1. Chapter 5 Section 1 Ancient World
Geography of China’s River valley

2. The Chinese Dragon
A respected spirit, and a friendly beast that brought good luck.
Responsible for the rains that made the fields fertile. 1

3. Dragon Rain Ceremony

4. Climate of North China Plain
Short, but intense, rainy season brought on by the monsoon winds.
Remainder of the year is very dry 2

5. Climate of Southeast China
In the south it is warm and wet
Monsoons from South China Sea bring heavy rains from March to September
Light rains the rest of the year. 2

6. The Middle Kingdom
Mountains and seas separated China from the other great civilizations of Egypt, Rome, Greece etc.
Chinese saw themselves as the center of the world and called themselves the Middle kingdom. 3

7. Civilizations along Rivers
Why did early civilizations in China arise along rivers?
China’s rivers overflowed and brought rich topsoil to the land.
Topsoil called Loess 4

8. The Forbidden City

9. The Chang River (Yangtze)5
Longest river in China and third longest in the world.

10. The 2nd longest river in China
The Huang River ( Yellow River) 6
The 2nd longest river in China

11. Huang River

12. Grain crop of The North China Plain
Millet - Gluten-free with a slightly nutty flavor 7

13. China’s Sorrow
When the Huang floods it can kill millions of people
Flooding is controlled by a system of Dikes
The build up of Loess (silt), has caused the river bottom to rise above the surrounding land in some areas.
8 & 9

14. Loess Plateau is Shaded
Highly erosion-prone soil

15. The Huang valley
Farming began in the Huang valley around 5,000 years ago. 10

16. The Shang Dynasty
Dynasty - A series of rulers from the same family or ethnic group.
Arose around 1760 B.C.
Built China’s first cities
Produced fine bronze work
Produced the first Chinese system of writing. (Written language the same even though there are many different languages.)
11& 12

17. Turtle shell showing one of the earliest examples of Chinese writing.
Bronze wine vessel from the Shang dynasty

18. The Zhou Dynasty Conquered the Shang Dynasty about 1122B.C.
Ruled for almost 1,000 years
The Qin took over China after the Zhou Dynasty
Mandate of Heaven - Chinese believed that rulers came to power because it was their destiny.
13 & 14

19. Chinese Families 15 More important than the individual or nation
The extended family was the norm. As many as five generations lived together.
How does this compare to American families today? 15

20. Nuclear Family
a woman and/or husband and dependent children 16

21. Extended Family
A family consisting of parents and children, along with either grandparents, grandchildren, aunts or uncles.
Most common in ancient China. 16

22. Chinese Family Authority
Age and sex determined status
Oldest man had most power
He decided who his children and grandchildren would marry.
He punished disrespectful children
Upon his death his land was divided among his sons
18 & 19

23. Women in Early China 20 &21 Considered of lower status than men.
Were bound by three obediences.
Obey their fathers in youth
Their husbands in marriage
Their sons in widowhood
Guided by four virtues. Morality
proper speech
modesty
domestic skills
20 &21

24. Family Names 22 Some common family names are Mao, Chan and Lu
In China the family name is spoken first followed by your first name.
For example: Thomas Jefferson would be Jefferson Thomas. 22