Transcript Chinese Geography Ppt file

Geography of China &
China’s First Dynasties
Geography of China
• China is about the same size as the United
States
• China is separated from Asia by:
– The Gobi Desert to the north
– The Pacific Ocean to the east
– Mountains to the west
• Climate and temperature is different all over
China
– Cold in the north
– Dry in the desert
– Tropical in the southeast jungles
The Rivers of China
• Huang He River (Yellow River) flows from
West to East across Northern China
– Floods and leaves behind silt
– Floods can be very deadly, so this river is also
called China’s Sorrow because so many
people have lost their homes and lives
because of its floods.
• Chang Jiang (Yangzi) River flows across
the middle of China
– It is the longest river in Asia
The First Civilizations in China
• The people in China settled along the rivers
• The silt from the floods of the rivers made the
land very fertile for farming
• Like the Egyptians, the Chinese filled their tombs
with objects like food or jade, a hard gemstone.
– Some gravesites had more stuff in them. What do
you think that suggests about those people?
China’s First Dynasties
• What is a dynasty?
– A series of rulers that come from the same family, like
the Bush family or the Kennedy family
• Yu the Great started the Xia (pronounced Shah)
dynasty
• Legend says that during some terrible floods
during Yu the Great’s life, he dug canals that
carried flood water to the oceans.
– Historians haven’t found actual evidence of this
yet…it’s just a legend, but many believe it is true.
The Shang Dynasty
• The Shang dynasty is the oldest for which
we have evidence that it existed.
Shang Dynasty social structure:
1. King
2. Nobles (helped the king rule) & Religious officials
3. Warriors
4. Artisans (made weapons, pottery, tools, or clothing)
5. Farmers
6. Slaves
The Shang Dynasty
• The Shang dynasty invented China’s first
writing system (over 2,000 symbols)
• The people wrote on cattle bones and
turtle shells
• Priests would write on these bones or
shells, then heat them, causing them to
crack. Then the priests would “read” these
cracks to make an oracle (prediction)