GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT CHINA o China is located on the continent
of Asia Has one of the largest landmasses in the world o Major
rivers flow through China Yellow River & Yangtze River These
rivers provide fertile land for farming Once a year these rivers
would flood, fertilizing the soil o Even though it is large in
size, only one tenth of its land can be farmed Much of China is
covered in mountains and deserts o Eventually, the people of China
were able to come together to create a unified civilization They
called themselves the Middle Kingdom because they believed they
were at the center of the world o First people who settled in
China, Xia Dynasty, settled in the Yellow River basin
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
SHANG DYNASTY o Settled around the the banks of the Yellow
River Archeologists found evidence of the first ever Chinese cities
o Ruled by a king Later, warlords ruled over the smaller areas
around the civilization Aristocrats = nobles whose wealth comes
from the land they owned Majority of the population were farmers o
Shang people worshipped their Gods and Ancestors o They would use
Oracle bones to tell the future and what would happen These are the
first examples of Chinese writing o Chinese writing was made up of
pictographs and ideographs Pictographs = characters that stand for
objects Ideographs = are another kind of character used in Chinese
writing o The Shang are known for weaving silk and producing
bronze
Slide 6
Slide 7
Slide 8
ZHOU DYNASTY o Established by an aristocrat named Wu Wang who
led a rebellion to overthrow the Shang Dynasty o The Zhou Dynasty
developed a centralized form of government Zhou emperor established
a large bureaucracy Bureaucracy = made up of appointed officials
who are responsible for different areas of the government
Aristocrats were in charge of their own independent territories The
King was considered to be a link between heaven and earth o Kings
were chosen by the Mandate of Heaven Mandate = a formal order
Mandate of Heaven had 4 rules to governing the state: 1.Heaven
chooses the ruler 2.A persons virtue determines their right to rule
3.No dynasty is permitted to rule forever 4.Rebellion and disaster
is evidence that ruler loses legitimacy to the throne o Farmers
developed new technologies to improve crop production o Eventually
the separate territories gained too much power and began fighting
with one another Known as the Period of the Warring States
Slide 9
Slide 10
A DAY IN THE LIFE IN ANCIENT CHINA o The Chinese were broken up
into many different social classes Social Class = includes people
who share a similar position in society The upper class lived in
beautiful homes with yards and farmland These people were known as
aristocrats Majority of the population were farmers Practiced
terrace farming allowed them to farm in the dry mountain side The
lowest class were merchants Ranked below farmers because they
relied on farmers to do their job o The Chinese family was the
building blocks of their society Practiced filial piety = children
must respect their parents and older relatives
Slide 11
Slide 12
Slide 13
CHINESE THINKERS o During the Period of the Warring States,
many Chinese thinkers sought ways to reform the society o Three
main philosophies emerged: o Confucianism o Based on the teachings
of Confucius o Preached the ideas of virtues, respect, loyalty and
devotion o People should put the needs of their family and
community first o Daoism o Based on the teachings of Laozi o
Preached the ideas of balance, nature, and destiny o People should
give up worldly desires in favor of nature and the Dao o Legalism o
Based on the teachings of Hanfeizi o Preached that people were
innately evil and would do wrong if allowed to o Society needs a
system of harsh laws and strict punishment
Slide 14
Slide 15
QIN DYNASTY o During the Period of the Warring States, a group
of people took over the states one by one until they developed the
Qin Dynasty Led by Qin Shihuangdi = means the First Qin Emperor o
Developed a strict, rigid government based on the teachings of
Legalism Centralized the government Killed anyone publicly opposing
his views Created a universal currency Built roads and the Grand
Canal o One important achievement was the creation of the Great
Wall Many nomads from the north threatened to attack farming
villages He started the building of the wall, however it was not
nearly completed by the end of his reign o His cruel leadership
caused people to rebel 4 years after his death, the people
overthrew his dynasty Civil war ensued to decide who would be
leader
Slide 16
Slide 17
Slide 18
Slide 19
HAN DYNASTY o Founded by Liu Bang o Was once a peasant but
became a military leader and defeated his rivals o He continued the
leadership of centralizing the government o The Han Dynasty reached
its peak under the leadership of Han Wudi who ruled from 141 B.C.E.
to 87 B.C.E. He created a civil service system in China Had to pass
a test to work as a government official Saw to it that only those
who are qualified will secure jobs in the government Only one in
five passed the exam As people prepared for these tests, they
focused on studying law, history, and the teachings of Confucius o
With the explosion in education many new inventions and ideas arose
Paper Steel Salt Medicines Acupuncture The rudder o This allowed
China to continue to modernize
Slide 20
THE SILK ROAD o The emperor Han Wudi ordered a general named
Zhang Qian to explore areas west of China He did not find Chinese
allies, the original purpose of the journey, however he discovered
many civilizations to the west He described meeting the Romans, the
Muslims, and many other booming civilizations o Emperor Wudi was
excited to learn about the impressive cavalry and began an
extensive trade network stretching 4,000 miles from western China
to southwest Asia o This was known as the Silk Road o This became
the predominant trade route across Europe and Asia and encouraged a
blending of cultures and ideas