Transcript Ancient China History Alive: Unit 4 - MrLittleKMS

Ancient China
Geography & the Early Settlement
of China
China’s Geography
•
For thousands of years, the ancient Chinese
thought they were pretty much alone on the
planet Earth. China's natural barriers to the
west, south, and east helped to protect these
early people from invasion.
•
China's natural barriers include seas - the
China Sea and the Yellow Sea, both located
in the Pacific Ocean. These seas provide a
huge coastline, which provided trade routes
and easy access to food.
Why did most early people settle
on the North China Plain?
1. The Tibet-Qinghai Plateau and Northeastern
Plain are too cold and dry for agriculture
2. The Northwestern Deserts are too dry for
agriculture
3. The heavy rains of the Chang Jiang Basins
may have made farming difficult
4. The North China Plain was ideal because it
has water, fertile soil, and a moderate
climate
• China's natural barriers also include
mountains, deserts, and rivers.
• The Yellow River, flows for more than 2,900
miles across China.
– This flooding was considered a gift and a
curse. The flooding left rich, fertile soil to
farm on but many people drowned.
– The river was nicknamed “China’s Sorrow”
• Each year during the flood season, all homes
along the Yellow River, were destroyed. Each
year, the ancient Chinese had to rebuild their
homes and their lives.
• Over time, people learned the techniques of flood
control. The rich began to build their homes high
above the river.
What did the North China Plain
offer to the early people that
settled there?
• The Yellow River was a source of water
for farming
• Silt from the flooding of the river helped to
fertilize the land
• The Gobi Desert is one of the
driest deserts in the world. In
the Gobi, there is at least the
hope of water, although an
oasis is rare.
• The Taklamakan Desert,
China's other desert, is
nicknamed the Sea of Death.
It offers poisonous snakes,
frequent sand storms, boiling
days, freezing nights, and
intense water shortages. The
Sea of Death is not a small
desert. In fact, it is the second
largest desert in the world.
• China has very little farm land because much of
the country is either mountains or deserts.
• Only 1/10 of the land can be farmed. The
mountains and deserts affected China by keeping
it separated from most other peoples.
What other geographic factors helped to
keep China isolated from other
civilizations?
• Towering mountains, rocky plateau, and
cold climate in the southwest
• Large deserts in the northwest formed
natural barriers
– The Yangtze River, is the 3rd longest river in the
world. It’s about 3,400 miles long and flows
across central China. It also provides the
farmers with a rich soil along the river’s coast.
• It also floods each year and leaves fertile soil along
the banks. The Yangtze River has high banks, which
keeps homes safe from the annual flooding.
The Shang Dynasty
Key Terms….
A Dynasty is a line of
rulers that come from
the same family
An aristocrat is a noble,
or upper class person,
whose wealth comes
from their land
Dynasties
• The four dynasties which ruled Ancient
China were:
– Shang (1523-1028 BCE)
– Zhou (1027-256 BCE)
– Qin (221-206 BCE)
– Han (206 BCE-220 CE)
• Archaeologists believe the Yellow
River valley was the center of
Chinese civilization.
• The Shang kings were part of a
dynasty that may have build the
1st Chinese cities. They ruled
from about 1750 B.C. to 1122 B.C.
• The Shang Dynasty built the city
of Anyang which was China’s
first capital.
• People of the Shang dynasty were
divided into groups…
• THE NOBLES: The king and his family
were the most powerful of this group.
Warlords and other royal officials were
also in the class. They were aristocrats,
nobles whose wealth came from the land
they owned.
• THE COMMONERS: Traders and
artisans were below the nobles. The
commoners did most of the specialized
work including farming.
•
THE SLAVES: Slaves captured during
wars were the lowest class of people.
• People in the Shang dynasty
believed in many spirits and
gods and honored ancestors
with offerings.
• Shang kings believed they
received wisdom and power
from the gods, spirits, and
ancestors.
Early Chinese Dynasty Gods…
The river god, rain god, earth god.
They believed in many gods, but
the most powerful was the sky
god, T'ien, the king of gods. To the
peasants, T'ien was more brilliant
and more powerful than any
earthbound king.
• Early Chinese writing used pictographs, or
characters that stand for objects.
• Ideographs are two or more pictographs joined to
represent an idea.
– The Chinese language differs from the American
alphabet system because in the American alphabet, each
letter represents a sound. The letters, or sounds, are put
together to make words. In the Chinese language, each
marking, or symbol, represents a whole word.
Shang Dynasty contributions:
• Writing
• Use of bronze
Three Chinese Philosophies
Zhou dynasty: In depth!
• Zhou kings were thought to be the link
between the gods and people. The Mandate
of Heaven was a heavenly law that gave
Zhou kings the power to rule. The Mandate
of Heaven also gave people rights.
• The Dao was the proper way kings were to
rule their people.
A mandate is a
formal command to
rule or do something
important
• Wu Wang and his followers
rebelled against the Shang
dynasty and created the Zhou
dynasty.
• The Zhou dynasty ruled
longer than any other dynasty
in Chinese history.
Wu Wang
Contributions of the Shang & Zhou Dynasties
• Two of the most important contributions of the Shang
Dynasty are the use of bronze and a system of writing.
– Warriors… were knights in bronze armor who
went to battle in horse-drawn chariots made of
wood and bronze. They wore bronze helmets, and
carried daggers, spears, and axes
• Chopsticks were invented, which changed the way
people ate their food.
• Irrigation and flood-control systems were
developed during the Zhou dynasty. Farm tools,
such as the plow, were developed.
• Silk was an important trade item during the Zhou
dynasty.
Qin dynasty: In depth!
Qin contributions:
•
•
•
•
Building of the Great Wall
Standardization of weights and measures
Creation of road system
Shi Huangdi
The Great Wall
• Shi Huangdi united and expanded China.
• As the empire grew, it become more
difficult to travel and communicate.
• Shi Huangdi used prisoners to build new
words and canals. They build 4,000 miles
of roads.
• The Great Wall was built to keep out
invaders, and to warn people when
communication was taking place.
Three major Chinese theories
1. Confucianism
2. Daoism
3. Legalism
•
These theories were developed to
reinstate peace after the Period of
the Warring States.
The Zhou Dynasty
• What was the Mandate of Heaven?
– It was a divine right given to the king to rule as long as he
ruled well. If he ruled poorly, others had the right to
overthrow him!
• What is feudalism?
– System of government where the king owns all the land.
He gives land to loyal supporters & in exchange they have
to provide soldiers to fight for the king. Peasants, called
serfs, work the land for the king.
• Three major theories—Confucianism,
Daoism, and Legalism—were developed
to reinstate peace after the Period of
the Warring States.
• Confucianism isn’t properly speaking a
religion; it’s a way of behaving so you’ll
do the right things.
• Confucius was a great thinker and
teacher, who believed that people
needed a sense of duty to be good.
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• Confucianism taught that all men with a
talent for government should take part in
government.
• This idea opened government up to the
lower classes. This caused him to be
disliked by the aristocrats.
How dare
Confucius think the
peasants are as
good as us!
Excerpt from The Analects of
Confucius, c.400 BCE
“Do not do unto others,
what you would not want
others to do to you”
“If you make a mistake
and do not correct it,
this is called a mistake”
• Confucianism was a social code of behavior, a very
set and rigid code of behavior, that honored
ancestors and ancient rituals.
• Everything had to be done a certain way. One of his
rules, for example, was that gentlemen could only
display their skill as archers on three hunts a year, in
the spring, autumn, and winter.
• There's a saying about Confucius: "If the mat was not
straight, the Master would not sit." You might think to
yourself: "Wow. What a fussy." But think about it. In
English, if you write a sentence, the first word must
start with a capital letter and the last word must end
with a period, an exclamation point, or a question
mark. Otherwise, it's not a sentence. "If the mat was
not straight, the Master would not sit.“
• Today, the Chinese celebrate Confucius Birthday
(Teacher's Day), in honor of their ancestor, the
teacher, Confucius.
• Daoism teaches that people should
give up worldly desires and encourages
the importance of nature. Daoism was
created by the scholar and teacher
Laozi.
• Legalism is the belief that society
needs a system of harsh laws and
punishments. The scholar Hanfeizi
developed Legalism.
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• Aristocrats liked the philosophy of Legalism
because it favored force and power and did not
require rulers to show kindness or understanding
• China’s aristocratic families owned large estates
in early China. They lived in large houses with
tile roofs, courtyards, and gardens. Fine
furniture and silk hangings filled their rooms, and
their houses were surrounded by walls to keep
out bandits.
Confucianism
• Who was Confucius?
– A philosopher whose teachings deeply influenced
Chinese government & culture
• What was China like during his life?
– It was in chaos
• What are the 5 basic relationships?
1. Ruler & Subject
2. Husband & Wife
3. Father & Son
4. Older Sibling & Younger Sibling
5. Friend & Friend
• Who should people act in the basic
relationships?
– People must obey & respect those above them…
and in return, those with authority need to set a
good example
• What influence did Confucius have on the
Chinese government?
– Civil servants had to take a test on Confucian
teachings before they were awarded jobs
– Government jobs were no longer given only to
sons of the rich
Daoism
• Who was Laoizi
– He was a great wise man and an advisor to the
Zhou court
• According to Daoism, how should people
discover to behave?
– People discover how to behave by learning to live
in harmony with the way of nature
• What are yin & yang?
– Opposite forces of nature
• According to Daoists, how should rulers
behave?
– Rulers should rule as little as possible
• Who was Hanfeizi?
– He was a prince
Legalism
• According to Hanfeizi, what was the only way to create a
strong society?
– The only way to create a strong society was to establish
strict laws enforced by rewards for good behavior &
punishments for poor behavior
• How did Hanfeizi believe a ruler should govern?
– Ruler should have absolute power backed by military rights
• How did the Qin dynasty apply the teachings of Hanfeizi?
– They applied his teachings by passing strict laws and
harshly punishing people that didn’t obey them
Lesson 22: 1st Emperor of China
A.Qin was a ruler of a local state during the Zhou
dynasty. He gradually took over neighboring states
and declared himself Qin Shihuangdi, or First Qin
Emperor.
B. Qin’s rule was based on legalism.
C. Qin abolished the officials’ authority to pass
their posts on to their sons. He became the only
person authorized to fill empty posts.
D. Qin united China, created one type of currency,
ordered the building of roads and buildings, and
connected the Chang Jiang to central China by
canal.
E. The Great Wall of China was built to protect the
Chinese from the Xiongnu, a nomadic people living
north of China. Qin forced the farmers to build the
wall.
F. Chinese people believed Qin Shihuangdi was a
harsh ruler, and they overthrew his dynasty after his
death.
Creating an Empire
• Do you think Shihuangdi’s strategy of
conquest helped or hurt China?
– Increased China’s size…helped
– Cost many lives & used harsh measures to
maintain power… hurt
• How di Qin Shihuangdi end feudalism? Why
did he do this?
– Replaced feudalism with a government he
controlled
– So that powerful lords wouldn’t be a threat to him
Standardizing the Culture
• Why did the Emperor of Qin standardize money,
weights, & measures?
– To make trade easier on the people
• How did Emperor Qin change the written
language?
– He simplified it by eliminating some of the
characters
• The Chinese worked on the Great Wall for over 1700
years. In turn, each emperor who came to power
added pieces of the wall to protect their dynasties.
But the wall was not a solid wall. It was a line of
disconnected barricades.
• First Emperor Qin wanted a much better barricade
to protect his people from the Mongol invaders to the
north. He wanted a strong wall 30 feet wide and 50
feet high.
• Emperor Qin used peasants, captured enemies, criminals,
scholars, and anyone else who irritated him, & put them all to
work building the Great Wall. Laborers were not paid for their
work. It was slave labor. About 3,000 people worked on the wall
during the Qin Dynasty. Rocks fell on people & walls caved in.
Workers died of exhaustion and disease. Laborers were fed
only enough food to keep them alive. There’s an old Chinese
saying, "Each stone in the wall represents a life lost in the wall's
construction.
• This project continued long after Emperor Qin’s death. Building
the wall was a project that continued for many hundreds of
years until the wall was over 3700 miles long. Most emperors
used the same system that Qin used, forced labor. Today, the
Great Wall still stands. It can be seen from space, it’s that big!
Protecting the Northern Border
• How did the emperor protect China’s northern
border?
– Building the Great Wall
• What difficulties did workers who constructed
the Great Wall face?
– Wall was built across high mountains, deserts,
swamps, and quicksand
– Cold winters & hot summers
– Northern invaders attacking workers
– Workers were forced to work and many died
Ending Opposition
• Why was there a conflict between Confucian
scholars & the emperor?
– Scholars believed in proper behavior & good
examples…not harsh laws
• What did the emperor do to prevent people
from learning about Confucianism?
– He ordered all Confucian books burned
– Anyone who discussed Confucian teachings to
criticize the government would be put to death
• The exquisite terracotta army
of the first Qin Dynasty ruler
Shihuangdi represents the
emperor’s ability to control the
resources of the newly unified
China, and his attempt to
recreate and maintain that
empire in the afterlife.
• The soldiers are part of
Shihuangdi's tomb, located
near the modern town of Xi'an,
Shaanxi province in China.
Close up of soldier in
Emperor Qin's terra cotta
army, Qin Dynasty, China
End of the Qin Dynasty
• List three things that were buried in the
Emperor of Qin’s tomb
1. Huge terra-cotta army
2. Tools
3. Precious jewels
• What happened to the Qin dynasty after
the death of Qin Shihuangdi?
– It was overthrown shortly after the death of
the Emperor of Qin
Lesson 23: The Han Dynasty
A. Liu Bang founded the Han dynasty in
202 B.C.
B. Civil service examinations began when
Han Wudi started testing potential
government employees. Students prepared
for many years to take the exams.
C. The population tripled during the Han
dynasty. Farmers had to divide their land
among more and more sons, which left
them with very little land. Farmers sold their
land to aristocrats and became tenant
farmers to survive.
D. The Chinese invented many new products
during the Han dynasty, such as the
waterwheel, the rudder, drill bits, steel, and
paper.
E. Chinese doctors began practicing
acupuncture, the practice of easing pain by
sticking needles into patients’ skin.
Warfare
• How far did the Han
empire extend?
– The empire reached
west into central Asia,
east to present-day
Korea, & south to
present-day Vietnam
• What weapons made
the Han army strong?
– Improved armor, swords,
crossbows, and kites
Government
• What is a
bureaucracy?
– A form of government
where a few people in
charge at the top and
many at the bottom that
follow the orders
• How did Han
emperors decide who
would receive
government jobs?
– Civil service exams
• The Chinese invented many new
products during the Han dynasty,
such as the waterwheel, the
rudder, drill bits, steel, and
paper.
• With the invention of the rudder,
the Chinese could move ships'
sails differently. Ships could now
sail into the wind rather than
with it.
• This meant Chinese ships could
travel to the islands of Southeast
Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Agriculture
• What problems did farmers
face during the Han period?
– Had to grow food, make their
clothing, build their homes
– Pay one month unpaid labor
to government
– Floods & drought often
destroyed crops
• How did the tools that were
developed during the Han
period helpful to the farmers?
– Chain pump moved water
from irrigation ditches &
canals to fields
– Iron plow made it easier to
prepare & plant crops
– Wheelbarrow allowed famers
to move heavy loads
Industry
• Who was the production
of silk made easier during
the Han period?
– Foot-powered machine
that wound fibers onto
large reels
• How did the Chinese
make it easier to get salt
during the Han period?
– Iron-tipped bamboo drills
helped get brine from
underground…then
evaporated leaving salt
E. Chinese doctors
began practicing
acupuncture,
the practice of
easing pain by
sticking needles
into patients’
skin.
Art
• What type of writing
materials did the Chinese
use before the invention
of paper?
– They wrote with brush &
ink on bamboo & silk
• Why was paper an
improvement over other
writing materials?
– It was inexpensive and
easier to bind together
– Absorbed ink well
Medicine
• What is moxibustion?
– Placing a cone of
powder on the skin &
lighting it to relieve pain
& promote healing
• What did the Chinese
discover about
blood?
– It circulates from the
heart through the body
and back to the heart
Science
• What did Chinese astronomers discover?
– They discovered that the moon shines because
it reflects the light of the sun
– Solar eclipses happen when the moon blocks
the view of the sun
• For what purpose were the first compasses
used?
– Determine where to build temples, graves, and
homes
Lesson 24:The Silk Road
A. Silk was the most valuable trade product.
B. The Silk Road was an overland trade route
extended from western China to southwest
Asia. It was an expensive way to export
Chinese products because it was difficult to
travel and was dangerous.
• The Silk Road was not actually a
road. It was not paved. It was not
even a single route. The Silk Road
was a name given to any route that
led across China to Rome. It was a
4000-mile trip. At one end was
China. At the other end was Rome.
• Each had something the other
wanted. Rome had gold and silver
and precious gems. China had silk
and spices and ivory. Ideas also
traveled along the Silk Road, ideas
that affected everyone.
• The Romans were not surprised to find another
civilization hidden over the mountains. They had been
looking for “the Silk People” for a long time. They
discovered pieces of silk from the people they
conquered. Silk quickly became popular in Rome.
• But the Romans did not know who was making this
wonderful material. The people they conquered did
not know who was making silk either. They simply
traded for it.
Rome Trades
Glassware for Silk
• How did the Romans
first learn about silk?
– During a battle near the
Euphrates River
• What product could
they trade that was
unknown to the
Chinese?
– Glassware
Western Silk Road
• List two dangers of traveling the
western part of the Silk Road
– Narrow & difficult passes
– Lack of oxygen high in
mountains
– Threat of animals & insects in
the desert
• List two products from Egypt,
Arabia, & Persia traded on the
Silk Road
– Perfumes, cosmetics, & carpets
• Why did the Roman emperor
stop men from wearing silk?
– He wanted to reduce the
amount of gold that was flowing
out of his empire
Eastern Silk Road
• List two dangers of traveling the eastern part of the Silk
Road
– Bandits, sandstorms, & mirages
• List two products China sent to the West
– Silk, dishware, jewelry, cast-iron products, & decorative
boxes
• List three products Central Asia traded on the Silk Road
– Horses, jade, furs, and gold
• List three products from India that were traded on the Silk
Road
– Cotton, spices, pearls, & ivory
Buddha
makes you
happy!
A. Indian merchants and teachers brought Buddhism from
India to China.
B. The Han dynasty fell after wars, rebellions, and plots
against the emperor. Civil war began, and nomads invaded
the country before the government collapsed.
C. During the unrest of the fall of the Han dynasty, people
found comfort in the teachings of Buddhism, and more
people began practice the Buddhist religion. Buddhism
helped people cope with the chaotic times.
Opening of the Silk Road
• List three things Zhang
Quian brought back to
China after his journey to
Central Asia
– More powerful horses
– Grapes
– Stories about Persia,
Syria, India & Rome
• What product could china
trade that was unknown
to the West?
– Silk
Cultural Exchanges Along
the Silk Road
• List three plants that China
learned about as a result of
trade on the Silk Road
– Grapes, alfalfa, cucumbers,
figs, pomegranates, walnuts,
chives, sesame, & coriander
• List three plants the West
learned about on the Silk Road
– Roses, azaleas, chrysanthemums,
peonies, camellias, oranges, pears, &
peaches
• What new religion entered
China by way of the Silk Road?
– Buddhism