day lunar calendar Agricultural economy Bronze artistry


Chou Dynasty: Chou Dynasty Semi nomadic people who overthrew the Shangs Developments Feudal system Gave land to nobles who divided it among families Families were loyal to the nobles and the nobles were loyal to Chorus Learned to extract iron from rocks and made powerful weapons They build walls around cities, irrigation systems, and dams Taxed subjects


Age of Warring States: Age of Warring States Interlude between the Chou dynasty and the Ch’in dynasty The Chou dynasty became weaker as nobles gained more power Confucius tried to develop good government The Chinese philosopher believed in government morality, justice, sincerity, etc. Legalists influenced the next dynasty Believed that citizens had no individual rights Believed in strength of government


Smaller Dynasties: Smaller Dynasties Sui Tang Song Yuan Ming


Economics: Economics


Style of Economy: Style of Economy The Chinese leadership has gone from a soviet style economy which was more planned to more of a marked oriented economy


Foreign Trade: Foreign Trade Foreign trade was a major move in China’s economic growth The Chinese mostly traded with the west Some traders went to India Other traders went along the northern Silk Road through Turkey


Money: Money The Chinese began using cowire shells and metal coins for money-1800 BC By 400 BC China had bronze coins that were started by the Chou dynasty By 1100 AD, people began to use paper money in China


Trade/Food: Trade/Food People usually shipped silk to the west and imported gold Silk was traded for other goods services while they traveled along the “Silk Route” The ancient Chinese fished, farmed, and irrigated the land The Chinese farmed mostly wheat and rice