Download Yellow, East and South China Seas

Understanding for today:
The many rivers of China are its lifeblood because they provide a
means of trade, transportation, soil, irrigation, and food.
Physical barriers such as the mountains to the west (Himalayas &
Kunlun), the deserts to the northwest (Taklamakan & Gobi), and the
seas to the east and south (Yellow, East and South China Seas)
protected China from invaders as well as from outside influence.
CHINA MAP ANSWERS
1. The Yellow, East China, and South China Seas may have provided protection from the
east and allowed China to trade with other countries.
2. The dynasties expanded the borders because population might have increased, causing
people to move into areas that were less populated. Also, various rulers might have
used force to add territories.
3. The Huang He (Yellow) River and the Yangzte (Chang Jiang) River were important in the
early history of China because they would have provided water for farming.
4. The Shang Dynasty controlled the smallest areas of China and the Han Dynasty
controlled the largest.
5. Approximately 1,200 years are between the time the smallest area was controlled and
the largest area was controlled. The areas of the southwest and far northeast might
have been unsuitable for settlement because of geographic features such as mountains
and deserts or extreme weather conditions. Also, the people may have been too strong
to be conquered.
6. The Great Wall might have been built as protection against the people who lived in the
north or to prevent people from moving north.
7. The Han controlled territories that are not part of modern China. Vietnam and Korea
are the two present-day countries south and northeast of China that were controlled by
this dynasty.
8. Many Chinese people today call themselves “the Han people” because they may believe
they are descendants of the people who controlled the largest area of ancient China.
The minority groups that do not consider themselves “Han People” might live in the
southwest or the northeast since these areas were controlled by the Han dynasty.