ANCIENT CHINA
Hongshan
Yangshao/Longshan
Liangzhu
Yangshao, Central Plains of Yellow
River
• Farming villages
5200-3000 BC
• (Covered on Test 1)
Yangshao village of
Banbo
Longshan Culture, central plains
of the Yellow River
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between 3000-2000 BC, Longshan farming cultures were a
patchwork of chiefdoms or small kingdoms
critical role of religious personnel increased dramatically
use of divination to communicate with ancestors, including early
inscribed oracle bones
evidence of status differentiation in burials
craft specialization in jade-carving and ceramics and rare copper
and later bronze metallurgy; increased trade (interaction spheres)
construction of “stamped-earth” town walls and fortifications –
some fairly large (38 ha; 94 acres)
also evidence of trauma in skeletons and increase in artifacts
associated with armed conflict
sacrificed adults and children
warring and trading elites vying to get upper hand
Liangzhu, 3300-2250 BC
• Liangzhu culture, in lower Yangzi River,
• Strong ritual element in elite graves,
including tombs with wooden coffins in
platforms and mounds
• Craft specialists wove silk, made
laquerware and other beautiful ceramic
vessels, and are particularly known for
their outstanding jades
• Large settlements within thick walls,
between four and six meters (13 and 20
feet) thick
Hongshan platform with central burial at Niuheliang
Northeastern China, 4700-2900 BC
from Drennan and Peterson 2005
Spirit temple of
Niuheliang
Lower Xiajiadian Culture,
NE China/Inner Mongolia
• Follows Hongshan culture in this area north of the
Yellow River, which shows relationships with
both central plains of Yellow River (Longshan)
and lower Yangtze
• Large (10 ha/25 acres) walled sites, with smaller
defended and those without defensive walls
clustered around major centers
• Constructed large, richly endowed elite graves,
with wooden coffins, up to 8.9 m (29 ft) deep
Early Dynastic China in the
Central Plains of Yellow River
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China’s first true urban civilization
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Xia Dynasty (1700-1500 BC), Shang
Dynasty (1500-1045 BC), and Zhou
Dynasty (1045-221 BC)
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Marked by appearance of full-fledged
cities, states, writing
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The first dynasty of China, Xia, is
mentioned in early historical
sources, the Shi Ji (“Records of the
Grand Historian”), written by Sima
Quin (145-86 BC), which describes a
remote period (Longshan), the early
Xia and Shang Dynasties, including
repressive government typical of
Chinese dynastic civilization
Palace compound at
Erlitou, Xia Dynasty
(1700-1500 BC)
Shang Capital Cities
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Zhengzhou, Early Shang
Dynasty capital
Oracle bones suggest at
least seven capitals in
middle Yellow River,
representing specific
ruling lineages;
throughout Chinese
history the nobility lived
apart from commoners
(e.g., the forbidden city
in Beijing), with
noble/royal palaces and
tombs located in city
centers
commoners lived in
outlying towns and
villages.
Yinxu (“Ruins of Yin”), the last capital of China’s Shang Dynasty (15001045 BC). Capital served 12 kings over 8 generations. Discovered in 1899 in
the northwest outskirts of Anyang.
Anyang (Yinxu site)
Anyang (Yinxu)
• At this late Shang capital, which covers
over 25 square km, archaeologists have
found:
– A palace precinct (Xiaotun) with at least 25
buildings covering an area of over 10 ha (25
acres)
– A royal necropolis (Xibeigang) with 12
subterranean tombs
– Temples dedicated to the supreme god Di
Royal Tombs
• Rulers had great
cruciform burial
tombs
• king in center and
four arms with
ramps leading down
• kings buried with
much wealth,
slaves, sacrificial
victims, animals,
etc.
Tomb excavation at Yinxu
in 1920s
Fu Hao Tomb at Yinxu
(Anyang), lesser member
of the royal house
Remains from Yinxu
Xibeigang royal
necropolis
Human sacrifice was common practice in
Shang Dynasty. Slaves or captured enemies,
were sometimes slaughtered or buried alive
as offerings to recently deceased elite. Even
living wives were known to join their
husbands upon burial. Dogs, horses, chariots,
and other animals would also sacrificed.
Bronze, the wealth of kings and nobles
Oracle Bones
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Early symbols on turtle carapace from
Jiahu (6500 BC)
Between 2,500 -1900 BC, the practice of
inscribing on bone was a hallmark of
early Chinese civilization and by Shang
Dynasty developed into full-fledged
writing system
Over 100,000 oracle bones recovered
mainly from Anyang
ox shoulder blades and turtle carapaces
were cracked with hot metal and
interpreted as messages from ancestors
provides wealth of information,
especially about activities of early kings
later, writing on Bronze ritual vessels
(Zhou dynasty), bamboo slips (Warring
States period), silk, and paper
Tens of thousands of Chinese characters,
widely understood across spoken
dialects, which was critical to
administration of early imperial states
Warlords
Burial remains of beheaded
people sacrificed at death of
member of royal class
• Early Chinese rulers
stayed in power by
having a strong army
• kings were frequently
at war defending their
realm and conquering
others
• through kinship
obligation all subjects
were expected to aid
their kings
Changjiang culture,
1700-1200 BC, was a
complex state society
that rivaled the Shang
culture in SW China
Craftspeople made
spectacular bronze
sculptures, such as
trees and heads
Sanxingdui was a walled
city 450 ha (1112 acres),
with surrounding occupied
area at least 15 square km
Zhou Dynasty, 1045-221 BC
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Silk manuscript from
late first millennium BC
Western Zhou Dynasty (1045-771 BC): The
Shang Dynasty ended in 1045 BC, when the
powerful and ambitious king of the state of
Zhou sent his chariots and Tiger warrior
infantry north to defeat the Shang
To legitimize their rule after overthrow of
Shang rulers, Zhou emperors introduced the
idea of a “mandate from heaven” (king was
considered son of heaven)
Zhou empire was a decentralized feudal state,
divided into fiefs governed by leaders chosen
from among the king’s relatives and allies
Only the royal capital was directly controlled
by Zhou emperor;
Eastern (late) Zhou Dynasty is divided into two
periods: the Summer and Autumn period (770481 BC) and Warring States Period (480-221
BC), when emperor’s authority waned and
feudal rulers essentially became leaders of
independent states, waging constant war
against one another
Confucius (551-479 BC) strongly disapproved of the
absolutism and self-interest of rulers during the
Warring States period
Buddhism in imperial China by
Qin empire, but apparently
suppressed by emperor, Qin Shi
Huang Di
Siddhārtha Gautama
(Buddha), 563-483
BC?
The Qin Empire and Unification
• Qin Shi Huangdi, “August emperor of Qin,”
(King Zheng) unified China after a series
of ruthless military campaigns (221 BC)
• Ascended throne in 246 BC at age of 13,
conquered the Zhou Dynasty, and then
continued campaigns throughout China
• immense burial mound at Lintong begun
soon after his ascension (1000 ft. on a
side, 140 ft. tall)
• work conducted by over 600,000
conscripts (based on written records) intensified after unification in 221 BC
• regiment of 1000s of terra cotta soldiers at
the mounds side
• Qin Shi Huangdi made sweeping reforms
and created the “commandery”
administrative system (36 commanderies
or provinces, under imperial appointed
governor)
• Standardized writing, travel, passports,
etc.
Whereas Shang rulers buried
human sacrifices in their tombs, the
Qin emperor amassed an army of
1000s of terra cotta soldiers,
horses, and chariots to accompany
him in death
Qin Dynasty, 221-207 BC
Han Dynasty, 206 BC – AD 220
Many secondary states developed through trade, benefiting from
their location between East and West, such as Khotan along the
Silk Road in Tarim Basin
Southeast Asian Khmer Civilization
Angkor Wat
Angkor Thom
Khmer Civilization
• Khmer is clearly a “secondary,” rather than a
“pristine” state
• Unites disparate groups into a common polity
in Southeast Asia
• Hindu, imported by Indian traders, provided a
common bond which united people across a
very broad region: a common religion formed
the basis of Khmer civilization
Angkor, Cambodia
• Complex of cities, temples, and
reservoirs, which between AD
800-1435 was the center of large
kingdom
• Temple-palaces were powerful
symbols of the power of elite,
housing thousands of priests
• Angkor Wat, one of the largest
religious structures ever built
• Angkor kings followed religious
practice of venerating royal
ancestors and the god Shiva and
honoring a named linga within an
elaborate temple
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Harappa
Shang
Minoan/Mycenaean
Khmer