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Neolithic period
• Agricultural society
• Importance of the Yellow River – Cradle of Chinese
civilization– Loess- yellow clay dust
• Neolithic period followed by dynasties
What is a dynasty?
A line of rulers from the same family
Xia Dynasty• 2200- 1766 BC
• Little is known about this period
• Legendary King Yu– 2200-2100 BC– Master of Flood Control
• Organized system of irrigation canals to relieve the flood waters
– Started dynastic rule– Strong moral character
Shang Dynasty
• 1766- 1122 BC– Legendary Battle of
Mingtiao • The Shang’s bravery caused
the Xia to retreat
• Developed earliest Chinese writing
• Worshipped many gods– Ancestor worship- believed their
ancestors became like gods when they died
King Tang of Shang
Zhou Dynasty
• 1122- 256 BC
• Kings claimed a “mandate of heaven” to rule
• A system of feudalism developed– Divided into 6 states– A period of fighting, known as The Warring
States, led to the fall of the dynasty– The strongest and strictest state the Qin
eventually took power
Early Chinese Writing
• Pictographs- characters used to represent objects
• Written on oracle bones– Oracle bones were used to
predict the future– Over 4,000 characters have
been discovered but only half
have been deciphered
Ancient Chinese writing on a turtle shell
Sun
Moon
Mountain
Water
Wood / Tree
Person
Eye
Bird
Turtle
Goat
Horse
Chinese Dragon