Geography of China

1. China was isolated…

Cliffs along Huang He in Gansu

a. Mnts: south- Himalayas west- Kunlun and Tien Shan b. Large deserts: north- Gobi west- Takla Makan c. Pacific Ocean- east …due to natural barriers DON’T WRITE

2. The impact of isolation is that Ethnocentric society developed Ethnocentrism- the belief that your culture is better than all others. Called China “Zhongguo” or Middle Kingdom b/c they believed they were above Earth and under Heaven.

3. Population Distribution a.96% of pop. live along coast and river valleys b. 2/3 of China is mnts. and deserts How people distribute themselves in an area

c. Modern China’s population: ~1.6 Billion people 1 Child Law- To control the population, Chinese families are only allowed to have one child. There are many exceptions. DON’T WRITE

4. Agriculture Only 11% of the land is arable. Arable = farmable subsistence farming- growing just enough (little or no surplus) terrace farming- carving steps into the sides of mountains to farm

5. Rivers in China a. Huang He (Yellow River)- where Chinese civilization developed. -loess- fine, fertile windblown soil, settles in river causing flooding - known as “China’s Sorrow” because of flood damage

Xi River

The 4 Ancient River Valley Civilizations

1.

a. supervised flood control projects (Yellow R.) b. developed an accurate calendar

c. developed a form of writing ideographs- symbols that represent ideas Oracle Bones- pictograms on bone used to predict the future

The Evolution of Chinese Writing PictographsIdeographs

(“Joe”) 2.

- Developed the Mandate of Heaven- a dynasty’s divine right to rule Dynastic Cycle- cycle of how dynasties rise and fall Ritual Food Vessel, bronze 11c BCE (Western Zhou)

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

- united China & connected Great Wall

- Emperor Shi Huangdi’s Tomb with his Terra Cotta Army

Shi Huangdi’s Terra Cotta Army

a.Used Civil Service Exam based on Confucian ideas b. Made achievements in medicine (acupuncture), science and agriculture

c. invented paper [105 B.C.E.] d. Est. Silk Road trade route

( CE) -The printing press, gunpowder, small pox vaccine, and the earthquake detector were invented.

Each of the eight dragons had a bronze ball in its mouth. Whenever there was even a slight earth tremor, a mechanism inside the seismograph would open the mouth of one dragon. The bronze ball would fall into the open mouth of one of the toads, making enough noise to alert someone that an earthquake had just happened. Imperial watchman could tell which direction the earthquake came from by seeing which dragon's mouth was empty.

6. Song Dynasty (Sung) CE - China experienced a “Golden Age” - The Silk Road grew - trade between China, India, and the Mesopotamia increased. It was 4,000 miles of harsh terrain.

7. Yuan Dynasty (Mongol) CE

a. Kublai Khan (non-Chinese) ruled China b. Marco Polo visited China. Europeans became interested in China from his book. Kublai KhanGenghiz KhanMarco Polo

8. Ming Dynasty 1369 – 1644 CE a. Revived arts and literature but isolated China when Europeans began developing advancing. Ming Painting and Calligraphy, early 16cMing Vases, 18c

Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) China’s “Columbus?” Zheng He’s treasure ship was 400 ft. long in comparison to Columbus’ Santa Maria, which was 85 ft. long. That’s a BIG difference!

9. Ch’ing Dynasty (Manchu) 1644 – 1911 CE a. The last of China’s dynastic families came from Manchuria b. Could not prevent Europeans from gaining power in China.

Foot-Binding in Ancient China Broken toes by 3 years of age. Size 5 ½ shoe on the right Mothers bound their daughters’ feet. For upper-class girls, it became a new custom.

The Results of Foot-Binding