Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 1 Chapter 5 Early Society in East Asia
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 2 The Yellow River 3000 Miles: Tibet to the Yellow Sea Deposits fertile, light colored soil Periodic flooding: “China’s sorrow”
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 3 Prehistoric Society: Yangshao BCE Banpo Village Painted pottery Bone tools
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 4 The Earliest Dynasties Xia C BCE Organized through village network Hereditary monarchy Flood control Shang BCE Zhou BCE
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 5 Shang Dynasty Bronze metallurgy from 1200 BCE State monopoly Horse-drawn chariots, other wheeled vehicles Large armies Political organization: network of fortified cities, loyal to center 1000 cities Capital moved six times Impressive architecture at Ao, Yin Other regional kingdoms coexist: Sanxingdui
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 6 Shang Dynasty Burial Practices Hierarchical social structure Live burials alongside deceased member of ruling class Sacrificial victims, mostly slaves Wives, servants, friends, hunting companions Later replaced by statuary, often monumental
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 7 Zhou Dynasty, BCE No law codes: rule by decree “Mandate of Heaven” Aggregation of villages opposed to Shang leadership Decentralization of authority Development of cheap iron weaponry ends Shang monopoly on Bronze Early money economy
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 8 Decline of the Zhou Dynasty Decentralized leadership style allows for building of regional powers Increasing local independence, refusal to pay Zhou taxes Iron metallurgy allows for widespread creation of weaponry Northern invaders weaken Zhou dynasty, beginning 8 th c BCE Internal dissention: the Period of the Warring States ( BCE)
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 9 Period of the Warring States ( BCE)
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 10 Social Order Ruling classes great advantage Palatial compounds, luxurious lifestyle Supported by agricultural surplus, tax revenues Defended by monopoly on bronze weaponry Hereditary privilege Support class of artisans, craftsmen Evidence of long-distance trade, merchant class Large class of semi servile peasants Slave class
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 11 Family and Patriarchy devotion to family, ancestor veneration connection of spirit world to physical world Ritual sacrifices Father ritual head of family rites Earlier prominence of individual female leaders fades in later Shang, Zhou dynasties
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 12 Oracle Bones and Early Chinese Writing Used for communicating with spirit world, determining future Question written on animal bones, turtle shells Then heated over fire, cracks examined for omens Early archaeological evidence of Chinese writing Evolution of Chinese script Pictograph to ideograph
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 13 Oracle Bone from Shang Dynasty
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 14 Zhou Literature Confucius (discussed in chapter 8) Book of Changes Manual for divination Book of History Book of Etiquette (Book of Rites) Book of Songs Little survived Often written on perishable bamboo strips Many destroyed by Emperor of Qin dynasty in 221 BCE
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 15 Nomadic Peoples of Central Asia Steppe nomads Poor lands for cultivation, extensive herding activities Horses domesticated c BCE, bronze metallurgy in 2900 BCE Extensive trade with sedentary cultures in China Tensions: frequent raiding
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 16 Southern Expansion of Chinese Society Yangzi Valley Yangzi river: Chang Jiang, “long river” Excellent for rice cultivation Irrigation system developed The State of Chu Autonomous, challenged Zhou dynasty Culture heavily influenced by Chinese