Ch 7, Sec 1: China’s First Civilizations

Rivers of China-Yellow River Known as the Huang He (Hwahng He) 2,900 miles long Flooded the land to help farmers Known as “China’s Sorrow” when it destroyed towns

Rivers of China-Yangtze River Known as the Chang Jiang (Chang Jyahng) 3,400 miles long Flooded central China for farming

Geography of China 1/10th of the land is used for farming 9/10th of the land are mountains and desert areas Himalaya Mountains Kunlun shan and Tian Shan Mountain ranges Gobi Desert Land forms separated all of China from the outside world.

The Start of Chinese Civilization Unknown when it started Pottery found in the Huang He River Valley (1000s of years old) Started as farming villages that grew into large cities Xia (Syah) Dynasty first to rule but were replaced by the Shang Dynasty in 1750 B.C.

Shang Dynasty Built the first city in China Created the capital at Anyang Controlled by a king Not in touch with the needs of the people Treated the poor badly

Social Class System 1. Ruled by a king in Northern China Nobles, warlords, and gov’t officials created the aristocrat class 2. Next were traders/ Farmers 3. slaves

Chinese Military Used bronze weapons and chariots Warlords with local armies protected the inside of China Shang Dynasty army defended the borders

Spirits and Ancestors Believed in gods and spirits Spirits lived in mountains, rivers, and seas Gave offerings to keep the gods/spirits happy Offerings given to their ancestors for help or for good luck Still practiced today

King’s Responsibility for Guidance Had to contact the gods, spirits, and ancestors before big decisions Used oracle bones with questions written on them to talk to the ancestors Hot rocks were placed inside the bones which caused them to crack The cracks were then read for an answer 1st Chinese writing

Chinese Writing Used Pictographs and Ideographs Pictograph-characters that stand for objects Ex: Mountains, sun, and moon Ideographs-two or more pictographs put together to create an idea Each character represents a word

Shang Artists Used silk to make clothes White clay created vases and dishes Statues were carved out of ivory and jade stones Molded statues out of bronze

Zhou (Joh) Dynasty Wu Wang rebelled against the Shang Dynasty Ruled for 800 years-longest in Chinese history Created irrigation for farming Used iron plows, grew more food, and had a rise in population (50 million people) Started trading silk/pottery all over Europe/Asia

Social Classes 1. King Bureaucracy-gov’t officials 2. Everybody else defended the kingdom Link between the gods and the people Known as the Mandate of Heaven Bureaucracy-gov’t officials 2. Everybody else Could overthrow and replace the king

Zhou Dynasty Kings Link between the gods and the people Known as the Mandate of Heaven Rule to the Dao (Dow) to keep the gods happy Gave the king/citizens rights

Fall of the Zhou (Joh) Empire Local groups took control of each territory within China Zhou kings were ignored “Period of Warring States”-200 years of fighting for control Forced the poor peasants to fight New weapons-swords, spears, crossbows, saddle/stirrup Resulted in the Qin Territory to win