2. The Land of China Huang He River Valley Powerful Rivers “Yellow River”
2,900 miles long
Rich, yellow soil: Loess
Creates fertile land for farmers
Often floods; enormous floods
“China’s Sorrow”

3. The Land of China (cont.)
People moved south
Chang Jiang River, or Yangtze River
Almost 4,000 miles long
Also provided rich soil; rice
Major transportation way
trade

4. The Land of China (cont.)
Mountains and Desert
Only 1/10th of China’s land is farmable
Several mountain ranges: Himalaya, Kunlun Shan, and Tian Shan
Desert: Gobi
Both acted as barriers; limited contact between China and other civilizations
“Middle Kingdom”

5. Pictures of China

6. Pictures of China

7. Pictures of China

8. Pictures of China

9. Pictures of China

10. Pictures of China

11. First Chinese Dynasty Why did China’s Shang rulers become powerful?
Myths and Legends
Created myths to explain creation of their world
Celebrated deeds of great heroes
Yu the Great
Chased away dragon that created floods
dug channels to control floods
Aided by other dragons
Took 13 years
Founded China’s first dynasty; named it Xia
Historians have found no evidence of this dynasty
Written records state the first dynasty was the Shang (1750 BC – 1045 BC)

12. Shang Dynasty Royal capital, Anyang King most powerful Aristocrats
Palace, temple in center
Public buildings and homes of gov’t officials surrounded
King most powerful
Political, religious, and military leader
Appointed warlords to govern local territories

13. Shang Dynasty (cont.) Worshipped many gods
Shang Ti, supreme god
Gods were admired and feared
Could bring good or bad fortune
Offered gifts of food and other goods
Honored their ancestors (long dead family members)
Seeking Guidance from Ancestors
Shang kings believed they got their power from ancestors
Religion and Government closely linked
Oracle
Priests heated bones to find answers

14. Shang Dynasty (cont.) Pictographs: characters that represent objects
Ideographs: link two or more pictographs to express an idea
Shang Arts
bronze; used molds of clay
Silk; for the wealthy
Vases, dishes; kaolin
Jade sculptures

15. Zhou Dynasty: China’s Longest Dynasty
Wu Wang
Helped overthrow the last of the Shang rulers
Ruled for over 800 years (longest in Chinese history)
How did Zhou rule?
King led gov’t; assisted by Bureaucracy
King created strong army to obtain weaker kingdoms
Kingdom too large
Aristocrats assigned to govern local territories
Positions were hereditary
Zhou claimed Mandate of Heaven

16. Zhou Dynasty: China’s Longest Dynasty (cont.)
Mandate of Heaven
Chinese believed king’s right to rule
Gods chose a wise and good person to rule
Will rule honestly and well
Changed what Zhou people expected from king
King must rule by proper “Dao” (Way)
Duty was to honor and please the gods
Natural disasters meant king had failed and could be replaced

17. Zhou Dynasty: China’s Longest Dynasty (cont)
Technology and Trade
Chinese learned new systems of irrigation
Better water supply allowed more crops than ever
Trade expands; central Asia and Greece
War Between the States
Aristocrats grew more powerful; ignored king
Began fighting each other
War lasted over 200 years
“Period of the Warring States”

18. Society and Culture in Ancient China
Period of Warring States brought too much death.
Chinese Philosophies
Confucianism
Daoism
Legalism
All had the same goal: create a well- run and peaceful society.

19. Society and Culture in Ancient China (cont.)
Confucius
Born to farming family (550 BC)
Criticized misrule of kings
Urged people to follow beliefs of ancestors
Would bring peace and harmony to China
Confucianism
Duty is central
Needs of family and community come before self
If duties fulfilled, society would do well
According to Confucius:
Be good
Behave moderately
Keep promises
Honor traditions
Respect elderly
Seek knowledge

20. Society and Culture in Ancient China (cont.)
Influence of Confucius
Golden Rule
Gov’t service should be open to all subjects; not just nobility
Over time, civil service test developed
Analects: collections of Confucius sayings
Teachings spread throughout China until early 1900s

21. Philosophy of Daoism Promoted peaceful society
Dao means “path” (The Way)
Laozi
Lived same time as Confucius
Believed that people should free themselves from worldly desires and live simply.
Return to nature; enjoy happy life

22. Daoism vs. Confucianism
People should work hard to make the world better
Turn away from worldly affairs an live in harmony with nature.
Many follow both! They believe two philosophies support each other

23. Philosophy of Legalism
Stressed the importance of system of laws
Hanfeizi
Introduced Legalism around 200s BC
Believed humans were naturally evil
Strict laws and punishments necessary
Legalism supported; emphasized force
Did not require rulers to consider needs of people

24. Chinese Life Four Social Classes Farmers Aristocrats
Wealthy; owned land (estates)
Male heirs inherited family’s land
Farmers
90% of population
Rented fields
Taxes; work one month on public works projects
Serve as soldiers

25. Chinese Life (cont.) Artisans and Merchants
-crafted iron tools and weapons, silk cloth, vessels
-skills taught by fathers, passed down to sons
-some merchants became wealthy; not respected
-believed merchants worked for gain, not betterment of society.
-merchants barred from gov’t jobs

26. Chinese families Center of society All members helped with farming
Filial piety: son/daughter’s responsibility to respect and obey parents
-also required them to take care of them when they grew older
Head of the household first
Respect for parents, elderly central to Confucianism

27. Chinese families (cont.)
Roles of Men and Women
Men respected because of their jobs
Considered more important than work done by women
Women raised children, saw to their education
Maintained family finances, took care of household.

28. The Qin and the Han Dynasties
Qin Emperor
Defeated the Zhou Dynasty
Declared himself “First Qin Emperor”
Wanted to unify China
Only emperor could appoint governors
Censors
Writings and speech limited
Created a currency
Simplified rules for writing
Building projects
Terra Cotta soldiers
canals

29. The Qin and the Han Dynasties (cont.)
The Great Wall
Qin wanted to keep empire safe from invasion
Joined previous walls to keep out nomadic tribes
End of Qin Rule
Aristocrats, farmers rebelled shortly after Qin death

30. Han Rulers Liu Bang Family ruled China for over 400 years Han Wudi
First strong emperor
Ended practice of hereditary positions
Recruited for civil service
Workers selected based on performance on test
Candidates recommended from scholars and officials
System raised quality of govt
System favored rich due to education availability.

31. Han Rulers (cont.) Education Empire Expands Peace for almost 150 years
Schools created to prepare for civil service test
Studied law, history and ideas of Confucius
Passing exam brought gov’t jobs, respect
Empire Expands
Population rises to about 60 million
Need more food; farms
Generational division of land; small estates
Unable to grow enough food for own family
Tenant farmers; poor
Peace for almost 150 years

32. Han Rulers (cont.) Chinese Inventions Han Culture Literature, art
Artists create works for less prominent families
Ideas of Confucius gained influence
Filial piety
Chinese Inventions
Cast-iron plow
Iron tools: drained land, redirect water
Waterwheel, wheelbarrow
Silk, paper
RUDDER, SAILING IMPROVEMENT

33. On the Silk Road Trade grows throughout Han dynasty Exploration West
Han Wudi sends Zhang Qian
Goal was to recruit new allies
Qian returns 13 years later; no allies
Learned great deal about western kingdoms; horses
Traded for horses; silk, spices, luxury goods
Later named Silk Road

34. On the Silk Road (cont.) Buddhism Reaches China Trade Expands
Network of roads; dangerous and difficult
China encounters other civilizations; Roman Empire
Chinese connection to Europe for 1000 years
Buddhism Reaches China
Emperors of Han dynasty were weak, dishonest
Corrupt officials; greedy aristocrats
Rebellion destroys capital city Luoyang in AD 190
Civil War divided China for next 400 years
Buddhist ideas influence Chinese people