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Overview of
Ancient China
China’s Geography
China is a large country with a varied
landscape.
The heart of China
is dominated by its
two major rivers,
the Huang He and
Chang (Yangtze).
The Huang He is also called the Yellow River
because is carries yellow soil called loess. It
flows 2,900 miles across China before it
empties into the Yellow Sea.
The Huang He is also called “China’s Sorrow”
because of the flooding it can bring.
The Chang or Yangtze River is Asia’s longest
at 3,434 miles long. It is an important trade
route.
China’s most fertile land in in the east – the
North China Plain and the Manchurian
Plain.
Much of the rest of China is dry – the
Plateau of Tibet, the Gobi Desert, and the
Taklimakan Desert.
Because of China’s huge size, rugged mountains, and
harsh deserts, it was difficult to invade.
Invaders usually came from the north – from areas
such as Mongolia and Manchuria.
Later the Chinese will build the Great Wall to keep
out the invaders.
Great Wall statistics…
4,160 miles long!
It’s only 3,610 miles
from New York City to
Paris, France.
It’s only 3,095 miles
from San Francisco,
California to Boston,
Mass.
Early Chinese Civilizations
The Chinese considered themselves the center of the
earth and of civilization so they called their country
the Middle Kingdom. Outsiders were considered
barbarians.
Earliest Chinese Civilization took place along the
Huang He River .
It later spread to the Yangzi River.
Trade with the Middle East took place along the Silk
Road.
Social Structure
 Chinese often lived in clans which were groups of
families who claimed a common ancestor.
BASIC CLASS STRUCTURE
rulers
nobles
merchants/artisans
peasants (the majority of the population)
Religion
Chinese were polytheistic
(believed in many gods
and nature spirits)
They prayed to their
ancestors because they
were links to the gods
Ancestor worship in China
Religion
Believed in two forces
of nature called
Yin(female) and Yang
(male) that needed to
be in harmony.
People often did
things to destroy this
harmony.
Religion
Used Oracle Bones to tell the future (interpreted by
priests).
Language
Mandarin is a difficult language to
learn because there are over
10,000 characters.
Used pictograms and ideographs.
Chinese known for calligraphyelegant handwriting.
Chinese couldn’t understand each
other’s spoken language but all
used the same written language.
Government
China was ruled by a series of dynasties – a line of
rulers from the same family.
The large government was organized into a
bureaucracy – a government with many levels.
Chinese believed in the concept called the Mandate
of Heaven which says that a ruler will stay in power
as long as he rules well and strongly but will lose
power if he becomes weak and corrupt. Then
another dynasty will start.
The rise and fall of dynasties is called the Dynastic
Cycle.