Download Chapter 8 Lesson 1: Geography Shapes Life in Ancient China

Name: _________________________________________ Period: _________
Chapter 8 Lesson 1: Geography Shapes Life in Ancient China (Pages 253-256)
*Look in the Glossary to define the following words:
oracle bone:
pictograph:
dynastic cycle:
Mandate of Heaven:
The river valley pattern you studied in ______________________, Egypt, and the _____________ Valley was
repeated in _______________. Its civilization developed because __________ rivers brought water and
_________ that
made ____________ possible. Cities grew along the banks of the _______________.
Unlike the regions of the Nile and Fertile _______________, where civilizations interacted with each other,
___________ was geographically isolated. The huge ______________ chains, vast ________________, and
large expanses of ______________ made the spread of ____________ and ____________ to China difficult. As
a result, Chinese ________________ developed along very ____________ lines.
Two River Systems:
Two major rivers flow toward the _____________ Ocean. The Chang Jiang , or the ______________, is found
in central China. The Huang He to the north is also known as the _______________ River. Their floodwaters
deposit __________________ silt that makes fertile ___________. In ancient times, most Chinese __________
was done in the very ___________ land between these rivers. This land, called the North China ___________,
has always been the center of Chinese ___________________.
The Shang Dynasty
Around 2000 B.C., farming settlements along the Huang He began to grow into ___________. An early
civilization began there, and Chinese culture ____________ evolved from that ancient beginning. Therefore,
we can say that ________ is the oldest __________________ civilization in the ________________.
About 1766 B.C., Shang family kings began to control some _____________. They set up a ____________, or
rule by generations of one ____________. The kings were responsible for religious activities. They claimed to
rule with the gods’ _________________. Shang kings _______________ the central portion of the North China
Plain; their ________________ ruled distant areas. The Shang used ______________ to defend themselves
against the nomads who lived to the north and west. They made ________ with nomadic people like the
________ (joh).
Shang Families
In Shang culture, respect for one’s parents and ___________________ was very important. Family was closely
tied to ________________. The Chinese believed that the ___________ of their __________________ could
bring good fortune to the family. Families paid ________________ to the father’s ancestors by making animal
_________________ in their honor. Men ruled within the _________________.
The Zhou Dynasty
The _____________ people moved down from the northwest. They clashed with the _____________ on many
occasions. Around 1027 B.C., the ____________ ruler Wu Wang led a force that defeated the ___________.
Fill in the blank for the Dynastic Cycle that was developed during the Zhou Dynasty:
(6). The new _____________ restores peace
and ____________.
(5). The ___________ Is
_____________.
(4). The people ____________ the
___________ has lost the gods’
_________________.
11 Mandate of Heaven:
(1). The people believe the new
____________ has the gods’ ____________.
(2). The dynasty’s _____________ grows
________________.
(3). Disasters such as ______________,
_____________, and invasions _________.
Zhou Government
Like the Shang, the Zhou did not have a strong central ____________________. Kings put ____________ with
family ties or other trusted people in charge of _______________. Those local rulers, or _________, owed
loyalty and military service to the ___________. In return, the king promised to help protect their _________.
As their towns became cities, the lords grew _______________. More groups came under their _________.
The lords became less _________________ on the king. They began to fight among themselves and with other
________________. The ____________ they added to their control expanded_______________ territory.