Ancient China (Shang and Zhou Dynasties)

Theme: The importance of rivers and the advantage of technology, the

development of cities

Importance of Rivers

rivers

agriculture

populations

cities

specialization

hierarchy

YELLOW RIVER

YANGZI RIVER

Population Growth

• Settlements began to crop up along the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers– Created a need for recognized authorities

who could maintain order, resolve disputes, and organize public works projects

– Village-level organizations could only act locally

• Small dynasties followed that extended their control over progressively larger regions

Dynasties

• “A sequence of powerful leaders in the same family”– Shang Dynasty 1766 to 1122 B.C.– Zhou Dynasty 1122 to 256 B.C.– Tang Dynasty 618 to 907 A.D.– Song Dynasty 960 to 1279 A.D.

Shang Dynasty

Shang: 1523-1028 BCEShang: 1523-1028 BCEShang: 1523-1028 BCEShang: 1523-1028 BCE

Characteristics of a Civilization

• Intensive agricultural techniques• Specialization of labor• Cities• A social hierarchy• Organized religion and education Development

of complex forms of economic exchange• Development of new technologies• Advanced development of the arts. (This can

include writing.)

Bronze Age EmpiresBronze Age EmpiresBronze Age EmpiresBronze Age Empires

Agriculture

Yellow River

• Takes its name from the vast quantities of soil it picks up along its route– Yellow River periodically

unleashes terrible floods, earning it the nickname “China’s Sorrow”

Agriculture

• Loess soil is extremely fertile and easy to work– Even before the

introduction of metal tools, cultivators with wooden instruments could generate large harvests

Crops• Initially, millet was the main

crop (especially in the north)• Sometime thereafter, the

Chinese began cultivating rice

• Extensive rice production would require developing a complex irrigation system (made possible by the centralizing authority of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties)

Cities

Ruins of Banpo Village near modern Xian

Cities: Shang

• Vast network of walled towns whose local rulers recognized authority of the Shang kings

• Shang rulers moved their capital six times

Royal tomb at Anyang

Social Hierarchy

King Wen of Zhou China

Social Hierarchy: Shang and early Zhou

• Royal family and allied noble families– Resided in large, palatial compounds and lived on the

agricultural surplus and taxes delivered by their subjects

– Power tied to bronze• Privileged class of hereditary aristocrats

– Rose from the military allies of the rulers– Possessed extensive land holdings and performed

military and administrative tasks– Some access to education for those who lived in cities– Detailed rules of etiquette during Zhou era

Social Hierarchy: Ancient Shang and early Zhou

• Small class of free artisans and craftsmen– Lived in cities– Those who worked almost extensively for the privileged classes

lived reasonably comfortably• Peasants

– Semi-servile class that lived in the countryside and did not own land

– Provided agricultural, military, and labor services for lords in exchange for plots to cultivate, security, and a portion of the harvest

• Slaves– Most were captured enemy warriors– Performed hard labor that required a large work force such as

clearing fields or building city walls– During the Shang Dynasty many were victims of human sacrifice

during funerals and other religious and ritual observances

Specialization

Silk making

Bronze storage jar from Zhou Dynasty

Specialization

• Bronzesmiths• Jewelers• Jade workers• Embroiderers• Manufacturers of silk

textiles– Silkworms are fed

mulberry leaves, they molt and spin cocoons, then workers boil the cocoons to produce the raw silk.

Silkworm cocoon

Religion and Education

Bronze wine vessel used for rituals to honor ancestors during Shang Dynasty

Religion

• Ancient China did not have an organized religion or official priesthood

• Did not recognize a personal supreme deity who intervened in human affairs or took a special interest in human behavior

• Did speak of an impersonal heavenly power– tian (“heaven”)– that was responsible for bestowing and removing the mandate of heaven on rulers

Religion

• Instead, the patriarchal head of the family presided over rites and ceremonies venerating ancestors’ spirits

Burning paper gifts for the departed is one traditional form of ancestor worship

Confucius

China before Confucius

• The “Yellow Emperor”

• Xia and Shang Dynasties– 2070 B.C. - 1046 B.C.

• Zhou Dynasty– 1046 B.C. - 256 B.C.

• “Spring and Autumn” period– 770 B.C. - 476 B.C.

Confucius

• Born in 551 B.C.

• died in 479 B.C.

Confucianism

• Concerned primarily with restoring social stability and order– What is the basis of a stable, unified, and

enduring social order?

• a system of social and ethical philosophy– “only when character is cultivated are our

families regulated; only when families are regulated are states well governed.”

Confucianism

• li– rituals, norms, institutions, or mores– the outer, conforming aspect of Confucianism

• ren– humaneness, love, kindness, benevolence, or

virtue– the inner, reforming aspect of Confucianism

Five relationships

• father-child

• ruler-subject

• husband-wife

• elder brother-younger brother

• friend-friend

Confucianism

• Persecuted in Qin Dynasty– 221 B.C. - 206 B.C.

• promoted by later rulers

Economic Exchange

Cowrie shells used as money

Economic Exchange

• Somewhat limited by the mountain ranges and deserts that stood between China and India and southwest Asia– Shipbuilding emerged during Zhou era and

facilitated trade

• Evidence of– Cowrie shells from Burma and the Maldives– Military technology from Mesopotamia – Jade from central Asia– Tin from Malay

New Technologies

Silk making

New Technologies: Silk

• During the Zhou era, the Chinese discovered how to make silk from the cocoons of silkworms. – Silk would become

China’s most valuable export, eventually linking them with most of the world through trade.

New Technologies: Bookbinding

• Chinese artisans learned how to bind together long, thin strips of wood or bamboo to make books

New Technologies: Shang and Military Success

Shang pictograph of composite bow

• Shang were also able to exert military might over the Xia through bows

New Technologies: Zhou and Military Failure

• Zhou kings were not able to monopolize bronze production as the Shang had

• Iron technology was spreading rapidly throughout China– Iron ores were cheaper and more abundant than

copper and tin so Zhou could not monopolize iron• Leaders were able to equip their forces with iron which

enabled them to resist the central government• When nomads invaded the Zhou capital at Hao in 771

B.C., the subordinates refused to support the king

New Technologies• The Great Wall of China

originated as a defensive barrier against tribal intrusions

• Construction started in the seventh century B. C. and spanned over 20 states and dynasties– Two sections were built

during the Zhou era– As China unified, the

various sections were connected

Art and Writing

Bronze from Sang Dynasty

Writing on bamboo strips

Writing

• The earliest form of Chinese writing was the pictograph

• Pictographs were combined into ideographes to represent complex or abstract notions– The combination of “mother” and “child” renders

“good”

• Unlike most other languages, written Chinese did not include an alphabetic or phonetic component

Book of Songs

• Collection of 331 poems from the Zhou era

• Represent a variety of subjects– Political themes– Ritualistic hymns– Life– Love and friendship– Family– Work and play