Ancient China

World History Core

Geography/Interaction with Environment

Location: Asia Natural Barriers

EAST: Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and Pacific Ocean

WEST: Taklimakan Desert and Plateau of TibetSOUTHWEST: HimalayasNORTH: Gobi Desert and Mongolian Plateau

Geography/Interaction with Environment

Isolation by Distance Yangtze River

Central China to Yellow Sea Huang He (Yellow River)

Northern China to Yellow Sea LOESS: deposits of yellow silt (fertile soil) “China’s Sorrow”: dangerous floods of the

Huang He

Yangtze River

Yellow River

Geography/Interaction with Environment

Challenges Dangerous Floods

Solution: Yu’s irrigation and flood control methods

Isolation Solution:

Had to supply all goods, could NOT rely on trade!

Geography/Interaction with Environment

China’s Heartland 10% of land in China is ARABLE North China Plain

Farm land between the two rivers

Power and Authority

Dynastic Civilization Ruled by families

Xia Dynasty and Yu the Great:

First DynastyMathematician and Engineer

Developed way to control flooding which allowed a civilization to develop

Power and Authority

Shang Dynasty: 1st family to leave written records Warrior Kings: rulers who were constantly at war Middle Kingdom: China’s name for itself, believed they

were the center Barbarians: outsiders to China Class Division:

Between peasant and nobles NOBLES: owned all the land that the peasants worked on

Power and Authority

Zhou Dynasty: overthrew Shang 1027 BC Mandate of Heaven: divine approval to rule comes from

heaven Developed by the Zhou to get rid of Shang Dynasty

Dynastic Cycle: pattern of rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties (see p. 54 and next slide)

Feudalism: political system in which nobles are granted land that legally belongs to the King In RETURN: Nobles must (1) Give loyalty and military service

to the King and (2) Must protect the people living on the land

Religious and Ethical Systems

Loyalty to Family: Center of Chinese society #1 virtue: Honor and respect PARENTS Elder men were in charge of family Women were inferior 13-16 arranged into marriage Must bear a son to improve your social worth

Religious and Ethical Systems

Ancestor Worship: Power to bring good or disaster to a family Must give sacrifices to ancestors

Polytheistic: Belief in many GODS Shang Di

Oracle Bones: used to communicate with the Gods How they worked:

Wrote question on animal bone Priest pokes bone with a hot rod Bone cracks Priest interprets the cracks to answer the question on the bone

Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire

Building

Agrarian Society: depend on farming Expansion Limited by Distance Warring Nomads:

Sacked Zhou capital, killing the monarchs Leads to quarrels among NOBLES, thus the end

of the Zhou Dynasty

Revolution

Shang are overthrown by the Zhou Due to the idea of Divine Mandate Zhou believed the Shang were no longer doing a

good job Developed idea that Gods no longer wanted the

Shang to rule Thus giving ruling power to the Zhou

Science and Technology

Written Language: united large, diverse area because you didn’t have to be able to speak the same language to be able to read Chinese Symbols NOT letters: each character = one syllable Calligraphy: writing of characters, each character made

up of single brushstrokes Difficult to LEARN:

1500 = barely literate 10,000 = scholar

Science and Technology

Silk Production: religious beginnings, discovered by a Goddess Silk worms produce the fabric Worn by rulers Silk Road: Chinese silk trade route

Science and Technology

Coined Money: To improve trade

Iron Weapons and Tools: Blast furnaces to cast iron

Weapons: daggers and swordsAgriculture: knives and spades

Made farming more efficient!