Download Chapter 10 Early China

10.1 The Birth of Chinese Civilization
People in China first settled along the Huang
He or the Yellow river. This river flows to
the Pacific Ocean and provided early
China with loess.
The rich soil helps farmers
grow large amounts of food on
small plots of land. As a result
the Huang He valley emerged
as one of the great wheatproducing areas of the
ancient world.
The Huang He has also often
flooded and cost millions of
lives. The Chinese call the
Huang He “China’s Sorrow”
in honor of the people who
have been killed by the floods.
Over time, the people of China moved south and
settled near another great river the Chang Jiang or
Yangtze River. This river is the longest in Asia
and about 3,915 miles long! It was an important
waterway for trade and transportation.
Mountains and deserts cover
most of China so only 1/10th
can be farmed. The
mountains and deserts limit
contact between China and
other civilizations.
East of the Tian Shan is a
vast, rocky desert known as
the Gobi.
The Chinese called their land
the “Middle Kingdom”
and thought it was the
center of the world.
Myths and Legends
 According to myths,
Yü the Great dug the
first channels to
control the flood
waters of the Huang
He.
Legend has it that Yü founded China’s
first dynasty. That dynasty was
named Xia.
China’s first Dynasty
1750 BC
To
1045 BC
Archaeologists have
unearthed long buried
walls and buildings.
These ruins show that
the Shang built the first
Chinese cities.
The royal capitol was
Anyang and the King
was the political,
religious, and
military leader. They
sent out large armies to
defend the kingdoms
boarders.
Warlords, are military leaders who lead their own armies,
and ruled the territories that the king appointed. Shang kings
relied on the warlords to govern local territories.
Aristocrats, people of noble birth whose wealth came from
the land they owned, passed their land and power to their
children or younger family members.
Most Shang people
were farmers. There
were much smaller
groups of merchants,
artisans, and slaves.
Farmers worked the
land that belonged to
the aristocrats.
The Shang honored their ancestors, or long dead family
members. Today, the Chinese still pay respect to their
ancestors by going to temples and burning small paper
copies of food, clothing, and other items.
Chinese artists of the
time made beautiful
objects of bronze.
They made vases and
dishes from clay and
carved statues from
ivory and jade.
In 1045 B.C. rebels led by an aristocrat named Wu
Wang overthrew the Shang government. Wu declared
the new dynasty called the ZHOU
• The king led the government, ruling
with the help of a bureaucracy which
was made up of officials who carried out
the tasks of the government.
• The Zhou king assigned loyal aristocrats
to govern each of the territories. These
positions were hereditary. This meant
that when an aristocrat died, a son or
another member of the family governed
the territory
The Chinese believed their king represented them
before the gods. Zhou kings claimed that kings ruled
China because they had the Mandate of Heaven.
Zhou kings claimed that the Mandate of Heaven gave
them the right to rule.
The period from 400
B.C. to 200 B.C. is
known as the
“Period of the
Warring States.”
During this time,
aristocrats ignored
the king’s commands
and fought with each
other.