1. From River Civilization to Isolation
CHINESE CIVILIZATION
From River Civilization to Isolation

2. Between which two rivers is the heartland of China found?

3. China’s Sorrow River Systems Environmental Challenges
Yellow River
Yangtze River
Environmental Challenges
Floods
Geographic isolation
Invasions from the west and north
China’s Heartland
North China Plain
Remained center of civilization throughout time

4. The Dynastic Cycle Chinese Dynasties and Empires
The Hsia Dynasty, BC
The Shang Dynasty, BC
The Chou, BC
The Han Dynasty, 206 BC-220 AD
Period of Disunion, 220 AD-618 AD
Tang Dynasty, 618 AD-907 AD
Sung Dynasty, 969 AD-1279AD
Yuan Dynasty, 1279 AD-1368 AD
Ming Dynasty, 1368 AD-1644 AD
Qing Dynasty, 1644 AD-1912 AD

5. The First Dynasties Xia (Hsia) Little archaeological evidence exists
2000 BC
Flood control & irrigation systems
Society to civilization
Little archaeological evidence exists
No written record – largely myth
Which brings up an interesting point…

6. “History is not about facts, it is about cultural memory, which means that what a culture believes its history to be is as important, or even more important, than the ‘facts…’”

7. Yin, the Capital of the Shang Dynasty for 300 years.
The First Dynasties
Shang BC
First written records
Creation of walled cities
Early cities
Social stratification
Warring culture
City-states
China is NOT unified at this point in history
Yin, the Capital of the Shang Dynasty for 300 years.

8. The Development of “a” Culture
What are the benefits and drawbacks of the belief that the group is more important than the individual?

9. The Development of Culture
Family
Social Classes
Religious Beliefs
The Development of Writing
Zhou (Chou) Dynasty
1027 BC-256 BC
The Dynastic Cycle

10. The Great Wall
Would a ruler who followed Confucian or Daoist ideas have built the Great Wall?

11. The Unification of China
Confucius and The One Hundred Schools ( BC)
Filial piety = respect for the family and ancestors
Government bureaucracy
Confucius’ goals was to reform government so it could better take care of the welfare of the people
Daoism
Legalism
Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty
3rd Century BC

12. The Heart of China
Why was agriculture considered the most important and honored occupation in Chinese culture?

13. Han Emperors in China 200 BC- 220 AD Centralized Government
Highly Structured Society
Technology & Commerce
Unification
assimilation

14. What inventions have had the greatest impact on society?
Modern Inventions
What inventions have had the greatest impact on society?

15. Tang and Song China Tang Dynasty Song Dynasty 589AD Expansion of China
Muslim invasions
Chaos
Song Dynasty AD
Prosperity and innovation
Golden Age
Changes in Chinese society

16. What are the benefits and drawbacks of isolationism?
Chinese Exploration
What are the benefits and drawbacks of isolationism?

17. Early Modern China The Rise of the Ming Manchus found the Qing Dynasty
1368 AD- 1644
Manchus found the Qing Dynasty
1644 AD- 1911