Ancient China World History Core

Geography/Interaction with Environment  Location: Asia Natural Barriers EAST: Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and Pacific Ocean WEST: Taklimakan Desert and Plateau of Tibet SOUTHWEST: Himalayas NORTH: Gobi Desert and Mongolian Plateau

Geography/Interaction with Environment  Isolation by Distance  Yangtze River Central China to Yellow Sea  Huang He (Yellow River) Northern China to Yellow Sea LOESS: deposits of yellow silt (fertile soil) “China’s Sorrow”: dangerous floods of the Huang He

Yangtze River Yellow River

Geography/Interaction with Environment  Challenges Dangerous Floods Solution:  Yu’s irrigation and flood control methods Isolation Solution:  Had to supply all goods, could NOT rely on trade!

Geography/Interaction with Environment  China’s Heartland 10% of land in China is ARABLE North China Plain Farm land between the two rivers

Power and Authority  Dynastic Civilization Ruled by families  Xia Dynasty and Yu the Great: First Dynasty Mathematician and Engineer Developed way to control flooding which allowed a civilization to develop

Power and Authority  Shang Dynasty: 1 st family to leave written records Warrior Kings: rulers who were constantly at war Middle Kingdom: China’s name for itself, believed they were the center Barbarians: outsiders to China Class Division: Between peasant and nobles NOBLES: owned all the land that the peasants worked on

Power and Authority  Zhou Dynasty: overthrew Shang 1027 BC Mandate of Heaven: divine approval to rule comes from heaven Developed by the Zhou to get rid of Shang Dynasty Dynastic Cycle: pattern of rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties (see p. 54 and next slide) Feudalism: political system in which nobles are granted land that legally belongs to the King In RETURN: Nobles must (1) Give loyalty and military service to the King and (2) Must protect the people living on the land

Religious and Ethical Systems  Loyalty to Family: Center of Chinese society #1 virtue: Honor and respect PARENTS Elder men were in charge of family Women were inferior arranged into marriage Must bear a son to improve your social worth

Religious and Ethical Systems  Ancestor Worship: Power to bring good or disaster to a family Must give sacrifices to ancestors  Polytheistic: Belief in many GODS Shang Di  Oracle Bones: used to communicate with the Gods How they worked: Wrote question on animal bone Priest pokes bone with a hot rod Bone cracks Priest interprets the cracks to answer the question on the bone

Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire Building  Agrarian Society: depend on farming  Expansion Limited by Distance  Warring Nomads: Sacked Zhou capital, killing the monarchs Leads to quarrels among NOBLES, thus the end of the Zhou Dynasty

Revolution  Shang are overthrown by the Zhou Due to the idea of Divine Mandate Zhou believed the Shang were no longer doing a good job Developed idea that Gods no longer wanted the Shang to rule Thus giving ruling power to the Zhou

Science and Technology  Written Language: united large, diverse area because you didn’t have to be able to speak the same language to be able to read Chinese Symbols NOT letters: each character = one syllable Calligraphy: writing of characters, each character made up of single brushstrokes Difficult to LEARN: 1500 = barely literate 10,000 = scholar

Science and Technology  Silk Production: religious beginnings, discovered by a Goddess Silk worms produce the fabric Worn by rulers Silk Road: Chinese silk trade route

Science and Technology  Coined Money: To improve trade  Iron Weapons and Tools: Blast furnaces to cast iron Weapons: daggers and swords Agriculture: knives and spades  Made farming more efficient!