Download Chapter 7: Early China

Chapter 7: Early China
Section 1: China’s First Civilizations
Rivers, mountains, and deserts helped shape
China’s civilization.
Rulers known as the Shang became powerful
because they controlled land and had strong
armies.
Chinese rulers claimed that the Mandate of
Heaven gave them the right to rule.
I. China’s Geography
A.
Rivers:
1.
Huang He-”Yellow River” carries rich yellow soil from
Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean
a.
b.
c.
2.
3.
B.
2.
D.
Chang Jiang-”Yangtze River”; longer than Huang He
Although the rivers bring rich soil, a little over 1/10th of the
soil can be farmed
Mountains and Deserts:
1.
C.
Like rivers in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Huang He flooded
the land
During flooding, many people drowned and many homes were
destroyed
“China’s Sorrow”
Mountains are the southwest and west borders
Gobi desert spreads east from the mountains
All of these are like a wall around the Chinese,
separating them from most other people
Called their homeland the Middle Kingdom; it was
the world’s center and its leading civilization TO
THEM
II. The Shang Dynasty 1750-1045 B.C.
A. Anyang was one of the first Chinese
cities built by the Shang; China’s first
capital
B. Shang kings ruled over most of the
Huang He valley
C. Eventually chose warlords (military
leaders who command their own armies)
to govern, but the king still had larger
armies to protect the borders
D.
People in Shang China worshiped gods and spirits;
they had to keep the gods and spirits happy by
making offerings of food and other goods
1.
2.
3.
E.
F.
The gods could cause a poor harvest or armies to lose a
battle
People honored their ancestors
Ancestors would help in times of need and bring good luck
Religion and government were closely linked-the
DUTY of Shang kings was to contact the gods, the
spirits, and ancestors before making important
decisions
The scratches on oracle bones show how today’s
Chinese writing began
1.
2.
Pictographs and Ideographs
The Chinese use some characters to stand for sounds, but
most characters still represent whole words
G. Many fine goods
1.
2.
3.
4.
Silk
Porcelain
Ivory and jade carvings
Bronze
III. The Zhou Dynasty
A. During the Shang rule, a great gap
existed between rich and poor; rebellion
B. Mandate of Heaven
1.
2.
3.
Heavenly law that gave the Zhou king the
power to rule-King was NOT a god himself
People expected the king to rule according to
the proper “way” (DAO) and keep the gods
happy
Mandate also gave people the right to
overthrow a dishonest or evil ruler
C. The Zhou Empire Falls
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Local rulers became more powerful, stopped
obeying the Zhou kings and set up their own
states
For almost 200 years, the states battled each
other:
PERIOD OF THE WARRING STATES
To get enough soldiers, they issued laws
forcing peasants to serve in the army
221 B.C., the ruler of Qin used a large cavalry
to defeat the other states and set up a new
dynasty
D. New Tools and Trade
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Irrigation and flood-control
Iron plows
Saddle and stirrup
Trade and manufacturing grew with
farming
SILK
50 million people!