Transcript Ancient China

Ancient China
Chapter 6
Physical Geography
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Geography played a major role in the
development of China
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Separated China from the rest of the
world
– Separated China from itself
Vast and Varied Land
Covers nearly 4 million square miles
 Nearly the size of America
 Contains deserts, mountains, beaches,
plateaus, and more
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Gobi Desert
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The Gobi Desert ran along the northern
border.
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Mountains to the west
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Pacific Ocean to the east
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Plateau of Tibet as peaks that reach past 26,000
feet
From this point smaller ranges spread eastward
Qinling Shandi
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Separates northern China from Southern China
Weather and temperature
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Vary across China
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Northeast: Cold and dry
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Northwest: Dry
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Temperature can be below zero
Rivers freeze for half of the year
Due to the deserts
Eastern Plains: Heavy Rains
Tropical Southeast
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The wettest region
Can bring 250 inches of rain a year
Rivers of China
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Two major rivers
flow west to east
 Helped link people
from the east to the
west.
Yellow River
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Huang He
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Also known as the Yellow River
– Stretches nearly 3,000 miles across
northern China
– Often floods
 Can
be very destructive
Yangzi River
Chang Jiang
 Longest river in Asia
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Runs from Tibet to the Pacific Ocean
Cuts through central China
Civilization Began
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First settled along the rivers.
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Farmed, built villages, and formed a
civilization
Development of Farming
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As early as 7000 BC farmers grew rice
in the middle Chang Jiang Valley
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North along the Yellow River millet and
wheat were better
Getting Food
Fished
 Hunted with bows and arrows
 Domesticated animals
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Pigs, Sheep
With farming civilization grew
Early Settlements
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Archaeologists found early villages by
rivers.
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Houses partly underground, straw
covered roofs, animal pens, storage pens,
and cemeteries
As villages grew so did their defenses
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Walls surrounded towns to defend against
invaders
Chinese Culture
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Over time became more advanced
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Pottery wheels
– Dig water wells
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As population grew, villages spread
out, culture expanded
Burial Sites
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Provided us with a lot of information
from this period
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Filled their tombs with objects
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Some included food
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For the afterlife
Some graves had more than others
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Social order
The Xia Dynasty
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Around 2200 BC Yu the Great, a king,
founded the Xia [SHAH] dynasty
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Tales of Yu helping the Chinese people
with the floods
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Stories were important to ancient
China because told of a king who
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Helped people
Explained the geography of the country
The Shang Dynasty
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Established in the 1500’s BC
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Ruled a broad area in Northern China
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The King was the center of the political
and religious life
Royal Family / Nobles
Warrior Leaders
Artisans
Farmers
Slaves
The Shang Advances
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China’s first writing system
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Military advancements
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War chariots
Bronze body armor
Ornaments from Jade
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Today’s writing is based on this system
Jade- a hard gemstone
Developed a calendar based on the cycles
of the moon
Oracle Stone