Overview of Ancient China

China’s Geography  China is a large country with a varied landscape.

 The heart of China is dominated by its two major rivers, the Huang He and Chang (Yangtze).

 The Huang He is also called the Yellow River because is carries yellow soil called loess. It flows 2,900 miles across China before it empties into the Yellow Sea.

 The Huang He is also called “China’s Sorrow” because of the flooding it can bring.

 The Chang or Yangtze River is Asia’s longest at 3,434 miles long. It is an important trade route.

 China’s most fertile land in in the east – the North China Plain and the Manchurian Plain. Manchurian Plain

 Much of the rest of China is dry – the Plateau of Tibet, the Gobi Desert, and the Taklimakan Desert.

 Because of China’s huge size, rugged mountains, and harsh deserts, it was difficult to invade.

 Invaders usually came from the north – from areas such as Mongolia and Manchuria.  Later the Chinese will build the Great Wall to keep out the invaders.

Great Wall statistics…  4,160 miles long!  It’s only 3,610 miles from New York City to Paris, France.  It’s only 3,095 miles from San Francisco, California to Boston, Mass.

 The Chinese considered themselves the center of the earth and of civilization so they called their country the Middle Kingdom. Outsiders were considered barbarians. Early Chinese Civilizations

 Earliest Chinese Civilization took place along the Huang He River.  It later spread to the Yangzi River.

 Trade with the Middle East took place along the Silk Road.

Social Structure  Chinese often lived in clans which were groups of families who claimed a common ancestor. BASIC CLASS STRUCTURE rulers nobles merchants/artisans peasants (the majority of the population)

Religion  Chinese were polytheistic (believed in many gods and nature spirits)  They prayed to their ancestors because they were links to the gods

Ancestor worship in China

Religion  Believed in two forces of nature called Yin(female) and Yang (male) that needed to be in harmony. People often did things to destroy this harmony.

Religion  Used Oracle Bones to tell the future (interpreted by priests).

Language  Mandarin is a difficult language to learn because there are over 10,000 characters.  Used pictograms and ideographs.  Chinese known for calligraphy- elegant handwriting.  Chinese couldn’t understand each other’s spoken language but all used the same written language.

Government  China was ruled by a series of dynasties – a line of rulers from the same family.  The large government was organized into a bureaucracy – a government with many levels.  Chinese believed in the concept called the Mandate of Heaven which says that a ruler will stay in power as long as he rules well and strongly but will lose power if he becomes weak and corrupt. Then another dynasty will start.  The rise and fall of dynasties is called the Dynastic Cycle.