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World History
Ancient china
The first real dynasty in China was the Shang; they developed after a group
called the XAI (ZHA) had lost control. A dynasty is developed after a family has had
control of an area for several generations. The Shang lasted for 600 years. They
developed in the area of the Huang River. The nobles of the Shang created new towns in
this area. In time the old capitol at the city of Shang was moved to Anyang. We have
learned from several artifacts found in the ancient cities of the Shang that the social
pyramid of the dynasty had kings or emperors at the top and below them were nobles
then craftworkers, and artisans then farmers. At the bottom were slaves who were usually
prisoners of war.
We have discovered that most people in ancient Shang China lived in “Pit
Houses” and the used a lot of bronze to make their tools and everyday objects. A lot of
the information we have comes from burned and cracked animal bones called “Oracle
bones”. These bones usually came from cattle and sheep. We know from the excavation
of several tombs that women were important to the Chinese. Lady Hao was the wife of a
Chinese King Wu Ding, she had an important station in the government, she was the best
general that he had and she was very successful. Her tomb was filled with priceless
objects that showed her royal position and her importance.
The writing of the Shang was in picture form; the pictures stood for objects or
ideas. We have found a lot of this writing on bronze pots but no writing on their original
paper which they think was bamboo and silk exists today.
The religion of the Shang is polytheistic. They believe their ancestors control
daily life and their gods are gods of nature who help the people survive. The people of
the empire believed if a prediction of the “Bones” came true it must mean that his
ancestors were helping the ruler. They believed they would join their ancestors after they
died a thought similar to Christianity.
Section 3
The first empire of china was created in the area of Qin. A general of the area
rose to power and eventually united the people of ancient china. He declared himself
Emperor (Supreme ruler of an empire) and he took the name of Shi-Huangdi
(Shewhangde ) First Grand Emperor of China.
The area where they were located gave them a geographical advantage for the
area was very defensible and it was easy to expand from this natural strong point due to
the location of the mountains and river. After Shi-Huangdi gained control he
implemented a new government. He split the empire into 36 provinces (political
divisions of land). He gave power to the farmers and took power from the nobles
forcing them into the Capitol City at Xianyang. The emperor also took away the
weapons of the people and the nobles to keep them from rebelling. He created a single
writing system to improve communications throughout the empire. A single system of
money was also created this helped in tax collection and trade throughout the empire.
The backbone of the empire was the farmers and the food they produced and the
tax money they paid. The farmers also were the empire work force when they were not
in the fields. They built roads and temples as well as housing, but their greatest
accomplishment was the start of the largest defensive fortification known to man, The
Great Wall. The wall was built to keep out the Mongol tribe from the north out. It took
years to build and several kingdoms that followed the Shang extended it. Today it
extends about 1600 miles and can be seen from outer space by using satellite imaging.
Its craftsmen achieved another great accomplishment of the Shang. The emperor
scared to die tried every potion known to man to extend his life. His fear of death led
him to build one of the most impressive tombs the world has ever seen. He had a 7000+
army of soldiers built from terra cotta clay (red clay) each soldier different in expression
and stance they were modeled after live men. The tomb had traps place in it to keep
people out and a model of the Capitol City was constructed in the middle. He called this
tomb his mirror world that he could rule in death.