Mrs. Dell
Geography and Resources
 China is isolated: Himalayan, Pamir, and Tian mnts
 Takla Maka and Gobi desert
 The Pacific Ocean
 Climate in E. Asia ranges from dry to sub-arctic
and sub-tropic
 Climate determines the kinds of crops that could
be grown
 E. river valleys and N. China plains contained:
timber, stone, deposits of metal, and productive
land
Huang He= Yellow River
 Nicknamed “Yellow river” because of the loess
 Flooding of the Yellow river led to the
construction of dikes & channels
Yellow River
Impact of Geography
 Long distances and physical barriers isolated
China, blocking cultural diffusion
 Protects China from invasion
 Isolation contributed to the Chinese belief that
China was the “center of the earth,” and the only
civilization
Xia Dynasty
 The Xia dynasty had a well-organized
structure with social classes and a centralized
government
 Chinese stories place Xia in control of the
Yellow River valley
 The Xia state gradually gave way to the Shang
dynasty
 Most historians start Chinese history with the
Shang Dynasty because it coincides with the
earliest written records
Shang Dynasty (1750-1027BCE)
•Originated in Yellow
River Valley
•King and his core ruled
the main area directly –
members of royal family&
high-ranking nobility
governed outlying
provinces
•King would travel to
ensure the subordinates’
loyalty
•Capital of the Kingdom
changed numerous times
Shang Cities
 Centers of political and religious control
 Surrounded by big walls (stone in short supply-
built w/ wood & dried mud)
 Centers contained palaces, storehouses, admin
building, royal tombs, shrines, etc…
 Common people lived in agricultural villages
 Shang kings took a large portion of their peasants’
harvests for the army and their friends. The military
was large and powerful
Society and Technology
 Pictograms and phonetic symbols used to form
complex writing system
 Only small, educated elite mastered the writing
 Bronze is used as a sign of nobility
 Bronze= copper + tin
 Also had valued commodities for trade: jade, ivory,
mother of pearl….
Zhou Period (1027-221 BCE)
 We don’t know much about how the Xia and Shang
kept order, but we know a lot about the Zhou
dynasty. Longest dynasty- 800years
 The Zhou allied with the Shang and then took
over, ruling from 1122 BCE-256 BCE.
Politics & the Mandate of Heaven
 Heavenly powers gave the right to govern- called the
“mandate of heaven”- to a specially chosen person, the
“Son of Heaven.” This person was the link between
heaven and earth.
 His job was to maintain order and harmony and keep
high standards of honor and justice.
 If he did his job, his rule would be peaceful. If he
displeased heaven, his rule would become violent and
chaotic. Heaven would then transfer the mandate to a
different ruler.
 Chinese dynasties used this theory to claim power well
into the 20th century (1900’s.)
Chinese Dynastic Cycle
A war, famine, or other disaster
comes to China. The people
lose faith in the current
son of Heaven, there is a war for
the position, and a new Son of
Heaven declares himself emperor.
A new leader has taken power
under the Mandate of Heaven.
He begins his dynasty with a new name
and a new set of rules.
The dynasty continues
peacefully. Traditions
and values of the
new dynasty
become common practice
throughout China.
Zhou Politics
 The Zhou dynasty was huge and could not rule
effectively with a centralized government.
 So, the king relied on local government, who
then paid tribute in the form of respect,
goods, and money. They also provided soldiers.
 Regional leaders had strong weapons and
armor and their own armies, so they could
rebel successfully.
Zhou Politics cont…
 In 771, invaders came during the rule of an
ineffective king who got no support from
regional leaders. This permanently damaged
the dynasty and there was continual civil war
until the last Zhou king gave up his throne to
the first Qin dynasty king.
Zhou Society
 Nobles and rulers used lots of expensive bronze and
owned land. Many lived in cities and were educated.
Their behavior was closely controlled by the rules of
etiquette
 The peasants, farmers who did not own land, were the
largest social class in China
 Slaves did manual labor and were often sacrificed
during religious rituals.
Writing
 Fortunetellers used oracle bones. These
animal bones were heated, and the resulting
cracks studied. The diviner wrote the
prediction on the bone. The early language
used was pictographs, like Egypt and
Mesopotamia.
 The most famous writer from the Zhou
dynasty is Confucius; we’ll study him during
our unit on religion.
Zhou Contributions
 Promoted linguistic unity= Mandarin Chinese
 Oral epics and stories
 Large-scale public works projects
 First people to make steel by removing carbon
during the iron-smelting process