Government

Chapter FourChapter Four

Government

Chapter 4 Slide 1

Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives

1. What is ‘government’?

2. What were the systems of government in ancient India, China and Southeast Asia?

3. What were the strengths and/or weaknesses of each system?

Chapter 4 Slide 2

Chapter 4 Slide 3

The photograph above was taken in front ofthe Singapore Istana on 12 August 2004.

Why do you think this was a special day in Singapore’s history?

What Is ‘Government’?What Is ‘Government’? Has two meanings:

1. Group of people responsible for ruling a country

2. System of ruling

Many different systems of ruling

Monarchy is the system of government headed by a king or a queen (monarch).

What, in your opinion, are the qualities of good government?

Chapter 4 Slide 4

Government in India Government in India

Border Zones: The king’s power overlapped with those of other kings. People had a choice of which king they wanted to be loyal to.

Border Zones

Chapter 4 Slide 5

Outer Provinces: King’s power was weaker here. The governors had to share power with local kings, who still acknowledged that the king in the capital city was more powerful.

Outer Provinces

Inner Provinces: These areas were closest to the capital. In each province, a governor who reported directly to the king was in charge.Inner Provinces

Capital City: King’s palace was located here. He was surrounded by nobles and ministers, or mantri.

Capital city

Concentric circles model of government

In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great invaded the Indus region.The chaos and disorder that resulted allowed Chandragupta Maurya to overthrow the Magadha dynasty, the most powerful kingdom then.

The Mauryan Period (c. 322–185 BCE)

The Mauryan Period (c. 322–185 BCE)

Chapter 4 Slide 6

When Alexander left, Chandragupta Maurya was able to expand his power from Magadha into the Indus region and form the Mauryan empire and

dynasty (c. 322–185 BCE).

Chapter 4 Slide 7

Chandragupta Maurya’s System of GovernmentChandragupta Maurya’s System of Government

Highly organised with Pataliputra as the capital city, but empire was divided into provinces, each ruled by trusted officials

Each city ruled by committees that took charge of certain main areas, e.g. public works or trade

All committees, however, ultimately reported to Chandragupta Maurya

Chapter 4 Slide 8

You Be the Judge!!You Be the Judge!!

United most of the northern part of India

Set up centralised government, everyone had to report to him

Built roads for easy travel, e.g. the Great Royal Highway to connect Pataliputra to northwest of empire

Set up a War Office and kept a large army to expand and control his empire

Listened to people’s requests even while having his daily massage

Thieves and tax evaders had their ears or noses cut off

Maintained irrigation systems to ensure steady supply of water to fields

REPORT CARDNAME: Chandragupta Maurya

Grade

Chapter 4 Slide 9

Government in ChinaGovernment in China

Feudalism

Practised by Shang (1523–1027 BCE) and Zhou (1027–771 BCE) rulers

A system in which some people were given lands and limited ruling powers by a ruler in return for their loyalty

and support

Chapter 4 Slide 10

allowed shi to rule his lands

allowed farmers to farm and protected them

built roads, provided food and other services

gave tribute

farmer

shi

king

Chapter 4 Slide 11

You Be the Judge!!You Be the Judge!!

1. How effective was feudalism?

2. What were the conditions necessary for it to work well?

Chapter 4 Slide 12

Unitary System of Government

Unitary System of Government

Period of the Warring States saw fighting between the different shi and their army.

In 221 BCE, Qin Shihuang defeated the shi to unify China for the first

time

He abolished feudalism and set up a centralised government — unitary system of government

Chapter 4 Slide 13

Qin Shihuang’s System of Government

Qin Shihuang’s System of Government

Chapter 4 Slide 14

Each managed by an inspector, a military governor and a civilian governor. All reported directly to the emperor.

Provinces

Capital city Emperor

United most of the northern part of China

Set up centralised government, abolished feudalism

Introduced standardised script, currency, weight and measure

Enforced strict laws, criminals and their families were executed

Forced people to work on the Great Wall of China, thousands died

Banned books that did not support his rule, mostly Confucian texts

Captured and buried alive scholars who opposed his rule

NAME: Qin Shihuang Grade

You Be the Judge!!You Be the Judge!!

Chapter 4 Slide 15

Mandate of HeavenMandate of Heaven Belief that heaven was kind and wanted people to be governed wisely and justly

Emperor - Son Of Heaven

Chapter 4 Slide 16

The temple of Heaven was built during the Ming dynasty for the Emperor to

offer sacrifice to Heaven.

Strong emperor peace and good harvest

Chapter 4 Slide 17

Natural disasters lead to poor harvests weak emperor

Natural disasters — signs from heaven that the people had right to revolt

Dynastic CycleDynastic CyclePower / stability / peace

Time / successive emperors

risedeclin

e

end of dynasty

new dynast

y

Peak

Pea

k

rise

new dynast

y

Strong ruler

Weak ruler

declin

e

end of dynasty

Weak ruler

Strong ruler

Chapter 4 Slide 18

The Chinese Civil Service

The Chinese Civil Service

‘Civil service’ refers to the government

departments and the people who work in them

Chapter 4 Slide 19

Before Han Wudi (140–87 BCE) became emperor, the civil service was made up of members of rich and powerful families

Chapter 4 Slide 20

Han Wudi introduced the Civil Service Examination system to attract the best talents (‘brains’)

124 BCE — Imperial University was set up to teach subjects for Civil Service Examinations, such as law and history

Han Wudi and his royal aides

Government in Southeast AsiaGovernment in Southeast Asia

There was never a single emperor who ruled the whole of Southeast Asia

Several kings ruled over

different sizes of kingdoms

Chapter 4 Slide 21

A map of Southeast Asia

Divine KingshipDivine Kingship

Kings in mainland Southeast Asia saw themselves as divine rulers and the middlemen between the gods and the ordinary people.

Chapter 4 Slide 22

In Khmer kingdom,the palaces represented the home

of the gods and they became temples after the king’s death.

A sculpture of the Khmer king, Jayavarman VII

Cultural AdaptationCultural Adaptation

Borrowing foreign practices that are useful and rejecting those that are not useful to suit one’s environment.

Chapter 4 Slide 23

For example, kings in island Southeast Asia, used Indian emblems of kingship

to represent their authority, e.g. the sacred royal umbrella. However, the kings did not see themselves as gods

after converting to Islam.

ParameswaraParameswara Founded Melaka in 1403

Encouraged trade and made Melaka a safe place for trader

Cultivated friendship with China

Converted to Islam, which attracted Muslim traders from Arabia and India

Chapter 4 Slide 24

The Melaka SultanateThe Melaka Sultanate

Chapter 4 Slide 25

Vassal states

These areas were independent but paid tribute to the sultan. They were ruled by the sultan’s relatives.

Provinces

These were ruled by governors appointed by the sultan. The provinces provided Melaka Sultanate with manpower, fish, rice and vegetables.

Capital

Ruled directly by the sultan, who was assisted by four ministers: chief minister, finance minister, chief of police and commander of the navy and army.

The model of the system of government in the Melaka Sultanate

Learning OutcomesLearning Outcomes

Chapter 4 Slide 26

1. Government is …

2. Ancient India was ruled by … Ancient China was ruled by… Ancient Southeast Asia was ruled by…

3. The strengths and/or weaknesses of each system are…