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EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF CHINA
(Chapter 3 / Section 3)
The ancient Chinese called their land the “Middle Kingdom”. They did so because:
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China’s early civilizations were able to develop in isolation from other parts of the world.
The reason for this was the series of geographic barriers.
To the south the barrier was _______________________________________
To the north the barrier was _______________________________________
To the east the barrier was ________________________________________
To the west the barrier was _______________________________________
The main region where the Chinese civilization developed was along the coastline
bordering ________________________ and the river valleys of these two rivers:
1. _________________________________________
2. _________________________________________
These river valleys were important to the people as they provided:
1. _________________________________________
2. _________________________________________
The people from the Neolithic period developed in the ______________________ river
valley. This river is also called the “____________________________________” due to
the occasional flooding and subsequent damage and destruction it caused. This river is
also called the Yellow River due to a fine soil called ___________________. This soil
gives the river its yellow tint.
The _______________ dynasty is credited with being the first people to shape the
civilization of China. This group came to power about 1650 B.C.
During the dynasty, the following things existed:
1.
Noblewomen held status in society.
2.
Clans were common. A clan was _____________________________
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3.
A group of skilled craftsmen, called ________________, existed.
4.
Most people were categorized as ____________________________.
They prayed to many gods and spirits. This is called ________________________.
The Chinese believed the universe existed as a delicate balance between two opposite
forces. The forces were called ______________ and _____________________.
The early Chinese culture developed a system of writing. This system used these two
things to express thoughts and ideas:
1. pictographs which are
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
__________________
2. ideographs which are
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
___________________
The Chinese written language is quite complex. Students today must memorize this
many characters to simply read a newspaper. ________________________
Another form of writing developed by the early Chinese was calligraphy. This is
described as:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Which was a common bond that united the people of China? Was it writing or the
spoken language and why?
The Chinese history is marked by periods of dynastic rule (ruled by dynasties). One
reason for the ruling by a dynasty was the Mandate of Heaven that was developed by the
Zhou Dynasty. The Mandate of Heaven was:
One system of government developed by the Zhou dynasty was the feudal system. This
is described as ___________________________________________________________
The Zhou dynasty is also credited with a period of significant economic growth in China.
Some of the accomplishments that led to this are:
China also accomplished several things that still exist today. One success led to the
development of the Silk Road that connected China and the Middle East. Silk was
created by using this process: