DYNASTIES OF CHINA
NAME OF DYN ASTY	SHANG (70-71)	ZHOU (220-221)	QIN (221-222)	HAN (222-224)
Date of existence	1700 B.C. to 1000 B.C.	1000 B.C. to 221 B.C.	221 B.C. to 210 B.C.	207 B.C. 220 A.D.
Characteristics of their government	Kings were political and religious leader. Communicated with nature deities on behalf of the people. Specials powers to call upon their ancestors. Ruled most of the Huang He Valley. Weak leaders	Called king Son of Heaven. Agriculture system set up where nobles own land, peasants worked land. Local lord appointed to control work. Had army. Begin to challenge “Son of Heaven”	Organized empire into military districts w/ appointed officials. Used forced labor of peasants to expand empire. Censored scholars Seen as cruel king by subjects. Lost the mandate of Heaven	Liu Bang overthrew Qin. Used same forms of centralized power but w/o cruelness. Wudi, most talented ruler Sent armies out to conquer more lands. Zhang Qian was defeated but fueled Wudi quest for the west.
Inventions and Achievements	Oracle Bones (way to predict the future) Written script Bronze metal production First Chinese cities	Built roads Expanded foreign trade 1^st cavalry (warriors on horses) Crossbow Irrigation system and flood control	Standardized coins, uniform writing system, and set up law code. Built GREAT WALL OF CHINA.	Silk Road
NAME OF DYN ASTY	SHANG (70-71)	ZHOU (220-221)	QIN (221-222)	HAN (222-224)
Reason for Decline	Wu, a former Shang leader conquered capital and killed the Shang king because of weak leadership.	Local, individual city-states begin to duel for power created disunity among the land.	Qin died and soon thereafter, so did the dynasty.	Wudi ended his reign and the dynasty declined.
Free space			Burnt books and other scholarly documents.	Pax Sinica (400 year period of prosperity) Civil service (ability to pass a test before you could hold a pubic office). Favored the wealthy Mandarins (new class of educated civil servants