Civilization in the Yellow River Valley World History - Libertyville High School

Geographic Considerations Ancient China was isolated Oceans to East Gobi Desert to North Mountains to West Mountains to South Yellow and Yangtze Rivers formed corridor for irrigation River flooding was a problem

Xia Dynasty (2200 [?] to 1800 BC) Legendary dynasty = no historical evidence King Yu was their legendary leader (the Chinese King Narmer) Designed flood control, irrigation projects Led to population increase, cities emerging (CIVILIZATION!) King Yu

Shang Dynasty (1800-1027 BC) First dynasty confirmed in historical record Info about dynasty comes from different sources Archaeological record Oracle bones Writings

Shang Dynasty - Government Military was maintained to fight against nomadic steppe people to N, W King ruled rural land while nobles ruled semi- independent city-states Paid tribute to king in exchange for food, trade

Shang Dynasty - Society Very hierarchal, warlike Appear to have been herders transitioning to agricultural lifestyle Male dominated society Group was more important than the individual Family was the center of everyday life Ancestor worship was common Isolation meant no trade; thus, Chinese were self- sufficient

Shang Technology Metallurgy Writing system Bronze metallurgy was outstanding Iron casting introduced late in kingdom; better than anything Europe had until middle ages Military used chariots Writing system Pictographic language Over 10,000 characters – needed to know 1,500 to be barely literate!

Shang - Technology Writing, continued Modern written Chinese language a direct descendant of this ancient language Language unified a large, diverse culture Remember how an empire is unified… Pictographs Semantic-Phonetics

Shang Religion: Ancestor Worship If not respected, they could bring a person bad luck Believed in an afterlife Kings buried with many valuable items Also buried with 100s of living servants Human sacrifice resorted to so spirits would be happy

Zhou Dynasty (1027-256 BC) Nomadic people who invaded, overthrew Shang Absorbed Shang culture Mandate of Heaven Belief that rulers were the “son of heaven” and governed by divine right Dethronement of ruler proved that he had lost blessings of Gods to rule Bad things happening in society meant the ruler was losing divine support People were justified in revolting, overthrowing their king Theory explained and justified the demise of the Xia, Shang dynasties and supported legitimacy of present and future rulers

Mandate of Heaven The Dynastic Cycle, showing how the Start here A new dynasty comes to power. The emperor reforms the govt. & makes it more efficient. Emperor is defeated !! Lives of common people improved; taxes reduced; farming encouraged. The Dynastic Cycle, showing how the Mandate of Heaven worked Rebel bands find strong leader who unites them. Attack the emperor. Problems begin (extensive wars, invasions, etc.) Taxes increase; men forced to work for army. Farming neglected. Poor lose respect for govt. They join rebels & attack landlords. Droughts, floods, famines occur. Govt. increases spending; corruption.

Zhou dynasty - Government Transition from city states of Shang to more centralized system Central government of Zhou exercised greater control over local government Zhou Gong, Founder of Zhou Dynasty

Zhou - Technology Built many roads, canals Coined money which helped spur trade (why?) Iron casting Iron weapons a huge advance over bronze wielding nomads Took Europe about 2000 years to catch up to Zhou Zhou “spade” Coin, ca. 7th C BC

Fall of Zhou: “Time of Warring States” (481-256 BC) Nomads from North, West sacked the capital and killed the king Nobles asserted local power, refusing to be ruled by surviving members of the royal family Period characterized by general collapse of Shang / Zhou civilization and values

Fall of Zhou / “Time of Warring States” During this time, Sun Tzu wrote “The Art of War” Also during this time, Confucianism and Taoism emerged as philosophical schools of thought

The Qin (Chin) Dynasty (242-202 BC) Arose out of the Time of Warring States Took title of Shi Huangdi (First Emperor) Applied legalist philosophical methods to run state

Qin Dynasty Strategy Destroy power of other warlords “Strengthen the trunk, weaken the branches” Commanded nobility to live in capital city Confiscated lands, weapons of nobility

Qin Dynasty Silenced criticism Centralized government power Murdered hundreds of Confucian scholars Burned books NOT about medicine and farming Centralized government power Massive forced labor on road building project Strict regulation of currency, law – even length of wagon axis

Qin Dynasty: Results Unified virtually all of modern day China Building projects Great Wall Massive tomb

Great Wall of China Zhou rulers had built many small walls vs. nomads Shi Huangdi was determined to link walls Built by forced labor of 100,000s of peasants Choice: work or die Many who died became “fill” for wall Over 1,400 miles long (long way to go around!)

Huangdi’s Tomb Terra Cotta soldiers created to serve emperor in death Individualized faces, based on real soldiers of army Location lost until 1974

Fall of Qin Dynasty Regime was horribly unpopular High taxes & repressive government Scholars were either killed or forced into hiding Poor were worked to death on public projects Shi Huangdi died and a peasants revolt broke out; Han Dynasty set up in 202 BC

Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) Considered the greatest period of Chinese history Liu Bang, a former Qin policeman, became leader of peasant revolt 202 BC: revolt successful, Bang set self up as emperor

Han Government Based on Confucian principles Goal was the unification of China Accomplishments Lowered taxes Established civil service Han Officials (above); nobles (below)

Han Government Civil service created Jobs no longer depended on who you knew Initiated civil service exam, based on Confucian ideas Now, best person got job, not best connected Today, Chinese refer to selves as “People of Han”

Han Technology Paper, based on wood pulp (105 AD) Hydraulic power (bellows of steel mill) Steel, combining wrought and cast iron Scientific explanations of lunar & solar eclipses

Silk Road From 138 BC, Han emperors ordered patrols of trade routes into Central Asia Began sending diplomats to other states Received envoys from Romans! Trade route reached Mediterranean shore

Fall of Han Dynasty Emperors became weak, disinterested in fairness Peasant rebellions, nobles joined in Han lost control Civil war for next 350 years