...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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...Mausoleum of the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang- constructed for over 38 years during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.). The mausoleum has both spectacular structures above the ground and rich funeral items buried beneath the ground, to protect and entertain the emperor in the afterlife, ranging from a complex of offices, stables, an armoury, sacrificial pits, and even an imperial zoo containing rare birds and animals. One of the most impressive feature of the tomb is, however, the gigantic scale of the terracotta warrior and horse figures, discovered in 1974. The discovery is regarded as one of the most...
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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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...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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...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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...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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...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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...Frankie Spellman Mr. Belal Humanities 7 April 2012 The Ming Dynasty’s Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China is one of the most creative pieces of work known to mankind. The construction of the wall began more than two thousand years ago. The construction of the wall was constructed by at least twenty different dynasties. The main purpose of the wall was to stop barbarians from the north from invading China and the Silk roads. The Silk roads were the main ways of traveling and for trading. A combination of many walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. The most famous is the wall built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Quin Shi Huang. Little of it remains, it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty [“Great Wall Origin of the Great Wall | History.” Great Wall of China, History, Gallery of Pictures, Travel Guide, News, Discovery and Research]. The protective walls across northern China are on a scale that dwarfs every other construction project on earth. The walls travel through all kinds of terrain, beneath the sea, over jagged mountain ranges, and into forgiving deserts. The wall builders faced endless challenges and found ingenious ways to overcome them. The great majority of construction required the workers to haul sand and other supplies on their backs up steep hills for hours on in. The Great Wall is a testament to human achievement...
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...Adams, Shatana English 97 Adams August 29, 2011 The comparison of two Chinese restaurants. Tehachapi, A small tourist town, is famous for their Chinese food and its old buildings. Once I moved to this town I was brought to both of the Chinese restraints for dinner. The Great Wall seemed so small, and like it was some kind of building that was just slapped together. The sunshine Buffet was in a better looking area, and better looking building. So which place would you consider going to? If you chose the Sunshine Buffet you’re thinking the way I was. They caught my eye by the decoration, and a better fit area. It’s out in the open, noticeable to people driving by on the street. Also the Sunshine Buffet restaurant caught my eye because of its nice, big building that looks like a high, expensive restaurant. Once entering the restaurant I noticed that the place seemed to be set up decently. They had a lot of seating that would fit at least six people a table. Sitting in my chair felt like I was sitting on a cloud. The space in-between you and others felt like you had your own wall blocking you from reality. Once we entered and got our seats we waited a good half hour to get our drinks. In the process of waiting on the poor servers, we went ahead and got our food since it was an open buffet. By the time we had got our food and sat back down our drinks showed up at our table. As we were getting ready to dig into our plates of food, we noticed that...
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...Brandon Mogi Dana M. Reemes History 110A MWF 11:00-11:50 16 March 2015 Chapter 8: The Unification of China The unification and expansion of China during the Qin and Han dynasties (221-220 B.C.E) was a rich tradition of the social and political philosophies of Confucians, Daoists, and Legalists was the foundation on which these and later dynasties rested. The important elements that contributed to the unification of China in this period were building a centralized bureaucracy staffed with professionals educated in Confucian thought and values, a prosperous economy based on technological and industrial development and long-distance trade, and standardization of the written language. Confucius was an educator and political advisor and his sayings were compiled in the Analects by his disciples. His ideas were fundamentally moral and ethical in character and practiced on how to restore political and social order. His ideas concentrated on the formation of junzi or superior individuals and did not allow personal interests influence their judgements. Confucius had edited the Zhou classics for his disciples to study. Ren, an example of key Confucian values, was a sense of humanity, kindness, and benevolence. There was also Li, a sense of propriety, courtesy, respect, and deference to elders. Lastly, there was Xiao, afilial piety and familial obligation. He wanted to cultivate personal morality and junzi for bringing order to China. One of the spokesmen for Confucian school was...
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