Topic 3B China

I don't think we will complete 3B for the test. Whatever we get up to in class is as far as we will go in the midterm. I'm not sure how far we will get so I am putting up the whole reading guide.

Reading Guide 3B China
97-109
How did the Qin state under Qin Shi unite China?
What sort of changes did Qin rule bring in terms of status and economics? What measures were used to unite China?
What kind of people was Qin Shi afraid of and how did he deal with them?
Who is Li Si? What philosophy did he follow and how did it influence the Qin Empire?
What are some of the reasons the Qin Empire is remembered poorly? What are some of its accomplishments?
How did the Qin empire fall?
Who is Liu Bang and what is he famous for?
How did was the Han dynasty similar and different from the Qin?
What was the role of Confucianism in the Han dynasty?
How was the Han dynasty viewed by later Chinese dynasties?
Who is Wu Di? What was his reign like?
What was the Silk Road?
How were China and Rome linked?
Look at the map on page 103. Why does the Han Empire have such a strange shape?
What sort of trade patterns emerged among the various empires in Europe and Asia?
How did the Han dynasty use exams to staff government posts? What effect did this have on Chinese politics?
Who is Wang Mang?
What is primogeniture? What problem did large landowners cause the government?
What is the Later Han and what is the Former Han? How did the Later Han re-establish Former Han’s glory?
Why did the Han dynasty fall?
Who are Ban Zhao and Ban Gu?
What were some of the Han dynasty’s achievements?

Sourcebook
China of the Ch’in and Han Dynasties

Ch’in Dynasty

The first Emperor Unifies China
How does the Qin emperor legitimize his conquest?
Why doesn’t the Qin emperor appoint kings to help him rule? What does he do instead?

The Great Wall
How big of a project was the Great Wall?

Edicts of an Emperor
Order
Why is the eclipse of the son important? What does it mean?
How are the king’s actions related to keeping order?

Agriculture
Why is the tax abolished?

Punishments
What are some of the punishments that are abolished? Why are they abolished?

The problem of the barbarian frontier
Why are the barbarians difficult to fight?
Why do the Chinese look down on the barbarians?

The trials of the Han in the far west
How are soldiers punished? What happened here and how is it being dealt with?

A mock contract between a slave and his master
What sort of joke is played on the slave?

Male favorites of the emperors?
How did males gain the favor of the emperor? What sorts of problems did they cause?

A remarkable empress
Why is the empress so remarkable?