The PreQin Period refers to time before the Qin Dynasty.It began from the time when ancient people appeared to 221 B.C.when Emperor Qin Shi Huang united the other six kingdoms.
It is said Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang had a great war in ancient times.Emperor Huang won and established“China”.All the emperors,including three Emperors and Five Sovereigns,adopted the demise from about 5700 B.C.to 2100 B.C.,a period that lasted for about 3,600 years.Emperor Yao gave his throne to Shun,Shun to Yu,and Qi Yus son took over the power after Yus death——set up the first Xia Dynasty,and put an end to the demise.Four hundred years later,because the last king of the Xia Dynasty was brutal and immoral,Chengtang ended the Xia Dynasty and established the Shang Dynasty.At that time,the industry of bronzes was well developed and inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells were rather mature.So,the Xia and Shang Dynasties were called the Bronze Age.Then about 1046 B.C.,Emperor Zhouwu won the decisive victory against the Shang Dynasty.The Shang and Zhou Dynasties developed the slave system.In 841 B.C.,the citizens rebelled Emperor Zhoulis power,which was the beginning of Chinas exact recorded event.This period was regarded as the transitional period from the slave society to the federal society.With the Zhou Dynasty declined,many nobles fought against each other.There once appeared the seven powerful states of the Warring States Period and the five overlords in the Spring and Autumn Period.This period was called the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods.During the Warring Period,the Zhou Dynasty was replaced by the Qin Dynasty.
In PreQin Period,the academic thought was well developed and the culture got flourished,and many thinkers and schools appeared,thinkers including Confucius,Laozi,Han Feizi,and Mozi; schools including Confucianism,Taoism and Legalism.We now call it“A hundred schools of thought contend”.
In 1,800 years of the PreQin Period,ancient Chinese created splendid history and culture,among which the inscriptions in the Xia and Shang Dynasties and the bronzes in the Shang Dynasty are both the historical signs of humans civilization.About five thousand years ago,people had already mastered the technology to bronze smelting.About three thousand years ago,people began to use ironware.And there were white earth ware and colorful earth ware.In the Spring and Autumn Period,people had known how to make steel.
The great thinker Confucius and other famous thinkers set a beginning to the first flourishing of Chinas culture and academy.For example,Sun Wus War is now widely used in military and economic fields.Qu Yuan was the greatest poet in Chinas history.
sovereignn.君主
thronen.王位
demisen.禪讓
overlordn.領主；霸主
ⅠMatch Column A with Column B.
Column AColumn B
in about 2100—1100 B.Cthe demise
in 475—221 B.Cthe Shang Dynasty established
in 5700—2100 B.C
in 841 B.C
in about 1600 B.C
ⅡTranslate the following expressions into Chinese.
1three Emperors and Five Sovereigns
2brutal and immoral
3inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells
4the seven powerful states of the Warring States Period
5a hundred schools of thought contend
In 221 B.C.,Ying Zheng,ruler of the State of Qin and a man of great talent and bold vision,ended the 250-odd years of rivalry among the independent principalities during the Warring States Period,and established the first centralized,unified,multiethnic feudal state in Chinese history ——the Qin Dynasty (221—206 B.C.).He called himself Qin Shi Huang or “First Emperor of Qin”, also the first in Chinese history.Because he was born in the Zhao State he was also called Zhao Zheng.
After Yingzheng unified China,he ordered the highest ruler of the whole country should be called“Emperor”,and he should make all the important decisions.Under him,there were Three Dukes and Nine highrank officials (san gong and jiu qing) who together supported the central government and the emperor himself.He standardized the written script (simplify the various styles of Chinese characters into one system),weights and measures,and currencies,and established the system of prefectures and counties.He set up the state system and only he had the right to appoint and remove the officials and officers in all ranks.He also ordered that the width of cart track,the styles of clothing and the calendar should be uniform.The sovereigns of the next 2,000 years followed the feudal governmental structure established by him.He mobilized more than 300,000 people over a period of a dozen years to build the Great Wall,which stretches for 5,000 km in northern China.It linked up the defense walls of the previous Qin,Zhao,and Yan state.Qin Shi Huang had the work on his enormous mausoleum started early in his reign.When they were unearthed in 1974 in Xian,the terracotta warriors of the“underground army” of some 8,000 vivid,lifesized pottery figures,horses and chariots guarding the mausoleum at the Qin Shi Huang tomb site amazed the world.
In spite of the achievement,he wanted very much to live all along,so he summoned the necromancers to seek the elixir at an enormous expense.He also went on great constructions,which put heavy taxes on poor people.The cruel rule and poor living condition finally led to the rebellions.Among them,the most famous and successful one is Liu Bang.
visionn視野
rivalryn競爭；對抗
principalityn公國；封邑
multiethnicadj涉及不同種族的
prefecturen專區；縣；府；（法國的）省
chariotn四輪馬車
envoyn使節
elixirn長生不老藥；仙丹
terracottan兵馬俑
the Mediterranean Sea地中海
ⅠAnswer the questions.
1How much do you know about Yingzheng?
2What is your idea about Yingzheng?
3Can you say something about the unified items including all aspects?