1. More than a great wall and General Tso.

2.  China was geographically isolated from most of the rest of the world, so it developed without too much interference from the rest of the world.  China was protected by the ocean on one side, and desert and mountains on the other.  Occasionally though, China did get invaded from the north and west

3.  Landforms to know:  Yellow River (a.k.a. Huang He River)  Yangtze River  Himalayan Mountains  Pacific Ocean  Gobi Desert

5.  China culture began around 1500 B.C., making it younger than the other civilizations we’ve met so far  Like the other civilizations we’ve visited, the Chinese developed a ruling structure with a series of ruling families, called dynasties  Power in China was passed from father to son for generation to generation

6.  The Chinese people obeyed their emperors because they were considered divine (holy, or sanctioned by God)  The rulers served under a rule called the Mandate of Heaven, which basically said that emperors had God’s authority to rule as long as they were just (fair and good)  If the rulers became unjust (unfair and evil) then the emperor would lose God’s approval and the Mandate of Heaven, and then the people were allowed to overthrow him, and install a new emperor

7. The Dynastic Cycle New Ruler Gains the Mandate of Heaven Dynasty founded by powerful leader Period of Great Power and Prosperity Golden Age Period of Decline and Corruption Period of Rebellion Ruler loses the Mandate of Heaven

8. China’s geography kept it separated from much of the world The Himalayas kept it separated from India, and it was really far from Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia However, it was still occasionally invaded Most of these invasions came from areas north of China, by people called Mongols

9.  Tired of invasion, Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huangdi constructed a large wall in northern China to keep out the invading migrant Mongols  The Great Wall of China was one of the largest construction projects in human history

10.  The Great Wall of China is the world’s longest man made structure  3,945 total miles long  Many towers 40 feet tall  Built through all types of geography- plains, hills, mountains, deserts  Perhaps up to a million people died during construction

14.  While China wanted to keep out invaders, they welcomed traders, who came to China to buy things they couldn’t find anywhere else  People came from as far from Rome to trade with China, traveling a path known as the Silk Road  The Silk Road wasn’t an actual road, but rather a path traders took to get to China to do business there

16.  Paper  Porcelain  Silk  Made from the cocoons of silkworms who ate local Chinese Mulberry leaves  The cocoons are boiled to kill the silkworm  Then the cocoons are unwound and combined to make silk thread

17. Paper, Porcelain, and Silk

18. One of the most important of these thinkers was Confucius. Born in 551 BC, he became a well educated man who thought deeply about the troubles of China. He believed that a time of peace could return if people would work at five basic relationships: ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, older and younger brothers, and friend and friend. The family relationships, he thought, were the most important.

19.  Confucius believed that in order to govern others one must first govern oneself. Meaning, leaders should practice self control and be moral.  This led to the idea of merit: Leaders should rule by example. If a ruler is fair and just then his people will follow and do the same.  In government, this became a Civil Service System, in which people are given government jobs based on deserving it due to education and professionalism- not because they know someone

20.  Belief that humans are naturally good, not bad  Respect for elders  Code of Politeness, still in use within Chinese society today  Emphasis on education  Ancestor Worship  Not really worshiping ancestors, but praying to them in the afterlife for support

21. Society was held together by a strong belief in the importance of the group- all the people- and not any single person. The most important part of society was the family, and children grew up learning to respect their parents.

22. The family played a central role in Chinese religion, too. The Chinese thought that family members who had died could still influence the lives of family members still alive. They gave respect to dead members of the family, hoping to keep them happy.

23.  The Chinese, like the Sumerian’s Cuneiform and Egyptian Hieroglyphics, had a written language with pictograms- where each symbol represented actual things  The written language had thousands of symbols, however, which made it very hard to learn. Only specially trained people learned to read and write.  The language included ideograms, where you combine many characters to get an idea

25.  Another ancient Chinese philosopher named Laozi was interested in finding a way to live in harmony with nature and find inner peace  Taoism (pronounced with a D sound) believes that nature follows a universal force called the Tao, or “the Way.”  People do not follow this force, but they can learn to do so.

26.  Laozi believed "simplicity" to be the key to truth and freedom. He encouraged his followers to observe, and seek to understand the laws of nature; to develop intuition and build up personal power; and to wield power with love, not force.  Goals of Taoism:  Humility  Simple life and inner peace  Harmony with nature

27.  Found in both Confucianism and Taoism  For advice in solving everyday problems in life, Chinese people turn to a book called the I Ching.  Based on the ideas of Yin and Yang, two opposite powers which balance out the universe  If you can balance these forces in your own life, you can reach harmony

28.  Yin is the darker element; it is passive, dark, feminine, downward-seeking, and corresponds to the night. Often symbolized by water or earth  Yang is the brighter element; it is active, light, masculine, upward-seeking and corresponds to the day. Often symbolized by fire or wind.  These are complementary opposites rather than absolutes. They do not represent good and evil, one force is not seen as morally superior to the other.