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Geography of China
1. China was isolated…
Cliffs along Huang He in Gansu
…due to natural barriers
DON’T WRITE
a. Mnts: south- Himalayas
west- Kunlun and Tien Shan
b. Large deserts: north- Gobi
west- Takla Makan
c. Pacific Ocean- east
2. The impact of isolation is that
Ethnocentric society developed
Ethnocentrism- the belief that your
culture is better than all others.
Called China “Zhongguo” or Middle
Kingdom b/c they believed they were
above Earth and under Heaven.
3. Population Distribution
How people distribute themselves in an area
a. 96% of pop. live along coast and river valleys
b. 2/3 of China is mnts. and deserts
c. Modern China’s population:
~1.6 Billion people
DON’T WRITE
1 Child Law- To control the population,
Chinese families are only allowed to
have one child. There are many
exceptions.
4. Agriculture
Only 11% of the land is arable.
Arable = farmable
subsistence farming- growing just
enough (little or no surplus)
terrace farming- carving steps into
the sides of mountains to farm
5. Rivers in China
a. Huang He (Yellow River)- where
Chinese civilization developed.
-loess- fine, fertile windblown soil,
settles in river causing flooding
- known as “China’s Sorrow” because
of flood damage
Xi River
The 4 Ancient
River Valley Civilizations
1.
a. supervised flood control projects
(Yellow R.)
b. developed an accurate calendar
c. developed a form of
writing
ideographs- symbols that
represent ideas
Oracle Bones- pictograms
on bone used to predict
the future
The Evolution of Chinese
Writing
Pictographs
Ideographs
2.
(“Joe”)
- Developed the
Mandate of Heaven- a dynasty’s
divine right to rule
Dynastic Cycle- cycle of how
dynasties rise and fall
Ritual Food Vessel, bronze
11c BCE (Western Zhou)
Start here
A new
dynasty
comes to power.
Emperor is
defeated !!
Rebel bands find
strong leader who
unites them.
Attack the emperor.
The emperor
reforms the govt.
& makes it more
efficient.
The
Dynastic
Cycle
Poor lose
respect for govt.
They join rebels
& attack landlords.
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.
Droughts,
floods,
famines occur.
Govt. increases
spending;
corruption.
- united China & connected Great Wall
- Emperor Shi Huangdi’s Tomb with his
Terra Cotta Army
Shi Huangdi’s Terra Cotta Army
a. Used Civil Service Exam based
on Confucian ideas
b. Made achievements in medicine
(acupuncture), science and
agriculture
c. invented paper [105 B.C.E.]
d. Est. Silk Road trade route
(618 -907 CE)
-The printing press,
gunpowder,
small pox vaccine,
and the earthquake
detector were invented.
Each of the eight dragons
had a bronze ball in its
mouth. Whenever there was
even a slight earth tremor, a
mechanism inside the
seismograph would open the
mouth of one dragon. The
bronze ball would fall into
the open mouth of one of
the toads, making enough
noise to alert someone that
an earthquake had just
happened. Imperial
watchman could tell which
direction the earthquake
came from by seeing which
dragon's mouth was empty.
6. Song Dynasty (Sung) 960- 1279 CE
- China experienced a “Golden Age”
- The Silk Road grew
- trade between China, India, and
the Mesopotamia increased. It was
4,000 miles of harsh terrain.
7. Yuan Dynasty (Mongol)
1279 -1368 CE
a. Kublai Khan (non-Chinese) ruled
China
b. Marco Polo visited China. Europeans
became interested in China from his
book.
Kublai Khan
Genghiz Khan
Marco Polo
8. Ming Dynasty 1369 – 1644 CE
a. Revived arts and literature but
isolated China when Europeans
began developing advancing.
Ming Vases, 18c
Ming Painting and Calligraphy, early 16c
Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho)
China’s “Columbus?”
Zheng He’s treasure ship was 400 ft. long in comparison to Columbus’ Santa Maria,
which was 85 ft. long. That’s a BIG difference!
9. Ch’ing Dynasty (Manchu)
1644 – 1911 CE
a. The last of China’s dynastic families
came from Manchuria
b. Could not prevent Europeans from
gaining power in China.
Foot-Binding in Ancient China
Broken toes by 3 years of age.
Size 5 ½ shoe on the right
Mothers bound their
daughters’ feet.
For upper-class girls, it became a
new custom.
The Results of Foot-Binding