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EARLY CIVILIZATION IN
CHINA
SECTION 3
TEXT SUMMARY
China covers a huge area, but until recent
times most people lived only along the east
coast or in the river valleys. China is surrounded by mountains, jungles, deserts,
and an ocean. Therefore, China was more
isolated, or cut off, from the rest of the
world than other early civilizations were.
Chinese civilization arose around the
Huang He and Yangzi river valleys. About
1650 B.C., a Chinese people called
T H E BIG I D E A
the Shang gained control of part
of northern China. During the
Early Chinese people
Shang dynasty, kings controlled
developed a complex
only a small amount of land.
civilization. They
Groups of families called clans
made many advances
controlled most of the land.
in learning and in
Merchants and craftspeople
the arts.
earned a living in cities.
However, most people were peasants who lived in farming villages.
In 1027 B.C., the Zhou people overthrew
the Shang and set up their own dynasty.
The Zhou told the people that the gods had
become angry with the Shang and now had
chosen the Zhou to rule. The right to rule
was called the Mandate of Heaven, or
the divine right to rule. From that time on,
each new dynasty would claim the
Mandate of Heaven. (See diagram below.)
The Chinese made progress in many
areas during the Shang and Zhou periods.
They developed a complex religion. The
Chinese created a system of writing and
made the first books. They learned to produce bronze and made detailed figures.
They discovered how to make silk thread
from the cocoons of silkworms. The
Chinese also studied astronomy, recording
eclipses of the sun and inventing an accurate calendar.
GRAPHIC SUMMARY: The Mandate of Heaven
rat
Gene
ions go by. New dynasty become
s. . .
NEW DYNASTY
OLD DYNASTY
• brings peace
• builds roads and canals
• gives land to peasants
• protects people
THE DYNASTY CYCLE
• taxes people too much
• stops protecting people
• lets roads and walls fall apart
• treats people unfairly
PROBLEMS
New dynasty
claims Mandate
of Heaven
• floods, earthquakes
• peasants revolt
• invaders attack empire
• bandits raid in provinces
Old dynasty
loses Mandate
of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven helped explain the rise and fall of dynasties.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Why was China isolated from the
rest of the world?
18
Survey Edition CHAPTER 3
Guide to the Essentials
2. Diagram Skills What were two
reasons why an old dynasty might
lose the Mandate of Heaven?
© Prentice-Hall, Inc.