River Dynasties in China
A.P. World History
Mr. Schabo
Crestwood High School
http://www.escape2asia.co.uk/select-record.php?recordID=189
Geography of China
• Natural barriers isolated China
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–
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Mountains (Himalaya)
Deserts
Plateau of Tibet
Water on East Coast
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Asia201/Images201/Chinasatellite.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Asia201/links201.htm&usg=__COoD0saTEt5F9MJmNRGqHrosP0=&h=326&w=500&sz=57&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=R94KMkn0DwcKHM:&tbnh=131&tbnw=171&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchina%2Bsatellite%2Bi
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Geography of China (continued)
• Rivers
– Yellow River (Huang He) –
Flows from central N. China
to Pacific ocean. Named for
the fine, yellowish/brown soil
called loess blown by the
wind into the river. When it
flooded in early times, was
disastrous.
– Yangtze – Flows from central
south China to Yellow Sea. It
is the third longest river in the
world. It is about 4000 miles
long. It floods each year and
leaves fertile soil along the
banks. The Yangtze River
has high banks, which keeps
homes safe from the annual
flooding.
http://china.mrdonn.org/rivers.html
Geography of China (continued)
• Challenges
– Isolated – Early people had to procure own
goods instead of trading
– Isolated, not protected. Attacks from the west
and north occurred throughout history.
• Heartland – About 10% of China’s land is
suitable for farming! It’s on the land between the
Yellow and Yangtze rivers. This area is called
the North China Plain, and it’s the center of
Chinese civilization.
Civilization Emerges in Shang
Times
• People lived in China 1.7
million years ago! They
migrated to the river
valleys 500,000 years
ago.
• 2000 B.C. – Settlements
grew to cities; gave way
to China’s first dynasty,
Xia Dynasty.
• Lead by Yu, a skilled
engineer, who initiated
flood control projects
along the Yangtze so
settlements could grow.
http://ancientstandard.com/2008/page/4/
http://history.cultural-china.com/en/46History569.html
The Shang
• 1700 B.C. – Shang
Dynasty rises in China.
Lasts from 1700-1027
B.C.
• First family to leave
written records
• Built elaborate palaces
and tombs
• Anyang – capital city of
Shang.
http://history.howstuffworks.com/asian-history/history-of-china.htm
– Built of wood
– People housed by class
– Surrounded by walls for
protection
http://proteus.brown.edu/anyangproject/Home
Development of Chinese Culture
• Main values:
– Outsiders were considered barbarians.
– The group is more important than the
individual.
• Family – Center of Chinese society.
Respect for parents was #1 virtue.
• Patriarchal society
• Social Classes – Society divided
between nobles and peasants. Society
governed by class of warrior-nobles,
who paid Shang ruler for local control.
• Religious Beliefs – Believed spirits of
deceased ancestors could help/hurt
their lives. They paid respect to
ancestors’ spirits and made sacrifices to
them.
– Shang rulers consulted the gods using
oracle bones.
– Worshipped supreme god Shang Di
and many lesser gods.
Writing
• A character (ideogram) stands for one
syllable, idea, or unit of language.
However, there is no link between written
and spoken language.
• Therefore, someone could read/write the
language without being able to speak it!
– Pros: People in all parts of China could learn
the writing system, even though they had a
different spoken language!
– Cons: Lots of ideograms to memorize!
• Needed to know 1500 ideograms to be barely
literate…10,000 to be considered educated!
http://www.theminster.net/elements.htm
The Zhou, the Mandate of Heaven,
and the Dynastic Cycle
• 1027 B.C. – The Zhou overthrow the Shang and
establish a new dynasty.
• To justify their coup, the Zhou claimed the
Shang king was so terrible a ruler that he had
lost the favor of the gods.
– Mandate of Heaven – The idea that a ruler had divine
approval. If a ruler was just, he would continue to
have the gods’ favor. If he was unjust, he would lose
favor of the gods, bad things would happen, he would
be overthrown, and a new dynasty would come to
power.
Control through Feudalism
• The Zhou controlled vast
amounts of land and
established a system called
feudalism to help govern their
land.
– Feudalism: Political system in
which nobles or lords control
lands belonging to a king in
return for pledges of loyalty
and support.
• Lords/Nobles lived in small
walled towns but grew rich and
powerful as cities in their
territories grew. Lords became
less dependent on the king.
http://www.history-of-china.com/Zhou-dynasty/
Improvements in Technology and
Trade
• Roads and canals
encourage trade and
agriculture, and unite
the ends of Zhou
territory.
• Money was coined,
improving trade.
• Learned to produce
cast iron.
http://www.travelchinatour.com/jim-china-travel-blog/travelogueby-cities/xian-shaanxi-museum-2.html
http://primaltrek.com/chinesecoins.html
The Zhou Fall
• In 721 B.C., Nomads attack the Zhou capital
and murder the Zhou ruler. Royal family
members flee and attempt to establish a new
capital, but fail.
• Without a strong government, lords/nobles claim
their territories a their own independent states.
• China becomes a bunch of independent states,
each at war with the other.
• Traditional values collapse. Chinese civilization,
based on love of order, harmony , respect for
authority is replaced with a culture of chaos,
arrogance and defiance.