1. Early Society in East Asia
Chapter 5
Early Society in East Asia
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The Yellow River
Huang He
3000 miles: Tibet to the Yellow Sea
Deposits fertile, light-colored soil
Periodic flooding: “China’s sorrow”
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3. Prehistoric Society: Yangshao
B.C.E.
Middle region of the Yellow River valley
Banpo village
Painted pottery
Bronze tools
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4. The Earliest Dynasties
Xia
ca B.C.E.
Organized through village network
Hereditary monarchy
Flood control
Shang
B.C.E.
Zhou
B.C.E.
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Shang Dynasty
Bronze metallurgy
State monopoly
Horse-drawn chariots, other wheeled vehicles
Large armies
Political organization: network of fortified cities, loyal to center
1000 cities
Capital moved six times
Impressive architecture at Ao, Yin
Other regional kingdoms coexist: Sanxingdui
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6. Shang Dynasty Burial Practices
Hierarchical social structure
Burials alongside deceased member of ruling class
Sacrificial victims, mostly slaves
Wives, servants, friends, hunting companions
Later replaced by statuary, often monumental
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Zhou Dynasty, B.C.E.
No law codes: rule by decree
“Mandate of heaven”
Aggregation of villages opposed to Shang leadership
Decentralization of authority
Development of cheap iron weaponry ends Shang monopoly on bronze
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8. Decline of the Zhou Dynasty
Decentralized leadership style allows for building of regional powers
Increasing local independence, refusal to pay Zhou taxes
Iron metallurgy allows for widespread creation of weaponry
Northern invaders weaken Zhou dynasty, beginning eighth century B.C.E.
Internal dissention: the Period of the Warring States ( B.C.E.)
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9. China During the Period of the Warring States, 403-221 B.C.E.
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Social Order
Ruling classes great advantage
Palatial compounds, luxurious lifestyle
Supported by agricultural surplus, tax revenues
Defended by monopoly on bronze weaponry
Hereditary privilege
Support class of artisans, craftsmen
Evidence of long-distance trade, merchant class
Large class of semi-servile peasants
Slave class
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Family and Patriarchy
Devotion to family, ancestor veneration
Connection of spirit world to physical world
Ritual sacrifices
Father ritual head of family rites
Earlier prominence of individual female leaders fades in later Shang, Zhou dynasties
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12. Oracle Bones and Early Chinese Writing
Used for communicating with spirit world, determining future
Question written on animal bones, turtle shells
Then heated over fire; cracks examined for omens
Early archaeological evidence of Chinese writing
Evolution of Chinese script
Pictograph to ideograph
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13. Oracle Bone from Shang Dynasty
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Zhou Literature
The reflections of Confucius
Book of Changes
Manual for divination
Book of History
Book of Etiquette (Book of Rites)
Book of Songs
Little survived
Often written on perishable bamboo strips
Many destroyed by emperor of Qin dynasty in 221 B.C.E.
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15. Nomadic Peoples of Central Asia
Steppe nomads
Poor lands for cultivation, extensive herding activities
Horses domesticated ca B.C.E., bronze metallurgy in 2900 B.C.E.
Extensive trade with sedentary cultures in China
Tensions: frequent raiding
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16. Southern Expansion of Chinese Society
Yangzi valley
Yangzi River: Chang Jiang, “long river”
Excellent for rice cultivation
Irrigation system developed
The state of Chu
Autonomous, challenged Zhou dynasty
Culture heavily influenced by Chinese
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