Transcript Ancient China

Ancient China
2000 B.C. ?
Geography
The Huang He (Yellow River) flows about 2903 miles from its
source in the Kunlun Mountains to its mouth on the Bo Hai
gulf. The river picks up silt in the region where it flows south
from the Ordos Desert, coloring the water yellow. The silt
settles in the river bed, causing the water level to rise over
time. It was nicknamed the "River of Sorrows" because it
often flooded and destroyed crops.
How did geography affect the development of China?
Cities
Chinese
Dynasties
I.
2100-1600 B.C. Xia Dynasty (Legendary)
II. 1600-1100 B.C. Shang Dynasty (N. China only)
III. 1100-221 B.C. Zhou Dynasty (N. China only)
Shang Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
(1650 B.C.–1027 B.C.)
(1027 B.C.–256 B.C.)
Gained control of corner of
northern China along Huang He.
Drove off nomads from northern
steppes and deserts.
Held complex religious beliefs.
Developed written language used
by all Chinese people.
Overthrew the Shang.
Promoted idea of Mandate of
Heaven.
Set up feudal state.
Economy and commerce grew.
Population increased.
Why was it necessary to create the Dynastic Cycle?
Xia Dynasty Achievements
Silk, potters wheel, baked brick
houses, flood control & irrigation
How is silk made?
Shang Dynasty
Two important events of the
period were the
development of a writing
system, as revealed in
archaic Chinese
inscriptions found on
tortoise shells and flat
cattle bones (commonly
called oracle bones), and
the use of bronze
metallurgy.
Why is bronze metallurgy important?
Achievements
Paper
The first paper appeared in China about 200 BC. Its name
is derived from papyrus. Silk was transformed into paper
by a process of pasting, but because silk was expensive,
wool and cotton came to be used instead. This invention
was attributed to Ts'ai Lun.
In the picture above, the manufacturing process used by
the Chinese. They steeped mulberry or bamboo bark in
water, then kneaded it to produce a paste from which they
obtained smooth thin sheets of paper.
Chinese Calendar
• Solar-lunar calendar
– Months = cycle of the Moon
– Years = solar year
– + a leap month
• The Quarter Calendar
(475 – 221 B.C.)
– Years = 365 and 1/4 days
– Months = 29 and 499/940 days
• The 1st complete calendar was made in Emperor Han
Wu’s 7th year (104 B.C.). There were 365 and
385/1539 days in a year and 29 and 43/81 days in a
month.
• The current Chinese calendar was the one modified in
Qing Dynasty Qian Long’s 7th Year (1742). It uses
1723 as the start of the calendar.
Religion
Chinese religious practices
centered on the veneration of
ancestors and the belief that
the universe was balanced
between two opposing
forces, the yin and the yang.
How does Ancient Chinese religion compare
to other early civilizations?