1. Objectives
Locate physical features
of Huang He River Valley
Civilization on a map
Identify and explain
GRAPES
characteristics of
Huang He River
Valley Civilization

2. China
Huang He River Civilization

3. Geography Important features: Mountains Himalayas Rivers Huang He
Yangtze
Deserts
Taklamakan
Gobi
Geography
How did these physical
features affect the development of ancient
Chinese civilizations?

4. Mountains, Deserts, Ocean:
-Provided protection from invaders
-isolated, no trade with outsiders
Rivers:
-Provided water and fertile soil
-Huang He River had unpredictable flooding
-Loess= silt blown by the wind; brings nutrients to soil
-Colored the river yellow, giving it the name “Yellow River”

5. Huang He River also called “China’s Sorrow” because of its history of devastating floods

6. Taklamakan Desert with snow

7. The Gobi Desert

8. The Yangtze River

9. Religious Beliefs Religion
Ancestor worship: Deceased ancestors could bring good fortune or disaster
Also worshipped gods
Shang Di= supreme god
The Chinese consulted
the gods using oracle bones.

10. The bones were then heated
Religion
Questions were
scratched into turtle
shells
The bones were then heated
The cracks in the shell
were then interpreted
to see the gods’ answers
Oracle bone

11. Achievements
Chinese writing developed
from pictographs (drawings of objects)
The system used today is related to writings found on oracle bones from Shang dynasty

12. There is no connection between written and spoken Chinese
Achievements
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

13. Achievements -Shang dynasty used bronze for weapons and pottery
-Bronze chariots were also used in battle

14. Achievements
Silk production began during the Shang dynasty and was popular with nobles and upper classes
Silk thread from silkworms is woven to make beautiful cloth

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

16. The first civilizations emerged on the Huang He River around 2000 BCE
Political
Hereditary Rule
The ruler’s son
became the ruler
after the ruler
died
Ruling power
stayed in the
family
China’s earliest
governments were
dynasties
What is a dynasty?

17. There were three dynasties in Ancient China:
Political
1. The first dynasty was the Xia
-little is known;
no written records
2. The Shang dynasty followed
-many artifacts and writings were found in its capital city of Anyang

18. Anyang
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
Ruled by a king

19. Some houses were larger and enclosed within the wall
Anyang
Some houses were larger and enclosed within the wall
Others were poorly constructed and were outside the wall.
Talk to your neighbor. Who lived within the walls and who lived outside the walls?

20. 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”

22. 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?

23. Feudalism: government system
regional landowners give land to warriors in exchange for loyalty and protection
Political

24. geography affect its economy? Talk to your neighbor.
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

25. -Rice became the basis of Asian diet
Economy
During the Zhou dynasty, China gained crop diversity: grains and led to rise in population
-Rice became the basis of Asian diet

26. Because China was geographically isolated, it did not trade with other civilizations until Classical period (500 BCE-500 CE)
Economy
During this time, China traded along the Silk Road and Indian Ocean routes
Porcelain

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

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

29. Society Society was made of nobles and peasants The nobles= owned land
The peasants= worked the land for the nobles

30. Society Women were expected to obey their fathers and husbands
Their marriages were arranged when they were years old
The most important job for a woman was to produce a son
Society