Transcript Early China 1750 B.C. to A.D.

Early China
1750 B.C. to A.D.
Chapter 7.1
The Land of China
• Ancient Chinese Civilization developed
along the Huang He River
Huang He River
• Huang He-means Yellow River
– 2,900 miles long
– Cuts through yellow soil called loess
Huang He-”China’s Sorrow”
• Huang He is sometimes called “China’s
Sorrow” in honor of people killed by flood
Chang Jiang or
Yangtze River
• Flows from west to east
• 3,915 miles long
• 3rd longest river in the world
Mountains
• Himalaya, Kunlun Shan, and Tian Shan
mountains cover much of China
Tian Shan
Himalaya Mountains
Kunlun Shan
Desert
• Gobi Desert - cold, rocky
• Taklamakan Desert
Gobi Desert- hot in summertemperatures reach 122 degrees, cold in
winter-temperatures reach minus 40
degrees
Taklamakan Desert-second largest
shifting sand desert in the world
Tibetan Plateau
• Highest and largest plateau in the world
The First Chinese Dynasty
• According to Chinese myth, Yu the Great
built channels to control floods
• Chased away the dragon caused floods
• Dragons helped dig channels
• Took 13 years to complete the work
Yu the Great
• Legend says Yu the Great founded
China’s first dynasty named the Xia
(Shyah)
• Archaeologist have not found any
historical evidence of the Xia
Shang Dynasty
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Built the first cities in China
Ruled most of the Huang He Valley
Appointed warlords-military leaders
Most people were farmers
Shang Religion
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Polytheistic
Shang Ti-supreme god
Gods lived in mountains, rivers, and seas
Honored ancestors or long-dead family
Seeking Guidance from Ancestors
• Kings believed they received their power
to rule from gods and their wisdom from
ancestors
• Asked for help from oracle bones
Writing
• Pictographs-characters that represent
objects
• Ideographs-link two or more pictographs to
express an idea
Shang Arts
• Created objects made of bronze
Silk
• Silk-farmers raised silk worms to produce
silk
• Weavers made the silk into clothing
Kaolin
• Kaolin-fine, white clay-made vases and
dishes
Jade
• Jade- a green stone
The Zhou: China’s Longest
Dynasty
• Wu Wang overthrew Shang government
• Declared a new dynasty called Zhou
(JOH)
• Ruled 800 years
How did the Zhou Rule China?
• King led the government
• Ruled with bureaucracy-officials who carry
out the task of the government
• Aristocrats governed territories
The Right to Rule
• Mandate of Heaven-belief that the
Chinese king’s right to rule came from the
gods
• King must rule the proper “Way” known as
the Dao
Technology and Trade
• Zhou kings developed new ways to irrigate
the land
War Between the States
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Aristocrats grew powerful
Aristocrats began to fight one another
Fought for 200 years
Known as “Period of the Warring States”
“Period of Warring States”
• Aristocrats forced farmers to serve as
soldiers
• Soldiers used swords, spears, and
crossbows
• Developed saddle and stirrups