Traditional China
Common Thread of East Asia
&
Dynastic Rule
China is one of the original
world civilizations!
Common Threads of
East Asia
In the 7th & 8th centuries
A.D., China’s beliefs,
writing system,
philosophies, religions
and technology spread to
Japan, Korea, and
Vietnam defining the
area known as East Asia.
Chinese writing
system is called
calligraphy.
Subjugation of
Women
Women were restricted from
most education (maybe
knowledge of arts).
Women’s role was to
produce sons!
Three growing seasons!
Son’s carry on the name
Daughters were expensive
to marry off- dowry goes to
new family.
Son’s bring wife's and dowry
into the family!
Middle KingdomDynastic China
•For years, until the late 1800s, the Chinese
considered themselves the only truly civilized people
on earth- the Middle Kingdom. They felt they needed
nothing from the outside world and had nothing to
learn from it.
Middle
Kingdom
• China’s location helps to
explain why the Chinese
thought they lived at the
center of the Earth.
• Long ago distance and
physical barriers limited
contact between China and
other centers of
civilizations. (until the Silk
Road)
• Physical barriers that kept
China isolated: •Gobi
Desert, Mongolian and
Tibetan plateaus, Himalaya
Mountains and rainforest
separated China from S. E.
Asia. To the east lies the
Pacific Ocean
5,000 years of
Dynastic Rule in
China
• Dynasties, or ruling
families, ruled over China
from 2200 B.C. until 1911
A.D.
• Chinese Emperor was
considered to be the Son
of heaven.
• The Dynastic rulers were
top of the social
structure.
Mandate of Heaven
The Chinese believed that heaven granted a ruler the
mandate, or right to rule. The people in return owed
the ruler complete loyalty and obedience.
• Emperor and the Dynastic
family.
Levels of Society
• Gentry- about 5-10% of
population. The gentry were
the scholar elite; they held
highest position in society.
• Peasants/Farmers- majority of
population: very important to
society because they produce
food- agriculture, not
educated.
• Artisans and merchantspeople who sell goods.
• Slave girls are the last level of
the social structure. Typically
they are young girls sold as
servant’s etc.
Gentry Class
Farmers & Peasants
Han Dynasty
Good Earth
• For a majority of the
people, peasants, life in
China for thousands of
years was very difficult.
• Throughout Chinese
history, they were
plagued by famine. In
traditional China, there
was an average of a
famine per year.
• In more modern times,
such as 1928-1930, one
famine killed three to six
million people.