Download Geography Shapes Ancient China.notebook

Geography Shapes Ancient China.notebook
December 02, 2013
Geography Shapes
Ancient China
Nov 26­2:02 PM
What do all of the civilizations that we have studied this
year have in common geography?
All are river valley civilizations – they depend on
the annual flooding of rivers to bring silt or fertile
soil to the fields for crops
All civilizations tend to settle very close to the river
Nov 26­2:02 PM
Why did the Shang and Zhou dynasties settle where they did? In other words, why
would this be the ideal spot (BE SPECIFIC BOTH IN TERMS OF LOCATION
AND BENEFITS)
The Shang and Zhou dynasties settled near the
Huang He and Yangtze (Chiang Jiang) rivers in
order to take advantage of fertile soil on the North
China Plain. They are also very close to the Yellow
and East China Seas, which would be good for trade
and transportation elsewhere (like Korea or Japan)
Nov 26­2:02 PM
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Geography Shapes Ancient China.notebook
December 02, 2013
Term
Definition
Importance to China
Oracle Bones
animal bones or shells used by the Shang kings to communicate with the gods
Kings claimed to communicate with the gods; cracks in the bones were interpreted; began writing system
Pictographs
pictures or drawings that represent words or ideas
Complex system of symbols that required most to know 1,500 symbols and an educated scribe to know 10,000!
Dynastic Cycle
pattern of the rise and fall of dynasties
Start with gods’ approval; power weakens; disasters; belief the approval is lost; overthrow; new dynasty restores order – cycle of changing rulers
Mandate of Heaven
ancient Chinese belief that a good ruler had the gods’ approval
Chinese rulers needed to be approved by the gods – if disaster occurs, it means it is time to change rulers as the gods no longer approve
Nov 26­2:02 PM
Nov 26­2:02 PM
Why was China isolated from other groups of
people?
• Himalayan Mountains – no trade with India
• Taklimakan Desert – limited trade to the west
(Mesopotamia/Egypt)
• Gobi Desert – limited trade with Mongolia
• Tien Shan Mountains – limited trade in
northwest
Nov 26­2:02 PM
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Geography Shapes Ancient China.notebook
December 02, 2013
How would the Chinese people know that a ruler had lost
the Mandate of Heaven?
How is this similar to the beliefs of some other cultures we have
studied?
When trouble such as earthquakes, peasant uprisings,
invasions, or destructive floods happened, people thought
the king had lost the Mandate of Heaven.
In Egypt, pharaoh was considered to be responsible for the
floods or droughts of the Nile River, because he/she was a
god in their own right – if they didn’t succeed, they became
very vulnerable to war or revolt for being a “bad god”
Nov 26­2:02 PM
What was a major problem with the Zhou
government?
What were some consequences of this problem for the
Chinese people?
-The Zhou did not have a strong central government; as a result of
this, lords who owed loyalty to the king became more and more
powerful and began to fight among themselves for the most land
and power (called the Time of Warring States).
-The Chinese people became disunified rather than unified as a
result.
Nov 26­2:02 PM
Nov 26­2:08 PM
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