A Unified China

1
A Unified China

• Around 256 B.C. the feudal state of Qin becomes
  very powerful.
• By about 220 B.C. Qin and its King Cheng rule
  almost all of China
• King Cheng changes his title to Qin Shihuangdi,
  meaning, first emperor

2
Managing the Empire

• Qin divides empire into 36 provinces
• Two officials were placed in charge of each
  province
• Changed system in which officials passed jobs on
  to their sons
• Set up a bureaucracy
• Each worker appointed a job and trained for that
  job
• Each worker gets a salary, follows strict set of
  rules, and answers to a supervisor

3
Unifying the Empire

• People in China had developed their own systems
  of measurement and
• Different regions also used different characters
  for writing
• Qin sets new standards
• All measurements had to be the same
• Only one kind of legal
• Standard written characters
• People all over could communicate
• Qin also changes rules of land ownership
• Took land from nobles and ended the feudal system

4
The Han Dynasty

• A few years after the death of Qin, his dynasty
  was overthrown
• Han rulers ended many of the harsh laws and heavy
  taxes of Qin rule
• Thus, gaining their subjects loyalty
• Under Han rule the empire expanded
• This resulted in the growth of a major trade
  route
• The Silk Road
• Han rulers kept their land closed to outsiders
• Many advancements of the dynasty went unknown
• Silk making
• Medical advancements acupuncture
• Invention of paper

5
Reunification

• From the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 to 589
  the government of China changed hands often.
• Emperor Wen and the Sway Dynasty reunites the
  empire in 589

6
Reunification

• Wen organized public works projects
• Focused peoples attentions on common goals of the
  empire
• Founded colleges for study of classics as well as
  schools for study of writing, accounting and law
• Organized government into efficient
  administrative system
• Different departments served different functions