Global Honors: Spiconardi ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS OF CHINA

Geography The Middle Kingdom China is surrounded by natural barriers  Kunlun and Tian Shan Mountains, Gobi Desert, Jungles, Pacific Ocean China remained isolated and did not come in contact with other cultures often Ethnocentrism  Belief their culture was at the earth’s center and centrally important to other cultures  Referred to themselves as the Middle Kingdom as a result

Geography Huang He River (a.k.a. The Yellow River) River is known as “China’s Sorrow” because of frequent devastating floods killed thousands (Turbulent river; often unpredictable)  Chinese crossed it by crafting rafts from inflated goat skins River gets it’s name from the yellow silt deposited by the floods  The silt known as loess creates fertile soil

“Mother River”

Geography Yangtze River China’s longest river

The Shang Dynasty Political Structure Centered around the Huang He River Established a line of hereditary kings to rule over northern China  Royal family members & warlords used to help govern outlying areas

The Shang Dynasty Religion Animism – belief all things in nature have a spirit Worshipped ancestors  King was head of ancestor worship cult  Chief priest was eldest male in each family Divination - ritual act performed by Shang kings & diviners by burning tortoise shells to give insight into the future from the gods.  Write a question on the shell, burn it, and interpret the cracks to answer the question  Chinese were most literate culture fore centuries

The Shang Dynasty Religion Buried their dead with jade believing it possessed magical powers Kings & warriors buried with valuable belongings and slaves (who were often buried alive)

The Shang Dynasty Achievements Bronze work  Casted ritual vessels often buried with their dead  Bronze vessels often contained inscriptions  Along with oracle bones, demonstrates a well-developed writing system Ideographs/Pictographs  Symbols/pictures represents an entire word or concept  Shang had developed over 3,000 characters 

Silk Well before the Shang, Chinese developed silk making skills (at least3000 BCE) 2,500 to 3,000 cocoons are needed to make just one yard of silk fabric Originally, silk was only for the king’s use