Huang He River Valley-Ancient China Lecture & packet notes

Objectives Locate physical features of Huang He River Valley Civilization on a map Identify and explain PERSIA-G characteristics of Huang He River Valley Civilization

China Huang He River Civilization

Geography Important features: _______________ Himalayas Huang He Yangtze ________________ Taklamakan Gobi Geography Talk to your neighbor – How did these physical features affect the development of ancient Chinese Civilizations?

Mountains Deserts, Ocean Rivers Provided _____________ from invaders – ___________ – no trade with outsiders Provided water and fertile soil. _________ (windblown silt) from unpredictable flooding of the ______________________ replenished the soil with nutrients. It also colored the river yellow, giving it the name “________________”

The Huang He River has also been called “______________________” because of its history of _____________ floods.

Taklamakan Desert with snow

The Gobi Desert

The Yangtze River

The first civilizations emerged on the Huang He River around Political The first civilizations emerged on the Huang He River around __________ BCE. Hereditary Rule The ruler’s son became the ruler after the ruler died. __________________________________________________________________ China’s earliest governments were ______________. What is a dynasty?

There were _________ dynasties in Ancient China: Political 1. The first dynasty was the ________ but little is known because there are no _____________ records 2. The ________ dynasty followed and many artifacts and writings were found in its capital city of ________.

Political Anyang Ruled by a king Capital city was surrounded by a massive wall – 118 feet wide and 1.2 miles What can you conclude about their government? Political Artifacts included the chariot and bronze weapons

By 1027 BCE, the Shang Dynasty was overthrown and the third dynasty began called the Zhou Dynasty. Political Zhou rulers justified their use of force by claiming that they had the “Mandate of Heaven”

Mandate of Heaven: Divine power to be the emperor of China given to virtuous leaders *If a leader does good for the people and always behaves correctly, then he is granted the power to rule by the gods/heavens (higher power) and can keep it; If he doesn’t act right and follow his duties as emperor, then he loses it (the power) *Concept was started by the Zhou Dynasty to justify taking power

Ancient Dynasties of China Political 256 BCE 1532 BCE 1027 BCE Zhou Dynasty begins Shang Dynasty Qin Dynasty Era of Warring States Almost 900 years of rule Over time, the Zhou government became de-centralized and regional nobles gained more and more power. A system of feudalism developed. What is feudalism?

Feudalism: A government system in which regional landowners grant land to knights or warriors in exchange for loyalty and protection. During the last 500 years of Zhou rule, regional rulers were constantly at war with each other. This period is called the Era of Warring States. Political

Economy How did China’s geography affect its economy? Talk to your neighbor. Because of China’s isolation by natural barriers, there was not much trade outside of China Its economy was agricultural.

Economy Cont. As territory in the North and South were united during the Zhou dynasty, China gained crop diversity: grains from the northern fields and rice from the south led to rise in population Rice would become a staple in the Asian diet

Because China was geographically isolated, it did not trade with other civilizations until the Classical period (500 BCE-500 CE). In the Classical period, it would become a manufacturer to the world, trading along the Silk Road and Indian Ocean routes. Economy Cont. Porcelain

Chinese Culture From its earliest history, Chinese culture emphasized: 1. Importance of family 2. The group is more important than the individual

Religion Religious beliefs: Ancestor worship: Deceased ancestors could bring good fortune or disaster. Through ancestors, gods were worshipped, especially a supreme god, Shang Di. The Chinese consulted the gods using oracle bones.

Religion Cont. Questions were etched into the bones of animals, usually turtle shells. The bones would then be exposed to heat. The cracks in the shell were then interpreted to see how the gods answered. Oracle bone

Society Society was comprised of two main classes: nobles and peasants The nobles were landowners. The peasants worked the land for the nobles.

Society Cont. Women were expected to obey their fathers and husbands. Their marriages were arranged when they were 13-15 years old. The most important job for a woman was to produce a son. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soIbKrq7LWM

Intellectual Chinese writing developed from pictographs or drawings of objects. The system used today is directly related to the writings found on oracle bones from the Shang dynasty.

Intellectual Cont. There is no connection between written and spoken Chinese Advantage: Someone can read Chinese without knowing how to speak it Love A common language developed during the Zhou Dynasty – Mandarin Chinese

Shang Achievements The Shang civilization excelled at using bronze for weapons, carrying vessels and beautiful objects. Chariots were invented and used in battle Artifacts pictured from Anyang

Shang Achievements Cont. Silk production began during the Shang dynasty and became a prized fabric of the nobles. Silk thread from silkworms is woven to make beautiful cloth.

Zhou Achievements During the Zhou Dynasty they: Built roads and canals Developed blast furnaces that allowed them to produce cast iron

Zhou Achievements Cont. Iron was used for weapons and farm tools which expanded agriculture for China’s growing cities. Coined money also developed during the Zhou Dynasty.

Photo Credits http://www.iloveworldhistory.com/index.php?action=resources&id=3 http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-opEY7-Zq74g/Tcq85OUjuYI/AAAAAAAAARc/IymQwHIuXwc/s1600/hanfu.jpg http://openwalls.com/image/7861/rice_field_in_china_1600x900.jpg http://www.ancientchinalife.com/ancient-chinese-women-2.jpg http://www.sccfsac.org/images/plowing.jpg http://www.worldmapsinfo.com/mapimage/china.jpg http://all.umn.edu/chinese_language/Resource/ChnBizCulture/Chinese_Culture/Landmarks.htm http://yeinjee.com/discovery/desert-snow-in-taklamakan-desert/ http://humanplanet.com/timothyallen/2009/03/absolutely-amazing/ http://images.china.cn/images1/200608/351263.jpg http://jameelcenter.ashmolean.org/media/collection/w800/Collections/Single_Objects/EA/EA_1956/EA_1956_0000/EA_1956_833-a-L.jpg http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/6502/pointcharactersty9.jpg http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/d51818/d5181863l.jpg http://www.worldcoincatalog.com/AC/C1/China/AncientChina/Zhou/ZhouEmpire.jpg http://www.iloveworldhistory.com/index.php?action=resources&id=3 http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/355102596_15840a84c6_z.jpg