Ancient China Geography

Geographical Features of China North- Gobi Desert East- Yellow Sea East China Sea Pacific Ocean West- Taklimakan Desert Mountain Ranges Himalaya The Pamir Tian Shan EQ: What effect did the physical features of China have to do with its early development? Fertile soil, good for farming Isolated China from other civilazations Cities grew along banks of the Rivers Because of the isolation it made it difficult for the spread of goods and ideas. Graphic organizer Column 1

China’s Rivers Huang He River Chang Jiang Located in the North Known as the Yellow River Helped with farming Yellowish silt Known as China’s sorrow* Levees** Located in central China Known as Yangtze 3rd longest river in the world *Known as China’s sorrow because of the many floods that have occurred. **They built levees and because of the enormous amounts of sediment the Yellow river required higher levees. Graphic Organizer column 2 MODELING Farming was done between the rivers. Northern China Plain

Climate Varied Similar to the United States Western: Dry Northern: Cold/Dry* South East: Wet** *Wheat and millet was grown in the northern drier lands **Rice was grown in the south Graphic organizer bottom of column 2

Shang Dynasty 1766 B.C. began to control cities Developed along Yellow River Controlled central portions of N. China Plain Relatives ruled distant areas Used chariots to defend kingdom They went to war with nomads Family and religion closely tied Paid respect by making animal sacrifices* E: How did the Chinese language develop? Oracle bones and Pictographs Did not have a strong central government *Family- spirits of ancestors could bring good fortune to the family Talk About It: What river did Chinese civilization develop around? Huang He/Yellow/China’s Sorrow Why do you think they had relatives rule distant areas? Vocab: Nomads- a member of a group with no fixed home and moves place to place. GRAPHIC ORGANIZER top of page 2.

Developing Language Oracle Bones Pictographs Read page 255 aloud. Graphic Organizer

Frequent pattern of ancient China Dynastic Cycle Frequent pattern of ancient China Zhou kings believed that trouble with the rulers meant that the gods were not in favor of them Mandate of Heaven: When a ruler was foolish the approval of the gods were taken away.. Graphic Organizer

Defeated Shang around 1027 B.C. Ruler Wu Wang lead the force that defeated Shang Did not have a strong central government Kings put family or other trusted people in charge of surrounding regions* Zhou Dynasty Defeated Shang around 1027 B.C. *Most of the time the trusted people owed loyalty or military to the king. In return for loyalty the King would help protect their lands. As towns became cities Lords grew stronger with more groups under their rule. As the cities grew so did the lands the lords controlled which expanded the Chinese territory. The Zhou Dynasty persuaded the Shang Dynasty that they lost the approval of the gods. GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

Warring States Invasion of Chinese land was a reoccurring theme After 800 B.C. Nomads from the North and West invaded China 771 B.C invaders destroyed the capital city Hao and killed the king* Family escaped and set up a new capital in Luoyang Lead to the period known as the Warring States (403 B.C.) *Because the capital was destroyed and moved it was weakened. This caused the lords to fight amongst themselves. GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

Overview: Rivers helped with the rise of China Civilization Natural barriers isolated China Huang He/Yellow River was also known as China’s Sorrow Shang Dynasty was the first family to rule Shang developed system of writing from oracle bones and pictographs Zhou took control by using the idea of the Mandate of Heaven Review: How did the Mandate of Heaven help the Zhou take over the Shang? The Zhou convinced the Shang that their rulers had lost the approval of the gods. Dynastic cycle Why does it matter? Culture developed by the Shang and Zhou still influences the Chinese ways of life today Talk about it: What did you find most interesting about their geography?