Download The Dynasties

The Dynasties
We often hear of the word “dynasty” being mentioned when we hear something about
China. What does it mean?
Dynasty simply means a strong or powerful family that is able to maintain control over a
country or region for a long period of time.
There were many dynasties in China and several of them held control over China for many
hundreds of years, passing down the control from father to son or uncle to nephew, etc.
Archeologists have no records before the Shang dynasty (from 1500
B.C.E. to 1027 B.C.E.). This seems to be then the earliest recorded dynasty.
Many remains have been discovered such as painted pottery pieces belonging
to a group of people called the Yang-shao culture and another referred to as
the Lung-shan. These two ancient cultures have no written record of leaders
and government, but artifacts that have been found tell archeologists that
they were probably farmers who planted crops and raised animals.
The Shang ruled a broad area of northern China and made many advances. The Shang
created China’s first writing system. This system used more than 2,000 symbols to express
words or ideas. Although the system has gone through changes over the years, the Chinese
symbols used today are based on those of the Shang period. Shang writing has been found on
thousands of cattle bones and turtle shells. Priests had carved questions about
the future on bones or shells, which were then heated, causing them to crack.
The priests believed they could “read” these cracks to predict the future. The
bones were called oracle bones because and oracle is a prediction. In addition
to writing, the Shang also made other achievements. Artisans made beautiful
bronze containers for cooking and religious ceremonies. They also made axes,
knives, and ornaments from jade, a hard gemstone. The military developed war
chariots, powerful bows, and bronze body armor. Shang astrologers developed a
calendar based on the cycles of the moon.
Before the Shang dynasty came to power in China, another dynasty, called the Xia, ruled
but again there is no archeological record of this period of time, only stories handed down
through the centuries. The stories told of the terrible floods. Archeologists and historians
have not yet found evidence that the tales are true. However, the stories of Xia rulers were
important to the ancient Chinese because they told of kings who helped people solve problems
by working together. The stories also explained the geography that had such an impact on
people’s lives.
Directions: Using the passage above answer the following questions. Be sure to go back and
underline/highlight where you found your answer and write the question number in the margin.
The * indicates that it will be more difficult to find the answer in the text so try to find
information that helps you and highlight those clues.
1.) Define the word “dynasty”. Then use it in a sentence that shows clearly that you know the
meaning of the word. __________________________________________________
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2.) What is the earliest recorded dynasty in China? ______________________________
3.) What does the use of oracle bones tells us about the early Chinese? _______________
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4.) What advances were made during the Shang dynasty? __________________________
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5.) *Why do you think that “records” do not exist before 1500 B.C.E.? ________________
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6.) *How long ago is 1500 B.C.E.? (Think about how it would look on a timeline. Remember that
B.C.E. means Before Common Era. This means it happens before year 0.) _____________
7.) * Give some reasons why different dynasties did not last for very long periods of time.
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Zhou
After the Shang dynasty was overthrown because its last leader was very cruel, the next
dynasty was the Zhou dynasty (1027 B.C.E. to 771 B.C.E.). This dynasty lasted longer than any
other dynasty in Chinese history. The Zhou dynasty made many changes to both religion and
politics in China, and though it officially stopped ruling China in 771 B.C.E., it actually remained a
ruling group within a smaller area until 256 B.C.E.
During the Zhou dynasty a system of communication was set up in
order to send messages from town to town. Each of the different states
in China had their own messengers, coachmen and station-masters
located in each town. The distance that these messengers and coaches
could travel greatly improved over the centuries.
The Zhou dynasty established other Chinese traditions like the importance of family and
social order. The Zhou kings claimed to possess the mandate of heaven.
According to this idea, heaven gave power to the king or leader, and no one ruled
without heaven’s permission. If a king was found to be bad, heaven would support
another leader. Early Zhou rulers used the mandate of heaven to justify their
rebellion against the Shang.
Insert political system here.
The Zhou Dynasty lost control of all China when many of the nobles decided they wished
to rule their own particular areas. King Yu was killed and soon many independent states were set
up within China. Unfortunately, these states over the next several hundred years often had
very long and horrible wars between them.
Directions: Using the passage above answer the following questions. Be sure to go back and
underline/highlight where you found your answer and write the question number in the margin.
The * indicates that it will be more difficult to find the answer in the text so try to find
information that helps you and highlight those clues.
1.) Which dynasty lasted the longest? ______________________________________
2.) What does mandate of heaven mean? ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3.) How did the Zhou use the mandate of heaven to justify their overthrow of the Shang?
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4.)