Ms. Jerome

Ancient China

Yellow River Ancient China was an agricultural society Yellow River is boisterous and unpredictable. Courses almost 2,920 miles. Gets name from the vast quantities of light-colored loess soil (a sediment/silt) that it picks up along the route. This next part will shock you… The river enabled the development of a complex civilization and the fertile soil assisted in its growth.

Chinese Dynasties Chinese legends speak of three ancient dynasties—the Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou.

Shang and Zhou Dynasty Tradition assigns the Shang dynasty to the period 1766 to 1122 b.c.e. Xia Dynasty is legendary China’s first recorded history The basic features of early Chinese society come into much clearer focus than the preceding Xia Dynasty.

Bronze Metallurgy and Horse Drawn Chariots Bronze metallurgy transformed Chinese society during Shang times—rulers monopolized bronze production It is what enabled Shang rulers to displace Xia rulers. Chariots, carts, horse drawn wagon, taken from southwest Asia “Charioteers were the first great aggressors in human history”- historian John Keepgan

Shang Chariots

Bronze Knives

Bronze Weapons/Tools

Political Organization Shang society was composed of numerous peasant communities, dominated by strong noble class with monarchy. Not highly centralized Local rulers had authority over towns Local rulers recognized rule of the king King was an intermediary between heaven and earth Nobility was the warrior class

Religious Organization: Shangdi, the supreme deity during Shang China- controlled heaven and earth

Border Sacrifice The King sacrificed a bull once a year as an offering to Shangdi There was a single high god of of heaven There were regional gods and ancestral veneration * See handout on Border Sacrifice writing

Ancestral Veneration What is of value to Ancient Chinese culture:

Ancestral Veneration “in the absence of organized religion or official priesthood in ancient China, the patriarchal head of the family presided at rites and ceremonies honoring ancestors’ spirits.” Therefore, the family patriarch possessed tremendous authority. No organized religion in ancient China (change from other river valley civilizations)

Oracle Bones In Mesopotamia and India, merchants pioneered writing In China, the earliest known writing served the interests of rulers rather than traders. One medium for writing was oracle bones.

Oracle Bones Used by fortune-tellers in ancient China Specially prepared bones (turtle shells, bones of sheep) to inscribe questions. Subjected to heat When heated, the bone cracked Fortune tellers then studied the patterns and determined answers

Will the harvest be productive?

Chinese writing The earliest form of Chinese writing was the pictograph The characters used in contemporary Chinese writign are direct descendants of those used in Shang times.

Out with the Shang in with the Zhou ( BCE) The Zhou overthrew the Shang and setup their own dynasty in 1027 BCE. Claimed to have the Mandate of Heaven or divine right of rule Mandate of Heaven later used to describe Dynastic Cycle

Zhou Dynasty

Zhou Political Organization Much larger than Shang Zhou rulers relied on decentralized administration Entrusted power to subordinates and expected tribute, allegiance and military support. Ultimately became the undoing of the Zhou— subordinates became too independent. Failed to uphold their end of the bargain. What does this sort of political organization remind you of? Essentially a feudal type state

Iron Metallurgy Iron Metallurgy spread during the Zhou Dynasty Made bronze weapons obsolete Iron ores are cheaper and abundant—so Zhou kings couldn’t control who had access. Empowered subordinates could resist their central government – assisted in breaking down the central Zhou government

Social Structure What was striking about the previous chart? Merchants—considered unskilled Peasants—biggest population b/c an agricultural society Semiservile—owned land but provided agricultural and military service to lords in exchange for plots of land Peasants used stone tools-bronze too expensive until iron became more accessible

Women Peasant women—domestic duties Mostly indoor activities Wine making, weaving, cultivation of silkworms, Men—fields, hunting, fishing Extremely male dominated society

Warring States Period bce Dispersion of iron and an empire too big to manage led to the decline of the Zhou Ushered in a period known as the Warring States Period. China was divided between warring states and no central figure