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China: Empire, Silk Road, Buddhism

221 B.C.E. -800 C.E.

The Chin and Han rulers in China created an empire on scale with the Roman Empire of the same time period.

The first emperor undertook great feats of construction and empire building, but was a cruel, suspicious, paranoid, and stubborn megalomaniac. He was responsible for book burnings that caused the lost of many ancient texts, and the loss of hundreds of thousans of human lives.

The collapse of the Qin state made way for the creation of the Han Dynasty.

  • Emperor: Gaozu
  • Taxes reduced
  • Harsh laws removed from the record
  • Promoted economic recovery
  • Under the Han, the Chinese population grew and expanded into frontier regions of the dynasty.

The Han promoted:

  • Intellectual growth
  • Confucianism
  • Confucian scholar-official system
  • Confucian classics hidden during the Qin are recovered
  • Intellectualism flourishes!
  • Art, poetry, literature advance
  • Astrologers, seers, shamans are revered

In 114 BCE an army under the rule of Emperor Wu gained control of Central Asia, and an area called the Silk Road. The Silk Road:

  • was used to create a tributary system to regulate contact with foreign powers
  • Tributes were large and contributed to the state coffers
  • Trade became global as China, Rome, Persia, and Africa connected through trade
  • Europe began to import Chinese silk in large amounts

The spread of Buddhism:

  • Spread out of India as trade increased
  • Came to China along the Silk Road
  • Buddha's emphasis on kindness, charity, and eternal bliss was refreshing to the Chinese and spread rapidly
  • Had a large influence on visual arts
  • Women converted due to the possibility to achieving status with men in spiritual world
  • Critics tore down monastaries

Tang Dynasty 618-906 CE

  • Height of Buddhist influence
  • Territorial expansion
  • high culture

Period of Disunity 220-589 CE

  • North invaded by people from Steppelands and borders
  • South ruled by successive dynaties
  • Buddhism spreads

Hundreds of thousands of people drafted to build the Great Wall, and many died in the attempt.

Tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang

After the Warring States Period, China was unified under the Qin State.

  • The king of Qin invented the title "emperor" for himself (Qin Shi Huang)
  • Large program of centralization, administered by Leglalist Li Si.
  • Nobility forced to leave their lands and move to the capital
  • Private possession of arms outlawed
  • Officials sent out to administer the lands, given long lists of rules, reporting requirements, and penalties for poor performance
  • A census was ordered
  • The census helped estimate taxes, cost of public works, and labor force available for public works.
  • Chinese script was standardized to make information reception streamlined
  • Weights, measures, coinage was standardized as well under the first emporer
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