The First Chinese Dynasty – The Shang Dynasty pp. 173-175 Ch. 7: Early China The First Chinese Dynasty – The Shang Dynasty pp. 173-175 Objective: 6.31 Locate and describe the origins of Chinese civilization in the Huang He Valley during the era of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties

Shang Dynasty 1st civilizations started in the Huang He River Valley Social Hierarchy Kings 30 Shang Kings ruled over the 1st cities Were the political, religious, and military leaders Theocracies Ruled in dynasties - hereditary Last Shang King = Di Xin Shang Cruel – cut out heart of his uncle for disagreeing Killed many innocents Forced to pay high taxes Sent army to fight in the east but left the rest of his kingdom unprotected Committed suicide when his army and slaves turned against him and joined the Zhou attack Appointed warlords - military leaders to help keep the king powerful Aristocrats Upper class, royal nobles (land owners) Warlords Farmers and Tenant Farmers ( Peasants ) Most people were farmers Lived outside the city in the country to farm Tenant Farmers - Rented the land from aristocrat noble landowners Worked the land and paid part of what they harvested as payment to live and work on the land Food harvested was given to all Shang Dynasty Although peasant farmers in ancient China were one of the lowest social classes, they were still considered important as they produced the food that sustained the society. Most peasants were very poor and led simple lives. They worked very hard and rarely had a day off. Peasant men worked in the fields and had to endure harsh conditions. They worked through the burning heat of summer and the bitter cold of winter. The harsh conditions could also ruin their crops and land. If the crops were ruined, poor families had very little to survive on during the winter Even the poorest peasants were required to pay taxes, even if their crops had not been successful. This often left many families with very little to eat during the winter months.

Shang Religion Polytheistic Shang Ti /Shang Di– supreme (chief) god – ruled over all other gods and nature King – mortal god, was thought to be the messenger of the gods (similar to how Egypt thought of the Pharaoh) Gods lived in mountains, rivers, and seas – controlled nature Honored ancestors or long-dead family Human and animal sacrifices or offerings hoping that the ancestors would bring good to them and would help make important decisions

Seeking Guidance from Ancestors Kings believed they received their power to rule from gods and their wisdom from ancestors Asked for help from oracle bones Turtle Shells & animal bones Asked a question, drilled hole in bone, put it in the fire, then read the cracks that resulted Question, answer, and date was often carved into the bone Oracle bones proved that the ancient Chinese had a writing system

Writing Pictographs - characters that represent objects Ideographs - link two or more pictographs to express an idea Written on wood – shaved off when needed to erase Also wrote on bronze, pottery, bamboo, silk, bone, and later the Chinese will invent paper Also wrote on jade and kaolin (will show pics later in ppt)

This painting shows a group of scholars copying documents for their King during the Shang dynasty.

Artisan Advances The Chinese were advanced early on in metallurgy During the Bronze Age, 1500 BC, created weapons, tools, and objects made of bronze

Silk Legend says the king’s wife discovered silk One day, the king’s wife found little worms eating the mulberry leaves in her garden. A cocoon dropped into her hot tea by accident. When she pulled it out, a long thin thread unwound from the cocoon. She wove the strong silk threads into beautiful cloth. Women raised the silk worms and grew mulberry trees to feed the worms. They boiled the cocoons and gathered the thread. They then wove large amounts of the sild thread into cloth. Weavers made the silk into clothing. Invented a loom to help weave the silk faster. Secret – for more than 3,000 years Brought great wealth to China as a major trade item.

Kaolin Kaolin - fine, white clay made vases and dishes Today, this fine pottery is called China.

Jade and Ivory Jade - a green stone Many elephants existed in Asia as well as Mesopotamia, Persia, Africa, Egypt, and India Killed for the ivory tusks Thutmose III (Egypt) is said to have killed over 120 elephants just for their ivory

chopsticks

Religions of Multiple Civilizations Religion(s) +Description Contrast it to another civilization Mesopotamia Egypt India China Israel

Work on Research Questions