Name ______________________________ Class ________________________ Date _____________

First Empires in Africa and Asia

Lesson 4

The Unification of China

Key Terms and People
Confucius China’s most influential scholar
filial piety children’s respect for their parents and elders
bureaucracy organization of government into agencies and departments
Daoism philosophy of Laozi that puts people in touch with the forces of nature
Legalism Chinese idea that a highly efficient and powerful government is the key
to social order
I Ching Chinese book that gave advice on practical and everyday problems
yin and yang powers that govern the natural rhythms of life and must be balanced
Qin Dynasty dynasty that unified China
Shi Huangdi first emperor of China; leader of the Qin Dynasty
autocracy government in which the ruler has unlimited power

Before You Read

In the last lesson, you read about the Persian Empire.
In this lesson, you will learn how China was restored to order.

As You Read
Summarize the basic ideas of Chinese philosophies.

Confucius and the Social husband and wife, older and younger
Order brothers, and friend. The family
How did Confucius try to restore relationships, he thought, were the most
order in China? important. Confucius stressed that
After the fall of the Zhou Dynasty, children should practice filial piety. This
China became a land of troubles. is respect for parents and elders.
Ancient Chinese values were forgotten. Confucius also tried to make
Their civilization seemed doomed. Yet government better. He helped create the
some thinkers tried to find ways to basis of a bureaucracy. This is a system
restore these values. of departments and agencies for running
One of the most important thinkers the government. Education was
was Confucius. He was born in 551 BC. important for the people who held jobs
Confucius believed that order could in this kind of government. Over time,
return. But first, the people would have the ideas of Confucius spread to other
to work at five basic relationships. These countries of East Asia.
were ruler and subject, father and son,
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Name______________________________ Class ________________________ Date _____________

Lesson 4, continued

1. How did Confucius try to restore Shi Huangdi doubled the size of
ancient Chinese values? China. He established an autocracy. In
this kind of government, a ruler has
They try by practicing the unlimited power. Shi Huangdi forced
lial piety, which is respect wealthy nobles to give up their land in
for parents and elders. the country and move to his capital city.
He destroyed his enemies. The emperor
Other Ethical Systems wanted to control ideas, too. He ordered
What other ethical systems his government to burn books.
developed? Shi Huangdi also had peasants build
Another thinker of this period was a network of roads that linked one
Laozi. He said nature follows a universal corner of the empire to another. He set
force called the Dao, or the Way. His standards for writing, law, money, and
beliefs are called Daoism. weights and measures to be followed
Other thinkers formed a set of beliefs throughout the empire.
called Legalism. They said the In the past, some Chinese rulers had
government should use the law to built sections of wall to try to block
restore order in China. attacks from northern nomads. Shi
Some Chinese people looked for Huangdi had hundreds of thousands of
practical advice in solving problems. poor people connect these sections of
They might refer to a book called I wall and make a huge barrier. When
Ching. Other people turned to the idea finished, the Great Wall of China
of yin and yang. These two powers stretched for thousands of miles.
represented the harmony between These steps won the emperor little
opposite forces in the universe. support. When he died, his son took the
2. What was the basic purpose of all throne. Just three years into his reign,
these ethical systems? peasants revolted and managed to
overthrow the emperor. By 202 BC, the
Qin Dynasty had given way to a new
To restore order in China dynasty, the Han Dynasty.
3. Name at least three changes that Shi
Huangdi made.
The Qin Dynasty Unifies China
What happened during the Qin 1. Forced nobles to give up their lands
Dynasty?
2. He set standards for writing,law, etc
A 13-year-old ruler became ruler of
the Qin Dynasty. He ended the troubles 3. He burn books
of the warring states. This young ruler
used the ideas of Legalism to unite
China. After ruling for 20 years, he took
a new name—Shi Huangdi. This means
“First Emperor.”

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Name______________________________ Class ________________________ Date _____________

Lesson 4, continued

As you read this section, take notes summarizing the basic ideas of the
following Chinese philosophies.
1. Confucianism Ideas about social order: Ideas about government:
He believed that people He believed in
Founder:
should work on ve
bureaucracy and
basic relationships,
legalism, he believed
ruler and subject, father
and son, husband and
that rulers did not use
wife, and older and to force to return
Confucius harmony to society.
younger brother, and
friends. And in respect
elders and parents

2. Daoism Ideas about order and Ideas about a universal

harmony: force:
Founder: They believe that
That Laozi follow a
Laozi universal order call people need to
Dap or the ways see themselves
as nature, that
lead a a
equivalent life

3. Legalists Ideas about social order: Ideas about government:

Founder:

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54 Guided Reading Workbook