The Geography of China
-Himalayas to
the southwest
-Gobi and
Takla Makan
Deserts to
the North and
west.
-Pacific
Ocean to the
East
Results of the Geography?

China is in a good position to develop
isolated from other civilizations.

Not easily invaded.
Culturally distinct.

Major Chinese Rivers

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Chang (Yanhtzee) River
Huang (Yellow) River
 Main river in China;
source of original
civilization.
“Whoever controls the Huang River
controls China.”

According to Chinese tradition a powerful
ruler spoke these words almost 4,000 years
ago.
The Huang River

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The River starts its 3,000 mile long trip in Northern
China
The Huang starts as a clear stream but grows and
picks up silt along its winding journey.
During summer floods the Huang spreads silt on
the North China Plain to create one of the largest
deltas.
The river also creates miles of fertile marshland
Farming along the Huang


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About 4000B.C. farming communities
developed along the lower part of the
Huang River.
China’s oldest civilization grew from these
farming communities
This civilization later spread to include many
regions and groups of people.
The Huang River Valley
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The Huang makes a giant curve around the
edge of the Ordos Desert
As is turns, the Huang cuts through a hilly
region
The hills are made almost entirely of loess (a
dusty, yellow soil that is deposited by in this
region by wind)
Working with the Huang River
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During Summer rains, huge amounts of loess are
washed into the Huang River causing it to be the
World’s muddiest river.
The Loess soil is both a blessing and a curse to
farmers because while it provides fertile soil, its
lightness makes it easy for storms to carry that kind
of soil away.
The river floods are both helpful and harmful to
Chinese farmers because they bring loess but can
also wash it away and destroy everything in their
path.
Controlling the River
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About 3,000 years ago, farmers began
building levees to hold back the Huang (a
wall that keeps a river within its bank)
Like the Sumerians, ancient Chinese farmers
also built canals to bring water to their fields.
Loess clogged the canals and had to be
cleared away.
China’s Sorrow

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The Huang River is called China’s Sorrow because
it has cost millions of lives throughout China’s
history.
Famine as much as drowning has also been a
cause of these deaths. When it washes away
crops, it leaves people with nothing to eat
Chinese generals also used the power of the river
as a deadly weapon. One general blew up a levee
during flood season to stop the Japanese army. His
plan worked- but it also took the lives of one million
farmers and more died during the famine.
III. Shang Dynasty: First
dynasty in China from 1700-1000
B.C.E.
Yin; the capital of Shang Dynasty.
Founded ca. 1384 B.C.E.
Achievements:
Oracle Bones
 Shamanism
 Writing System
 Bronze ware

Oracle bone; Divination was practiced by
heating tortoise shells till they cracked, then
studying the cracks. The prediction was
written on the shell.
Shamanism;
Shang Religion
was based on
ideas of ancestor
worship, as well
as a belief in
nature gods,
demons and
magic.
Ancestor worship; the belief that
your dead relatives control and guide
your destiny. Thus respect and honor
for them
is
necessary.
Writing; The Shang Dynasty
developed a writing system around
1766 B.C.E.
Writing System
Writing consisted of Pictographs; pictures
which represented a word. Basis of Chinese
writing today.
Bronze; The Shang dynasty had one of the
most sophisticated methods for smelting
bronze. Their bronze was extremely
artistic.
Shang Bronze
Political Power:
The king’s power was
based on:
•Land Ownership.
Land and peasants
were given to the
nobility as payment
for military service.
The Zhou Dynasty
and New Ideas
Shang
Dynasty had many achievements
Zhou, the next dynasty established other
Chinese traditions
Importance of family
Social order

From the Shang Dynasty
to the Zhou Dynasty
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1100s BC, some leaders (soon to be known
as the Zhou) ruled over a kingdom in China
These leaders joined other tribes nearby to
attack and overthrow the Shang Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty = longest lasting dynasty in
Chinese history!
Zhou Political System

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The mandate of heaven – Zhou kings claimed to
have this. It gave power to the king (or leader),
and no one would ever rule without heaven’s
permission.
How did the Zhou explain the attack on the
Shang Empire?

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They claimed it was a mandate of heaven
Zhou expanded their territory (land)

What would the Zhou have to do to get more land?
Zhou Political System

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Zhou = a new political order
How did people get land?

Loyalty, military support, other services:
Zhou King: Led government
Lords: People of high rank
• Land was given to them by the king
• Lords paid taxes and gave soldiers to the king, when needed
Peasants: farmers with small farms
• Each family received two plots of land. One small plot for their own family.
One plot of land was for the peasant to grow food for a noble.
Everybody helps each other!
KING
Gives profits to
King
Gives land to
lords/nobles
NOBLES
Protects the
peasants
PEASANTS
Farm the land
and serve the
nobles
Each of China’s three social classes had responsibilities to
the other classes.
Zhou Political System

Zhou system brought order

Kings ensure loyalty and control

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Rule through lords so king has control over vast land
Over time, political order broke down

Lords passed power to their sons

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Sons weren’t as loyal as their fathers were to the king
Each local ruler gained power and rejected authority of
the Zhou kings
The Decline of Zhou Power

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Since local leaders weren’t as loyal to the king,
they didn’t help him fight invaders anymore
771 BC: Invaders reached the Zhou capital, no
one to help the king
Lords began to fight each other
481 BC: a new era: the Warring States period

A time of many civil wars

Results?

Armies grew, brutal fighting, soldiers fought for land (territory) and
not honor