Download Reader 4 - Ancient China

4–
China, a communist nation in East Asia, is the world’s most populous country in modern
times. It is a nation extremely rich in history and heritage. For hundreds of years, the
Chinese had little knowledge of other civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Greece,
and Rome. Because they were isolated from the rest of the world by mountains, deserts
and oceans, they believed they lived at the center of the world. Their culture developed
distinctly and uniquely from outside influence and is deeply rooted in their people even to
this day.
Geography
The geography of Ancient China shaped the way the civilization and culture developed. The
large land was isolated from much of the rest of the world by dry deserts to the north and
west, the Pacific Ocean to
the east, and impassable
mountains to the south.
This enabled the Chinese
to develop independently
from other world
civilizations.
Using a dictionary or
the textbook, write the
word with its
corresponding definition
in your notebook.
1. Dynasty
2. Legalism
3. Mandate of
Heaven
4. feudal
5. bureaucracy
6. Confucius
7. Taoism
8. Yin and Yang
To the south and
southeast of China are the Himalaya Mountains, the
highest mountains in the world. Not only did these
mountains provide safety from invaders, they were also
considered sacred within Chinese religion. To the north
and west of China are two of the world's largest deserts:
the Gobi Desert and the Taklimakan Desert.
Two major river systems flow toward the Pacific Ocean
- central Chang Jiang (Yangtze); northern Huang He (Yellow River)
- River floodwaters deposit silt; create fertile soil for farming
- North China Plain is between rivers; is the center of Chinese civilization
Empire
Ancient China boasts the longest lasting empire in history. Under the Xia, Shange and Xiou Dynasties, China was a loose
nation of separate tribes and empire-states. The true unified Chinese empire began with the Qin dynasty in 221 BC.
Emperors would continue to rule over China for more than 2000 years.
Dynasties
Throughout most of history China was ruled by powerful families called dynasties. Each of these dynasties saw
tremendous change and development.

2100-1600 BC Xia (Shya): first government to emerge in ancient China and became the first to adhere to the
policy of dynastic succession; thus making it the first dynasty of China. *Note: the history of this is more story than
historical fact due to a lack of primary evidence

The Mandate
of Heaven
justified the
overthrow of
dynasties.
1600-1050 BC Shang : 1st civilization in China; built China’s 1st cities. Created China’s 1st writing system
 1046-256 BC Xiou (Shou): Conquered the Shang about 1122 B.C. The Xiou
justified the change in power by the Mandate of Heaven which became the standard for all
empire authority. The Xiou ruled China for nearly 1,000 years. During the Xiou dynasty
China was never a unified kingdom. The Xiou government is sometimes referred to as a
feudal age. China was composed of a network of city-states loyal to the Zhou king, from
which military and political control spread over the surrounding farming villages. This led
to several hundred years of the Warring States which is essentially small kingdoms fighting
for control of China.
The many individual kingdoms governed the people with a philosophy called “legalism,” which was the belief that
people are inherently bad and need to have the threat of punishment to keep them upright and obedient.

221-206 BC Qin (Ch'in): Shi Huangdi, the “First Emperor” united all the warring
kingdoms into one empire. Huangdi believed the dynasty would last for 10,000 years, but
it was a very short dynasty. It was the first time in Chinese history China had a single
centralized government. Huangdi ruled with absolute power, enforcing a philosophy
called legalism, but created a system of bureaucracy by dividing his empire in 36 provincestwo officials per province. The empire was run by civil service officials who ran the cities,
collected taxes, and enforced the laws. Men even had to pass exams in order to become
officials. He also unified China’s economy by creating a currency, and encouraging common
culture such as music and art. It was during the Qin Dynasty that the name “China” came
to be. Until then the Chinese called themselves the “Middle Kingdom.”
Legalism became the official philosophy of the Qin Dynasty. Shi Huangdi rose to power and
banned all other philosophies as a corrupting influence. Confucianism was especially
condemned because of its insistence on the basic goodness of human beings and its
teaching that people only needed to be gently directed toward good in order to behave well.
Qin Shi Huangdi

206 BC -220 AD Han: (Hawn): The Han Dynasty, started by Liu Bang, lasted 400 years. Because it was preceded
by the stabilizing Qin Dynasty, it could focus on creating better systems and expanding the Chinese territory.
Bang developed a stable government that educated government workers and created the civil service system
based on Confucianism. The Han Dynasty also added new land to China (modern day Korea & Vietnam), opened
trade routes within Asia & Roman Empire by creating the Silk Road and created a public school system. It was
during this dynasty that the Chinese invented paper, iron casting, crop rotation, and acupuncture as well as made
advancements in medicine, mathematics, building, agriculture, engineering, and astronomy. Buddhism also
spread and took root in China during this dynasty. The Han Dynasty became so important to Chinese history
that many Chinese still call themselves “People of the Han.”
China's last dynasty was the Qing (1644–1912 AD), which was replaced by the Republic of China in 1912, and in the
mainland by the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Art, Culture, and Religion
Art, culture, and religion were often tied together in China. There are three
main religions or philosophies including Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.
These ideas, called "the three ways" had a large impact on the way people lived
as well as their art.
Art focused on "the three perfections"; painting, poetry, and calligraphy .
Enemies
The great enemy of the Chinese was the Mongols
who lived to the north. They even built a wall
thousands of miles long to try and keep the
Mongols from invading. The Mongols did conquer
China for a time, however, and established their own dynasty called the
Yuan Dynasty.
Mongolian invasions from the
north were a constant problem
in China. The Qin government
ordered walls built in the past
to be connected to make a larger and stronger wall. This is usually recognized
as the beginning of the Great Wall of China. Despite what you might think, the
building of the Great Wall was unpopular with the people who saw it as a waste
of resources. Each dynasty built new wall or improved the previous dynasty's wall. Most of the Qin Wall is gone today or
been replaced. The wall that still exists today was mainly built by a later dynasty called the Ming.