Transcript Shang and Zhou Dynasties - San Diego Unified School District

The Shang and Zhou Dynasties
have helped China become a
powerful and prosperous
civilization.
•The Shang Dynasty dominated the land
mostly between the Huang He River
(Yellow) in the north and the Yangtze River
in the south
• Natural barriers isolated ancient China
from other civilizations
• to the east: Pacific Ocean
• to the west: Taklimakan desert and
the 14,000-ft Plateau of Tibet
• to the southwest: Himalayan
Mountains
• to the north: Gobi Desert
• Environmental Challenges:
The Huang He deposited huge amounts of
dusty yellowish silt when it overflowed its
banks. This silt is called loess that is blown
from deserts to China. The floods from the
Huang He River could destroy whole
villages.
King
Ruled the land and gave power to the warrior
nobles in exchange for goods. Lived in palaces and
built tombs.
Warrior Nobles
Governed and owned the land. Governed scattered
villages within the Shang lands and sent tribute to
the king in exchange for local control. Lived on the
inside of the city protected by the city’s walls.
Peasants/ Laborers
Were the lowest class, and worked as farmers their
overlords. Lived on the outside of the city in small
huts.
• Believed that the spirits of family ancestors had the power to bring good
or bad luck to living members of the family
• These spirits were not regarded as mighty gods like other cultures
• Every family paid respect to the father’s ancestors and made sacrifices
in the spirits’ honor
• Through the spirits of their ancestors,
the Shang consulted the gods
• They worshiped the god Shang Di, and many
other gods as well
• Kings consulted the gods through oracle bones
Oracle bones- animal bones and sometimes
tortoise shells on which priests would had
scratched questions for the gods
• After inscribing a question a priest would a hot
poker to it, making the bones crack
• They then interpreted the cracks to see how the
gods answered
• The family was central to Chinese society
• Respect for ones parents was the most important
virtue
• The oldest men in the family controlled the family’s
property and made important decisions
• Women were expected to obey their fathers,
husbands, and their own sons.
• When women were between the ages of 13 and 16
years old, her marriage was arranged. She then
later moved into her husband’s house
• Loyalty to one’s family was the most important
virtue. People also owed respect to the ruler of the
Shang Dynasty
• Each character stands for an
idea not a sound
• No connection between the
spoken language and the
written language. Which meant
that a person could read
Chinese without being able to
speak a word of it and vice
versa
• A person needed to know over
a 1,000 characters in order to
be barely literate
• To be a scholar, one needed to
know around 10,000 characters
• Thus, Noble’s children learned
to write, but peasant’s children
didn’t.
• In
Shang society craftsmen were a
separate class from everyone else
• They manufactured weapons,
jewelry, and religious items for the
king and city’s nobles.
• Bronze working was the elite craft in
the Shang Dynasty
• Beautiful bronze items were used in
religious rituals and were symbols of
power.
• The Shang also discovered how to
make silk cloth
• They used the fine threads from a
silkworm’s cocoon to weave them into
beautiful cloth
The Shang and Zhou Dynasties
have helped China become a
powerful and prosperous
civilization.
• During the Zhou Dynasty, some
land ruled by the Shang Dynasty
was lost, mainly areas below the
Yangtze River. But new land was
gained in the north and northwest
further up the Huang He River and
Wei River
• Like the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou
Dynasty faced major floods along
many rivers and isolation from
foreign civilizations
• In response to the Zhou Dynasty’s
vast area, the king gave control over
different regions to members of the
royal family and nobles.
New dynasty
gains power and
claims to have
the Mandate of
Heaven.
The new dynasty
establishes peace and
is considered to have
the mandate of
Heaven.
Mandate of Heaven the divine approval
thought to be the basis
of royal authority
Gradually, the
dynasty declines
and power grows
weak.
Dynastic Cycle
New dynasty
emerges as old
dynasty is
overthrown .
Disasters occur
and the dynasty
grows weaker.
Old dynasty is
seen as having
lost the Mandate
of Heaven and
rebellions break
out.
Dynastic Cycle - the
historical pattern of the
rise, decline, and
replacement of dynasties
• The Zhou Dynasty controlled lands as far and beyond the
Huang He River in the north and the Yangtze in the south
• To help govern this vast area, the king gave control over
different regions to members of the royal family and or
nobles
Feudalism – a political system in which nobles, or lords,
are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the king
• The nobles then owe loyalty and military service to the
king and protection to the people living on the estate for
being given the responsibility
• As towns grew into cities, and regions expanded into
surrounding territory, lords and or nobles gained power
• They then fought amongst themselves for wealth and
territory.
• As cities grew larger, roads and canals were built to transport
goods and materials
• The Zhou also introduced the first form of money in China,
the coin, which further improved trade
• The most important technological advancement was the use
of iron
• To produce cast iron, the Zhou developed blast furnaces,
which would not be used in Europe until medieval times.
• The Zhou used iron to create tools for agriculture and
weapons
• These tools helped farmers grow more to meet the demands,
and support a thriving city
• For the first 300 years of the Zhou Dynasty, the empire was
mainly peaceful
• In 771 B.C., nomads from the north and west attacked and
invaded the Zhou capital city of Hao
• They murdered the king, but a few family members escaped
and went eastward to the city of Luoyang. Here, the Zhou
pretended to rule for 500 more years
• The kings of this new age in the Zhou Dynasty had little or no
power at all. Noble families, having most of the power, fought
with each-other for land and wealth starting the Warring Sates
period
• War between the noble families waged on, and from these
battles came new tactics: foot soldiers were used in place of
chariots and crossbows were also used
 The
Lord’s loyalty to the king started to
lessen.
 Legend has it: whenever the king lit a fire,
the nobles would come running to protect
him. The king often did this just for
entertainment. When an actual attack
happened, nobody came to the King’s
defense because he thought he was joking.
From that point on, Lords starting fighting
each other for power. This brought big
armies and lots of fighting leading to the era
called the Warring States (civil wars).
 Family
was the foundation of life in China
 During Warring States Period, members of a
large family would fight for power and
inheritance .
 China lacked a strong govt. at this time and
couldn’t stop the ruling class from fighting,
so China was now in a state of disorder.