East Asia
The Early River Valley Civilization of
the Yellow River (Huang River)
Objective:
• Students will learn about the early history of
the Chinese civilization, including history,
achievements, and power.
The Yellow River (Huang River)
• 1,500 years after the
city of Ur
(Mesopotamia) was
beginning and 1,000
years after the
planned cities of the
Indus valley, the
Yellow River Valley
Civilization
flourished.
Natural Barriers
• Natural barriers isolated China from other civilizations. To
the east is the Pacific ocean. To the west lay the
Taklimakan desert and the icy 14,000 foot Plateau of Tibet.
• To the North lies the desolate Gobi Desert and the
Mongolian Plateau.
• The two rivers in the area are the Yellow river and the
Yangtze in central China.
• About 90% of the remaining land that is suitable for
farming lies within the comparatively small plain between
these rivers.
National Pride
• Due to this isolation, the
Chinese had little contact
with foreigners. This led
to a strong sense of
identity and superiority.
• They regarded China as
the only civilized land,
calling it Zhongguo, or
“Middle Kingdom,”
referring to it as the center
of the world.
Dynasties
• Humans have inhabited
China for about a million
years.
• The First Dynasties• Before the Sumerians
settled in southern
Mesopotamia, early
Chinese cultures were
building farming
settlements along the
Yellow river.
Xia Peoples
• The first dynasty in
China was the Xia.
• Its leader was a
mathematician and
engineer named Yu.
• Yu started flood
control systems and
irrigation projects to
control the Yellow
Shang Dynasty
• 1750-1500 B.C. Invaders
called the Shang swept
into the Huang River
Valley.
• Introduced irrigation and
flood-control systems into
the region.
• By controlling these
systems, the Shang could
more easily control the
region’s people.
Shang Government
• Created a complex bureaucracy:
government organized into different
levels and tasks.
• A hereditary King ruled over all land
in the kingdom
• War chariots and bronze weapons
were used to defend against
invaders.
• Military might and well-organized
government allowed the Shang to
gain territory.
Shang Economy and handicrafts
• Economy was based
mainly on agriculture:
millet and rice.
• Raised silkworms so that
they could spin thread
from the cocoons and
wove silk cloth from the
thread.
Artisans
• Artisans
worked in
bone, ivory,
and jade.
Pottery and
ceramic art
was very
popular.
Astronomy and the calendar
• Two calendars: one
based on the sun and one
based on the moon.
• Moon Calendar: record
of private and public
events.
• Planting was determined
by the calendar. A good
harvest meant popularity
for the king. Therefore
the priest-astronomers
were important.
Religion
• Combined animism (the belief
that spirits inhabit
everything)—with ancestor
worship
• Dragon became symbol of
Chinese rulers
• They also worshipped gods of
the wind, sun, clouds, and
moon. POLYTHEISTIC
• The Shang also believed in
Shangdi, a great god who
controlled human destiny and
forces of nature.
Religion
• Oracle Bones: the
shoulder bones of
cattle or tortoise
shells.
• The priests heated the
bones and interpreted
the cracks that would
appear.
Language and Writing.
• Many dialects were spoken.
• The Chinese method of writing, each character
stands for an idea, not a sound.
• People in all parts of China could learn the same
system of writing.
• To be barely literate one had to know 1,000
characters. (Not just 26 letters)
Language and Writing
• Writing was limited to
a small number of
specialists: clerks,
scribes, and teachers.
• It demanded much
study and practice,
therefore workers, had
little time for such
luxury.
Social Classes
• The civilization was
sharply divided between
nobles and peasants.
• These noble families
owned the land.
• They would send tribute to
the Shang ruler in exchange
for local control.
Family
• The family was central to
Chinese society. The most
important virtue was respect
for one’s parents.
• Women were treated as
inferiors.
• When a girl was between 13
and 16 years old, her
marriage was arranged.
The Fall of the Shang Dynasty
• 1200B.C. : Herders from the harsh Gobi desert
and the Tian Shan foothills began moving in and
settling along the borders.
• The Shang were almost continuously fighting
them off.
• The extended military efforts exhausted the Shang
rulers.
The Fall
• 1050 B.C
• The Zhou formed an
alliance and
overthrew the Shang,
claiming the Shang
were corrupt and
unfit to rule.
Works Cited
• Holt. World History: The Human
Journey. Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, Austin. 2003
• www.google.com/images