Transcript Discovering Ancient China North, South , East, West Natural barriers

Discovering Ancient China
A view of China taken from a satellite located 35,785 km directly above China at the latitude
of 47 N, and longitude 117 E.
http://www.chinapage.com/map/map.html
North, South , East, West
Natural barriers isolated China from
all other civilizations.
Write down the barriers
that Separate china from
the Roman World
Mongolian Plateau
Taklimakan Desert
Plateau of Tibet
Himalaya Mountains
Gobi Desert
Pacific Ocean
China: Cultivating the Land
China is geographically divided into two parts. Outer
China is a sparsely settled region of high mountains,
plateaus, steppes, and deserts.
Agricultural China is where 95% of the Chinese people
live. Ancient Civilization Started on the Huang He River.
China was like this 2500 years ago as well
Rice Production
Population Density
Early Chinese Civilization
• Early Chinese civilization formed on the banks
of the Huang River (Yellow River).
In which directions
from China do you
Thin it was easiest
for the Chinese to
make contact with
other people? Why?
China:Dynastic Rule
Dynastic Rule: Ancient China was governed by a ruling class of warrior nobles
headed by a king.
Ruling families are referred to as dynasties. Dynasties would rule China until
1912.
The Shang Dynasty (1766 BC-1122BC) was the first verifiable dynasty and ruled
China for 600 years.
The majority of people living in the Shang Dynasty were peasants that worked the
land. There was a great divide between the rich and poor.
King Tang
The Zhou (joh) Dynasty 1122BC-256BC
• In 1122 BC the Zhou
marched from the west and
overthrew the Shang
Dynasty.
• Zhou rulers rewarded their
supporters by granting them
control of different lands.
• Under the Zhou China
practiced Feudalism which
is a system of government in
which local lords governed
from their own lands but
pledge military service to
the overall ruler.
Mandate of Heaven
• The Shang dynasty was overthrown by Zhou who
established a dynasty and introduced the
Mandate of Heaven, or divine rule of the king.
How is this similar
To other civilizations
We have talked about
In this class?
Qin (chin) Dynasty
• Rule from 221 BC until 206 BC •
• King Zheng set up a harsh
•
legalistic rule.
• This dynasty abolished feudalism
which cause the downfall of the
Zhou.
•
• Great wall is constructed
Han Dynasty
Ruled from 202 BC to 220 AD.
Emperor Wudi made many
improvements including created
the first state supported university
in China.
He sent explorers outside China
some even making it to the eastern
edge of the Roman Empire.
Han Dynasty Starts the Silk Road
• The Silk Road was a trade route that connected China to the rest of the
world.
• It stretched 4000 miles.
• Few traders covered the entire distance but instead good were relayed
in stages.
Great Wall of China
• Started by the Qin Dynasty to
protect from “barbarian
invaders”
• 5500 miles long
• Visible from the moon.
Great Wall
•
China: Philosophy and Religion
Confucius had a humble start but was eventually
addressed as the wisest man all over China.
His teachings were based on virtue and
goodness.
He was uninterested in spiritual salvation but
more on how to live this life
Confucius believed that the past tells us how to
live in the present.
Another Chinese philosophy is
Daoism or the quest to live in
unity with nature. Daoists were
opponents of government.
Buddhism spreads to China from
India.
Analects
China: Development of Writing
Oracle Bones
The earliest examples of Chinese writing are
found on oracle bones. Shang dynasty
rulers consulted the gods through the use of
oracle bones, animal bones and tortoise
shells on which priests scratched questions
for the gods.
The Chinese writing system is not
alphabetic like English. It used symbols
for words called characters. Each
character stands for an idea, not a sound.
The characters are read vertically in
columns (down and up).
China: Technology
Bronze
During the Shang dynasty,
Chinese artisans learned
to make beautiful objects
from bronze to be used in
religious ceremonies.
Iron
Ancient Chinese learned
how to build blast
furnaces that allowed
them to produce cast iron
used for weapons and
agricultural tools such as
the mold board plow.
Ancient Chinese Inventions
Silk
Silk cloth was made by drawing
the fine threads from the cocoon
of a silkworm, spinning the fiber
into yarn, and weaving them into
fabric.
China Today: Size and Population
China
9,596,960 Square area
1,331,460,000 Population
United States
9,629,091 Square area
307,006,550 Population
The population of China is more that one billion people,
the largest national group in the world.
In an effort to balance the relationship
between land and people, China adopted a
“one-couple, one-child” policy in the
1980’s.