huang he CIVILIZATION

CHINA 2000 BC – 200 BC River – Huang He (Yellow River) Loess: fertile deposit of windblown soil

CHINA 2000 BC – 200 BC Isolation – natural geographic barriers ex: Pacific Ocean, Himalaya Mts, Gobi Desert, Plateau of Tibet – cut off China from other civilizations

CULTURE Chinese – others “Barbarians” Center of the world – “MIDDLE KINGDOM”

FAMILY Family central to society Respect for parents, elders, men Men controlled property Women had to obey fathers/husbands; arranged marriages

RELIGION POLYTHEISTIC Spirits of ancestors had power Gods were consulted through the use of “oracle bones” which predicted the future

RELIGION Priests wrote questions on animal bones, heated up the bones, and read the cracks.

WRITING No links between written and spoken language Benefit – all Chinese could learn the same system of writing even if they spoke different languages Helped unify diverse land – easier to control

WRITING Disadvantage: Very complicated; hard to learn – time consuming – usually only the rich had time to memorize

GOVERNMENT Right to rule came from the GODS called the “Mandate of Heaven” The rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties in China was known as the Dynastic Cycle 1st Dynasty – Shang 2nd Dynasty - Zhou

CREATED PEACE TURMOIL PROBLEMS

TECHNOLOGY/TRADE Roads/Canals Coined Money Silk Tools – sickles, knives, spades Blast furnaces –cast iron

DYNASTIC CYCLE