From Qin to Han — Shi Huangdi's Unification 221 BCE, the Han Dynasty Founding 206 BCE, and Wu of Han's Confucian State 141-87 BCE

Recite Three Promises. Pivot announcement: today we begin the Han China arc. Cold Call: What was happening in China at the end of the G6-Fall content? (Answer: Shang and Zhou dynasties — G6-Fall ended with Confucius and Laozi. The Warring States period 475-221 BCE follows Zhou, and Qin unification 221 BCE bridges to Han.)

• Recite Three Promises
• Pivot to Han arc
• Display MG-16 + MG-3 + MG-19

After G6-Fall's Shang and Zhou dynasties, China experienced the Warring States period (475-221 BCE) — 250 years of multi-state competition during which Confucian, Daoist, Legalist, and Mohist philosophical schools developed. Qin Shi Huangdi (King of Qin from 246 BCE, Emperor of unified China 221-210 BCE) conquered the other warring states and unified China in 221 BCE. His Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) was short but consequential: standardization of writing (Small Seal Script), weights, measures, axle-widths; the Burning of the Books 213 BCE (suppressing Confucian and other non-Legalist texts); construction of the first connected Great Wall sections (joining earlier states' walls); the Terracotta Army (discovered 1974) buried with Shi Huangdi at Xi'an; harsh Legalist governance. After Shi Huangdi's death 210 BCE the Qin collapsed in civil war 209-206 BCE; Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu) founded the Han Dynasty 206 BCE. The Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) is foundational for Chinese identity — Han Chinese is the ethnic-cultural self-designation of the majority ethnicity today (~92% of China's population), reflecting Han Dynasty cultural consolidation. Wu of Han (Han Wudi r. 141-87 BCE) is the consolidating emperor: (a) established Confucian state ideology — abandoning the Qin Legalist program in favor of Confucian rituals, ethics, and scholar-official meritocracy; founded the Imperial University Taixue 124 BCE for training scholar-officials in Confucian classics; (b) territorial expansion — south into modern Vietnam, north and east against the Xiongnu, west into Central Asia; (c) Zhang Qian's expeditions 138-115 BCE — Wu sent the diplomat Zhang Qian to Central Asia to seek alliance against the Xiongnu; Zhang Qian returned with intelligence on Central Asian kingdoms (Bactria, Ferghana, Sogdiana) which opened the Silk Road as a regular trade route. SIMULTANEITY check on MG-19: Wu of Han's reign 141-87 BCE was contemporaneous with Roman Republic Punic Wars (last Punic War 149-146 BCE), Hellenistic kingdoms (Seleucid, Ptolemaic), Mauryan India's late period (Mauryan dynasty ended 185 BCE just 44 years before Wu acceded).

• Notice: a near-contemporary source is high-quality but still requires sourcing analysis.

  model Sima Qian (c. 145-86 BCE) compiled the Shiji during Wu of Han's reign — so he is a near-contemporary source for Zhang Qian's expeditions (Zhang Qian died 113 BCE, ~30 years before Sima Qian compiled the Shiji). Sima Qian had access to imperial archives. He composed in Classical Chinese for an imperial / scholar-official audience. Sima Qian's purpose: to record Han Dynasty achievements + maintain Chinese historiographical tradition; he had personal reason for emphasizing imperial achievements (his father had served as Court Astronomer and Sima Qian inherited the post).

  prompt Apply MG-7 Sourcing to Sima Qian's biography of Zhang Qian (Shiji chapter 123).
• Notice: governance philosophies are CHOICES rulers make. The Qin and Han chose different philosophies for the same problem (how to rule a unified empire).

  model Qin Legalism: strict laws, harsh punishments, suppression of non-Legalist texts (book-burning 213 BCE), ruler-as-supreme-power, no concern for individual ethics beyond compliance. Han Confucianism: rule via ritual + virtue + moral example, scholar-official meritocracy via Confucian-classics education, ruler as moral exemplar (the Mandate of Heaven from G6-Fall Zhou-dynasty concept extended), individual ethics central. Han Wu's choice of Confucianism over Legalism was strategic — Confucianism gave Han a stable ideology for long-term legitimacy.

  prompt How is Han Confucian state ideology DIFFERENT from Qin Legalism?

• Cold Call: Who unified China in 221 BCE? What dynasty?
• Cold Call: Who was Wu of Han? What did he establish?
• Cold Call: Apply SIMULTANEITY — what was happening in Mauryan India at the same time as Wu of Han 141-87 BCE? (Answer: Mauryan dynasty ended 185 BCE just before Wu, then Shunga + Satavahana succession; Indian post-Mauryan period)

MG-7 6-Question Source Card applied to Sima Qian Shiji selected biography excerpt — Wineburg Moves 1-4 jointly; Moves 5-6 in independent practice.

M-6-S-CUL-12-A Photograph

Photograph of the Terracotta Army at the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huangdi (Xi'an, Shaanxi, China) — Pit 1 wide-angle view showing rows of life-sized terracotta soldiers, each individually sculpted with distinct facial features, c. 210 BCE; discovered 1974 by farmers digging a well; UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987; ~8,000 figures estimated total. Caption: 'Terracotta Army c. 210 BCE — buried with Qin Shi Huangdi for his afterlife. Modern Chinese + Taiwanese + East-Asian-diaspora communities are living descendants of Han Chinese cultural-political heritage.' Style: high-resolution archaeological photograph.

• Compare Qin Legalism with Han Confucianism — make a 2-column chart of 3 features each.

  scaffold Sentence frames; MG-16 displayed
• Apply MG-19 SIMULTANEITY — for Zhang Qian's expedition return 125 BCE, identify ONE event in EACH of 4 other civilizations on MG-19.

  scaffold MG-19 displayed

M-6-S-CUL-12-B Diagram

MG-16 11x17 inch educational diagram of Han Dynasty bureaucratic structure c. 100 BCE: top of hierarchy 'Son of Heaven / Emperor (Wu of Han pictured)'; second tier 'Three Excellencies' (Grand Councilor / Imperial Counselor / Grand Commandant); third tier 'Nine Ministers' overseeing functional ministries; fourth tier provincial commanderies and kingdoms; fifth tier county and prefecture; Confucian Imperial University Taixue shown as parallel institution training scholar-officials per Mark Edward Lewis 2007. Side panel: 'Imperial Examination System precursor — Han recommendation system (chaju).' Style: clean educational, full color, Chinese imperial-yellow color-coding, 11x17 print resolution.

MG-16 Diagram

11x17 inch educational diagram of Han Dynasty bureaucratic structure c. 100 BCE: top of hierarchy 'Son of Heaven / Emperor (Wu of Han pictured)'; second tier 'Three Excellencies' (Grand Councilor / Imperial Counselor / Grand Commandant); third tier 'Nine Ministers' overseeing functional ministries (Ministers of Ceremonies, Imperial Household, Coachman, Justice, Foreign Relations, Imperial Clan, Finance, Lesser Treasurer, Palace Attendants); fourth tier provincial commanderies (jun) and kingdoms; fifth tier county and prefecture; Confucian Imperial University (Taixue) shown as parallel institution training scholar-officials per Mark Edward Lewis 2007. Side panel: 'Imperial Examination System precursor — Han recommendation system (chaju)' showing how scholar-officials were recommended for office. Style: clean educational, full color, Chinese imperial-yellow color-coding, 11x17 print resolution.

• Why is Wu of Han significant? Name 2 achievements.
• Who was Zhang Qian? What did his expeditions open?

• Show Call — display one strong Qin-vs-Han comparison chart
• Preview Lesson 13 (Han historiography — Sima Qian's Shiji and Ban Gu / Ban Zhao's Han Shu)

• Find one photograph of the Terracotta Army at the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (Xi'an, Shaanxi, China — UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987). Write 2-3 sentences on what the Terracotta Army tells us about Shi Huangdi's vision of imperial afterlife.