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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 1 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 2 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 3