Download Ancient China

ANCIENT CHINA
2000-200 BCE
They felt they were the center of the universe – understandable as they
had no contact with any other large civilization
Geography – Natural Barriers
•East – Pacific
Ocean
•West – Taklimakan
•SW – Himalaya
Mountains
•North – Gobi
Desert
Geography - Huang He River & Yangtze River
• China’s early civilization will
form on the North China Plain in
between these two rivers.
• Unpredictable and destructive
floods – known as “River of
Sorrows”
• Loess – fine yellow silt, very
fertile
• Rivers were the center of the
ancient Chinese civilization
Loess deposited in the lower reaches of the rivers
First Civilization
• Xia Dynasty – 1st dynasty (Around 2000
BCE)
• Led by an engineer and mathematician
named Yu
• Major Achievements
• Flood control and irrigation projects
• Led to more and better farmland which
allowed for the expansion of the
population
Shang Dynasty (1532-1027 BCE)
• First Chinese rulers to leave written records
• Built elaborate palaces and tombs
• Earliest cities
• Anyang – one of the capitals – built mainly of wood
• Surrounded by walls for protection
Shang Dynasty Achievements
•Horse drawn
chariots
•Leather and bronze
armor
•Silk
•Pottery
•Jade and Ivory
statues and jewelry
•Lacked strong
leaders
Zhou Dynasty (1027-256 BCE)
•Claimed they had the right to rule
•Mandate of Heaven – a just ruler had divine
approval
•Central to Chinese government
•Feudalism
•Dynastic cycle – pattern of rise, decline,
and replacement of dynasties
New dynasty
gains power,
restores peace
and order –
claims to have
Mandate of
Heaven
Strong dynasty
establishes
peace and
prosperity; it is
considered to
have Mandate
of Heaven
In time,
dynasty
declines and
becomes
corrupt
Dynastic Cycle of China
Role of Mandate of Heaven
Dynasty is
overthrown
through
rebellion and
bloodshed;
new dynasty
emerges
Old dynasty is
seen as having
lost Mandate
of Heaven;
rebellion is
justified
Disasters such
as floods,
famines,
peasant
revolts, and
invasions
occur
Innovations under Zhou Rule
•Roads and canals stimulated agriculture and trade by
making it easier to travel
•Coined money – improved trade
•Iron – made stronger weapons and tools
The “Warring States Period”
• The later period of the
Zhou dynasty in which
the individual warrior
nobles claimed to be the
kings of their respective
territories
• During this period,
warrior-nobles were
replaced in war by
professional soldiers
Social Classes
•Feudalism – political
system in which nobles, or
lords, are granted the use
of lands that legally belong
to the king. In return the
nobles owe loyalty and
military service to the king
and protection to the
people who live on their
estates
King
WarriorNoble
Peasants
Chinese Culture
• Family – central to Chinese society
• Important virtue – respect for one’s
parents
• Chief loyalty throughout life was to to
the family. Beyond this, people owed
obedience and respect to the ruler of
the Middle Kingdom.
• Worshipped ancestors – MULAN!
• Shang kings consulted the god using
oracle bones – animal bones and
tortoise shells
• Religion – polytheistic
Writing
•Chinese characters
•Writing does NOT match the
spoken language
•Advantage: all Chinese could learn
same system of writing which
helped to unify the nation
•Disadvantage: there was a large
number of characters to memorize