CHINESE CIVILIZATION
From River Civilization to Isolation
The Heartland of China
Between which two rivers is the heartland of China found?
China’s Sorrow
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River Systems
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Environmental Challenges
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Yellow River
Yangtze River
Floods
Geographic isolation
Invasions from the west and
north
China’s Heartland
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North China Plain
Remained center of
civilization throughout time
The Dynastic Cycle
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Chinese Dynasties and Empires
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The Hsia Dynasty, 2205-1766 BC
The Shang Dynasty, 1766-1050 BC
The Chou, 1050-256 BC
The Han Dynasty, 206 BC-220 AD
Period of Disunion, 220 AD-618 AD
Tang Dynasty, 618 AD-907 AD
Sung Dynasty, 969 AD-1279AD
Yuan Dynasty, 1279 AD-1368 AD
Ming Dynasty, 1368 AD-1644 AD
Qing Dynasty, 1644 AD-1912 AD
The First Dynasties
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Xia (Hsia)
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2000 BC
Flood control & irrigation systems
Society to civilization
Little archaeological evidence
exists
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No written record – largely myth
Which brings up an interesting
point…
“History is not about facts, it is about cultural memory,
which means that what a culture believes its history to be is
as important, or even more important, than the ‘facts…’”
The First Dynasties
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Shang
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Early cities
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1700- 1027 BC
First written records
Creation of walled cities
Social stratification
Warring culture
City-states

China is NOT unified at this
point in history
Yin, the Capital of the Shang Dynasty
for 300 years.
The Development of “a” Culture
What are the benefits and drawbacks of the belief that the group is more
important than the individual?
The Development of Culture
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Family
Social Classes
Religious Beliefs
The Development of
Writing
Zhou (Chou) Dynasty
 1027

BC-256 BC
The Dynastic Cycle
The Great Wall
Would a ruler who followed Confucian or Daoist ideas have
built the Great Wall?
The Unification of China
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Confucius and The One
Hundred Schools (551-233 BC)
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Filial piety = respect for the family
and ancestors
Government bureaucracy
Confucius’ goals was to reform
government so it could better take
care of the welfare of the people
Daoism
Legalism
Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty

3rd Century BC
The Heart of China
Why was agriculture considered the most important and honored occupation in
Chinese culture?
Han Emperors in China

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200 BC- 220 AD
Centralized
Government
Highly Structured
Society
Technology &
Commerce
Unification
 assimilation
Modern Inventions
What inventions have had the greatest impact on society?
Tang and Song China

Tang Dynasty
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589AD
Expansion of China
Muslim invasions
Chaos
Song Dynasty
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960- 1279 AD
Prosperity and innovation
Golden Age
Changes in Chinese society
Chinese Exploration
What are the benefits and drawbacks of isolationism?
Early Modern China

The Rise of the Ming
 1368
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AD- 1644
Manchus found the
Qing Dynasty
 1644
AD- 1911