Download Ch 2-4 China

Chapter 2 Section 4
China: “Middle Kingdom”
Geography
China: The
Middle Kingdom
Xia Dynasty
Shang Dynasty
MR. LAVENGOOD
WHI Ch. 3 pp. 88-91
Geography of China
 Land Area: 3.6 million
miles (4th largest country)
 Location: mid latitudes
 Land: Fertile, arable
SE(rice), dry arable north
(wheat), desert west and
mountainous SW
 Rivers:



Huang He (2900 miles)
is where Chinese
civilization started;
alluvial soil!
Chiang Jiang river
(3400 miles)
Xi Jiang
Huang He
Chiang Jiang
Xi Jiang
The People of China
 Population is 1.3 billion.
(1 in 6 humans is Chinese.)
 92% of Chinese population is
Han.
 Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou Triangle
 Population:
 density: 329 sq mile
 30% urban 70% rural
 literacy: 90%
 life expectancy: 72 years
Religions in China
 China is officially
atheist as per
Communist
government policy.
 Dominant religions
include:
Buddhism,Taoism
Confucianism,
Christianity.
Urban Life in China
 China is a crowded
country; coastal areas
are very densely
populated.
 The capital and
second largest city is
Beijing (The largest
is Shanghai.)
 Urban areas feature
small families, factory
labor, piecework and
much poverty.
Chinese Dynasties
 Xia (2100-1800 BC)
 Shang (1750-1122 BC)
 Zhou (1045-256 BC)
 Qin (221-206 BC)
 Han (202 BC-220 AD)
Xia Dynasty (2100-1800 BC)
1.
Mythical:
1.
2.
2.
Characteristics:
1.
2.
3.
3.
Little known
Little, but some, archaeological
evidence
Agricultural
Bronze weapons and vessels
Pottery
Yu the Great:
1.
2.
“First Emperor”
Flood control (13 years)
1.
Dredging, irrigation
Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BC)
 the Shang dynasty was
founded by a rebel king, Tang
of Shang, who overthrew the
last Xia ruler

Battle of Mingtiao.
 Shang dynasty centered
around the Huang He.
 King:
referred to as “Son of Heaven.”
 had both religious and
administrative duties.
 ritual sacrifices were
accomplished upon his death.

Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BC)
 Aristocrats:
 Were upper class members.
 Wealth was based upon land.
 Helped the king rule.
 Peasants:
 Were the majority of people.
 Farmed land for the aristocrats.
Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BC)
 Agrarian:
 Was mostly farming society ruled by aristocracy.
 (It had an upper class whose wealth is based on land and
whose power is passed on from one generation to another.)
 Anyang:
 Was the final Shang capital city(1350 BC)
From Earlier
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Where did early Chinese civilizations start?
Who was the founder of the Xia dynasty?
What were the 3 levels of society in the Shang
dynasty?
What was the wealth to the upper class in the
Shang dynasty based on?
What was the final Capital of the Shang
dynasty?
Shang Dynasty
 Oracle Bones:
 Were of bone or tortoise shell.
 Questions were scratched into surface.
 Priest heated the object with a hot metal. The shell would
crack and priests would read the answers.
 Were stored and provided a historical record of early China.
Shang Dynasty
 Tombs:
 Human sacrifices were
found in aristocratic
tombs.
 Also bronze and jade
objects were found.
Shang Dynasty
 Veneration of
Ancestors:


Known as “ancestor
worship.”
Spirits of ancestors
could bring good or evil
upon the living.
Shang Dynasty
 Bronze:
 Objects were found in tombs. Some of these objects held
food sacrifices for dead ancestors.
 Items include tools, utensils, pitchers, vases.
A bronze pitcher
A vessel called a “ding”
A ritual wine vessel
China’s Zhou Dynasty
1045 BC TO 256 BC
Zhou Territory
Pearcy, Thomas, PhD. And Dickson, Mary. (1997). Retrieved July 17, 2006 from Ralph’s World Civilizations
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/resource/zhoudyna.htm
Characteristics of the Zhou Dynasty
 Zhou Kings
 Mandate of Heaven
 Bureaucracy
 Feudal System
 Zhou Society
 Social Ladder
 Filial Piety
 Veneration of Ancestors
 Zhou Advances
 Agricultural
 Manufacturing
 Language
 Philosophy
 First of all, the Zhou dynasty is the longest reigning
dynasty ever in the history of China.


A dynasty is when a line of rulers come from the same family.
The Zhou dynasty lasted almost 800 years.
 Secondly, China wasn’t named China yet, that comes
during the next dynasty, the Qin.
Zhou Kings
 Mandate of Heaven
 A mandate is an order. It was believed by this time that god or
heaven gave Zhou kings the power to rule. In other words, the
individual who called himself king was the one that heaven
placed in that position.
 It was also believed that the Zhou king had a special role as a
link between heaven and his people here on earth. Part of his
kingly duty was to perform rituals to keep heaven pleased.
 That is why the king, by this time, was referred to as the “son
of heaven.”
Dynastic cycle
Rebellion or
invasion
New dynasty
est. power
Ruled
successfully
Collapse
Decline/rise
begins
Zhou Kings
 Bureaucracy
 Zhou kings developed a system of rulership, a system of
administration.
 Much of the king’s administrative powers were placed into the
hands of others who were loyal to the king.
 Zhou land was divided into smaller, more manageable
territories. These territories were then managed by those who
would serve the king well and protect the land.
Feudal System
 The king gave land to those loyal to him and in return he expected the




land to be protected.
Add family loyalties or tribal ties on top of that, and the feudal system
gets very complex.
The problem with the feudal system was that over time, territorial
leaders were given an incentive (more land) in trying to control the
neighboring land as well.
Over time this type of warfare increased, territorial army against
territorial army, and the latter part of Zhou rule became known as the
“Period of Warring States” beginning in 403 BC.
As territorial administrators are fighting amongst themselves, needless
to say, the power of the king himself is diminishing.
Zhou Society
 Social Ladder
 The king and his family were at the very top of the social system.
 Next were those the king appointed to administer his land.
 Government officials also ranked fairly high.
 Artisans and merchants were not highly regarded in Chinese society
and were usually under the control of the feudal lord.
 So were the peasants, who were expected to work the land for the
lord, but was also given a small parcel to work for themselves.
 There were slaves as well in the social structure of Zhou China.
Zhou Society
 Filial Piety
 This is the concept that developed prior to Zhou rule, and still
exists today.
 This is subordination to older members in one’s
family, respect given to them.
 One should not shame his/her family and should act in a
manner that makes one’s family look favorable.
Zhou Society
 Veneration of Ancestors
 This belief is based in the idea that those who die still can have
an effect on those still alive.
 In other words, those who pass into the afterlife can bless a
person or place curses upon him/her according to how that
individual has acted and continues to live.
 Do you understand why it would serve a person well to be kind
to those who are older than him/her?
Zhou Advances
 Agricultural
 By the 500s BC, many farming improvements had taken place.
Irrigation (controlling flood waters, providing water in drought)
 Iron (plows that were more effective, could make more land arable)

 Manufacturing
 Iron (not only plows, also weapons like crossbow)
 Silk (its production kept a secret)
Zhou Advances
 Language
 Chinese script had begun earlier under the Shang dynasty,
instead of it being replaced by another language or writing
system, the educated in the time of the Zhou kept it and added
pictographs and ideographs.
 Written Chinese language is the oldest continuing
language in the world. It is not exactly the same as the
original; all languages change over time. But it is very close.
 Written in columns, read from top to bottom.
Dao
 This refers to “the way.”
 It is comprised of the “duty” of all people to
subordinate their interests to the broader needs of
family and community.
 It also recognizes “humanity”, the idea of
compassion and empathy toward others.
Dynastic cycle
Rebellion or
invasion
New dynasty
est. power
Ruled
successfully
Collapse
Decline/rise
begins
Zhou Dynasty Collapse
 The dynastic cycle ran its course. The initial able kings
gave way to the mediocre kings who lost power to
weaker kings. In this case the Zhou had lost its ultimate
authority in China and the territorial rulers had real
authority.
 These territorial rulers fought amongst themselves until
finally a strong and strict ruler came in and united China
under one rule
 This is the same ruler who began the Great Wall of China
and built the terra cotta soldiers to protect his tomb (which,
by the way is said to have rivers of mercury surrounding it),
the powerful Shihuangdi, founder of the Qin Dynasty.