Huang He River ValleyAncient China
Lecture & packet notes
Objectives
•Locate physical
features
of Huang He River
Valley
Civilization on a map
•Identify and explain
PERSIA-G
characteristics of
Huang He River
Valley Civilization
China
Huang He River Civilization
Important features:
Mountains
Himalayas
Rivers
Huang He
Yangtze
Deserts
Taklamakan
Gobi
Geography
Talk to your
neighbor –
How did these
physical
features affect
the development
of ancient
Chinese
Civilizations?
Mountains
Deserts, Ocean
Rivers
Provided protection
from invaders –
isolated – no trade
with outsiders
Provided water and fertile
soil. Loess (windblown silt)
from unpredictable flooding
of the Huang He River
replenished the soil with
nutrients. It also colored the
river yellow, giving it the
name “Yellow River”
The Huang He
River has also
been called
“China’s
Sorrow”
because of its
history of
devastating
floods.
Taklamakan Desert with snow
The Gobi Desert
The Yangtze River
The first civilizations
emerged
on the Huang He
River around
2000 BCE.
China’s earliest
governments were
dynasties.
What is a dynasty?
Political
Hereditary Rule
The ruler’s son
became the ruler
after the ruler
died.
Ruling power
stayed in the
family.
There were three dynasties
in Ancient China:
1. The first dynasty was
the Xia but little is
known because there
are no written records
2. The Shang dynasty
followed and many
artifacts and writings
were found in its
capital city of Anyang.
Political
Anyang
Political
 Ruled by a king
 Capital city was
surrounded by a
massive wall – 118
feet wide and 1.2
miles
What can you
conclude about
their government?
 Artifacts included
the chariot and
bronze weapons
 By 1027 BCE, the Shang Dynasty was
overthrown and the third dynasty
began called the Zhou Dynasty.
 Zhou rulers
justified
their use of
force by
claiming
that they
had the
“Mandate
of Heaven”
Political
Mandate of Heaven: Divine
power to be the emperor of
China given to virtuous leaders
*If a leader does good for the people
and always behaves correctly, then he is
granted the power to rule by the
gods/heavens (higher power) and can
keep it; If he doesn’t act right and follow
his duties as emperor, then he loses it
(the power)
*Concept was started by the Zhou
Dynasty to justify taking power
Ancient Dynasties of China
1532 BCE
1027 BCE
Shang Dynasty Zhou Dynasty
begins
Political
256 BCE
Qin Dynasty
Era of
Warring States
Almost 900 years of rule
Over time, the Zhou government became decentralized and regional nobles gained more and
more power. A system of feudalism developed.
What is feudalism?
Feudalism: A government
system in which regional
landowners grant land to
knights or warriors in
exchange for loyalty and
protection.
During the last 500 years
of Zhou rule, regional
rulers were constantly at
war with each other. This
period is called the Era of
Warring States.
Political
How did China’s
geography affect
its economy?
Talk to your
neighbor.

Because of
China’s isolation
by natural barriers,
there was not
much trade
outside of China
Economy
Its economy was
agricultural.
Economy Cont.
 As territory in the North and South were united
during the Zhou dynasty, China gained crop
diversity: grains from the northern fields and
rice from the south led to rise in population
 Rice would become a staple in the Asian diet
Because China was
geographically isolated, it
did not trade with other
civilizations until the
Classical period (500 BCE500 CE).
In the Classical period, it
would become a
manufacturer to the world,
trading along the Silk Road
and Indian Ocean routes.
Economy Cont.
Porcelain
Chinese Culture
From its earliest history,
Chinese culture
emphasized:
1. Importance of family
2. The group is more
important than the
individual
Religious beliefs:
Religion
 Ancestor worship: Deceased
ancestors could bring good
fortune or disaster.
 Through ancestors, gods were
worshipped, especially a
supreme god, Shang Di.
 The Chinese consulted
the gods using oracle bones.
Religion Cont.
 Questions were etched
into the bones of animals,
usually turtle shells.
 The bones would then be
exposed to heat.
 The cracks in the shell
were then interpreted to
see how the gods
answered.
Oracle bone
 Society was
comprised of two
main classes: nobles
and peasants
 The nobles were
landowners. The
peasants worked the
land for the nobles.
Society
 Women were
expected to obey
their fathers and
husbands.
Society Cont.
 Their marriages were
arranged when they
were 13-15 years old.
 The most important
job for a woman was
to produce a son.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soIbKrq7LWM
 Chinese writing
developed from
pictographs or
drawings of objects.
 The system used
today is directly
related to the
writings found on
oracle bones from
the Shang dynasty.
Intellectual
Intellectual Cont.
There is no connection
between written and
spoken Chinese
Advantage:
Someone can
read Chinese
without knowing
how to speak it
Love
A common language developed during the
Zhou Dynasty – Mandarin Chinese
Shang Achievements
Artifacts pictured
from Anyang
The Shang
civilization
excelled at using
bronze for
weapons,
carrying vessels
and
beautiful objects.
Chariots were
invented and used
in battle
Silk production began
during the Shang
dynasty and
became a prized
fabric of the nobles.
Silk thread from
silkworms is woven to
make beautiful
cloth.
Shang Achievements Cont.
Zhou Achievements
During the Zhou
Dynasty they:
Built roads and
canals
Developed blast
furnaces that
allowed them to
produce cast
iron
Zhou Achievements Cont.
 Iron was used for
weapons and farm
tools which
expanded
agriculture for
China’s growing
cities.
 Coined money also
developed during
the Zhou Dynasty.
Photo Credits
http://www.worldmapsinfo.com/mapimage/china.jpg
http://all.umn.edu/chinese_language/Resource/ChnB
izCulture/Chinese_Culture/Landmarks.htm
http://yeinjee.com/discovery/desert-snow-intaklamakan-desert/
http://humanplanet.com/timothyallen/2009/03/absol
utely-amazing/
http://images.china.cn/images1/200608/351263.jpg
http://jameelcenter.ashmolean.org/media/collection
/w800/Collections/Single_Objects/EA/EA_1956/EA_195
6_0000/EA_1956_833-a-L.jpg
http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/6502/pointcharact
ersty9.jpg
http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/d51818/d51
81863l.jpg
http://www.worldcoincatalog.com/AC/C1/China/An
cientChina/Zhou/ZhouEmpire.jpg
http://www.iloveworldhistory.com/index.php?action=r
esources&id=3
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/355102596_15840a84
c6_z.jpg
http://www.iloveworldhistory.
com/index.php?action=reso
urces&id=3
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/opEY7Zq74g/Tcq85OUjuYI/AAAAAA
AAARc/IymQwHIuXwc/s1600/
hanfu.jpg
http://openwalls.com/image
/7861/rice_field_in_china_160
0x900.jpg
http://www.ancientchinalife.
com/ancient-chinesewomen-2.jpg
http://www.sccfsac.org/imag
es/plowing.jpg