Cities
Well organized
central
governments
Social
Classes
Arts &
Architecture
Public
Works
8 Features of a
Civilization
Writing
Complex
Religions
Job
Specialization
Chap. 3 Sec. 3
Middle Kingdom
Chinese called their land Zhongguo
_______ meaning _______________.
It was
Isolated of the early civilizations which led them to believe that
the most ______
China
Earth and the only source of civilization.
____ was the center of the _____
Geography set barriers which limited the movement of people.
Jungles , _______and
Deserts
Oceans divided China from the rest of
_______
________
Trade and attacks by
the world. The contact they did have was some _____
Invaders These groups accepted the __________
Superiority of the Chinese
nomadic______.
absorbed into the advanced Chinese civilization.
and were usually ________
Main regions of China:
Heartland east coast; valley of the _________
Huang He and Yangzi
_________:
Farming
Rivers; excellent for_______.
Outlying Xinjiang, _________
Mongolia and Manchuria; rugged
_________;
harsh climate; nomads
and ____
_____ live here.
Huang He Valley. People teamed to
Chinese history began in the ________
Farm and this led to the beginning of a strong ______
central government. The
_____
Loess
name of the river came from _____(fine
yellow soil) that it carried. It got the
River of Sorrows because __________
flooding
nickname "____________"
caused destruction.
dynasties They
Control of China was by ruling families called ________.
government
remained in power as long as they provided good ___________.
If rulers
heaven would withdraw its support.
became weak or corrupt they believed ______
Chinese Achievement
SHANG DYNASTY (1500 B.C.-1028 B.C.)
200 city-states in China.
United more than ____
Used war Chariots
______ and advanced weapons
_____ to protect their
territories and spread Chinese
kingdom. Captured new _______
civilization.
People began to keep ______
written records for the first time. Over
10,000
____
characters made it hard to read and write.
calendar was invented based on phases of the ____
moon
A _____
365¼ days a year.
and_____
ZHOU DYNASTY ( 1028 B.C.-256 B.C.)
Control by this dynasty was the ______
longest in Chinese history.
coins used for the first time. Local _____
Princes
Copper and gold _____
owned the land but owed _____
military service and other support to
King
populated country
the _____.
China became the world's most ______
during these years. Ruled by the “____________”
Mandate of Heaven the divine
Gods
right to rule through orders from the ______.
QIN DYNASTY (256 B.C.-206 B.C.)
China derived from the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty.
Name _____
First Emperor
Shih Huang Ti-"__________"
captured new territories and set
empire
up the first Chinese ______.
Great Wall
Completed work on the ___________
which guarded against
invasion. System of _______
writing
was simplified and a uniform set
of weights
_____ adopted.
HAN DYNASTY (206 B.C.- 220 A.D.)
Empire expanded into Manchuria, ______
Mongolia and central Asia.
silk
wheel & clock
Invented______,
sundials and water __________.
acupuncture a piercing of the
Doctors used a new method-__________
skin with needles to relieve pain.
dictionary
Wrote the world's first ________.
New Dynasty
Old Dynasty
•Brings peace
•Taxes people too much
•Builds roads & canals
•Stops protecting people
•Gives land to peasants
•Lets road & wall fall apart
•Protects people
•Treats people unfairly
Problems
New dynasty
claims
Mandate of
Heaven
•Floods, earthquakes
•Peasants revolt
•Invaders attack empire
•Bandits raid in provinces
Old dynasty
loses Mandate
of Heaven
It is not a religion
Based on the teachings of China’s most influential philosopher
He was concerned with social order & good government
The best leader could rule by good moral example
He stressed the importance of duty, responsibility, & filial piety
The Analects
Harmony resulted from people accepting their place in society
5 Relationships – father to son, elder brother to younger, husband
to wife, ruler to subject, friend to friend
Grew out of the teachings of Hanfeizi
Also concerned with social order
The only way to achieve this order was through strict laws &
punishments
Strength not goodness is a ruler’s greatest virtue
So cruel that later generations despised it
Focus was on the Tao “The Way” (the universe as a whole)
Concerned with living in harmony with nature – Simple Life
The best type of government is one that governs the least
Emphasized the virtue of yielding – going with your natural course
Believers rejected the unnatural ways of society –
became hermits, mystics, artist, or poets
Evolved into a popular religion with gods, goddesses,
& magical practices (alchemy).
Laozi
Became another popular school of thought
Was hard to accept at first. No family loyalty, but loyalty to monks
and nuns that gave up family life
Introduced nirvana
Was appealing because of the promise of escape from suffering.
No personal salvation in other schools of thinking
Buddhism absorbed Confucian & Taoist traditions in China
•The first dynasty that we know about
•According to legend, there was a Xia dynasty before them but archaeologists have not
yet found any written records from this era.
•Writing on bronze vessels and oracle bones have survived from Shang times.
•States fought each other for land until the Shang kings gained control in northern
China and set up large cities.
•Peasants grew food for everyone and craftspeople made tools, weapons, clothing,
ornaments and household goods from bronze, silk, jade, clay and other materials.
•The royal family lived inside a walled palace with their advisers, and diviners who
predicted the future.
•When a king died, servants and animals were sacrificed to go with him to Heaven.
•Warlike Zhou people from the Wei River Valley in the northwest conquered the Shang and
began a dynasty that lasted for more than 800 years.
•Zhou rulers enlarged the Shang kingdom and gave land to their relatives and advisers. At first,
these noblemen were loyal to the Zhou kings. But during the time of the Warring States, the local
lords raised armies
•They forced many peasants to become foot soldiers, and competed with one another for power.
•The Zhou era brought important changes. Cities grew in size and number, and merchants began
to carry trade goods between them. Metalworkers forged iron tools and weapons. The use of iron
plows made farming easier and increased food production.
•Scholars reacted to the unsettled times by thinking of ways to make ancient China a more
peaceful country.
•The powerful Qin conquered the six major kingdoms that remained at the end of the Warring
States period.
•The king thanked his ancestors for his success and decided to drop the title wang, which meant
"king."
•He renamed himself Shi (meaning "First“) Huangdi (meaning "emperor and divine ruler").
•The First Emperor was very important because he unified ancient China by
making strict laws, taxing everyone in the country and introducing one script for writing.
•He commanded his subjects to build roads and canals, and to join existing walls into one long
defensive wall.
•Qin Shi Huangdi did not agree with the teachings of Confucius and
other scholars, and ordered their books to be burned.
•The First Emperor paid magicians, called alchemists, for potions to help him live forever.
•After his death, his dynasty soon collapsed.
•Liu Bang, a government official, gained power and founded this dynasty, which lasted for more
than 400 years.
•Han emperors strengthened the Qin system of government and extended ancient China's
boundaries.
•They developed a civil service, based on the teachings of Confucius, to run the empire and keep
records in a central place.
•Scholars who wanted to become government officials had to study very hard.
•The government organized the salt and iron mines, and state factories began mass-producing
objects-from iron and steel farming tools to silk cloth and paper.
•Han emperors began to control the eastern end of the Silk Road that linked Asia and Europe.
•Buddhism started to spread throughout ancient China.
•The Han dynasty finally collapsed after a succession of weak child emperors and droughts and
floods.
scholars
peasants
Respected by
everyone
because they
could read &
write
The
country
depended
on them to
produce
food
artisans
Used their skills to
make things that
people needed
(weapons, tools, &
cooking utensils)
merchants
They made
nothing, yet
grew rich by
trading goods.