1. SOTW Chapter 10 The far east ancient china
1776 – 1122 B.C.

2. The Far East Where is china?
Why was China called the Far East? To the Mesopotamians it was the edge of the world. See distance on map from Fertile Crescent/Assyria to China.
The Far East

3. The first people of china
Lived between the Yellow River and Yangtze River
Land was fertile there (like the Fertile Crescent) so people grew types of grain called rice
Where did the first people of China live? Between the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers
The farmers grew a different kind of grain called rice.
Rice grows well in very wet soil.

4. How was rice planted in ancient china?
Once the Yellow River flooded, people rolled up their pants and waded into the ankle-deep water.
Rice plants were moved from a special bed into the fields where they could grow larger.
Water was very cold!
People’s hands and feet would go numb, their backs hurt and they were covered in mud.
See essay question answers above: Describe how rice was planted in Ancient China.

5. First leader to unite Chinese villages
Huang Di
Not very many facts about him or his rule
Huang Di was the first great leader of China who united the small villages into one empire…TRUE
Why don’t we know many facts about the first great leader of China? There are no written records about his empire.

6. Legend of Empress Lei Zu
Empress Lei Zu was having lunch in her garden under mulberry trees when a cocoon fell into her tea. She picked it up and it began to unravel. She began to examine the tiny, thin thread that the moth was wrapped in…and thus the began the use of these threads to make silk.
Empress Lei Zu discovered a way to make SILK.
The mulberry tree was important to the Chinese. TRUE
How did Lei Zu discover the new kind of fabric? A cocoon fell into her tea cup.

8. Hundreds of years later…
T’ang came to power.
His family would rule the Yellow River Valley for the next 500 years!
They were the first DYNASTY – one family keeping control of a country for many years.
A DYNASTY is when one family rules one country for many years.
How long did the Shang dynasty rule? About 500 years

9. The Shang dynasty developed…
Bronze
Weapons, tools, wheels
They didn’t rot like wooden tools.
Archaeologists have discovered bronze chariots, weapons, farming tools which has uncovered information about the Shang dynasty.
The Shang dynasty developed…
During the rule of the Shang family, the Chinese began to use BRONZE.

10. The shang also developed…
Pictograms
The Shang carved pictograms into bones and bronze plaques…so we have a written record of their dynasty.
“Picto” means picture; “gram” means writing so their writing looked like pictures.
The shang also developed…
The Shang family used a kind of writing in which the words looked like pictures.
The Chinese used a special kind of writing called pictograms.

13. Farming in Ancient china
Farmers grew rice and raised animals like pigs, chickens and cows.
What kind of animals did farmers in China raise? Pigs, chickens and cows

14. Who was Chin?
Allow students to retell legend of Chin…seven year old boy who helps his father in the rice fields.
Chin’s job helping his father in the rice fields was very difficult.
In the story, It was the child’s duty to make sure the father had everything he needed in the morning.

15. Ancient China – 1766 to 1122
The Shang Dynasty in China had much to do.
Used bronze, silk, farmed and wrote,
Rode down the Yellow River on their boat.