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Geography of China
• “The Roof of the World”, a huge plateau that
forms most of Tibet, is where many of Asia’s
rivers begin.
• A plateau is a
raised plain.
• The Huang River begins its 3,000 mile trip
across China to the Yellow Sea from this
plateau.
The Huang River Valley
• As the river flows from west to
east, it curves around the edge
of the Ordos Desert and picks up
loess - dusty, yellow soil that has
been deposited by wind.
• Loess washes into the Huang
River giving it a yellow color.
Huang means “yellow” in
Chinese.
• During the summer months, huge
amounts of loess are washed into the
Huang making it the muddiest river in
the world.
• This loess silt helps farmers because it
is very fertile.
• The Chinese farmers could not allow
the Huang River to overflow freely
because their fields could be easily
washed away.
• Unfortunately, the loess is easily carried
away by storms and floods since it is so light
and fluffy.
Agriculture Along the Huang
• About 3,000 years ago, farmers began
building earth levees to keep the river within
its banks.
• Ancient Chinese farmers built canals to bring
water to their fields.
• The loess had to be cleared away so it would
not clog the canals.
• Farmers in the Huang Valley grew rice, millet
(grain), wheat, green onions, ginger, and
harvested fruits: grapes, peaches, plums,
and wild chestnuts.
• The population grew because the farmers
were so successful.
• Farmers cleared trees to make more land into
fields.
• This land clearing caused erosion, the
wearing away of soil by wind or water.
• A famine can occur when crops fail because
too much soil has been eroded.
• Famine is a time when very little food is
available and people starve.
• Not all regions in China were suitable for
farming.
• People on the windswept steppes herded
sheep and cattle on horseback.
• A steppe is a dry,
treeless plain.
The First Dynasty
• City-states grew up along the Huang River.
• The largest city in the Huang
River delta was called Shang.
• Shang became the name of the province as
well as the city.
• One family ruled the city of Shang for over
600 years.
• A dynasty is when a family rules an area
for a long time like the Shang dynasty
ruled.
Towns Along the Huang River
• The Shang kings created new towns by
giving land to their relatives, the nobles.
• Towns were important centers of
production. They supplied food, clothing,
other products, and soldiers.
• The Shang province
capitol was moved to
Anyang.
• The ruins of Anyang taught
archaeologists about the social
pyramid, housing, and specialized
work done in ancient China.
• At the top of the social pyramid
were the king and his family,
then the nobles, followed by
craftworkers, farmers, and
finally prisoners of war.
• Royalty lived in palaces, while ordinary people lived and
worked in pit-houses.
• Metal workers knew how to
work with bronze to make tools
and chariots.
Buried Treasures
• The tomb of Fu Hao, a noblewoman, allowed
archaeologists to see many examples of ivory and bronze
items from this era.
• Lady Hao ruled her own town,
led troops to war, and is
remembered because her
tomb preserved records
about her life.
• Ancient Chinese writing began as pictures of
objects and was later simplified so that it
would be easier to write quickly.
• Archaeologists have found
examples of this writing on
bronze pots and stone.
• Writings were also written on silk and
bamboo tablets, but these have not survived.
• “Dragon bones”, or oracle
bones contained writing used
by priests to predict the future.
• People of the Shang dynasty worshipped
many different gods.
• They believed that their gods controlled
nature.
• Shang Chinese also believed that their
ancestors lived in another world and
controlled human life.
• The king’s ancestors would be helping him,
proving that he was the right person to be
king.
The Emperor’s Clay Army
• Shihuangdi declared himself emperor
of China when he and his soldiers from
Qin took control of northern China.
• Shihuangdi boasted that his Qin
dynasty would last for 10,000
generations (200,000 years),
when in reality it lasted 15 years.
The Rise of an Empire
• Shihuangdi divided his empire into 36
provinces, political divisions of land.
• The emperor let farmers own
their own land which weakened
the power of the nobles which
forced many nobles to move to
the capital city of Xianyang.
• He unified his empire by using one system
of writing and one money system
throughout the empire.
• A single written language helped the
government record and collect taxes.
• Bronze coins were made with holes in
the center so people could keep their
money on a string.
• The geography of the original Qin
region was protected by the Qinling
Mountains on one side and the Huang
River on the other, making Xianyang a
fortress.
• Soldiers could march out from this
starting point and expand the Qin
Empire.
Farmers Build the Empire
• As the Qin Empire’s conquest grew, the
government began making ever greater
demands on its people.
• Farmers were the backbone of the Qin
Empire, working as farmers, soldiers, and
builders. They kept the empire strong.
• Farmers were also called upon to build or
strengthen walls along the empire’s northern
border to keep invaders out of the northern
steppes.
• This Great Wall of China grew to be
more than 1,500 miles long and is the
only man-made structure visible from
space.
• Farmers lives still centered around the
seasonal floods of the Huang.
• One of the greatest building projects of the
Qin Empire was the tomb of Shihuangdi.
• The emperor wanted a spectacular tomb to
mirror his real world.
• About 8,000 clay soldiers and horses stood
guard ready to protect the emperor.
• Archaeologists have not yet unearthed
his tomb, but have read accounts by an
ancient Chinese historian.
• The historian wrote that the tomb was
laid out like a giant map of the empire
with models of rivers flowing with
machine pumped mercury, stars
painted on the ceiling, and crossbows
protecting the entrance.
Confucius Changes China
• Han Gaozu, a farmer turned general, and his
armies overthrew the armies of the Qin
Empire in 206 B.C.
• His rule began the Han dynasty that ruled
China for over 400 years.
• During Han Gaozu’s rule, China
expanded to include modern day
Korea and Vietnam.
Rise of the Han Dynasty
• Han rulers based their philosophies on the
teachings of Confucius.
• The Han rulers kept the Qin dynasty’s
system of government but awarded
government jobs to educated people rather
than the nobles.
• Wudi, the first strong emperor
of the Han dynasty, created
Confucianism schools to prepare
students for government service.
• Wudi’s government set up schools in each
province to teach Chinese literature.
• The best students were sent to the Grand
School to learn about China’s poetry, history,
proper behavior, and folk songs.
• Chinese scientists and mathematicians
learned to predict eclipses of the sun,
doctors discovered new medicines, and
poets wrote of the beauty of the land.
• Han craftworkers invented paper by
pounding the bark of mulberry trees.
• The first seismographs were invented
to detect earthquakes and send help to
affected areas.
• Farmers remained the center of China’s
economy and society.
Confucius
• Confucius lived between 551 B.C. and 479 B.C.
• Confucius won many followers
when he suggested a peaceful way
of living during a time of conflict.
• Confucianism taught that the Chinese culture
had lost its ancient traditions that had once
made society just and good.
• Good people would make a good civilization.
Through education, people could become good
again.
• The central idea of Confucianism was to have
respect within the family.
• Just as a child must respect a parent, a subject must
respect the ruler. The ruler had the added
responsibility to be just and good.
• Confucianism also believed that the emperor
received a right to rule from the gods called the
Mandate of Heaven and echoed the Shang belief that
the gods spoke to kings through oracle bones.
• Confucius’s thoughts were
recorded by his students in a
book called The Analects.