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China
Geography, Xia, Shang, and Zhou
Erica Haber
Geography
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China is slightly larger than the US
The eastern 1/3 is “arable” (300,000,000 acres)
½ of China is mountainous barren wasteland, and 1/10 is forest
The birth of China was along the Huang He (Yellow), Yangtze,
and Xi Rivers
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“Chinese” eventually moved south into Vietnam and North into Korea
(colonization and conquest)
National boundaries formed Zhong-guo (middle kingdom) and Zhonghua (central flower country)—aka “China within the Great Wall”
Geography cont.
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In the North China Plain the Yellow River flooded and high winds
deposited “loess" in the surrounding area.
Loess is suitable for wheat and dry crops.
The Yellow River is unpredictable and floods often (River of Sorrows)
Abundant rainfall near the Yangtze along with a temperate climate
made South China suitable for rice and wet crops.
China had no maritime rivals, but faced dangers from Northern
semi-nomadic tribes. (focused inland)
Mountains, deserts, and distance kept China isolated
Xia Dynasty (1994-1523 BCE)
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Considered the mythical beginning of China’s dynasties
Northern China unified under King Yu
The Xia ended when King Jie was deposed for corruption by
Tang the Victorious in 1523
The Tang clan began the Shang Dynasty.
Shang Dynasty (1523-1027 BCE)
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Controlled the land around their capital (Anyang)
The remainder of China was controlled by land owning clan
leaders (feudal)
Shang strength
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4,000 peasant conscript army with chariot riding archers
Claimed that they could intercede with Shang-di (Lord on High) in
Tien (heaven) who controlled nature and the human condition
Religion
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Rituals (worship, animal sacrifices, magic and human sacrifice) to
honor nature deities and human spirit
Little concern with ethical issues, more concerned with survival
Shang Dynasty cont.
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Religion cont.
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Writing and art
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Ancestor worship was based on the belief that souls go to the
netherworld for 6 generations before being absorbed by nature.
Souls in the netherworld have power over nature and influence with the
gods
Writing began as ideographic (Shang had 3000 characters)
Was a unifying force since symbols had identical meanings and
comparable pronunciations
Famous for bronze artwork and weaponry
In 1027 BCE the Shang ended when King Zouxin was killed
by Wu Wang, head of the semi nomadic Zhou tribe
Zhou Dynasty (1027-771 BCE)
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Moved the capital to Xian and then Luoyang
In order to deal with the Shang claim that only they can
intercede with Shang-di, the Duke of Zhou created the
“Mandate of Heaven”
Zhou changes
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The Duke of Zhou reduced the Shang land into a small area (estate of
Song)
He divided the territory into 70 provinces under the control of noble
allies
Allies swore to fulfill financial and military obligations, submit to royal
law, and serve the king in the capital
Weak kings and barbarian attacks caused the western capital to fall and
the Zhou shifted to the eastern capital and invested in the house of Qin
Eastern Zhou (770-221 BCE)
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Broken into two parts The Spring and Autumn Era (722-464
BCE) and the Era of the Warring States (~430-221 BCE)
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Fighting between 150 warlords/kingdoms ( only 38 years of peace)
China’s frontiers expanded
Agriculture, commerce, industry, and major works increased
Began to place talented men into gov’t positions and wrote a law code
During the Era of the Warring States the “Seven Overlords” fought for
control
The small states of the Zhou became bigger and more centralized with
the Qin eventually becoming most powerful
Water projects, migrations, and new farming methods (iron plows)
allowed the population to grow (50 million people by the late Zhou)