Classical+China

Leader Analysis Sheet
 * Name of Leader: Shi Huangdi ||
 * Lifespan: 259-210 BCE ||  Title: Chin Shi Huangdi (first emperor)  ||
 * Country/region: China ||  Years in Power: 35 years in power.  ||
 * Political, Social, & Economic Conditions Prior to Leaders Gaining Power: The Zhoa dynasty had collapsed from the weak connection under which they kept the area of the Middle Kingdom. Land was ruled by regional princes. They established alliances through marriages so the alliances were weak. Regional rulers ultimately established their own armies that reduced the emperor’s power to more of a figure head state. Culturally, the people believed in the search of a perfect leader like the teachings of Confucius. The economies were probably weak due to constant war. ||
 * Ideology, Motivation, Goals: Shi Huangdi believed in strong and swift rule. He ruled with an iron fist. He stripped the aristocrats of the power that they had to prevent any one regional ruler from gaining too much power. He appointed people that were not aristocrats to the position to govern the provinces as it would ensure that they received their power from him. His belief was that China’s weakness was due to the regional leaders. He wanted to expand his empire and also protect it. His leadership reflects that he strongly believed that anything that he could think of was fair game to exercise in power. He also hindered intellectual growth. He was also paranoid enough to kill anyone he believed was a threat. ||
 * Significant Actions & events During Term of Power: The greatest architectural achievement of Shi Huangdi was the building of the Great Wall which extended 3000 miles and was wide enough to have chariots move along the top of it. The union of all the regions of China was also something that Shi Haungdi is largely responsible for if not entirely responsible for it. ||
 * Short-Term effects:

His government was strongly against any formal culture and attacked it by the burning of books. Also levied high taxes that made him highly unpopular and used forced manual labor for his projects. || Long-Term Effects

The Great Wall of China still stands today and his sponsoring of irrigation systems and the development of silk in the economy. Also united all of China into one nation rather than separate provinces. ||

**__ Daoism __** Daoism is from my understanding the balance of everything in nature. The more good that people try to do, the more “bad” develops to even out the good.

Summary: The Three Jewels of Dao are compassion, moderation and humility. The premise of the belief being that the simpler the life is lived, the better it will be. What would best describe the balance is the Yin Yang symbol which shows in perfect harmony the balance between good and bad. A closer relationship with nature would simplify ordinary life and even make people happier and more prosperous than trying to maintain prosperous life in a metropolitan area that through opportunity has created corruption.

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Classical China Terms


 * Shi Huangdi ||  He was the first emperor of the Qin dynasty. He was largely responsible for the unity of China. He ruled with an iron fist and demanded respect. It was he who would eventually have the Great Wall fo China built to protect his empire from attack from the Huns. He also standardized the taxing system through a census and he also standardized weights.  ||
 * Qin ||  It was the Dynasty that Shi Huangdi created after he united the provinces of China. It was short lived as it would end with the death of Shi Huangdi. This dynasty was the first to truly introduce the bureaurcracy to China as the provinces were not ruled by lords but by emperor appointed officials.  ||
 * Han ||  The Han Dynasty was started by the end of the Qin dynasty. They continued the power of the Qin dynasty bureaurcracy but did something that Shi Huangdi had not done. They supported the growth of a Chinese culture through Daoism and Confucianism.  ||
 * Zhou ||  It was the dynasty before the Qin dynasty. Under this dynasty, China was very week as the regional warlords kept much of their previous power, and this would ultimately make the emperor a figure head. This would lead China into the era of Warring States.  ||
 * Great Wall ||  The Great Wall of China was built by the emperor Shi Huangdi in order to protect from the invasion of the Huns. It was and still is one of the greatest architectural achievement of human history. It was built on forced labor.  ||
 * Daoism ||  The belief that people had to have a special connection with nature to maintain the balance between the earth and the heavens. This encouraged a lot of research in the field of science.  ||
 * Confucianism ||  It was the belief that a perfect ruler was necessary for the advancement of China as a country. It would become a code of respect and polite manners to China and would become integral with the culture.  ||
 * Legalism ||  Legalists believed that people were naturally evil and required restraint and discipline. In a stable state, it was believed that the army would rule and the people would labor.  ||
 * Bureaucracy ||  The division of powers. The emperor would be the Son of Heaven and he would appoint leaders to each region which would in turn divide the land appointed to them even more and appoint more local leaders.  ||

** ESPIRIT Chart ** You must include main ideas and details in each category

Civilization/Nation/Group: Han Dynasty

Time Period 206BCE to 220 ACE media type="custom" key="6960141" || The Chinese Dynasties of Classical China would go from **__Zhao__** (Joe), **__Qin__** (Chin), and the **__Han__** dynasties. The Zhao dynasty would be responsible for the division of China. Under their rule, regional leaders had more power than the emperors as the emperor would only be more of a figure head that would
 * E || The economy of China was flourishing. As part of the culture, China did not look for a foreign market because they believed they did not need to intermingle with other peoples. The occasional trade with India did occur. Shi Huangdi encouraged the development of the silk industry which would lead to European interest in it. Just like it happened with paper. Crops still fueled the economy.
 * S || The social structure became really “structured” as specialized jobs would often lead to a tight knit relationship with the family. Often extended families would live in the same house. Grandparents, parents and kids. This would take a role in the increasing strength of the partriarchal society that China was becoming. ||
 * P || Political power was divided. There would be the Emperor, who was believed to be the “Son of Heaven” He would have absolute power over the Empire. Then he would appoint officials to rule over the provinces for better governing. These people would then in turn also assign officials to control smaller areas. ||
 * I || There were leads in Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism. See the wordlle for more information. ||
 * R || There was no religious dominance over the Chinese empire because of the intelectual growth and due to the fact that it was too hard to instate one religion for the whole country. Buddhism would ultimately gain popularity. ||
 * I || Confucianism would become an integral part of the culture in China as it still is today were it emphasized respect. This would help with the respect towards the leaders. ||
 * T || There was the development of silk, metal working and the plow was bettered. This would speed up agriculture. ||