1. Early Society in East Asia
Chapter 5

2. Political Organization in Early China

4. Early Agricultural Society and the Xia Dynasty
The Yellow River
Yanshao Society and Banpo Village
Xia Dynasty
made one of the first efforts to organize the public life
hereditary monarchical rule
dynasty founder was the sage king Yu
organized large public works projects (flood control) helped to est. a recognized authority and political institutions, promoted selflessness, social harmony and hard work
dynasty encouraged founding of cities and the development of metallurgy.
Erlitou may have been the capital
2920 miles
Huang-He=Yellow River
nickname “China’s Sorrow”, altered course and caused destruction
Loess soil is extremely fertile and easy to work
neolithic village
fine painted pottery and bone tools
as population increased settlements cropped up in the valley of the Yangzi River and Yellow River.
Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties emerge which were hereditary states that extended control over larger regions

5. Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think the Xia Dynasty promoted “selflessness, social harmony and hard work”?

6. The Shang Dynasty Bronze Metallurgy & Shang Political
Horse Drawn Chariots
Shang Political
Organization
The Shang
Capital at AO
Technology aids in Shang success
Bronze maybe used to beat their competitors
Chinese chariots similar to Indo-European
assigned gov’t craftsmen to create weaponry for Shang rulers and armies/no public creations w/bronze allowed
Used bronze for horse fittings
Imposed rule on agricultural villages
kings claimed agricultural surplus portions from regions they controlled to support military forces
Shang relied heavily on political allies
Not centralized authority but relied on a network of vast towns that recognized the authority of the Shang king
Others who shared agricultural surplus and who also influenced Shang policy include: advisors, ministers, craftsmen, and metalsmiths
Shang dynasty revolved around large cities, supposedly the dynastic capital moved 6 times.
Though each city chosen for military & political reasons
one of the earliest capitals
remarkable city wall (33ft high & 66ft thick)

7. Discussion Questions
2. What can you infer about Bronze in the Shang Dynasty?
3. Why do you think a non-Central authority worked for the Shang dynasty?

8. Beyond the Yellow River Valley
The Shang Dynasty
Shang Capital at Yin
The Tomb of Lady Fu Hao
Beyond the Yellow River Valley
capital during the last two or three centuries of Shang
had large palaces, written texts, residential neighborhoods, tombs for kings
tombs had sacrificial victims to go onto the afterlife with the kings
1/64 wives of Shang king Wu Ding (his favorite wife)
escaped notice of grave robbers
468 bronze objects, would have required 11 tons of ore, also jade figurines, cowrie shells, sacrificial humans and dogs
unlooted tomb shows the valuable resources that were available to the royal court.
while Xia and Shang ruled the Yellow River Valley other areas were ruled by contemporaries to those of the Shang Dynasty (ex. Sanxingdui)

9. Discussion Questions
4. Based on the tomb of Lady Fu Hao, what can you infer about the importance of her?

10. Political Organization
Zhou Dynasty
Rise of the Zhou
The Mandate of Heaven
Political Organization
the last Shang king gave himself up to many vices and resulted in the towns and political districts to change allegiance to the Zhou.
Zhou forces seized Shang capital of Yin, beheaded the king, and replaced administration
allowed Shang heirs to rule small districts but reserved the right to rule throughout the realm, mainly entrusted their relatives to the regions
In order to justify the disposition of the Shang, Zhou held an idea of heavenly powers granted the right to govern “mandate of heaven” to an esp.deserving individual known as the son of heaven
ruler served as a link between heaven and earth
duties: observe high standards, maintain order & harmony as long as he did this he would maintain control when disorder occurred he would be able to lose control.
Zhou was much larger than Shang
decentralized administration
entrusted power, authority and responsibility to subordinates who show allegiance, tribute and military support to central gov’t.
Zhou rulers sought to arrange marriages in order to strengthen ties to their political allies

11. Discussion Questions
5. Why do you think the Chinese Dynasties continued to have a decentralized rule?
6. Create a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the Egyptian leaders to the Chinese leaders.

12. Zhou Dynasty Weakening of the Zhou Iron Metallurgy
Technological developments worked in favor of subordinate rulers
Zhou controlled all uses for the creation of bronze
couldn’t control the entrance of iron metallurgy
subordinates moved quickly to est. ironworks and outfit their forces.
iron weapons allowed subordinates to resist the central gov’t and pursue their own interests
reasons for collapse: nomadic peoples invaded China during an ineffective king, territorial princes ignored central gov’t and used their resources to build, strengthen and expand their states
Period of Warring States ( bce)-period of violence where the Zhou Dynasty ended when the last king abdicated his position under pressure from his ambitious subordinate the king of Qin
subordinates gradually est. their own bases of power:
set up regional bureaucracies, armies, and tax systems
As they became more secure in their rule they also became more independent of the Zhou Dynasty
subordinates sometimes ignored their obligations to the Zhou

13. Discussion Questions
7. Of the reasons provided as to why the Zhou Dynasty ended, which do you think was mostly likely to have occurred and why?

14. Society and Family in Ancient China

15. free artisans and craftsmen in China worked for privileged classes
The Social Order
Ruling Elites
Specialized Labor
Merchants and Trade
little info on merchants and trade
linked trade networks to the W and S of China (Jade from Central Asia, chariots from Mesopotamia)
found Shang pottery from Mohenjo-Daro
King Yu invention of sails, used large oar-propelled vessels which helped to support the large fishing trade
Zhou dynasty shipbuilding emerged as a prominent business, mariners learned how to navigate their vessels by the stars and other heavenly bodies
families occupied the most honored positions in Chinese society (resided in palatial compounds, agricultural surplus, and taxes delivered)
ruling elites possessed much of the bronze weaponry which ensured military strength and political hegemony, and through the subordinates and retainers they controlled most of the remaining bronze weapons available in N China
free artisans and craftsmen in China
worked for privileged classes

16. Discussion Questions
8. What can we infer about the interactions we know about between Chinese dynasties?

17. The Social Order
Peasants
Slave
sizable class of slaves, enemy warriors captured during battle, performed hard labor
semi-servile peasants, owned no land but provided agricultural, military and labor services for their lords in exchange for plots of land to cultivate, security and a portion of the harvest.

18. Veneration of Ancestors Patriarchal Society Women’s Influence
Family and Patriarchy
Veneration of Ancestors
Patriarchal Society
Women’s Influence
believed spirits of ancestors passed into another existence where they could protect and support their surviving families if the descendants displayed proper respect and ministered to the spirits needs.
this led to a strong ethic of family solidarity
all family members had to work cooperatively toward common interests
vested authority in elderly males
Chinese men gained public authority by virtue of the female line of descent
vested authority in elderly males
Chinese men gained public authority by virtue of the female line of descent

19. Discussion Question
9. How are the ideas of Family and Patriarchy still in existence in today’s Chinese society?

20. Early Chinese Writing and Cultural Development

21. Oracle Bones and Early Chinese Writing
principal instruments used by ancient Chinese
heated, developed splits and cracks, fortune tellers studied the patterns of the splits and cracks and determined the answer to the question inscribed on the bone.
most come from royal archives, questions posed clearly reveal the day to day concerns
oracle bones offer earliest glimpse into Chinese writing
pictographic, sometimes pictographic to ideographic

22. Discussion Questions
10. Why do you think Oracle Bones were so important to the royals of Chinese society?

23. Thought and Literature in Ancient China
Destruction of Early
Chinese Literature
Zhou Literature
Book of Songs
Book of Changes= foretelling instruction manual
Book of History=book of history that justified the Zhou state and called for subjects to obey their overlords
Book of Etiquette aka Book of Rites=art of polite behavior
aka Book of Poetry aka Book of Odes
traditions of Early Zhou, some poems had political implications
verses about life, love, family, friendship, eating drinking, work, play, nature, daily life that offer reflections on human affairs without particular concerns for political or social conditions
books fell victim to human enemies
Qin dynasty ordered destruction of all Zhou writing
kept those on divination, agricultural but destroyed those on poetry, history and philosophy, feared that it might inspire doubts about Qin gov’t or encourage the mind

24. Discussion Questions
11. What can you infer about all the creation of “Books” in the Zhou Dynasty?

25. Chinese cultivators and Nomadic Peoples of Central Asia
Steppe Nomads
Nomadic Society
nomadic societies of central Asia helped to link agricultural societies of the East and West Asia
tense relations, posed a threat to northern and western regions of China
pastoral societies located N and W of China
not really suitable for agriculture or settlement

26. The Southern Expansion of Chinese Society
The Yangzi Valley
State of Chu
Chinese influence spread to the north, south and west through migration and assimilation
supports more intensive agriculture than in the Yellow River
aka as the Long River
agricultural surpluses and growing populations led to the emergence of cities, states and complex societies in the Yangzi and Yellow River valley
autonomous and challenged Zhou for supremacy
adopted Chinese political and social traditions and writing

27. Discussion Questions
Why did the State of Chu become a powerful dynasty like Xia, Shang and Zhou?