Download Chapter 4: Ancient Chinese Civilization

UNIT 1: THE BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION
CHAPTER 4: ANCIENT CHINESE CIVILIZATION
Section 1: Geographic & Cultural Influences
I. The Physical Setting

China is a land of enormous size, great geographic variety, & widely contrasting climate patterns
A. Different Regions

the Qinling Shandi mountain range separates the Huang (Yellow) & the Chang (Yangtze) river
valleys & marks the boundary between northern & southern China

the heart of China—called China Proper—stretches from the eastern seacoast inland & is cut by 3
river systems: the Huang, the Chang, & the Xi

China has included Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Manchuria, & northern Korea
B. The Rivers of China

the Huang (Yellow) River flows some 2,900 miles across China before emptying into an arm of the
Yellow Sea

because the Huang River has been prone to devastating floods, the ancient Chinese nicknamed
the river “China’s Sorrow”

the Chang River, in central China, flows for 3,434 miles, & the Xi River, in southern China, is
about 1,200 miles long: both form important commercial waterways
II. China’s Isolation

great distances, rugged mountains, & harsh deserts isolated China from the civilizations of India
& the West, thus allowing the Chinese to develop their own distinct culture

infrequent contact with foreigners helped give the Chinese a strong sense of identity &
superiority
Section 2: The Shang Dynasty
I. Legends of Ancient China

the early Chinese placed great importance on explaining the distant past & on China’s role in
history; they passed on many legends about the beginnings of the world & about the origins of
ancient China

at some point between 1750 B.C. & 1500 B.C., the Shang invaded the Huang River valley

many scholars believe that the Shang introduced simple irrigation & flood-control systems to the
region

the Shang created China’s first historic dynasty
II. Government & Culture

at its height, the Shang kingdom stretched across 40,000 square miles

bureaucracy - government organized into different levels & tasks

a hereditary king ruled over all land in the kingdom

their military might & well-organized government allowed the Shang to gain territory & to spread
their culture
A. Economy & Handicrafts

the Shang economy was based mainly on agriculture, but not all Chinese of this period were
farmers

many merchants & artisans lived in the capital & in the towns of the Shang realm; artisans
established the foundation for later Chinese ceramic art
B. Astronomy & the Calendar

the Chinese primarily used 2 calendars, a solar calendar & a lunar calendar; the lunar
calendar was probably used to record private & public events

the king’s popularity depended upon the success of the harvest, which in turn depended in
part on the time of planting as determined by the calendar
III. Religion in the Shang Period

animism - belief that spirits inhabit everything

people believed in an all-powerful & kindly dragon that lived in the seas & rivers & that could
rise into the clouds; in time, this dragon became the symbol of Chinese rulers

the Chinese also worshiped gods of the wind, sun, clouds, & moon

the Shang also believed in Shangdi, a great god who controlled human destiny & the forces of
nature; rulers used Shangdi’s control over destiny to justify their decisions

priests played an important role in Chinese religion, & some tried to predict future events or
interpret divine messages, esp. messages from the spirits of ancestors
IV. Language & Writing

dialects - variations of a language

the Chinese developed a written language that could be used for their many dialects

for many centuries the ability to read & write was limited to a small number of specialists, such
as clerks, scribes, & teachers, because it required long study to learn

calligraphy - Chinese art of writing
V. Fall of the Shang Dynasty

during the 1100s B.C. the Shang almost continuously battled herders from the Gobi Desert & the Tian
Shan foothills; their extended military efforts finally exhausted the Shang rulers, &, in about 1050
B.C., the Shang dynasty was overthrown
Section 3: The Zhou, Qin, & Han Dynasties
I. The Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050 B.C.—c. 256 B.C.)

the Zhou rulers did not create a centralized form of government but instead granted territories to
members of the royal family of the Shang kingdom & their allies with the condition that the
territories had to give military service & tribute to the Zhou kings

Zhou rulers believed that the god of Heaven determined who should rule China, a right known as the
“Mandate of Heaven”

by the 700s B.C. Zhou kings were losing control as local leaders began to fight among themselves, &
by the 400s B.C. the Zhou had no real power outside their own city-state
II. The Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.—206 B.C.)

the Qin dynasty came to power through their military might & produced many lasting changes in
Chinese life

autocracy - government in which the ruler holds absolute power

Great Wall of China - wall built & expanded upon by early rulers of China to protect it from
invasions
III. The Han Dynasty (c. 206 B.C.—A.D. 220)

the Han ruled a centralized & growing empire larger than the area of the Roman Empire
A. The Civil Service System

civil service - centralized system that runs the day-to-day business of government

civil service positions were initially filled on the basis of family connections, but eventually a
system of examinations selected the most qualified candidates
B. Other Accomplishments

under earlier rulers, rising & falling prices for farm products had caused much hardship for
peasants; under the leveling system, the government used price controls to balance the
economic effects of farm surpluses or shortages

through military conquest & the establishment of military colonies, China’s control in Asia
expanded, & China lived in relative peace

Silk Road -trade route stretching from China to the Mediterranean

China’s population grew to about 50 million during the Han dynasty, & luxury goods such as
paper could be found in the capital city
Section 4: Philosophies of Ancient China
I. Ancient Chinese Beliefs

the last centuries of the Zhou dynasty marked one of the most creative periods in the history of
Chinese philosophy

at the root of the many harmonizing philosophies was an ancient Chinese belief regarding the
dualism, or 2-sidedness, of nature

yin - force that is female, dark, & passive; part of the Chinese belief of dualism or balance in life

yang - force that is male, bright, & active; part of the Chinese belief of dualism or balance in life

the concepts of yin & yang led to the belief that balance in human affairs is a normal condition
II. Confucius & Laozi

Chinese philosophers developed new ideas & theories to explain economic, political, & social
change during the Zhou era

Confucius - leading philosopher of the Zhou period who taught about the importance of family,
respect for one’s elders, & reverence for the past & one’s ancestors

Analects - collection of the ideas & teachings of Confucius
A. Confucianism

the philosophy of Confucianism had more influence on Chinese life than any other philosophy

Confucius was concerned with the causes of political & social unrest & with how moral &
ethical leadership could solve these problems

Confucius believed he could encourage strong, positive behavior on the part of China’s
leaders in 2 ways:
o
every person should willingly accept his/her role in society & should perform the
duties of that role
o
the government & its leaders should be virtuous
B. Daoism

Daoism taught that people should withdraw from the world & contemplate nature, so they
could understand the Dao (an indescribable force that governed the universe & all of nature)
& live with it in harmony

Daoism became second only to Confucianism in importance to Chinese life

Daoism & Confucianism provided balance to Chinese culture; each supplied what the other
lacked
III. Legalism & Buddhism

Legalism - school of Chinese philosophy concerned with politics

Legalists believed in power—not virtue—& in harsh laws

according to Legalism, people were by nature selfish & untrustworthy; peace & prosperity could
be achieved only by threatening sever punishment if people did not obey the laws
A. Legalism in Practice

the Qin dynasty followed the ideas of Legalism & created a very powerful empire; the
dynasty failed because of its cruel methods

the Han dynasty lasted so long because it achieved a balance between Legalism & the more
moderate principles of Confucianism
B. Buddhism in China

many Chinese felt that the teachings of Buddha helped to explain the widespread disruption
that accompanied the collapse of the Han dynasty

Mahayana Buddhism (popular in China) worships the Buddha as a savior

Mahayana Buddhists believe that Buddha is committed to helping all human beings escape
from the miseries of the world
Section 5: Chinese Life & Culture
I. Family & Social Life

the ancient Chinese believed that the well being of the state rested upon the well being of the
family; the family, not the individual, was the most important factor in Chinese society

values that governed family life included reverence for one’s family, respect for age, & acceptance
of decisions made by one’s superiors

genealogy - record of a family history

the Chinese expressed reverence for their ancestors as links between the family’s past, present, &
future

often all members of the family lived in the same house with the father as ruler

Chinese women had fewer rights & powers than did men, but Chinese society taught great respect
for mothers & mothers-in-law
II. The Economy

most Chinese people lived as small village farmers

trade was not an important factor in the economy of early China but grew quickly during the Qin
dynasty, which standardized the currency & the system of weights & measures
III. Arts & Sciences
A. The Five Classics

the texts used to train scholars & civil servants in ancient China were known as the Five
Classics

study of the Five Classics became essential for every well-educated young man in China,
along with the Analects
B. Science & Technology

early Chinese astronomers learned that the year was slightly longer than 365 days

sometime before A.D. 100, Chinese astronomers built instruments to track the movements of
planets

the Chinese invented a seismograph, paper, the sundial, the water clock, & the process of
printing

acupuncture - Chinese medical practice of asserting needles into certain areas of the body