The Qin and Han Dynasties For use with pages

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1 Name Date Class READING ESSENTIALS AND STUDY GUIDE 7-3 The Qin and Han Dynasties For use with pages Key Terms acupuncture: sticking thin needles into specific points on a patient s body to relieve pain (page 246) Drawing From Experience Have you ever eaten a peanut butter sandwich? How about an orange from Florida or an apple from Washington? We get our food, clothes, and other things from all around the United States and the world. As we get goods from other places, we also learn about different ideas. People have always shared ideas as they traded goods. In the previous section, you learned about China s early dynasties. In this section, you will learn about the Qin and Han dynasties. You will also learn about trade on the Silk Road, and about how Buddhism spread into China. Organizing Your Thoughts Many things were invented during the Han dynasty. Use details from the text to help you fill in the blanks. Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Medicine 1. Mining and ironwork 2. Government 3. Ships 4. Mills

2 Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Name Date Class Emperor Qin Shihuangdi (page 241) Qin Shihuangdi used harsh methods to unify and defend China. From about 400 B.C. to 200 B.C., the rulers of local states fought one another. Eventually, Qin took over its neighboring states. In 221 B.C., the ruler declared himself Qin Shihuangdi. That means the First Qin Emperor. The Qin ruler made changes in China s government that would last 2,000 years. A Powerful Ruler Qin used the ideas of Legalism. Anyone who did not agree with him was punished. Many people were killed. Books that did not agree with him were publicly burned. Qin made the central government stronger. He appointed government officials called censors. Censors made sure that other government officials did their jobs. In the provinces, the officials used to pass their posts on to sons or relatives. Qin changed that. He now filled those jobs with his friends and other people loyal to him. Qin created one currency, or type of money. Everyone in the empire used that money. He also built roads and a huge canal. The canal connected the Chang Jiang in central China to the city of Guangzhou in southern China. He used the canal to ship supplies to his armies all over China. The Great Wall The Gobi is located at China s northern border. Nomads lived in the Gobi. Nomads are people who move from place to place with herds of animals. The Chinese called the nomads the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu were masters at fighting on horseback. They often attacked Chinese farms and villages. Several Chinese rulers in the north built walls to keep out the Xiongnu. Qin thought that walls were a good idea. He forced farmers to connect and strengthen the walls with stone, sand, and trash. The result: The Great Wall of China! However, Qin did not build the wall that we know today. That was built 1,500 years later. 122

3 Name Date Class Why did People Rebel? Many Chinese thought Qin was a cruel leader. Aristocrats were angry because he reduced their power. Scholars hated him for burning their writings. Farmers hated him for making them build roads and the Great Wall. Qin died in 210 B.C.. Four years later, the people overthrew his dynasty. Civil war followed. Soon there was a new dynasty. 6. Why did no one rebel against Qin? Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Han Dynasty (page 244) Developments during the Han dynasty improved life for all Chinese. In 202 B.C. Liu Bang founded the Han dynasty. Born a peasant, he became a military leader. Liu Bang called himself Han Gaozu. That means Exalted Emperor of Han. Han Gaozu threw out the harsh policies of the Qin dynasty. But he still used censors to watch the other officials. He also kept the empire divided into provinces and counties. What Was the Civil Service? Han Wudi was one of the greatest Han leaders. Han Wudi means Martial Emperor of Han. He ruled from 141 B.C. to 87 B.C. Wudi gave tests to the people looking for jobs. The people with the highest scores got the jobs. In time, Wudi s tests became the civil service examinations. The Chinese chose their government officials this way for two thousand years. The system favored the rich. Only they could educate their sons for the exams. Students prepared for these tests for years. They studied law, history, and the teachings of Confucius. After many years of schooling, the students took the exams. Only one in five passed. People who failed the exams taught or worked for government officials. 123

4 Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Name Date Class The Chinese Empire Grows The rulers needed a large bureaucracy to help them keep order. That was hard because the empire grew from 20 million people to more than 60 million people! Some changes occurred in how land was divided. Farmers used to divide their land among their sons. After many years, the average farm was too small to grow crops. So many farmers sold their land to an aristocrat. The farmers became tenant farmers, or people who work on land owned by someone else. They paid rent for the land in crops. Soon the aristocrats owned thousands of acres. China kept growing. Han armies added lands to the south and west. They also drove back the Xiongnu, or the nomads to the north. The Chinese lived in peace for almost 150 years. An Era of Inventions New inventions during the Han dynasty helped Chinese workers produce more. Waterwheels, iron drill bits, steel, and paper were all invented. Chinese medicine improved, too. Doctors discovered that certain foods prevented disease. They used herbs to cure illnesses. They also stuck thin needles into people to get rid of pain. This treatment is known as acupuncture. The Chinese invented the rudder to steer ships and a new way to move the sails of ships. These changes allowed ships to sail into the wind for the first time. Now Chinese merchant ships could travel to the islands of Southeast Asia and into the Indian Ocean. As a result, China established trade in India and the Mediterranean Sea. 7. How did China s empire increase in size during the Han dynasty? 124

5 Name Date Class The Silk Road (page 246) The Silk Road carried Chinese goods as far as Greece and Rome. Han Wudi sent out a general named Zhang Qian to explore areas west of China. Thirteen years later, Zhang returned to China and told everyone about the Roman Empire and another kingdom perhaps Kazakhstan that had large horses. This sparked Wudi s interest in the West. He encouraged trade to get these horses, and the result was the Silk Road. The Silk Road was a large network of trade routes. It stretched 4,000 miles from western China to southwest Asia. Merchants used camels to carry their goods to central Asia. From there, Arabs carried them to the Mediterranean Sea. The trip over the Silk Road was difficult, dangerous, and expensive. Merchants carried only silk, spices, tea, and porcelain. People paid a lot for these things, so the merchants made big profits. This helped pay the taxes along the Silk Road. 8. Why were only expensive goods carried on the Silk Road? Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Major Changes in China (page 248) Unrest in China helped Buddhism to spread. Merchants and teachers brought Buddhism to China during the A.D. 100s. Many Chinese began to believe in Buddhism because of the fall of the Han dynasty. The Han emperors after Wudi were weak and foolish. People did not respect the rulers. The central government lost power because its rulers could not keep control. The 125

6 Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Name Date Class aristocrats began stealing land from farmers. And the farmers got upset because the central government was not protecting them. They rebelled. There were wars and plots against the emperor, too. This ended the Han dynasty. A rebel army attacked the capital of Luoyang in A.D By A.D. 220, China was in a civil war. To make things worse, the nomads invaded the country. Many Chinese felt unsafe. Buddhist ideas helped people cope with their stress and fear. Followers of Confucius became Buddhists, too. So did many Daoists. By the A.D. 400s, Buddhism was popular in China. 9. What groups in China were the first to adopt Buddhism? 126

The Qin and Han Dynasties

The Qin and Han Dynasties Four Chinese Dynasties Section Overview This section describes the first civilizations in China and how the geography of the region, especially its rivers, mountains, and deserts,