1. Section Three: Early Chinese Civilizations

2. River Valley Civilizations

3. I. The Geography of China
Huang He or Yellow River, 2,900 miles long
Mongolia
Chang Jiang, 3,400 mile long river
Yellow Sea

5. The Geography of China
Only 10% of land can be used for agriculture
Forbidding features isolated the Chinese

6. II. The Shang Dynasty
*Historians of China have traditionally dated the beginning of Chinese civilization to the founding of the Xia Dynasty over 4000 years ago
Little is known about the dynasty

7. The Shang Dynasty Shang Dynasty (1750 to 1122 B.C.)
Aristocracy – an upper class whose wealth is based on land & whose power is passed on from one generation to another (p.89)

9. A. Political & Social Structures
King & aristocratic warlords
Strong central government
Ritual sacrifices, corpses placed in king’s tomb

10. B. Religion & Culture under the Shang
Supernatural forces
Priests read oracle bones

11. Religion & Culture under the Shang
Most of the Shang were peasants
“ancestor worship”, could bring good or bad fortune
Bronze objects

12. Ancestral Rites
Shang bronzes are one of the great cultural achievements of the ancient world. One reason for the unusual quality of Shang bronze work is the method of casting used. Clay molds made in several sections were tightly fitted together before the liquid bronze was poured. This technique enabled artisans to apply their designs directly to the mold. In this way they could use intricate motifs in a rich surface decoration.
Read the excerpt on pages 90–91 of your textbook and answer the questions on the following slides.

13. III. The Zhou Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty lasted for almost 900 years (1122 to 256 B.C.), making it the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history

15. A. Political Structure
Continued Shang political structure & royal duties
Expanded bureaucracy

16. B. The Mandate of Heaven
*Mandate of Heaven – claim by Chinese kings of the Zhou dynasty that they had direct authority from heaven to rule & to keep order in the universe (91)

17. The Mandate of Heaven
King expected to be virtuous, rule with goodness & efficiency
Dao – “Way”, the key to proper behavior under Confucianism (p.92)

18. C. The Fall of the Zhou Dynasty
Later rulers weak & corrupt
Civil war broke out in 403 B.C.

20. D. Life During the Zhou Dynasty
Warfare, armies used iron weapons & divided into infantry & cavalry
Peasants worked the land
Artisans, merchants & slaves

21. E. Economic & Technological Growth
Silk
Crossbow
Iron plows & large scale water works

22. F. The Family in Ancient China
Filial piety – the duty of family members to subordinate their needs & desires to those of the male head of the family, a concept important in Confucianism (p.93)
Men dominated Chinese society

23. The Family in Ancient China
Men governed society & were warriors & scholars
Women raised children & stayed at home

24. G. The Chinese Written Language
Pictographic, picture symbols, called characters
Ideographic, combine two or more pictographs

26. IV. The Chinese Philosophies
Confucianism, Daoism & Legalism

27. Confucius
Buddha

28. A. Confucianism
Confucianism – the system of political & ethical ideas formulated by the Chinese philosopher Confucius toward the end of the Zhou dynasty; it was intended to help restore order to a society that was in a state of confusion (p.95)
Government should be open to all men with superior talent

30. Two elements stand out in the Confucian view of the Dao: duty & humanity
1. Concept of duty meant that all people had to subordinate their own interests to the broader needs of the family & the community
*2. Humanity consists of a sense of compassion & empathy for others

31. B. Daoism
Daosim – a system of ideas based on the teachings of Laozi; teaches that the will of Heaven is best followed through inaction so that nature is allowed to take its course (p.96)

32. C. Legalism
Legalism – a popular philosophy developed in China toward the end of the Zhou dynasty; it proposes that human beings are evil by nature & can only be brought to the correct path by harsh laws (p.97)

34. Section Four: Rise & Fall of Chinese Empires

35. I. The Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 B.C.)
Qin Shihuangdi, ruler of the Qin, “the First Qin Emperor”

37. A. Changes under the Qin Dynasty
Qin dynasty adopted legalism
Regime – the government in power (p.99)
Imprisoned or executed opponents
Burned books

38. Changes under the Qin Dynasty
*Central bureaucracy was divided into 3 parts:
1. civil division
2. the military division
3. the censorate

39. Changes under the Qin Dynasty
*Censorate – part of the Chinese bureaucracy that made sure government officials were doing their jobs (p.99)

40. Changes under the Qin Dynasty
Qin Shihuangdi unified the Chinese world.
*He created a single monetary system & ordered the building of a system of roads throughout the entire empire

42. B. The Great Wall
Xiongnu, a nomadic people that resided in the vicinity of the Gobi
Great Wall of China, system of walls to keep out the nomads (Xiongna)

44. C. The Fall of the Qin Dynasty
Harsh rule angered many people
Dynasty fell in 206 B.C.

45. II. The Han Dynasty (202 – A.D. 220)
Han Dynasty, emerged in 202 B.C.
*Liu Bang, founder of the Han Dynasty
Man of peasant origin

46. Liu Bang
kongming.net/novel/ han/liubang.php

48. A. Political Structure
The first Han emperor discarded the harsh policies of the Qin dynasty.
*Confucian principles, rather then Legalism, soon became the basis for the creation of a new state philosophy

49. Political Structure
Han rulers continued the Qin system of choosing government officials on the basis of merit rather than birth
Introduced the civil service examination & established a school to train these candidates

50. B. Expansion of the Empire
Han Wudi, added land to the south
South China Sea

51. C. Society in the Han Empire
Free peasants suffered during Han period
Military service & forced labor were required
Farmland shrank

52. D. Technology in the Han Empire
*Textile manufacturing, water mills for grinding grain & iron casting
Paper was developed
*Invention of the rudder & fore-and-aft rigging, ships could sail into the wind for the first time

54. Papermaking in Han China

55. D. Technology in the Han Empire
Travel throughout the islands of Southeast Asia & into the Indian Ocean
Lead to major expansion of trade

56. E. The Fall of the Han Empire
Pleasure weakened the government
Peasant revolts
Civil wars

57. III. Culture in Qin & Han China
Achievement of the Qin period
*Digging a well in 1974, farmers discovered a vast army made of terra-cotta (hardened clay)