Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
• 10/23 Focus – The Chinese Civilization developed in the Huang He and Yangtze river valleys – Geography isolated the Chinese culture more than it did other civilizations • Important Terms: • Isolation, Ethnocentrism • Do Now – What was the Neolithic Revolution? – Why did people settle in river valleys? River Valley Civilizations China • Neolithic Revolution in China • Farming in China first appears in the Huang He River Valley • Favorable geographic conditions allowed for the development of civilization Geography • Major Geographic Influences – – – – Mountains Deserts River Valleys Plains Mountains • High mountains served a barrier to the movement of people • Himalayas in the West – separate China from India Deserts • Gobi Desert – Large desert in the North – Forms a barrier between China and Mongolia – Very Rocky; few sand dunes Deserts • Taklamakan Desert – Western China – Very difficult to cross • Taklamakan meant “Go in and you won’t come out” • “Sea of Death” • Effect of Natural Barriers • Mountains and deserts in China: – protection from invasions in the west – Isolation • Chinese civilizations developed without outside influences • Limited cultural diffusion – Ethnocentrism • The belief in the superiority of one’s race or ethnic group • Chinese believed that people outside of their world were inferior • Chinese viewed outsiders as barbarians River Valleys • The Huang He (Yellow River) – Flows to the east from Tibetan Plateau – Located in Northern China – Loess • Fine, dusty desert soil • Carried by winds and deposited in the river • Deposited by annual flooding • Created fertile flood plains – Flooding was unpredictable and could be very destructive River Valleys • Yangtze (Chang Jiang) – Flows east from Tibetan Plateau – Located in southern China – Warm climate with abundant rainfall Plains • Importance of fertile plains – Only 11% of land in China can be farmed – 90% of farming occurs on plains between Huang He and Yangtze rivers – Most people live near the plains and in eastern China (along coast) Closure • Identify the two major natural barriers that influenced the development of Chinese civilization. • How did these barriers influence the Chinese view of themselves and other groups? Review • China is isolated by its geography. • This leads to Ethnocentrism – they thought that they were better than other people • This is why they called themselves the Middle Kingdom and considered others to be barbarians. The Shang Dynasty • 1650 B.C. • Shang gain control of N. China • Government – Ruled by Kings – Establish first dynasty • A ruling family The Shang Dynasty • Religion – Polytheistic – Worshiped ancestors – Used oracle bones to try to communicate with them • Bones inscribed with pictographs • Priests could read them for messages from ancestors – Offered ancestors gifts for the afterlife The Shang Dynasty • written language – used pictograms • symbols that represent pictures – Ideograms • symbols that represent ideas. • used on the Oracle Bones, but only few people learned how to read and write The Shang Dynasty • Early class systems • small warrior class ruling over the peasants • Patriarchal Society • Male dominated The Shang Dynasty • Technology/Achievements/Developments: – Bronze production for weapons and ceremonial vessels (not tools) – Army had horse drawn chariots – Silk production – Irrigation systems