Ancient China
Unit 4
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The Environment - China
The Land
• 4th Largest Country in
the world. (area)
• 12% of the land is
suitable for farming
despite the large size.
The Climate
•Varies from region to
region.
•Next Page will define.
Desert
• Gobi Desert
Mountains
• Himalaya Mountains
Bodies of Water
• The Huang He
(Yellow) River ‘Yellow soil’
• Yangtze River
The Huang (Yellow) River
“Climate Control”
CHINA
The Yangtze River serves as
China's official dividing line
between north and south
1.
2.
3.
4.
NORTH CHINA PLAIN ~
warm hot summers/cold
winters. Chief crops are
wheat and millet.
SOUTH CHINA PLAIN ~
richer in farming and more
industrialized. They grow
rice, cotton, tea, veggies and
more.
MANCHURIA ~ (North
East) very cold climate
makes it pretty unpopulated.
MONGOLIA ~ (The Far
North Region) encompassed
by the Gobi desert, its
climate is very hot in the
summer and cold in the
winter.
Dynasty in China
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
The Xia over four thousand years ago?
The Shang (1750 to 1122 B.C.) (628y)
The Zhou (1122 to 256 B.C.) (866y)
The Qin (221 to 206 B.C.) (15y)
The Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to 220
A.D.)
6) The Sui Dynasty (589 to 618)
Xia Dynasty
• Legend says
earliest Chinese
ruled by Xia
dynasty
• Little written,
archaeological
evidence Xia
dynasty existed
• Most historians
date beginning
of Chinese
civilization to
rise of Shang
dynasty
•
•
•
•
•
1st civilization in China to write things down.
They used pictographs, or pictures, to represent objects.
They also used ideographs to represent ideas such as beauty, joy, and justice.
They are also responsible for developing an accurate calendar.
Finally, they are also responsible for improving the art of bronze-making.
• Out of bronze, they created weapons, vessels for religious purposes, and
everyday objects such as cooking pots.
Oracle Bones
• Sought advice through use of oracle
bones
• As part of worship, Shang asked
ancestors for advice
Religion
• Veneration of ancestors - ancestor
worship. Belief was spirits of family
ancestors could bring good or evil
fortune to the living members of the
family.
• Spirits were worshipped to persuade
divine forces to do good.
• Hot piece of metal applied to oracle
bone resulting in cracks on bone’s
surface
• Trained priests interpreted meaning
of cracks to learn answer
The Shang Dynasty
Fu Hao
• queen and military general who led military
campaigns
Excavating Fu Hao's tomb
The Zhou Dynasty
• The Zhou overthrow the
Shang Dynasty
• Lasts for nearly 900 years
• The use of iron c. 550 B.C.
assisted farming methods
(plow).
• The plow increased size of
harvest, created food
surpluses; cities also grew
and thus, population grew
under Zhou
• Roads, canals allowed better
transportation,
communication
• Introduced coins, use of
chopsticks, and silk
• New ideas in government
emerge… Next Page
The Zhou Dynasty Continued…
The Mandate of Heaven
•
1)
2)
3)
4)
Mandate means = order, permission, authorization
The Mandate of Heaven is based on four principles:
The right to rule is granted by Heaven.
There is only one Heaven therefore there can be only one ruler.
The right to rule is based on the virtue of the ruler.
The right to rule is not limited to one dynasty.
Positive and Negative sides
Mandate of Heaven for a Dynasty
1) It gives the ruler prestige and religious importance.
2) It gives the ruler supreme power.
3) It allows a new ruler to gain power quickly because everyone believes he
has the “Mandate of Heaven”.
4) The ruler’s power must be kept in check by virtue.
5) It justifies rebellion as long as the rebellion is successful.
OLD DYNASTY
Generations go by…
New Dynasty
becomes…
•Taxes people too much
•Stops protecting people
•Lets roads and walls fall apart
•Treats people unfairly
Dynastic Cycle
•
NEW DYNASTY
•Brings peace
•Builds roads and canals
•Gives land to peasants
•Protects people
Period of wise and efficient rulers
•
Leaders begin to decline intellectually
and morally
•
Central government begins to collapse
•
Rebellion or invasion take place
creating a new dynasty.
•
The Dynastic cycle lasts until
1912 A.D.
•
(Yes, really!)
New Dynasty claims
The Mandate of Heaven
PROBLEMS
•Floods, Earthquakes
•Peasants revolt
•Invaders attack empire
•Bandits raid provinces
Old Dynasty
loses
The Mandate
of Heaven
The Zhou Dynasty Continued…
Family Life
•
Loyalty to the family was vital
to the Chinese people.
•
Filial Piety
•
All members of the family had
to subordinate their needs and
desires to those of the male
head of the family.
“The Five Relationships”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Son was subordinate to the
father
Wife was to husband
Younger brother to older
brother
All were to the king
Friend to friend
New Philosophies
The conflicts of the late Zhou period led many Chinese thinkers to
question the nature of society and people’s roles in it.
Cause
Effort to make sense of
chaos led to creation of
many new Chinese
philosophies, or ways of
looking at the world
Effect
Of many philosophies
created during late Zhou
period, two became
influential in later Chinese
history:
• Confucianism
• Taoism or Daoism
Confucius
Wisdom
• Confucius
is considered
by in your own
Humanity
Cultivate
Virtue
the Chinese as the first
• Belief in the concept:
person,
teacher.
• Treat others the way you
And
it
becomes
a
genuine
part
of
• Interest was political and
want to
be treated”
or…
ethical, not
spiritual
you.
• “Don’t do something to
• Belief was: The universe was
others that you would not
Cultivate
it in
made in such
a way that,
if the family,
want done to yourself”
humans would
in abide.
And act
it will
harmony with its purposes,
it in the community,Duty
their ownCultivate
affairs would
People had to follow the Five
prosper. And it will live and• grow.
Relationships Rule
• To be good,
you
had
to
Cultivate it in the state,
• Belief in 100% Work Ethic
behave according with the
And it will flourish• abundantly.
Tao (Way)
If everyone does their duty to
the fullest, then society will
• Two Concepts
of Tao-itDuty
Cultivate
in the world,
prosper. If not…
and Humanity
And it will become•universal.
Finding one’s place in nature
allows person to achieve
harmony with universe
Confucius
If there is righteousness in
the heart, there will be
beauty in the character. If
there is beauty in the
character, there will be
harmony in the home. If
there be harmony in the
home, there will be order in
the nation. If there be
order in the nation, there
will be peace in the world.
Taoism
Founder
• Lao Tzu
Text
• Tao Te Ching
(The Way of the Tao)
• Seeks to set forth proper forms
of behavior (morality)
• The Tao encompasses all opposite and complementary forces, which
are collectively referred to as yin and yang. As represented in the
familiar symbol (seen above)
• Yin is associated with “darkness”
• Yang is associated with “light”
• Neither can exist without other
• Important for two to remain balanced for perfect harmony
• The best way to act in harmony with the universal order is to act
spontaneously and let nature take its course by not interfering with it
Taoist philosophy
From The House at Pooh Corner
A clever mind is not a heart.
"Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet. "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that's why he never
understands anything."
There is more to knowing than just
being correct.
"Lot's of people talk to animals," said Pooh.
"Maybe, but..."
"Not very many listen, though," he said.
"That's the problem," he added.
The wise know their limitations; the
foolish do not.
Roo and Tigger were walking along the forest one
morning, and Tigger was talking about all the
things that Tiggers can do....
"I can swim," said Roo. "I fell into the river, and I
swimmed. Can Tiggers swim?"
"Of course they can. Tiggers can do everything."
"Can they climb trees better than Pooh?" asked
Roo, stopping under the tallest Pine Tree, and
looking up at it.
"Climbing trees is what they do best," said Tigger.
"Much better than Poohs."
And the next thing they knew, they were stuck in
the tallest pine tree.
Taoism wrap up
• Taoists believe it's very important to understand
“The Way Things Are”.
• This does not mean that there are not things we
need to change about ourselves, but it's important
to recognize and trust our own Inner Nature, and
discover who we are.
• In the story of "The Ugly Duckling", when does
the duckling stop feeling ugly?
• When he discovers he's a Swan.
• When he recognizes who he really is, a beautiful
swan, he finds his Way to happiness.
Some Lasting Effects of Taoism
Taoism eventually proved less influential than
Confucianism in Chinese history
BUT…
•
Taoist philosophy led many followers to work for
preservation, protection of natural environment
Chinese Philosophers
The Qin Dynasty
The End of the Dynastic Cycle
for the Zhou Dynasty
• Civil War will break out (403
•But in 227 BC
, the Yan
B.C.)
Prince Dan sent an assassin
• Becomes known as the “Period
named Jing Ke to kill Qin
of Warring States”
Huang
• Nature
•The attempt
fails. of warfare begins to
•Enraged, thechangeKing of The
Qin, Crossbow
• his
Chariots
toto riding on
called upon
generals
horseback
destroy the state
of Yan.
•In 222 BC
washappens?
totally
• Yan
What
conquered
the QIN.
• byAnd
the winner of the warring
states is…
• Qin Shi Huangdi- The first
Emperor of China
• The Qin Dynasty will emerge to
take control
Huang di = King of the gods
The August most revered god.
The Qin Dynasty
Achievements
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ordered the construction of
the Great Wall of China
Divided the country into
military districts, each ruled
by an appointed official
Standardized coinage
Standardized weights
Standardized measurements
Repaired roads and canals
Legalism is the practiced
philosophy
Censorate
Other items
•
Conducted first book
burning due to legalism
Legalism
• Belief that human beings are innately
evil.
• People can only be brought to follow
the correct path by harsh laws and stiff
punishments because people by nature
were not capable of being good without
incentive. (Incentive is they didn’t want to be punished!)
• Legalists obviously believe in strong
authoritarian rule with strict rules
The Long Wall
Beijing Great Wall -- In 221 BC, the Emperor Qin absorbed the other six
states and set up the first unified kingdom in Chinese history. In order to
strengthen his newly born authority and defend the Huns in the north, he
ordered connecting the walls once built by the other states as well as adding
some sections of his own.
Qin Shi Huangdi’s Tomb
Han Dynasty
• Liu Bang leads peasant revolt
• Confucianism is restored, removing
Legalism.
• Buddhism is brought from India to China
• Paper is invented by Tsai Lun
Sui Dynasty
• Gunpowder is invented
• While attempting to create medicine (and an elixir
for immortality) alchemists discover gunpowder
• Though many people wrote about the inflammable
mixtures during 300-650 AD, some historians
claim that the invention of gunpowder was dated
at 850 AD.
• Yang Di orders the construction of the Grand
Canal linking the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers.
The World’s Oldest Noodles
Scientists found the ancient noodles preserved in an overturned, sealed
bowl at an archaeological site near the Yellow River in northwestern
China.