1. Ancient Chinese Civilization
Chapter 4
Pages

2. Geographic and Cultural Influences
The Physical Setting
China is very large with lots of variety
Mountains
West, Northwest, Southwest
Desert
North
Open Plain
Southeast
Coastline
East / Southeast

3. Major Rivers of China

4. Geographic and Cultural Influences
The Physical Setting
Different Regions
Qinling Mountains – run across China from West to East
Separates two main rivers
Divides China into North and South
Northern China
Shorter growing season
Wheat main crop
More extreme temperatures
Southern China
Rice Main crop
Milder temperatures
Longer growing season

5. Geographic and Cultural Influences
Physical Setting
Heart of China is called China Proper
Main River Systems
Huang – called Yellow River because of its loess
Soil that has a yellow tint
Also called China’s sorrow because of devastating floods
Chang
Over 3,400 miles long Xi
Southern China
Throughout China’s history it has controlled entire region at one time or another

6. Geographic and Cultural Influences
China’s Isolation
Had the least cultural diffusion of any ancient civilization
Mainly due to geographic location
Gave them strong sense of identity and superiority
Referred to themselves as Zhongguo or Middle Kingdom
Thought they were the only truly civilized people

7. The Shang Dynasty

8. The Shang Dynasty Two mythical theories of ancient belief
Man named Pagu awoke from 18,000 years of sleep to create the universe
Yu drained floodwaters so people could live in China
Establish line of kings
Line of kings called Xia
However is came to pass Ancient China started on the Yellow / Huang River and they were called the Xia
Invaded by Shang people, they started the first Chinese Dynasty(video)

9. The Shang Dynasty Government and Culture
Moved their capital several times
Created a complete Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy – government with different levels and responsibilities
Had an advanced military
Chariots
Bronze weapons

10. The Shang Dynasty Economy and handicrafts
Economy based mainly on agriculture
Millet and rice
Made silk from silkworms
Bone crafts, ivory and jade
Established foundations for later ceramic art
Learned how to use white clay (kaolin) and they would glaze it to make it stronger

11. The Shang Dynasty Astronomy and calendars Used two calendars Solar
Used for planting
Adjusted by priest off of the lunar calendar
Important to king
He got his popularity from the type of harvest
Lunar
Personal events

12. The Shang Dynasty Religion Believed in animism and ancestor worship
Spirits indwelled in everything
Believed in an all powerful dragon that lived in the sea
Became the kings symbol
Also worshipped the sun, wind, clouds and moon
Some had festivals to honor them
Believed on one main god called Shangdi who controlled everything
Priest used oracle bones to determine dream interpretations

13. The Shang Dynasty Language and Writing Spoke many dialects
Early forms of writing were pictographs
Later developed into ideographs
Two parts
Idea sign
Phonetic sign
Developed into modern calligraphy

14. The Shang Dynasty Fall of the Shang
People began to migrate towards China Proper
Shang had to defend its borders against these invaders
Eventually the Zhou would align with others neighboring peoples
The Zhou justified their overthrow by saying that the Shang were corrupt
This would be a pattern for future overthrows in China

15. Zhou Dynasty

16. Zhou Dynasty Zhou Dynasty 1050 B.C.
No centralized government, gave control to members of royal family
Believed God in heaven would determine who would rule China
Mandate of Heaven
Leaders began losing control
They were being attacked from outside invaders
False alarms occurred about capital city being attacked
Later a force actually did attack, no one came to help
Capital destroyed in 771 B.C. – became warring states

17. Warring States

18. Qin Dynasty One of the Warring States began to win (video)
State of Ch'in (Qin)
Cheng was the leader
Titled himself Shih Huang Ti (1st emperor)
Lasted 15 Years, but many changes
Name for China came from Qin
Established Autocracy (all power with emperor)
Built walls to protect themselves, once connected would be Great Wall of China (video)
Liu Bang would eventually conquer the emperor and start the Han Dynasty

19. Qin Dynasty

20. Han Dynasty Chinese have called themselves Han ever since
Longest ruling emperor was Liu Ch’e
Commonly known as Wu Ti
Civil Service System
Han established a centralized civil service system to govern China (day to day business)
Had a system of examinations to select the best for the job
Theoretically it was open to anyone
Really only people with money for training could get in the program
Video

21. Han Dynasty Other Accomplishments
Used process called leveling to help out in bad agricultural times
Use of price controls to help the economy
Expanded area through military outpost cities
Developed Silk Road for trade (video)
Population grew to about 50 million during Han
Lasted until 220 A.D.

22. Han Dynasty

23. Philosophies of Ancient China
Philosophers in the Zhou dynasty were trying to harmonize the country
Believed two force were at work
Developed into concept of dualism
Yin – female, dark, passive
Yang – male, bright, active
Not in conflict, but interdependent
Lead to a further belief that extremes do not last
Extremely modern for the time in which they lived

24. Symbol of the Yin Yang
Yin Yang shows the balance between the Yin and Yang
Came of study of the stars
See next slide for astronomical deductions

25. Symbol of the Yin Yang

26. Philosophies of Ancient China
Confucius and Laozi
Confucius was the leading philosopher of the times
Teachings came from Analects
His teaching would eventually become Confucianism
Taught importance of family, respect, respect for elders, and respect of ancestry
Sought to end political disorder of the time
Not concerned with life, death and life after death
Concerned with political and social ideas
Taught that people should accept roles and perform duties
Taught only virtuous and moral leaders should be in office
Taught people had a right to rebel against harsh or unjust rulers
Mencius was the most influenced person of the time by Confucius
Video

28. Philosophies of Ancient China
Confucius and Laozi
Daoism
Founded by Laozi
Dao is defined as the way
Described as a force that governed the universe and nature
Shunned politics
Appealed to many peasants because it dealt with natural forces

29. Philosophies of Ancient China
Legalism and Buddhism
Qin dynasty was the most legalistic
Probably the reason for its failure
Han Dynasty adopted many but not all of the legalities
Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism all were prevalent in Ancient China (video)

30. Chinese Life and Culture
Family and Social Life
Each family kept a detailed genealogy (family tree)
Respect, honor, and family name were very important to Chinese
Many generations would live in the same house
Women had very few rights, but were very well respected

31. Chinese Life and Culture
Economy
Mostly agricultural
Trade not a significant factor
Arts and Sciences
Five Classics (books)
Used to train civil servants
Book of History – government
Book of Changes – predicting future
Book of Rites – ceremonies and manners
Spring and Autumn Annals – history of city-state of Lu
Book of Poems – poems

32. Chinese Life and Culture
Science and Technology
Discovered the year was slightly longer than 365 days
Came up with system to fix it (Leap Year)
Observed sun spots
Developed a system to track planet movements
Invented paper
Learned how to dye cloth
Learned how to glaze pots
Developed herbal and mineral medicines