Download The Huang, Chang, and Xi Rivers

Ancient Chinese Civilization
Geographic and Cultural
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China Proper…”Heart of China”
 Region that runs inland from the eastern seacoast
 Contains The Huang, Chang, and Xi Rivers
The Huang or Yellow River
 Chinese built dikes to help control the flooding
China’s isolation
 Great distance, mountains, deserts separated China
from the India and the West
 Infrequent contact gave China a strong sense of
identity and superiority
 Regarded China as Zhongguo or Middle Kingdom
The Shang Dynasty
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Objectives:
 Examine how the Chinese
explained their early history
 Describe how the Shang
government and economy
were organized
 Identify the religious beliefs
held by the Shang
 Explain why the Shang
dynasty collapsed
Ancient China
Legends
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Pangu, the 1st man
 Created the universe
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Yu
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Mythological figure
Drained away flood
waters
Established line of
Kings called Xia
Xia ruled over the
Neolithic people in China
Shang
Dynasty
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First historic Dynasty
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Between 1750 BC and
1500 BC
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Stretched over 40,000 sq
miles
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Shang strengthened rule
by introducing irrigation
and flood control
systems
Shang
Government
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Stretched over 40,000 sq miles
Ruled by a bureaucracy- government organized into
different levels and tasks
Well organized government allowed culture to spread
Shang Economy and Crafts
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Based on Agriculture
Raised silkworms to make silk
cloth
Artisans known for their use of
kaolin- fine white clay
Artisans worked in bone, ivory,
and jade
Astronomy & Calendar
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Used 2 calendars
 Sun and Moon
Lunar Calendar
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based on the movements on the
moon
 Each month began with new moon
(29 days)
 12 lunar months made a year with
365 days
Priest-Astronomers had control over
planting times
Religion
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Animism- the belief that spirits inhabited
everything
Worshiped Gods of the sun, wind, clouds, and the
moon
Believed in Shangdi- god who controlled human
destiny and forces of nature
Priests tried to predict the future by reading oracle
bones
Language and Writing
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Spoke many dialects- variations of their
language
Assigned symbols to words: a signifier and a
phonetic sound
Writings became known as calligraphy
Fall of the Shang Dynasty
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Wealth and Lifestyle of the China Proper
 Created constant battles for the Shang Dynasty
 Military efforts exhausted the Shang rulers
around 1100 BC
The Shang Dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou
(JOH)
Zhou justified their conquest by claiming the
Shang was corrupt and unfit to rule
Zhou Dynasty 1050 BC- 256 BC
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No centralized form of government
Granted territories to members of royal families and
allies
Believed in the “Mandate of Heaven”
 God determined who ruled China
Rebels would overthrow dynasty if “Mandate of
Heaven” was lost
Decline of Zhou
 Local leaders fought each other
 Military attacks by outsiders
The Qin Dynasty: 221 BC – 206 BC
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Came to power by military might lead by Cheng
Established an autocracy
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Great Wall of China
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Cheng suppressed and executed scholars
Walls built to protect from invasions
1500 miles in length
Force labor policy for public works anger people
Liu Bang overthrew the Qin Dynasty
 Founded the Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty
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Civil Service System
 Runs the day-to-day business of
Government
 Created system of examinations
 Established an imperial university to train
peoples for Government service
 Remained in China until early 1900’s AD
The Han Dynasty:
Accomplishments
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Began economic policy of leveling- price control to
balance surplus and shortages
Silk Road
 Trade route from China to the Mediterranean Sea
 Traded jade and silk with wealthy Greeks and
Romans
Population grew to about 50 million people
Invention of Paper
 Spread from China to the Western World
Ancient Chinese Beliefs
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Supported dualism
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Everything in the world results from
a balance between two forces
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YIN- female, dark, and passive
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Yang- male, bright, and active
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Belief that balance in human affairs is
a normal condition
Confucius
551 BC- 479 BC
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Followers collected his ideas in
Analects
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3 factors of importance
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Family, respect for ones elders,
and reverence for the past and
ones ancestors
Confucius Teachings
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Concerned with the causes of social and political
unrest
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Concerned with how moral and ethical leadership
would solve problems
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2 ways
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Accept role in society
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Government and leaders should be virtuous
Rulers should be honest and trustworthy
Confucius Teachings
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Encouraged only moral, well educated
officials lead government
Mencius (372 Bc – 289 BC)
 Strong supporter of Confucianism
 Believed rulers who ruled by strong
moral and ethical guidelines would
win support of people
 Believed rulers who oppressed
people would surrender the right to
rule
Laozi
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Founded the philosophy of Daoism
Dao = “the way”
Saw Dao as the force that governed the universe
and all of nature
People should withdraw from the world and
contemplate nature
Shunned politics
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Advised not to seek power
People should be humble, quite, and thoughtful
Legalism
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Believed in power and harsh laws
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Believed people were by nature selfish and
untrustworthy
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Peace and prosperity could be achieved only by
threatening severe punishment
Buddhism in China
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Late years of the Han Dynasty brought violence and
lawlessness
After the fall of the Han Dynasty people
converted to Buddhism
Factors that lead to conversion
 Temples and ceremonies offered a sense of
peace and safety
 Emphasized universal charity and compassion
Accepted Mahayana Buddhism
Family and Social Life
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Most important factor in Chinese society was family
Each upper-class family kept a genealogy
Role of the Father
 Ruler of the house
 Arranged children’s and Grand Children's
Marriages
 Decided how much education the son would
receive
 Choose the son’s career
Women
 Gained power by bearing children
Arts and Science
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Five Classics
 Texts used to train scholars and civil servants
 Book of Poems, History, Changes, Summer &
Spring Annals, and Rites
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Early Inventions
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Seismograph- warned of earthquakes
Paper- produced in 150 BC
Medicines from herbs and minerals
Acupuncture-developed by Daoists