Early Chinese Civilizations
Chapter 3.3
Facts
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China has one of the world’s oldest
cultures.
It has the largest population (1.3 billion)
of any nation.
It is made up of more than 50 ethnic
groups, speaking several languages and
many dialects.
Geography
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1.
2.
Rivers
The Huang He (HWAHNG HUH), or
Yellow River stretches across China for
more than 2,900 miles.
The Chang Jiang (CHAHNG JYAHNG), or
Yangtze River stretches for 3,400 miles.
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Both empty into the Pacific Ocean and
Yellow Sea.
Geography
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Only 10 percent of the total land area is
suitable for farming, compared with 19
percent of the U.S.
Mountains & Deserts
These border the northern and western
frontiers.
Himalayas and Plateau of Tibet have high
elevations.
Climate
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Winter is very long cold and dry due to
the monsoons blowing from the
mountains.
Summer is short, sunny and hot.
The Chang Jiang serves as the dividing
line between the northern region and the
southern region of the country.
The Shang Dynasty
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The beginning of Chinese civilization was the
founding of the Xia (SHYAH) dynasty over four
thousand years ago.
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Supposedly founded by Yu the Great
Based on legend and archaeology; Yu may not have
existed.
(1750 B.C. to 1045 B.C.) The Shang Dynasty
replaces it.
This was a farming society ruled by an
aristocracy
1.
2.
Wealth was based on land
Power is passed from one generation to another
Shang Political and Social
Structures
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China built its first cities.
The king ruled from the capital and divided
territories governed by aristocratic military
leaders, called warlords.
Like in Egypt, Chinese kings were buried in
tombs.
Hierarchy of social structure
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Royal family at top
Aristocracy
Merchants & artisans
Peasants made up the majority
Slaves at bottom
Shang Religion and Culture
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Priests used oracle bones to communicate with the gods
by scratching questions on them.
Heated metal rods were then stuck in to the bones and
caused them to crack.
Priests interpreted cracks as answers.
They believed in life after death.
Some Chinese continue to burn replicas of physical
objects to accompany them to the next world.
“Ancestor Worship” is where Chinese treated their
ancestors well so as to bring good fortune (rather than
bad) to their families.
The Zhou Dynasty
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The last Shang ruler swam in the “ponds of
wine” and ordered the writing of music that
“ruined the morale of the nation.”
This led the ruler of the state of Zhou (JOH) to
revolt and establish a new dynasty.
The Zhou dynasty was the longest lasting
dynasty in Chinese history and ruled for almost
800 years (1045 B.C. to 256 B.C.)
Zhou Political Structure
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Zhou kings ruled in much the same way as the Shang.
One difference was the Mandate of Heaven principle.
This was the belief that the king was the link between
Heaven and earth.
The king ruled by a mandate, or authority to command,
from Heaven.
However, the king was then responsible for ruling the
proper “Way”, called the Dao (DOW).
If the king doesn’t rule effectively, he could be
overthrown and replaced by a new ruler.
The Fall of the Zhou Dynasty
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The Zhou kingdom had been divided into
several smaller states that challenged the
ruler.
(403 B.C.) Civil War broke out, beginning
an age known as the Period of the
Warring States.
(221 B.C.) One of the warring states—the
Qin (CHIHN)—took control.
Warfare Change
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Iron weapons rather than bronze weapons
came into use.
Foot soldiers, or infantry, and soldiers on
horseback, cavalry, made their
appearance.
Cavalry had the crossbow, which was
invented by the Chinese in the seventh
century B.C.
Social Structure of the Zhou
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Peasant families farmed an outer plot for its own
use.
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Trade included goods brought in from distant
regions.
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Joined with other families to work the inner plot for
their landlord.
Salt, iron , cloth
The family was the most important social
institution.
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The need to work together on the land.
Social Structure of the Zhou
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Rice requires hard work to plant, grow,
and harvest.
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Irrigation network
Children worked in the fields
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Later, sons were expected to take over the
physical labor on the family plots and provide
for their parents.
Filial Piety
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At the heart of the family concept.
Filial refers to a son or daughter.
Filial Piety refers to the duty of members of the
family to subordinate their needs and desires to
those of the male head of the family.
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Every member has his/her place.
Male supremacy was a key element.
Men worked the fields and were the warriors,
scholars, and government ministers.
Filial Piety
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Women raised the children and worked in
the home.
Some women influenced politics if they
were part of the royal family.
Poem
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“A clever man builds a city,
A clever woman lays one low;
With all her qualifications, that clever
woman is but an ill-omened bird.”
Quotes
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“Well behaved women rarely make
history.”
 Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
“To be happy with a woman you must
love her a lot and not try to understand
her at all.”
 Helen Rowland
Zhou Accomplishments
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Because of the advances in farming tools and
practices, China’s population rose as high as fifty
million people during the late Zhou period.
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Iron was used to plow land.
Growth of trade had a lot to do with silk.
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The Silk Road—trade network to Europe and India
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Fragments have been found in Athens, Greece.
Chinese written language was simple script back
then, but complex today.
Pictographs are picture symbols, or characters,
which represent an object.
Zhou Accomplishments
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Ideographs are characters that combine two or more
pictographs to represent an idea.
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Word east symbolizes the sun coming up behind the trees.
There was a sound associated with each character when
a person read it aloud.
Other cultures quit using pictographs and ideographs in
favor of phonetic symbols, such as the Roman alphabet.
Chinese began attaching phonetic meaning to some of
their symbols but have never entirely abandoned its
original format.
Chinese Philosophy
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Chinese philosophers were concerned
about the material world and creating a
stable society.
Three major schools of thought about
human beings and the universe emerged:
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Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism
Confucianism
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Confucius is the westernized form of Kongfuzi (KUNG
FOO DZUH), meaning master Kung.
Born in 551 B.C.
He traveled around China in an attempt to persuade
political leaders to follow his ideas.
Few listened, but some faithful followers recorded his
sayings in the Analects, and spread his message.
Through 1800s, almost every Chinese pupil studied his
ideas.
His philosophy was political and ethical, not spiritual.
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If humans would act in harmony with the universe, their own
affairs would prosper
Encouraged duty and humanity
Daoism
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Based on the teaching of Laozi (LOW
DZUH).
He lived during same period as Confucius.
Scholars don’t know if he really existed.
Daoism sets forth proper forms of human
behavior.
Daoism vs Confucianism
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Followers of Confucius believe that it is
the duty of human beings to work hard to
improve life here on Earth.
Daoists believe that the way to follow the
will of Heaven is not through action but
inaction:
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“Without going outside, you may know the
whole world.
Without looking through the window, you
may see the ways of heaven.
The farther you go, the less you know.
Thus the sage (wise man) knows without
traveling;
He sees without looking;
He works without doing.”
Daoism
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The best way to act in harmony with the
universal order is not to interfere with the
natural order.
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The universe is sacred.
You cannot improve it.
If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
If you try to hold it, you will lose it.”
 Lao Tsu
Legalism
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Legalism proposed that human beings were evil by
nature.
Legalists were referred to as the “School of Law”
because they rejected the Confucian view that
government by “superior men” could solve society’s
problems.
They believed in a strong ruler and that only harsh laws
and stiff punishments would cause common people to
serve the interests of the ruler.
To them, people were not capable of being good and the
ruler did not have to show compassion for the people.