Section Three: Early Chinese Civilizations

River Valley Civilizations

I. The Geography of China Huang He or Yellow River, 2,900 miles long Mongolia Chang Jiang, 3,400 mile long river Yellow Sea

The Geography of China Only 10% of land can be used for agriculture Forbidding features isolated the Chinese

II. The Shang Dynasty *Historians of China have traditionally dated the beginning of Chinese civilization to the founding of the Xia Dynasty over 4000 years ago Little is known about the dynasty

The Shang Dynasty Shang Dynasty (1750 to 1122 B.C.) Aristocracy – an upper class whose wealth is based on land & whose power is passed on from one generation to another (p.89)

A. Political & Social Structures King & aristocratic warlords Strong central government Ritual sacrifices, corpses placed in king’s tomb

B. Religion & Culture under the Shang Supernatural forces Priests read oracle bones

Religion & Culture under the Shang Most of the Shang were peasants “ancestor worship”, could bring good or bad fortune Bronze objects

Ancestral Rites Shang bronzes are one of the great cultural achievements of the ancient world. One reason for the unusual quality of Shang bronze work is the method of casting used. Clay molds made in several sections were tightly fitted together before the liquid bronze was poured. This technique enabled artisans to apply their designs directly to the mold. In this way they could use intricate motifs in a rich surface decoration. Read the excerpt on pages 90–91 of your textbook and answer the questions on the following slides.

III. The Zhou Dynasty Zhou Dynasty lasted for almost 900 years (1122 to 256 B.C.), making it the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history

A. Political Structure Continued Shang political structure & royal duties Expanded bureaucracy

B. The Mandate of Heaven *Mandate of Heaven – claim by Chinese kings of the Zhou dynasty that they had direct authority from heaven to rule & to keep order in the universe (91)

The Mandate of Heaven King expected to be virtuous, rule with goodness & efficiency Dao – “Way”, the key to proper behavior under Confucianism (p.92)

C. The Fall of the Zhou Dynasty Later rulers weak & corrupt Civil war broke out in 403 B.C.

D. Life During the Zhou Dynasty Warfare, armies used iron weapons & divided into infantry & cavalry Peasants worked the land Artisans, merchants & slaves

E. Economic & Technological Growth Silk Crossbow Iron plows & large scale water works

F. The Family in Ancient China Filial piety – the duty of family members to subordinate their needs & desires to those of the male head of the family, a concept important in Confucianism (p.93) Men dominated Chinese society

The Family in Ancient China Men governed society & were warriors & scholars Women raised children & stayed at home

G. The Chinese Written Language Pictographic, picture symbols, called characters Ideographic, combine two or more pictographs

IV. The Chinese Philosophies Confucianism, Daoism & Legalism

ConfuciusBuddha

A. Confucianism Confucianism – the system of political & ethical ideas formulated by the Chinese philosopher Confucius toward the end of the Zhou dynasty; it was intended to help restore order to a society that was in a state of confusion (p.95) Government should be open to all men with superior talent

Two elements stand out in the Confucian view of the Dao: duty & humanity 1. Concept of duty meant that all people had to subordinate their own interests to the broader needs of the family & the community *2. Humanity consists of a sense of compassion & empathy for others

B. Daoism Daosim – a system of ideas based on the teachings of Laozi; teaches that the will of Heaven is best followed through inaction so that nature is allowed to take its course (p.96)

C. Legalism Legalism – a popular philosophy developed in China toward the end of the Zhou dynasty; it proposes that human beings are evil by nature & can only be brought to the correct path by harsh laws (p.97)

Section Four: Rise & Fall of Chinese Empires

I. The Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 B.C.) Qin Shihuangdi, ruler of the Qin, “the First Qin Emperor”

A. Changes under the Qin Dynasty Qin dynasty adopted legalism Regime – the government in power (p.99) Imprisoned or executed opponents Burned books

Changes under the Qin Dynasty *Central bureaucracy was divided into 3 parts: 1. civil division 2. the military division 3. the censorate

Changes under the Qin Dynasty *Censorate – part of the Chinese bureaucracy that made sure government officials were doing their jobs (p.99)

Changes under the Qin Dynasty Qin Shihuangdi unified the Chinese world. *He created a single monetary system & ordered the building of a system of roads throughout the entire empire

B. The Great Wall Xiongnu, a nomadic people that resided in the vicinity of the Gobi Great Wall of China, system of walls to keep out the nomads (Xiongna)

C. The Fall of the Qin Dynasty Harsh rule angered many people Dynasty fell in 206 B.C.

II. The Han Dynasty (202 – A.D. 220) Han Dynasty, emerged in 202 B.C. *Liu Bang, founder of the Han Dynasty Man of peasant origin

Liu Bang kongming.net/novel/ han/liubang.php

A. Political Structure The first Han emperor discarded the harsh policies of the Qin dynasty. *Confucian principles, rather then Legalism, soon became the basis for the creation of a new state philosophy

Political Structure Han rulers continued the Qin system of choosing government officials on the basis of merit rather than birth Introduced the civil service examination & established a school to train these candidates

B. Expansion of the Empire Han Wudi, added land to the south South China Sea

C. Society in the Han Empire Free peasants suffered during Han period Military service & forced labor were required Farmland shrank

D. Technology in the Han Empire *Textile manufacturing, water mills for grinding grain & iron casting Paper was developed *Invention of the rudder & fore- and-aft rigging, ships could sail into the wind for the first time

Papermaking in Han China

D. Technology in the Han Empire Travel throughout the islands of Southeast Asia & into the Indian Ocean Lead to major expansion of trade

E. The Fall of the Han Empire Pleasure weakened the government Peasant revolts Civil wars

III. Culture in Qin & Han China Achievement of the Qin period *Digging a well in 1974, farmers discovered a vast army made of terra-cotta (hardened clay)