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Transcript of Ancient China World History Core. Geography/Interaction with Environment Location: Asia Natural...
Ancient China
World History Core
Geography/Interaction with Environment
Location: Asia Natural Barriers
EAST: Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and Pacific Ocean
WEST: Taklimakan Desert and Plateau of TibetSOUTHWEST: HimalayasNORTH: Gobi Desert and Mongolian Plateau
Geography/Interaction with Environment
Isolation by Distance Yangtze River
Central China to Yellow Sea Huang He (Yellow River)
Northern China to Yellow Sea LOESS: deposits of yellow silt (fertile soil) “China’s Sorrow”: dangerous floods of the
Huang He
Yangtze River
Yellow River
Geography/Interaction with Environment
Challenges Dangerous Floods
Solution: Yu’s irrigation and flood control methods
Isolation Solution:
Had to supply all goods, could NOT rely on trade!
Geography/Interaction with Environment
China’s Heartland 10% of land in China is ARABLE North China Plain
Farm land between the two rivers
Power and Authority
Dynastic Civilization Ruled by families
Xia Dynasty and Yu the Great:
First DynastyMathematician and Engineer
Developed way to control flooding which allowed a civilization to develop
Power and Authority
Shang Dynasty: 1st family to leave written records Warrior Kings: rulers who were constantly at war Middle Kingdom: China’s name for itself, believed they
were the center Barbarians: outsiders to China Class Division:
Between peasant and nobles NOBLES: owned all the land that the peasants worked on
Power and Authority
Zhou Dynasty: overthrew Shang 1027 BC Mandate of Heaven: divine approval to rule comes from
heaven Developed by the Zhou to get rid of Shang Dynasty
Dynastic Cycle: pattern of rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties (see p. 54 and next slide)
Feudalism: political system in which nobles are granted land that legally belongs to the King In RETURN: Nobles must (1) Give loyalty and military service
to the King and (2) Must protect the people living on the land
Religious and Ethical Systems
Loyalty to Family: Center of Chinese society #1 virtue: Honor and respect PARENTS Elder men were in charge of family Women were inferior 13-16 arranged into marriage Must bear a son to improve your social worth
Religious and Ethical Systems
Ancestor Worship: Power to bring good or disaster to a family Must give sacrifices to ancestors
Polytheistic: Belief in many GODS Shang Di
Oracle Bones: used to communicate with the Gods How they worked:
Wrote question on animal bone Priest pokes bone with a hot rod Bone cracks Priest interprets the cracks to answer the question on the bone
Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
Agrarian Society: depend on farming Expansion Limited by Distance Warring Nomads:
Sacked Zhou capital, killing the monarchs Leads to quarrels among NOBLES, thus the end
of the Zhou Dynasty
Revolution
Shang are overthrown by the Zhou Due to the idea of Divine Mandate Zhou believed the Shang were no longer doing a
good job Developed idea that Gods no longer wanted the
Shang to rule Thus giving ruling power to the Zhou
Science and Technology
Written Language: united large, diverse area because you didn’t have to be able to speak the same language to be able to read Chinese Symbols NOT letters: each character = one syllable Calligraphy: writing of characters, each character made
up of single brushstrokes Difficult to LEARN:
1500 = barely literate 10,000 = scholar
Science and Technology
Silk Production: religious beginnings, discovered by a Goddess Silk worms produce the fabric Worn by rulers Silk Road: Chinese silk trade route
Science and Technology
Coined Money: To improve trade
Iron Weapons and Tools: Blast furnaces to cast iron
Weapons: daggers and swordsAgriculture: knives and spades
Made farming more efficient!