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China
Geography of China
• Two Rivers make up the farming area of
China
• Huang He (Yellow River) flows out of the
western mountains through the Gobi
Desert. Its picks up the yellow soul of the
Gobi giving the river its’ yellow color
• Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) crosses
central China creating a massive and
fertile river valley
Geography of China
• As huge as China is only 10% of the land
is suitable for farming
• To the north is deserts and mountain
• To the west is the very dry Tibetan Plateau
and mountains
• These geographic feature keeps China
isolated trough much of her development
The Dynastic Cycle
• China’s history can be traced by this
concept called the dynastic cycle
• The dynastic cycle is based on the idea of
the “mandate from heaven”
• Mandate from Heaven- the law of nature
gave the king the authority to rule. Heaven
can give this power and take it back
Xia Dynasty
• Began around 4000 Years ago
• We know almost nothing about
it
Shang Dynasty
• Founded around 1750
BC
• War like culture
• The territory was divided
into provinces ruled by
War Lords
• The King/Emperor
picked the war lords
• Writing developed
• The concept of ancestor
worship developed
Shang Dynasty
• Excelled in Bronze Casting
Fall of Shang
• By the 1000’s BC the Shang empire had a
series of bad rulers and lost the Mandate
from heaven
• A ruler from the state Zhou over threw the
Shang Dynasty creating the longest lasting
Dynasty in China’s History
• Zhou Dynasty (1045 BC-256 BC)
Zhou Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
• Silk is discovered
• Daoism and Confucianism
develops
• Chinese Classical Art begins
Zhou Dynasty
• Silk Production
Daoism (Taoism)
• Based on the teaching of Laozi
• The beliefs of Laozi were written down in
the Tao Te Ching or “The Way of the Dao”
• Man is part of the Universe and Nature
• Man should learn to live with nature and
achieve a balance
• In action is often better than action
Confucianism
• Based on the teachings of Kongfuzi, Master
Kung
• His teaching were written down in a work called
the Analects
• Confucius felt that in order was critical to society
• Your personal interest and wishes need to be
subordinate to that of society
• You should do your duty for the betterment of
society
• The ruler should lead by example
Confucianism
Believed in the 5 Constant Relationships
• Ruler to Ruled
• Father to Son
• Husband to Wife
• Elder Brother to Younger Brother
• Friend to Friend
Confucianism
Believed in filial piety
The duty of the children to listen , take care
of and be loyal to their parents
Confucius also taught compassion and
empathy to your fellow man
“Do not do unto others what you would not
wish done to you”
Legalism
• Human being ARE evil
• In order to keep order, you need harsh,
strict laws and ruler willing to enforce them
• They believed that only harsh
punishments would keep man in order
Qin (Quin) Dynasty
• 400 BC to 200 BC a bloody Civil War torn the Zhou
Dynasty apart
• In 221 BC the rule of the state of Qin, Qin Shihuangdi,
defeated his rivals and started the Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
• Created a single monetary system
• Ordered unified road system built through
out the empire
• Built the Great Wall of China to keep
northern invaders out
Qin Dynasty
• The first emperor of Qin, had the
terra-cotta army made
• Tarra-cotta is form of art base molding and
baking clay to make shapes
• ‘Archeologists believe that this army was made
to escort him into the afterlife
• There are 6,000 statues in just the first pit alone
• They are complete individuals with clay horses
army and weapons
Terra-Cotta Army
Terra-Cotta Army
Qin Dynasty
• Set up a centralized government
Han Dynasty
• The harsh rule and over taxation of the
Qin dynasty caused revolt
• When the emperor of Qin died in 210 BC
another Civil War broke out
Han Dynasty
• 202 BC a peasant leader named Liu Pang
gained control of China
• He immediately discarded the harsh
policies and legalism of the Qin Dynasty
• He adopt the teachings of Confucius as
his model of government
Han Dynasty
• Government positions were awarded
based on merit.
• Students studied the works of Confucius
and were tested. Those who score high
enough were awarded government jobs
• This is called Civil Service System
Han Dynasty
• Paper was invented
• The Silk road was established to promoted
trade between the east and the west
• Steel was developed
• Monks from India visited China spreading
the teaching of Buddha
The Fall of Han
• Towards the end of the Han dynasty a
series of weak rulers came to power
• Noble land owners slowly came to power
and forced poor peasant to sell them their
land
• 220 AD peasant uprisings and civil wars
brought an end to the Han dynasty