Geography – how did china’s location impact its development? Ancient China Geography – how did china’s location impact its development?

Welcome back! Deep breath – it will be okay. Monday November 28, 2016 Homeroom Welcome back! Deep breath – it will be okay. New PROPS Card! Our next celebration will be a on Wednesday, December 21, 2016!

Monday November 28, 2016 Homework: Mandala – A-Day 12/5 and B-Day 12/6 China Test – A-Day 12/16 and B-Day 12/19 Warm-Up: Copy homework into agenda. Pick up maps and study guide. Make a graphic organizer for EQ #1 – How did China’s location impact its development?

How did China’s location impact it’s development? Provide four ways that China’s development was similar to the other fertile river valleys – Mesopotamia, Egypt, India. What was the purpose of the Great Wall of China? How did China’s physical features impact trade/transportation? Visual for A Visual for B Visual for C

EQ #1 – How did China’s location impact its development? 1. Silt – mixture of fertile soil and tiny rocks 2. Irrigation – supplying water to an area of land 3. Agriculture - farming 4. Domesticate – the process of changing plants and animals to make them useful to humans 4. Division of Labor – workers specialize in a particular job or task 5. Social Hierarchy – the division of society by rank and/or class 6. Dynasty – a series of rulers from the same family 7. Nomads – people with no permanent settlement

Fertile River Valley As in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus River Valley, the earliest civilizations in China emerged along rivers: The Yangtze (yahng say) River and the Huang He (hwang huh) River, also known as the Yellow River. The common flooding of the Yellow River has caused great destruction throughout the river’s history. Because of this, the Yellow River is also known as the “River of Sorrow.”

Yellow River Flooding

Civilization Forms Despite the destruction caused by its flooding, the Huang He also was a source of life for ancient China. The flooding river waters left behind silt that created rich soil, well-suited for agriculture. The rivers also provided fresh water for human and animal consumption (domestication), as well as for irrigation. Together, the fertile soil and the fresh water served combined to make a Chinese civilization with a Division of Labor and Social Hierarchy.

Cities As with other early civilizations, most of China’s important and powerful cities were located near major rivers. These rivers provided fresh water as well as easy means for transportation and communication.

Yangzte River Yellow River

Dynasties Chinese history is divided into dynasties. A dynasty refers to a line of hereditary rulers— usually from the same family—of a country. There were more than 20 separate dynasties in Chinese history. During each of these dynasties Major cities, which developed and grew along these rivers, served as political, financial, and economic centers of the various dynasties.

Natural Barriers The Gobi Desert, Taklamkan Desert and the Himalayan Mountains acted as barriers to outside invaders and Chinese expansion.

Gobi Desert Taklamakan Desert

China’s Mountain Ranges

Mongols China faced many dangers despite the protection from its natural geographic barriers. Among these threats were the nomadic tribes to the north, in the country that is now Mongolia. Nomads are members of a group that have no permanent home. They move from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock. Although many people refer to these northern nomads as Mongols, there were several different nomadic groups that lived in the region north of China. During the Middle Ages the Mongols controlled a vast empire.

Great Wall of China The skills and proximity of the nomads/Mongols meant that the Chinese needed to focus on defending their own land. One of the ways that the Chinese tried to defend themselves was to build a series of walls to keep the nomads from invading. The walls, known collectively as the Great Wall of China, were not successful in keeping the nomads from invading.

Trade Trade between China and its neighbors relied on difficult overland routes or dangerous sea voyages. However, they did trade. The most famous and important trade route from China to the Middle East was called the Silk Road. This brought great wealth to China.