Chapter 3 Section 3&4

The Chinese Dynasties

The Mandate of Heaven was a claim by the Chinese that their kings or emperors had the authority to rule and keep

order in the universe, directly from heaven.

The Xia were the first dynasty; we don’t know much about them except that their territory was a small area of land in

the Huang He river valley.

The Shang dynasty came next and expanded the territory. The king broke the country into provinces and had members of the aristocracy rule them. They had many large cities, bronze weapons, worshipped

their ancesetors, and used oracle bones to tell the future.

The Zhou dynasty came next. It lasted for over 900 years. They continued to expand and enlarge the number of cities. Filial piety and the standardization of the written language were characteristics of this

time period.

After the fall of the Zhou dynasty, the Warring States period erupted. No central government could control the various states. It was during

this time (lasting about 180 years) that Confucious lived.

One boy for the Warring State of QIN, was successful in defeating, then uniting the other states. His name was Qin Shi Huangdi. He followed Legalism, burned books, killed teachers, killed any who opposed him but created an

efficient bureucracy, standardized weights & coins, and built thousands of miles of roads.

Although the Great Wall of China as we know it today was built about 1000 years ago, Shi Huangdi did build and connect several defensive

walls to keep out the Mongols.

The Han Dynasty comes next. It was started by a peasant named Liu Bang. The Empire was greatly expanded during this time due to many

great technological advancements and great leaders like Han Wudi (war-like emperor of the Han)