 Himalayas act as a barrier to the south keeping invaders out  Qinling Shandi (Chin-Ling Shahn-Dee) from Tibetan Plateau divides north from south

 Huang He (Yellow River)  Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) - LONGEST

 First prehistoric dynasty under Yu the Great  Excavations made at Anyang, Henan in 1928  Evolutionary stage between: › Late Neolithic culture  Hunter gatherers  Stone tools › Chinese civilization  Agricultural communities  Silk and pottery

 Cradle of Chinese civilization › Based on agriculture › Developed a writing system › High level of civilization: bronze workmanship  Ruled by kings › Cities were centers of life › Rituals honoring ancestors (family) › Slaves buried alive in royal tombs

 Social order -  Kings, Nobles, Warriors, Artisans, Farmers, Slaves  First Writing System  Oracle Bones  Bronze  Jade  Weapons  Calendar

 Ruled much of China north of Yangtze river  Mandate of Heaven  Early rule: Feudal System › Give land in return for loyalty & military support › Brings order until lords revolt  Later: City States › Local governments › Culture: philosophy, poetry and prose › Leads to period of civil war – WARRING STATES PERIOD

 Unhappy about Warring States Period a thinker named Confucius seeks to return China to ethics or morality  His teachings became known as Confucianism “ Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.”

 Confucianism - Social harmony through acting ethically (Morally)- Active involved leaders  Daoism (Taoism) –Living in harmony with Dao – NO government intervention  Legalism – Belief that all people are bad and need to be controlled

 STRICT Government  Achievements: › Standardized language & Writing › Standardized currency › Standardized measurements › Public Works  Great Wall  Roads & Irrigation canals  Terracotta soldiers  Leader: Shi Huangdi (Legalism)

 LiuBang/Wudi  Achievements: › TRADE Silk Road - Silk for Horses › Better Tools—Iron › Agriculture  Crop Rotation › Education › Paper and Porcelain › CONFUCIANISM popularized

 As Han rule declined people looked for something to restore hope  Through trade, people of the Han Dynasty become exposed to the new idea of Buddhism  By 200 AD Buddhist shrines were erected in the emperor’s palace