Download Ancient China!

Ancient China!
China had an ancient civilization! Who knew???
China’s Geography
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Basically, the Geography around China made it an isolated civilization.
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On the West and Southwest there were deserts and mountains
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To the Southeast, rainforests
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To the North, desert
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To the East, Pacific ocean
The “Middle Kingdom.”
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This gave way to the idea of the Chinese that they were the “center” of the
universe, so to speak.
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They believed that there were the only civilization on Earth, and therefore
the best.
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This is an example of what we call, “Ethnocentrism,” the belief that your
culture is superior to all other cultures.
First Dynasties
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The Shang was the first.
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At the top were the Royal Family and a class of warriors
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Next were the artisans and merchants
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And last were the peasants. Most of the society was made up of peasants.
The Zhou (joh)
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The Zhou dynasty took over the Shang dynasty.
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They create this concept called the “Mandate of Heaven.”
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This concept claimed that the gods give rulers their power, and if a ruler was
defeated it was proof that the gods didn’t like how he was ruling.
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The Dynastic Cycle (turn to page 95 in your texts, let’s look at this)
2 Major Religious Beliefs
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Confucianism- Confucius was born a poor noble and became a teacher. He
developed a philosophy for living.
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It was all about people “knowing their place” and relationships
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Ruler to subject
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Parent to child
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Husband to wife
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Older brother to younger brother
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Friend to friend
Daoism
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Daoism is all about living in harmony with nature
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It stressed “the way” of the universe
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Daoists often rejected the regular norms of society and chose to live in small
communities in nature.
Legalism
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This idea developed in the Qin dynasty (came after the Zhou) and it was the
idea that “the nature of man is evil. His goodness is acquired.”
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This idea allowed rulers to rule harshly, because they believed people to be
naturally evil.
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The emperor of this time was a very effective ruler and it was under him that
the Great Wall was developed.
Civil Service System
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Han emperors (after the Qin) developed the Civil Service system.
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It was a system based on the idea that people in government should know
what they are doing.
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A civil service exam was developed and you were placed in the position that
best suited your intelligence.