Download China 401

Ancient
Chinese
Civilization
1500 B.C. – A.D. 589
Zhen-Kai Ong
Introduction
• China’s first cities were built 4000 years ago.
• Paleolithic people lived near what is today the city of
Beijing.
• Later, Neolithic people started to develop along the
Yellow River (Huang He River).
• People domesticated many kinds of animals, improved
their tools and weapons, develop agriculture, and
eventually settled in permanent communities.
• The Chinese civilization was also successful because
of the influence of two great leaders, Siddhartha
Gautama (the Buddha) and Confucius.
Zhen-Kai Ong
River Systems
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There are three major rivers that play an important role in China’s
history:
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The Huang He River (2,900 miles)
- Found in the North
- Deposits huge amount of yellowish silt when it overflows its banks
- Built dikes to protect their crops
- Ancient Chinese people nicknamed the river “China’s Sorrow”
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The Chang Jiang River (3,434 miles)
- Flows east to the Yellow Sea
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The Xi River (1,200 miles)
- Is found in southern China
- Forms an important commercial waterway like the Chang Jiang River
Zhen-Kai Ong
Map Of China
2/3 of China’s landmass is covered in
mountain ranges
Zhen-Kai Ong
The Xia Dynasty
• The first Chinese Dynasty, emerged around
2000 B.C.
• Its leader was an engineer and mathematician
called Yu.
• Writing symbols were also starting to be used
during this dynasty
• The legend of Yu made the transition of a
society to civilization.
Zhen-Kai Ong
The Shang Dynasty
• The Shang rose to power in northern China sometime between
1750 B.C. and 1500 B.C.
• They moved their capital many times but eventually placed it
near what today is the city of Anyang.
• Shang Rulers created a complex bureaucracy, in which a king
owned the land in the empire.
• The Shang Dynasty ruled most of the eastern central China at
one point and lasted from 1750 B.C. to 1122 B.C.
• The Shang kings were the first family of Chinese rulers to leave
written records, build palaces and tombs with artifacts in them.
Zhen-Kai Ong
The Zhou Dynasty
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The most enduring Chinese dynasty was the Zhou dynasty, which lasted almost
800 years, from 1122 B.C. to 256 B.C.
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The Zhou leaders declared that the final Shang king was a poor ruler so the gods
had taken away the Shang’s rule and given it to the Zhou. This was then approved
as the Mandate of Heaven.
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A system called feudalism was established to control the different regions.
Feudalism was when power was given to members of the family members and
trusted nobles.
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The Zhou Dynasty produced many innovations:
Roads and canals were built to stimulate trade and agriculture.
Coined money was introduced.
Blast furnaces that produced cast iron were developed.
Cast iron productions started to begin during this dynasty:
Weapons were created.
Iron tools were used for common agricultural.
Zhen-Kai Ong
Before Foundation 6000-4000BC
• The economy was mainly based on
- Hunting/Fishing
- Agriculture
- Domestication of animals
• The economy was usually only inside a tribe
Riki Yanaga
Foundation Around 4000BC-2000BC
• The trade between tribes had started.
• Mass Production of pottery had started.
• The accessories and left over were traded into
needs
Riki Yanaga
First Dynasty Around 2000BC1500BC
• Use of currency
• Trades outside china
Second Dynasty Around 1500BC1000BC
• Unification of Currency, metric system
Riki Yanaga
Buddhism
Main
Chinese
Religions
Taoism
Confucianism
Caroline Stewart
Buddhism
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Founded by Siddhartha Gautama
Worship in temples
No personal God
The Four Noble Truths
Karma
The Cycle of Rebirth
360 million followers
523 BCE
Sacred Text: The Tripitaka
Caroline Stewart
Confucianism
Founded by Chinese Philosopher K'ung Fu Tzu
Believe in the Great God
Do not believe in heaven or hell
Mainly concerned with moral values
– Li
– Hsiao
– Yi
– Xin
– Jen
– Chung
• 6.3 million followers
• 520 BCE
• Sacred Text: Lun Yu
Caroline Stewart
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Taoism
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Founded by Lao Tze
The Tao, known as “The way of life”
Yin and Yang
Emphasize the Three Jewels of the Tao
– Compassion
– Moderation
– Humility
• Wu Wei
• The Sage
Caroline Stewart
Taoism
• 3 branches of Taoism
–Philosophical Taoism
–Religious Taoism
–Folk Taoism
• 550 BCE
• 255 million followers
• Sacred Text: Tao-te-Ching and
Chuang Tzu Caroline Stewart
Chinese Education
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Pre-1840 (Imperial Education)
1840-1949 (Opium War - P.R.C.)
1949-1966 (P.R.C. - Cultural Revolution)
1966-1976 (Cultural Revolution)
1976- Present (Post-Mao Reforms)
Caroline Stewart
The Development of Chinese Culture
 The Chinese made up their own name for China which was
“the Middle Kingdom”.
 The people growing up in China had unifying bonds, and they
owed obedience and respect to their rulers.
 The family was central to Chinese society.
 The Shang society was divided between nobles and peasants.
The noble families owned the land and governed the
scattered villages within the Shang lands.
 In China, families were closely linked by religion. They
believed the spirits of family ancestors could bring good
fortune or disaster.
 The Shang worshipped a supreme god, Shang Di. They
consulted the gods through oracle bones, animals bones and
tortoise shells.
 The Chinese system of writing had its advantages and
disadvantages.
Riki Yanaga
Foundation 4000BC-2000BC
• Pottery Art
–Characteristic/shape of pot
–Symbols/Patterns in a pot
– Different ways of making pot
• Hunting
Riki Yanaga
First Dynasty 2000BC1500BC
• Pottery Art
– Mass Production of pot
– Containers for sale
– Artistic Pottery
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Music
– Easy music using five notes
Riki Yanaga
Second Dynasty 1500BC1000BC
• Bronze Art
– Statues
– Container with drawings
– Artistic model/ Container just to watch
• Clothes
– Silk Clothes
• Graveyard
– Religious Grave
– Tombs for kings
• Alcohol
– Bottle for alcohol
– Mass Production of alcohol
Riki Yanaga
Third Dynasty 1000BC-500BC
• Bronze Art
– Not Artistic, container for use rather than art
• Buildings
– Roof tiles are commonly used
– Water proofed walls
– Walls built around the city and the palace for
defence use
• Writing
– Poet/thought written down on stone
Riki Yanaga
Warring State 500BC-250BC
• Castles
– Made more for a war
– Defensive cities
• Fourth Dynasty 250BC-0BC
• Measurements
– Measurements/currency unified into one
system
• Invention of Paper
– Invention of paper, used for wrapping
Riki Yanaga
Language
The Chinese language is the most spoken
language in the world.
Up until the 18th century 90% of all books
were printed in Chinese.
An average child knows about 5,000
characters.
Characters stand for one word or idea.
Gloria Morelos
Chinese
Spoken
Language
Written
Language
More than
70,000
characters
recorded.
Pictographs, simple
ideographs, compound
ideograph, phonetic loans,
phonetic compounds and
derivative characters
Characters can be
pictographs, though most
have phonetic qualities.
The language
is a tonal
language
The way words
are spoken can
be completely
different from
the way they are
Art
Chinese art is some of the most
intricate and beautiful art in the
world.
Clay, jade, and bronze are the the
three dominant materials used in
ancient Chinese pottery.
Calligraphy became a popular art
form during the Han Dynasty. It
was a way to convey thoughts as
well as showcase the beauty of
abstract lines. The work was so
brilliant it was admired from
people everywhere.
Gloria Morelos
再见
The End