Huang He or Yellow River – “China’s Sorrow.” Carries yellow mud downstream. River runs roughly 2,900 miles. Map of China above. Can you find the Huang He?

Men fishing in the Yellow River.

Chang Jiang or Yangtze river flows 3,400 miles. Along with the Yellow river, these two rivers supported one of the great food producing areas of the world. Map of China above. Can you find the Yangtze?

Natural barriers Pacific Ocean Himalaya Mtns. Gobi Desert Taklimakan Desert. Plateaus Global satellite image of China

Only 10% of the land was good for farming. The Chinese developed in isolation. Conflicts with northern regions, or “barbarians” was a constant problem.

Last civilization to develop. 1,500 years after Ur and 1,000 years after the building of the pyramids. Called the “Middle Kingdom” reflecting that China was heaven on earth.

The “Yellow Emperor” – image Wikipedia Commons. Huang Di or the “Yellow Emperor” ruled from 2698 BC – 2599 BC. He is credited with developing Chinese medicine, the compass, and the Chinese calendar. His wife, Luo Zu taught the Chinese how to weave silk from the silkworm.

Production and cultivation of silk worms. These worms form the silken cocoons that silk threads are made from.

The most popular Chinese export was silk. The Silk Road carried this valuable commodity. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Cultural Diffusion - when a cultural trait, material object, idea, or behavior pattern is spread from one society to another. The Silk Road allowed greater opportunities for the exchange of products and ideas between the East and West.

Xia (Hsia) Dynasty 2205 B.C B.C. 1 st King was Yu the Great. Contributions to culture – irrigation canals, bronze, silk, potter’s wheel, chariots. Yu the Great – leader of the Xia Dynasty.

Excavation site of the capital of Xia. This was the first to develop along the river Huang He.

Cities were carefully planned. 1 st with a simple, written language. Social classes developed. Most people were farmers. Simple pictographs of the Shang Dynasty.

Shangs – Warlike kings. Ruled a Feudal Society. Capital was at Anyang. Left large royal palaces and tombs.

Warlords are given land to rule and farm by the Shang King. In return, if the king goes to war, the warlord and his army show up to defend the king.

Shang Craftsmen were legend – especially the bronze casters. Chief exports of the Shang were silk, salt, iron, cloth and bronze vessels.

Shang Bronze – Elephant and warrior’s vessel.

Bronze owl and container above.

Oracle Bones – Communicate with the gods. A question was written on the bone, then a priest read the cracks, believing this could tell the future or answer to a problem. Oracle bones – image Wikipedia Commons.

Ancestor Worship – the belief that spirits of family ancestors could bring good advice/luck, or evil fortune to the living family members. Disney’s Mulan had an ancestor named Moo-Shu!

This was the longest lasting dynasty in Chinese history. Lasted 800 years. The Zhou’s were the first to claim a Mandate of Heaven, right to rule.

Mandate of Heaven - The king had direct authority from heaven to rule and to keep order in the universe. New leaders will challenge kings for the “Mandate of Heaven.”

Good luck, crops, no disasters or attacks.

Zhou king-link between heaven and earth. Kings perform ritual, ceremonial acts. King in charge of the army and defense of the country. King rules proper “Way”, Dao.

Da’Mo – Founder of Zen Buddhism. He established the Shaolin Monks. He developed ritual exercises to work the body – called “learned skill” or Kung-Fu.

A candidate begged the master to teach him. He shaved his head, he obeyed the master, and he swore an oath to the master. The Shaolin had to master 5 forms of combat to be considered Masters.

“Temple of Heaven” – Beijing. Site for sacrificial rituals during the Zhou Dynasty. Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Online.

Basic economic and social unit. Families had a sacred quality that symbolized the entire Chinese social order. Filial piety was key.

Filial piety – a love and respect for one’s parents and ancestors. Your needs and desires are put aside to honor your country and your parents. Confucius taught this - it is considered the 1st virtue in Chinese culture.

Simple text developed during Shang dynasty. Pictographs/picture symbols or characters form their language. Original drawings from the Shang period.

Each picture represents an object or idea. If you can read 1,000 characters – literate. 10,000 – Scholar! Mountain

(221 – 206 BC) Named for Qin Shihuangdi – “The First Qin Emperor.” Where we get the name, “China.” A strong leader who adopted legalism.

People who opposed him were punished or executed. Scholars were killed, books that criticized him – burned.

Qin unified the Chinese World. Built connecting roads, coined money, and cast better tools.

He began the Great Wall of China as protection from Northern tribe, Xiongnu. Finished 1500 years later. Section of the Great Wall of China – Image Wikipedia Commons.

Both were built by Emperor Qin Shihuangdi.

202 BC – 220 AD One of the most inventive and creative dynasties. Founder Liu Bang – “Exalted Emperor of Han”. Ruled million people. On the following slides are a sample of their creations. Map of the Han Dynasty – image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Paper making from bamboo stems. Developed in 2 nd or 1 st BC – used in China by 105 AD.

During the Han Dynasty, a seismograph for detecting earthquakes was developed.

Xia Dynasty: Silk Shang: Bronze casting Zhou: Mandate of Heaven. Qin: Great Wall of China and the Terra Cotta Warriors. HAN: Glazed porcelain, paper, seismograph. Paper being made from bamboo – Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.