S H A N G A N D Z H O U D Y N A S T I E S

1 7 5 0 - B . C . T O 2 5 6 B . C .

EARLY CHINESE CIVILIZATION

GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA

• China isolated country surrounded by Himalaya Mts., Tian Shan desert to the south and west

• North- Gobi Desert, Pacific Ocean lies to the east

• Because of physical barriers many Chinese saw themselves as the center of the world

• China had contact with the outside world through trade and conquest by outsiders

GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA

• Two rivers- Huang He (Yellow) River, Yangtze River is almost 4,000 miles long.

• Called the Yellow River because the water carries large

amounts of loess soil. • Early Chinese civilization emerged in these river valleys.

• The need to control the floods led to the rise of a strong central government. China’s first dynasty ruled because the ruler was an engineer that devised systems to control flooding

• Early Chinese civilizations based on agriculture.

• The river valleys had densely packed populations. Only 10% of China’s land can be used for agriculture (19% US)

SHANG DYNASTY PAGES 89-91

• Shang- first dynasty to leave written records, founded in 1750 B.C. • Aristocracy, that

ruled based on land wealth and power passed from one generation to another

SHANG DYNASTY

• King ruled over a system of territories run by warlords• The king had the power to choose leaders of these territories and remove them• King controlled a large army that fought armies to the north that tried to push into the fertile lands of China

SHANG SOCIETY

• Social Structure• Emperor was at the top• Aristocrats-landowners, government officials• Most people in China were peasants and a few

were slaves• Religion• Believed in life after death. Known as “ancestor

worship”, Chinese venerated dead relatives• Spirits of dead ancestors bring good or bad

fortunes to the family• Annual festival “Quingming” was for the ancestors.

Family graves were cleaned and food was brought to them

SHANG SOCIETY

• Supernatural forces influenced the lives of rulers. Priests would “read the bones”. • Bones had a question etched on them and they

were heated until they cracked. Priests would interpret the meaning of these cracks and write the answer on the bones • This is a valuable source of information about the

Shang.

ZHOU DYNASTY

• 1122 B.C. - revolt against Shang rule• Zhou dynasty lasted

until 256 B.C.- China’s longest dynasty

ZHOU DYNASTY

• Continued the basic political structure of the Shang, they also expanded the bureaucracy• Develop the theory of the Mandate of Heaven• Heaven, an impersonal law of nature, kept order

through the king• King chosen to rule through talent and virtue

and was expected to rule with responsibility, goodness and virtue

MANDATE OF HEAVEN

• Bad harvests, crop failures were signs that gods were not pleased with ruler, led to kings losing power.

• King NOT divine

• Kings had to follow the Dao, the Way, it was his duty to rule properly

• Mandate allowed for revolution

• Mandate of Heaven led to the dynastic cycle- the rise, decline and replacement of dynasties- that governed Chinese history until 1912

LIFE DURING THE ZHOU DYNASTY

• Basic features of Chinese life began to take shape

Social Structure and Towns• The Zhou gave control to local rulers• Established a feudal system- local

lords governed their own lands but owed military support and other services to the emperor

• Lords lived in walled towns that eventually grew into cities

• rulers gained power, began to fight each other for control

• Farmers began to have land of their own

• Artisans, merchants lived in walled towns under the control of the local ruler

ZHOU LIFE- TECHNOLOGY AND TRADE

• Trade evolved- exchange of local goods an eventually goods brought from distant regions• Cities grew, canals and roads were built to

supply them• Zhou coined money,this made it easier to

conduct long distance commerce • Led to an increase in trade across China

ZHOU LIFE- TECHNOLOGY AND TRADE

• Improvements in agriculture• Farmers began to use iron in

their tools, led to better tools• Added to the amount of land

available for growing crops• Irrigation and irrigation

projects- controlled the flow of water and helped ease drought

• Advances in farming led to a population explosion

FAMILY LIFE IN ANCIENT CHINA

• Family was the most important aspect of ancient China• Basic economic unit, symbol of social order• Heart of Chinese idea of family was filial piety-

duty of family members to be subordinate to male members of the family. This system gives every family member a place.

FAMILY LIFE IN ANCIENT CHINA

• Family needed to work together in the fields,

• All family members expected to work• Sons expected to take on the physical

burdens as the parents grew older.• Male supremacy key element in ancient

Chinese society.• Men were government officials, warriors

and farmersThe role of women• Women did not hold positions of power

but they did have influence on politics

CHINESE WRITING

• Shang period created a simple written language, like other ancient languages• Symbol represented an idea or

object, each symbol given sound• Characters became letters• Helped unify the country-

could all read the same language

CHINESE PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

• Between 500 and 200 B.C. three major schools of thought regarding the nature of human beings and the universe emerged in China• Chinese religions were concerned with how

people lived and how to create order in the world• The three great Chinese schools of thought-

Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism

DAOISM

• System based on the ideas of Lao Tzu

• Ideas of the Dao were collected in the Tao de Ch'ing

• Daoism- ideas for proper behavior of human beings

• The way to follow the will of Heaven is inaction, not action, let nature take its course

• The natural order is more important than the social order

• The perfect Taoist metaphor is water

CONFUCIANISM

• Confucius lived at a time of upheaval and chaos• People questioned how to

restore order to society• Confucius’s interest was in

politics and ethics not spiritual matters• Key to proper behavior was to

follow the Dao• Two important concepts of

Confucianism- duty and humanity• Subordinate the needs of the

self to needs of community, family

CONFUCIANISM

Five Constant Relationships• Parent and Child• Husband and Wife• Older and Younger Sibling• Older Friend and Younger Friend• Ruler and Subject

• Three of the five relationships are connected with the family• Confucian concept of duty often expressed as “work ethic”,

if each person worked hard to fulfill their duties the affairs of society as a whole would prosper as well

CONFUCIAN VIEWS

• Consists of sense of compassion, empathy for others• Introduced the concept of merit and talent to fill

government positions- not just noble birth• Education is important for welfare of the

individual and society• Ideas and sayings were collected in a book called

the Analects

LEGALISM

• Proposed that humans were evil by nature• Could only follow laws if punishment and laws

were harsh• Argued for a system of impersonal laws• Strong ruler was needed to create order in

society- ruler did not have to show compassion to the needs of the people

BUDDHISM IN CHINA

• A.D. 100 Buddhism comes to China• Chinese had trouble with

faith because of values of family loyalty• Buddhism appeal-

promise of escape from suffering• By A.D. 400 Buddhism

had spread across China, Buddhist monasteries became important centers of learning and the arts