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Ancient China Creativity Session Presenter’s Name
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Ancient River Valley Civilizations – China Vocabulary
Jade Oracle Lords Peasants Ethics Confucianism Daoism Legalism
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Geography of Ancient China:
Nearly 4 million square miles Separates China: Gobi Desert – North Low-lying plains – East; form one of world’s largest farming regions Pacific Ocean Himalayas – West Plateau of Tibet – Southwest Qinling Shandi – Moutain range that separates northern China from southern China
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Geography of Ancient China:
Two great rivers flow from east to west in China: Huang He (Yellow River) Nearly 3,000 miles River often floods – leave behinds silt Sometimes called China’s Sorrow Millions have died due to floods
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Chang Jiang (Yangzi River)
Flows from the mountains of Tibet to the Pacific Ocean Longest river in Asia Two rivers helped link people in the eastern part of country with those in the west Mountains between the rivers limited contact
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6-1.3 Ancient China Notes Farming started along the Huang He and Chang Jiang Rivers Silt deposits from the rivers’ floods made the land ideal for growing crops Farmers grew rice along the Chang Jiang Farmers grew cereal such as millet and wheat along the Huang He Fished, hunted, domesticated animals **Led to population growth**
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6-1.3 Ancient China Notes Chinese Life
Houses – partly underground and may have had straw-covered roofs Animal pens, storage pits, and a cemetery Some villages grew into large towns Walls surrounded towns to defend them Left artifacts such as arrowheads, fishhooks, tools, and pottery, pieces of cloth Separate cultures in southern and northern China Sanxingdui and Hongshan peoples Little is known about them After 3000 BC, people used potter’s wheels to make more types of pottery Also learned to dig water wells Burial sites have provided information about the culture – filled tombs with objects Often graves held beautiful jewelry and objects made from jade
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6-1.3 Ancient China Notes Chinese Dynasties
Xia: BC, little is known about this dynasty According to ancient stories: a series of kings ruled early China 2200 BC, Yu the Great founded the Xia dynasty Yu dug channels to drain flood waters to the ocean – said to have created the major waterways of north China No evidence yet that the tales are true
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6-1.3 Ancient China Notes Shang: first dynasty with much evidence
Chinese Dynasties Shang: first dynasty with much evidence 1500s BC northern China Social Order 1st - Royal Family 2nd – Nobles 3rd – Warrior Leaders 4th – Artisans 5th – Farmers 6th - Slaves
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6-1.3 Ancient China Notes Advances:
China’s first writing system – the Chinese symbols used today are based on those of the Shang period Oracles – wrote questions on bones or shells then heated them to cause them to crack, then “read” the cracks to predict the future; called oracle bones Artisans made beautiful bronze containers for cooking and religious ceremonies Axes, knives, and ornaments from jade Military developed war chariots, powerful bows, and bronze body armor Shan astrologers developed a calendar based on the cycles of the moon
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6-1.3 Ancient China Notes Chinese Dynasties Zhou Dynasty 1100s BC
Overthrew Shang Lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history Zhou kings claimed to possess mandate of heaven: heaven gave power to the king or leader, and no one ruled without heaven’s permission. If a king was found to be bad, heaven would support another leader.
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Chinese Dynasties Zhou Dynasty Social Order Established order
Helped rule far areas Eventually led to local rulers gaining power and rejecting kings
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6-1.3 Ancient China Notes Chinese Dynasties Decline 481 BC:
Many lords loyalty to the king lessened; many refused to fight against invasions 481 BC: Warring States Period Lords fighting against each other Armies grew Fighting within small families, especially upper class China fell into a period of disorder
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6-1.3 Ancient China Notes In Addition…. Decline
Sons plotted against each other over inheritances A Wealthy father sometimes tried to maintain peace by dividing his land among his sons, but this created new problems Each son could build up his wealth and then challenge his brothers Some sons even killed their own fathers During the Warring States period, China lacked a strong government to stop the power struggles within the ruling-class families.
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Confucius Natural World Laozi Human World
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