Download Physical Environment of China

Geography and Early
China
Chinese civilization
began with the Shang
dynasty along the
Huang He River
Geography and Early China
The Big Idea
Chinese civilization began with the Shang
dynasty along the Huang He.
Main Ideas
• China’s physical geography made
farming possible but travel and
communication difficult.
• Civilization began in China along the
Huang He and Chang Jiang rivers.
• China’s first dynasties helped Chinese
society develop and made many other
achievements.
US – China locational
Comparison
Much of China is
mountainous.
China’s landscape is
covered with mountains.
The Yellow Mountains
Physical Geography
Varied Landscape
• China covers an area of almost 4 million square
miles.
• The Gobi desert lies in northern China.
• Low-lying plains in the east make up one of the
world’s largest farming areas.
• Mountain ranges lie in the west, including the
Plateau of Tibet and the Qinling Shandi. There
was limited contact between people in the east
and west.
• The weather and temperature vary from cold
and dry to wet and humid, and monsoons can
bring up to 250 inches of rain each year.
The Gobi Desert spreads over
much of northern China.
The Gobi Desert separates China
from its neighbors.
The Tibetan
Plateau is
“The Roof of
the World.” It
is here that
the Huang He
River begins
its 3000 mile
trip across
Northern
China.
Two Rivers of China
Huang He
• Also called the
Yellow River
• Nearly 3,000
miles long across
northern China
• Often floods, and
has been referred
to as “China’s
sorrow” because
of the destruction
Chang Jiang
• The longest river
in Asia; also
called the Yangzi
River
• Flows across
central China
from Tibet to the
Pacific Ocean
HUANG HE RIVER
The Huang He is 3,000 miles long
and spreads enough silt to create
one of the world’s largest deltas,
and miles of fertile farmland.
The Huang has been a major force
in China’s history. Around 4000
B.C. farming communities
developed and grew to include many
regions.
The Yangzi or Chang Jiang River cuts
through central China, flowing from Tibet
to the Pacific Ocean.
The Chang Jiang is the longest
river in Asia.
When the Huang floods the North China
Plain, the silt creates fertile farmland. But
strong winds blow across the Huang He
Valley, carrying away the loess, and turning
the soil poor.
China’s farmers fought to control the
river’s floods, so that their fields were
not washed away. Farmers built
levees, or walls to keep a river within
its banks.
Like the Sumerians, Chinese farmers built
canals to bring water to their fields. But
loess clogged the canals and had to be
cleared away.
Farmers
often
planted
crops on
terraced
hillsides.
Huang
Valley
farmers
were very
successful.
Huang farmers grew many kinds of plants.
When trees
were cleared
from land for
farming,
erosion
occurred.
Erosion is the
wearing away
of soil by wind
or water.
If too much soil
washes away,
famine can occur.
Not all of China was suitable for
farming. Growing crops was
difficult on the steppes. A steppe
is a dry, treeless plain.
Civilization Begins
Farming
• Frequent flooding made the land fertile around the
Chang Jiang and Huang He rivers.
• Along with farming, the Chinese people hunted, fished,
and domesticated animals.
Early Settlements
• Some small villages along the rivers grew into larger
cities.
• Separate cultures developed in the north and the
south. Over time people learned to dig wells and use
potter’s wheels.
• Findings at burial sites suggest that the ancient
Chinese believed in an afterlife and had a complex
social order.
3000 B.C.
Painted
pottery and
other
artifacts
have been
found at
Yangshao,
Longshan
and other
places.
Xia dynasty

The Xia dynasty might have been
founded around 2200 BC, by Yu the
Great.

Tales say that Yu dug channels to
drain floodwaters and created the
major waterways of North China.

Archaeologists have no firm evidence
that tales about the Xia dynasty are
true.
A dynasty is a line of rulers who
belong to the same family. Control is
passed from one generation to the
next.
Shang dynasty

Established by 1500 BC, the Shang was the
first dynasty that there is clear evidence to
support.

The Shang reorganized the social order in
China: the top ranking was the royals, then
nobles, warriors, artisans, farmers, and
slaves.

Most citizens lived within the city walls.

Many cultural advances were made,
including China’s first writing system,
complex tools, metal pots, and ornaments.
By 1700 B.C., one
kingdom, the
Shang, won
control along the
Huang He delta.
For 600 years, the
Shang Dynasty
shaped the lives of
the people along
the Huang He.
Towns were
important centers of
production. They
supplied food,
clothing, and other
products for the king.
Towns kept enemies
away from Shang
lands. People served
as soldiers and went
to war when needed.
After 600 years the capital was moved
to Anyang. Writing on bones
discovered by archaeologists, led to
the discovery of this city. Ruins show
that Shang society included a king, his
family, nobles, craftworkers, farmers,
and prisoners of war.
Archaeologists
uncovered
bronze cups,
stone carvings
and magnificent
chariots found in
royal tombs.
A writing system
developed along parts
of the Huang He.
Early signs looked
like pictures. By the
time of the Shang
dynasty, characters
were simpler, and
could stand for
objects or ideas. Many
records were written
on bamboo and silk
and did not survive.
More writing has
been discovered
on “dragon
bones” found at
Anyang. Most of
these were cattle
bones or turtle
shells.
Special priests would
heat the oracle bones
until they cracked.
The pattern of the
cracks was used to
answer questions
about the future.
The Shang believed
their ancestors lived
in another world and
controlled human
life. The Shang
worshiped many gods
and believed these
gods controlled
nature. They believed
that when they died,
they would join their
ancestors and the
gods.