Transcript File - International School of Sosua

Chapter 5
Early Society in East Asia
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The Yellow River
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Huang He
3000 miles: Tibet to the Yellow Sea
Deposits fertile, light-colored soil
Periodic flooding: “China’s sorrow”
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Prehistoric Society: Yangshao
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5000-3000 B.C.E.
Middle region of the Yellow River valley
Banpo village
Painted pottery
Bronze tools
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The Earliest Dynasties
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Xia
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Shang
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ca. 2200 B.C.E.
Organized through
village network
Hereditary monarchy
Flood control
1766-1122 B.C.E.
Zhou
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1122-256 B.C.E.
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Shang Dynasty
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Bronze metallurgy
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Horse-drawn chariots, other wheeled vehicles
Large armies
Political organization: network of fortified cities,
loyal to center
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State monopoly
1000 cities
Capital moved six times
 Impressive architecture at Ao, Yin
Other regional kingdoms coexist: Sanxingdui
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Shang Dynasty Burial Practices
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Hierarchical social structure
Burials alongside deceased member of ruling
class
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Sacrificial victims, mostly slaves
Wives, servants, friends, hunting companions
Later replaced by statuary, often monumental
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Zhou Dynasty, 1122-256 B.C.E.
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No law codes: rule by decree
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Aggregation of villages opposed to Shang
leadership
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“Mandate of heaven”
Decentralization of authority
Development of cheap iron weaponry ends Shang
monopoly on bronze
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Decline of the Zhou Dynasty
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Decentralized leadership style allows for building
of regional powers
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Increasing local independence, refusal to pay Zhou
taxes
Iron metallurgy allows for widespread creation of
weaponry
Northern invaders weaken Zhou dynasty,
beginning eighth century B.C.E.
Internal dissention: the Period of the Warring
States (403-221 B.C.E.)
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China During the Period of the Warring
States, 403-221 B.C.E.
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Social Order
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Ruling classes great advantage
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Palatial compounds, luxurious lifestyle
Supported by agricultural surplus, tax revenues
Defended by monopoly on bronze weaponry
Hereditary privilege
Support class of artisans, craftsmen
Evidence of long-distance trade, merchant class
Large class of semi-servile peasants
Slave class
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Family and Patriarchy
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Devotion to family, ancestor veneration
Connection of spirit world to physical world
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Ritual sacrifices
Father ritual head of family rites
Earlier prominence of individual female leaders
fades in later Shang, Zhou dynasties
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Oracle Bones and Early Chinese
Writing
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Used for communicating with spirit world,
determining future
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Question written on animal bones, turtle shells
Then heated over fire; cracks examined for omens
Early archaeological evidence of Chinese writing
Evolution of Chinese script
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Pictograph to ideograph
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Oracle Bone from Shang Dynasty
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Zhou Literature
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The reflections of Confucius
Book of Changes
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Manual for divination
Book of History
Book of Etiquette (Book of Rites)
Book of Songs
Little survived
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Often written on perishable bamboo strips
Many destroyed by emperor of Qin dynasty in 221 B.C.E.
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Nomadic Peoples of Central Asia
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Steppe nomads
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Poor lands for cultivation, extensive herding activities
Horses domesticated ca. 4000 B.C.E., bronze
metallurgy in 2900 B.C.E.
Extensive trade with sedentary cultures in China
Tensions: frequent raiding
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Southern Expansion of Chinese
Society
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Yangzi valley
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Yangzi River: Chang Jiang, “long river”
Excellent for rice cultivation
Irrigation system developed
The state of Chu
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Autonomous, challenged Zhou dynasty
Culture heavily influenced by Chinese
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