Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
Chapter 8, Lesson 1, An Emerging Empire (pp. 192-197)
I. Years of Disorder
B. China was protected on the east by the Pacific Ocean and on the west by the Himalayas, but was open to the north at the North China Plain.
C. During the years of turmoil, large landowners controlled local affairs and nomadic invaders from the north adopted a Chinese way of life.
B. Buddhists said suffering was caused by too much attention to material things.
C. By the 400s, most regional kings supported Buddhism and temples and monasteries thrived throughout China.
B. Emperor Wen unified China by restoring traditions, organizing public works projects, such as the building of a new capital at Changan, and improving scholarship.
C. To govern efficiently, Emperor Wen set up a new system of administration and established exams for public officials.
D. Emperor Wen fostered Chinese unity by supporting China's three key moral systems, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism.
Lesson at a Glance Outline
A. When the Han Dynasty fell in A.D. 220, China broke into small, competing kingdoms.
II. The Spread of Buddhism
A. During this chaotic period, many people who had followed Confucianism turned to Buddhism, which offered a way to escape from suffering.
III. The Reunification of China
A. In the late 500s, an official who took the title Emperor Wen seized power and conquered both northern and southern China, founding the Sui Dynasty.
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