1. The Orient (Ancient China and Japan)

2. The Yellow River Civilization

3. Birth of Civilization Ancient China was isolated from
the rest of the world
Gobi desert to the north
Himalayan mountains to the west
The Hauang He (Yellow River), and Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) provided rich farmland for early peoples

4. Dynasties
Chinese history is defined by dynasties (4000+ years of history)
From 21st Century BC to 1911 AD
There were over 30 dynasties

5. Xia Dynasty (21st - 16th Century BC)

6. Xia Dynasty Dynasty – a series of rulers from the same family
1st Prehistoric Dynasty
Yu the Great was the founder of the dynasty
Shows the transition between hunter/gathers to agricultural society
Pottery, Silk

7. Chinese invented silk
Silk was exotic and expensive, so it was good for trading with the rest of the world.
It is made from silk worms.
Silk also makes “paper”

8. Silk worm

9. The Shang Dynasty (17th- 11th Century BC)

10. The Shang Dynasty Cradle of Chinese civilization Ruled by kings
Based on agriculture
Developed a writing system
High level of civilization: bronze workmanship
Ruled by kings
Cities were centers of glittering court life
Court rituals honoring ancestors
Slaves buried alive in royal tombs

11. Oracle Bones featured early writing Used to predict the future
Chinese writing evolved from pictographs.
Over 2000 different symbols

12. The Shang Dynasty are most remembered for their bronze castings.

13. The Zhou Dynasty (10th - 2nd Century BC)

14. The Zhou Dynasty Capital at Hao (near Xi’an) in Wei Valley
Ruled much of China north of Yangtze river
Extended Shang culture
Early rule: Feudal
Decentralized; control based on family ties

15. Later: City States
Central control over local governments
Impersonal political and economic institutions
Culture: philosophy, poetry and prose

16. The T’ein Ming (Mandate from Heaven)
Zhou dynasty claimed that it ruled because it possessed the T’ein Ming
It said
The leader must lead by ability and virtue
The dynasties leadership must be justified by succeeding generations
The mandate could be revoked by negligence and abuse, the will of the people was important

18. The Qin Dynasty ( BC)

19. The Qin Dynasty Achievements: Standardized language & Writing
Standardized currency
Standardized measurements
Public Works
Great Wall
Roads & Irrigation canals

20. The Terracotta Warriors
Terracotta sculptures depicting the army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang
There are over 8,000 soldiers, 130 Chariots and 150 Calvary sculptures
They were buried near the mausoleum of the emperor

21. The Great Wall of China
Construction was started by Emperor Qin Shi Huang
It stretches over 5,500 miles
Built to protect his empire from invading nomads – the Mongols
It also helped regulate trade – people had to pay taxes to go through
The great wall is the only man made object you can see from outer space

23. The Han Dynasty (206 BC – 225 AD)

24. The Han Dynasty Often seen as the golden age of China Achievements:
Modern Chinese refer to themselves as Han
Modern day Chinese is written in Han characters
Achievements:
Silk Road
Better Tools - Iron
Agriculture - Crop Rotation
Education
Paper and Porcelain

25. The Xin Dynasty (9-24 AD) Brief Interlude in the Han Dynasty
One Family Member had too much power
Introduced Imperial Seal

26. The Sui Dynasty (581-617 AD) Reunified China in 589
High Taxes and Compulsory Labor
Completion of the Grand Canal (connect Yellow and Yangtze/ Beijing to Hangzhou)
Campaign against Korea in the early 7th century
A lot of revolts and assassinations

27. Tang Dynasty ( )
High point of Chinese civilization (comparable to Han Dynasty)
Golden age of literature and art

28. India and Middle-East relations stimulated creativity
Buddhism (from India) was widely promoted (Confucius era)
Block printing was invented

29. Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) Mongolian Rule
Kublai Khan conquered the Song Dynasty
Established the Yuan dynasty
Moves capital to Beijing

30. Marco Polo visits Beijing
He was from Venice
Left for China in 1271
Arrived in 1290
His travels are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo
His book inspires others to travel the world including Christopher Columbus

31. Ming Dynasty ( )

32. It was founded after the Yuan dynasty collapsed
It was the last dynasty of ethnic Han Chinese
Ming Emperors lived in the Forbidden City

33. The Ming dynasty updated and completed the Great Wall

34. Zheng He Famous explorer from the Ming Empire
He sailed to India and Africa

35. Fall of the Ming
The Manchu – an indigenous group from northern China, renounced the sovereignty of the Ming Emperor
The Manchu conquer Mongolia and Korea before attacking China
They sack Beijing and slowly conquer the rest of China
They establish the Qing dynasty – the last dynasty of China

36. Feudal Japan

37. Japan’s Geography
Japan consists of four large islands and thousands of smaller ones
Japan has many mountains and little farmland.
It is 120 miles away from Korea and over 500 miles from China
Its isolation allowed for a unique culture to develop

38. Shinto Native religion of Japan Means “way of gods”
Each clan worshiped own kami (god/spirit)
Kami found in natural objects (trees)
People built shrines wherever felt the power of kami

39. Buddhism Buddhism arrived from China and Korea
Focused on meditation, self control and discipline
These beliefs influenced Bushido’s teachings on self discipline

40. Prince Shotoku Took power in 593 as leader of the Yamoto Clan
He adopted many Chinese practices
Wrote the Constitution of 17 Articles– based on the teachings of Buddhism and Confucianism

41. The Birth of the Emperor
After Prince Shotoku’s death Japan continued to develop
The Taiho Code
Officially made the Yamato Clan leader “emperor”
Included laws for the organization of government
Defined crimes and punishments

42. The Heian Period ( )
Japanese culture starts to become unique (separating itself from Chinese culture)
The capital was moved to Kyoto
Arts and Literature started to flourish

43. The Tale of Genji Considered to be the first novel in the world
It is about the romantic adventures of a prince named Genji
It was written by a woman named Murasaki Shikibu – she served the empress

44. Birth of Feudal Japan
In 1159, the Minamoto clan stormed the palace in Kyoto
Minamoto Yoritomo was the leader and he took the title of Shogun
A new social order was created.

46. Life under the Shoguns
Society was based off of holding land, loyalty and military service
Peasants worked the land for the lords and received protection
Samurai were charged with protecting the lords land and received land of their own and money

47. Samurai Followed the code of Bushido
Bushido means “the way of the warrior”
Stressed honor, self discipline

48. Life under the Shougun’s was difficult
Various lords (known as Daimyos) fought each other over land
This infighting lead to the “Warring States” period which lasted from

49. The Warring States Portuguese explorers arrive in Japan
They bring guns and Christianity to Japan
They wanted to establish trade with Japan

50. 2 Japanese leaders start to reunify Japan
Oda Nobunaga reconquers most of Japan
Toyotomi Hideyoshi becomes suspicious of the Europeans and orders/forces them out of Japan

51. Tokugawa Shogonate
Tokugawa Ieyasu was appointed Shogun by the Emperor to restore order
Established a 4 class system
Warriors
Farmers
Artisans
Merchants

52. All trade except with China was restricted to the city of Nagasaki
Christianity was forbidden
Japanese culture flourished – haiku poetry and kabuki theater develop
Japan would remain isolated until 1853 when they opened trade with the United States