Transcript WORLD HISTORY Ancient China

ANCIENT CHINA: DEVELOPMENT OF AN ISOLATED
CIVILIZATION
SSWH2 Ancient China
1
Applicable Georgia Standard
 SSWH2 The student will identify the major
achievements of Chinese and Indian societies
from 1100 BCE to 500 CE.
 c. Describe the development of Chinese civilization under the
Zhou and Qin.
 d. Explain the impact of Confucianism on Chinese culture;
include the examination system, the Mandate of Heaven, the
status of peasants, the status of merchants, and the patriarchal
family, and explain diffusion to Southeast Asia, Japan, and
Korea.
 e. Explain how the geography of the Indian Subcontinent
contributed to the movement of people and ideas.
SSWH2 Ancient China
2
Geographic Factors Influencing Ancient China
• Large country in eastern Asia (“Far East”)
• Ancient China virtually isolated by geographic barriers
– Gobi Desert
– Tibetan Mountain Plateau (“Roof of the World”)
– Pacific Ocean
• Except for India’s
• Topography
– Mountains, plateaus, & hills comprise 4/5 of China’s land
– Remaining 1/5 is river basins and coastal plains
– China’s geography was never conducive to cultural or
political contacts with outsiders
SSWH2 Ancient China
3
China’s Yellow River
SSWH2 Ancient China
4
SSWH2 Ancient China
5
China was a River Valley Civilization
– Huang He (Yellow ) and Yangtze Rivers
– Huang He floods heavily and drains China’s heavily
populated fertile lands; called “China’s Sorrow”
SSWH2 Ancient China
6
Early Huang He River Valley
Civilization (4,000-2,000 BCE)
• Like Sumeria, Egypt, & India, China evolved
from river valley conditions: fertile soil,
uncertain rainfall, floods
• People lived in small, self-governing villages
• Grew crops, herded animals, used bows and
spears, and made crude pottery
SSWH2 Ancient China
7
SSWH2 Ancient China
8
Zhou Dynasty ( 1,000-256 BCE)
• Longest-ruling dynasty
• Introduction of iron implements and weapons, written laws, metal coins
• China’s “Classical Age,” with memorable literature and philosophers Laotzu and Kung Fu-tzu (Confucious)
• It was believed that “Heaven,” through the Zhou rulers, kept order in the
universe
• Thus, the king was chosen to rule because of his talent and virtue
– He was then responsible for ruling the people with goodness and
efficiency
– This was called the “Mandate of Heaven”
– Became the underlying principle of Chinese government
– King was expected to rule according the proper “way” (Dao)
– If he didn’t, he would lose his mandate from heaven and a new
ruler/dynasty would take his place
– This set in place the “right of revolution,” whereby the people could
rightly seek to overthrow a ruler who was not ruling with goodness
SSWH2 Ancient China
and efficiency
9
SSWH2 Ancient India
10
The right to rule by the gods.
SSWH2 Ancient India
11
Huang He River
Yellow River
SSWH2 Ancient China
12
Religion
•polytheistic
Yin and Yang
•Balance equals harmony
•Ancestor Veneration
Yin
•Earth
•darkness
SSWH2 Ancient India
•female
Yang
•Heaven
•light
•male
13
Writing System
•pictographs
•calligraphy
•oracle bones
•thousands of
characters
SSWH2 Ancient India
14
SSWH2 Ancient India
15
Qin (Chin) Dynasty (256-206 BCE)
•Short dynasty, but the one from which China gets its name
•First Chinese emperor was Oin Shihuangdi
To bar northern invaders, had the 1,400-mile Great Wall
built
Expanded his empire southward and gained control of much
of southern China
Shihuangdi sought to unify China three ways:
oPolitically – created a strong, centralized government;
suppressed the nobles; appointed provincial governors
answerable only to him; enforced a uniform legal code
oPhysically – built an extensive road system with bridges
(and canals)
oCulturally – simplified and standardized writing
SSWH2 Ancient China
16
King Fu-tzu (Confucious)
•Philosopher who sought to improve society and achieve good
government through an ethical code of conduct
Careful observance of ancient traditions
Reverence for learning
Cherishing of honesty
Devotion to parents, family and friends
Obedience to the rule, “What you do not want done to you, do not
unto others.”
•Confucious advocated man’s active participation in society and
recommended vigorous government action
•Believed that a ruler should govern as an influential, fatherly force
•Confucianism place little emphasis on an afterlife
•As Confucianism evolved, the original stress on tradition became
associated with ancestor worship
•Confucianism influenced Chinese society for about 2,000 years;
stabilized society, but tended to retard progress
SSWH2 Ancient China
17
Examination System
• Government officials under the Qin Dynasty
were no longer chosen on the basis of
favoritism
• An examination system was put into place that
selected people for government service, based
on ability and merit; this was a very early civil
service system
SSWH2 Ancient China
18
Importance of Family in Chinese
Society
• Basic element of Chinese society
• Emphasis was NOT placed on the individual
• Family included all relatives; tended to live with or near
one another; sometimes constituted an entire village
• Oldest male was honored and obeyed as the family head
• Family assumed responsibility for the livelihood and
good conduct of its members
• Marriage was not intended for individual happiness, but
to perpetuate the family and its fortunes
• Intense family loyalty tended to hamper the development
of a sense of Chinese nationalism
SSWH2 Ancient China
19
Social Structure
• King and his family were seen as the top of
Chinese society
• They were aided by a number of aristocratic
(noble) families who waged war on their
behalf and served as government officials
• The great majority of people were peasants,
who farmed the land of the nobles
• As early as the Shang Dynasty, Chinese society
had slaves
SSWH2 Ancient China
20
SSWH2 Ancient India
21
SSWH2 Ancient India
22
The Great Silk Road
+
=
•trade route with the West
•silk
SSWH2 Ancient India
23
Huang He River
Yangtze River
SSWH2 Ancient India
24