Download Ancient China

Satellite View of China
China’s Provinces
China—Asia’s Superpower
China vs. the U. S. in Size
China
0
250
500
1,000
1,500
Miles
2,000
United States
Comparing China & the U. S.
Size
Main physical
barrier
China
United States
3.7 million
square miles
Himalayas
3.6 million
square miles
Rockies
Main River
Yangtze / East Mississippi /
- West
North – South
Population
East Coast
Connectivity
problems
North - South East - West
East Coast
Pacific “Rim of Fire”
Bodies of Water
Sea of
Japan
Pacific
Ocean
South
China
Sea
China’s Climate Zones
Precipitation in China
Arable Land
“Brown” China vs. “Green” China
Pasture and Oasis
Double-crop rice
China as % of World Population
The Population of China
thousands
1600
2050
1400
2000
1995
1200
1000
1981
800
1970
600
1953
1949
1851
1911
18121887
400
200
0
2
755
105
0
500
1210
1083
1000
1381
1562 1650
1500
1753
2000
The Polluted Yellow River!
VOCABULARY
Loess
The Yellow River
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Huang He
2,920 Miles: Tibet to the Yellow Sea
Deposits (loess) fertile, light colored soil
– No need for metal tools for generous
harvests
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Periodic flooding: “China’s sorrow”
Prehistoric Society: Yangshao
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5000-3000 BCE
Middle region of the Yellow River valley
Banpo Village
– Found in 1952
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Painted pottery
Bone tools
Population increase necessitated
organized authority
The Earliest Dynasties
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Xia
– C. 2200 BCE
– Legend -> Founded by
Yu
– Organized through village
network
– Hereditary monarchy
– Flood control
– Rise of cities,
bureaucracy, & bronze
weapons
Bronze Age Empires
Shang Dynasty - 1766-1122 BCE
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Bronze metallurgy
– State monopoly of copper & tin ores.
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Horse-drawn chariots, other wheeled vehicles
Large armies – 3,000 – 13,000 strong
Demand of agricultural tribute
Political organization: network of fortified
cities, loyal to center
– 1000 cities
– Capital moved six times
• Impressive architecture at Ao (33 x 66 wall), Yin
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Other regional kingdoms coexist: Sanxingdui
Shang Dynasty Burial Practices
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Hierarchical social structure
Live burials alongside deceased
member of ruling class
– Sacrificial victims, mostly slaves
– Wives, servants, friends, hunting
companions
– Later replaced by statuary, often
monumental
Shang Religion
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Animism – The belief that spirits inhabit
everything.
Ancestor Worship
Shang Di – A god who controlled the
forces of nature
Oracle Bones
Oracle Bones
Oracle Bones and Early Chinese
Writing
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Used for communicating with spirit
world, determining future
– Question written on animal bones, turtle
shells
– Then heated over fire, cracks examined for
omens
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Early archaeological evidence of
Chinese writing
Evolution of Chinese script
– Pictograph to ideograph
Oracle Bone from Shang Dynasty
The Evolution of Chinese
Writing During
Pictographs
Semantic-Phonetics
Zhou Literature
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The reflections of Confucius
Book of Changes
– Manual for divination
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Book of History (Zhou propaganda)
Book of Etiquette (Book of Rites)
Book of Songs (…of Poetry or …of Odes)
Little survived
– Often written on perishable bamboo strips
– Many destroyed by Emperor of Qin dynasty in 221
BCE
Axe Scepter – 1100 BCE - Jade
Ceremonial Dagger – 1028 BCE
Shang
Urn
Shang Bronzes
Ritual Wine
Vessel – Bronze,
13c BCE
Western Zhou:1027-771 BCE
Zhou Dynasty, 1122-256 BCE
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No law codes: rule by decree
– “Mandate of Heaven”
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Aggregation of villages opposed to
Shang leadership
– Decentralization of authority
– Lacked organization efficiency
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Development of cheap iron weaponry
ends Shang monopoly on Bronze
Early money economy
Zhou Coins - Bronze
“T’ian Ming”
The Mandate of Heaven
1.The leader must lead by ability and
virtue.
2.The dynasty's leadership must be
justified by succeeding generations.
3.The mandate could be revoked by
negligence and abuse; the will of
the people was important.
Start here
A new
dynasty
comes to power.
“Son of Heaven”
The emperor
reforms the govt.
& makes it more
efficient.
Emperor is
defeated !!
Rebel bands find
strong leader who
unites them.
Attack the emperor.
Poor lose
respect for govt.
They join rebels
& attack landlords.
The
Dynastic
Cycle
Droughts,
floods,
famines occur.
Lives of common
people improved;
taxes reduced;
farming encouraged.
Problems begin
(extensive wars,
invasions, etc.)
Taxes increase;
men forced to
work for army.
Farming neglected.
Govt. increases
spending;
corruption.
Heaven, unpitying, has sent down ruin on the
Shang. The Shang has lost the Mandate,
and we, the Zhou have received it. I dare not
say that our fortune would continue to
prosper, even though I believe that heaven
favors those who are sincere in their
intentions. I dare not say, either that it would
end in certain disaster…
The Mandate of Heaven is not easy to gain. It
will be lost when men fail to live up to the
reverent and illustrious virtues of our
forefathers.
Duke of Shao, quoted in The Chinese Heritage
Early Ideology
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Yin and Yang
Yin: female, dark, weak, wet, passive
Yang: male, bright, strong, dry, active
Balance of opposites
Zhou Contributions
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Aristocrats
Feudalism
– Kings > Local Lords > Peasants
• Feudal Lords Gain Power
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Iron Age
The First Bound Books
Astronomers Study Planets & Eclipses
Silk Worms
Decline of the Zhou Dynasty
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Decentralized leadership style allows for
building of regional powers
– Increasing local independence, refusal to
pay Zhou taxes
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Iron metallurgy allows for widespread
creation of weaponry
Northern invaders weaken Zhou
dynasty, beginning 8th c BCE
Internal dissention: the Period of the
Warring States (403-221 BCE)
China during the Period of the Warring
States, 403-221 BCE
“Chung Kuo”
(The “Middle Kingdom”)
Social Order
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Ruling classes great advantage
– Palatial compounds, luxurious lifestyle
– Supported by agricultural surplus, tax
revenues
– Defended by monopoly on bronze
weaponry
– Hereditary privilege
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Support class of artisans, craftsmen
Evidence of long-distance trade,
merchant class
Large class of semi servile peasants
Slave class (mostly POW’s)
Family and Patriarchy
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Devotion to family, ancestor veneration
– Family responsible for socialization of children and
preservation of cultural traditions
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Connection of spirit world to physical world
– Ritual sacrifices
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Father ritual head of family rites (rather than
priests)
Earlier prominence of individual female
leaders fades in later Shang, Zhou dynasties
Genealogy
Nomadic Peoples of Central Asia
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Despite geographic boundaries, long distance
trade exists while limited in scope
Steppe nomads
– Poor lands for cultivation, extensive herding
activities
– Horses domesticated c. 4000 BCE, bronze
metallurgy in 2900 BCE
– Organized under charismatic warrior chiefs
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Extensive trade with sedentary cultures in
China
Tensions: frequent raiding
Ethnocentrism/Xenophobia
The Yangtze River
Southern Expansion of Chinese
Society
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Yangzi Valley
– Peaceful flooding
– Yangzi river: Chang Jiang, “long river”
– Excellent for rice cultivation
– Irrigation system developed
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The State of Chu
– Autonomous, challenged Zhou dynasty
– Culture heavily influenced by Chinese