Ancient Chinese Civilization—4.1 Main Idea: China’s rivers, and isolation caused by mountains...
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Transcript of Ancient Chinese Civilization—4.1 Main Idea: China’s rivers, and isolation caused by mountains...
Ancient Chinese Civilization—4.1Main Idea: China’s rivers, and isolation caused by mountains and deserts, shaped early Chinese culture.
The Physical Setting• Enormous size• Geographic variety• Wide variety of climatic patterns• Mountains in west, southwest, and northwest• Desert and semi-desert plateaus• North China Plain, a coastal area along the
Yellow Sea
Qinling Shandi• mountain range that cuts from west to east• Separates the valleys of the Huang and the
Chang (Yangtze) rivers• Marks the border between northern and
southern China
Northern China• Northern China receives less rain than central
and southern China• Temperatures are more extreme in the north• Growing season is shorter in the north• A lot of wheat is grown in the north
China Proper• The Heart of China
• China Proper stretches from seacoast inland.
• Three great river systems wind through China Proper.
• The rivers are: Huang, Chang, and Xi (SHEE)
Other Political Sections have included:
• Tibet• Xinjiang (shin-jyahng)• Mongolia• Manchuria• Northern Korea• At different times, these areas have been
conquered and ruled by the Chinese.
Huang River• 2,900 miles long• Empties into the Yellow Sea• Huang River has a fertile soil called loess.• Loess gives the river a yellow tint.• Huang means “yellowyellow”.• The Huang is also nicknamed “China’s
Sorrow” because of its floods.
Adding to the problem--• Early Chinese built dikes along the river to
control the flooding.
• The dikes slowed the river’s flow and silt built up along the bottom.
• The river level finally reached the tops of the dikes.
• The Chinese built higher dikes.
• Now the river flows at least 12 feet above the surrounding land.
And more problems--• Floods on the Huang are devastating.
• The floods destroy crops and human life.
• Water can’t drain off the land and stands until it evaporates.
• Rainfall in the region is unpredictable so that floods alternate with drought and famine.
Chang River• 3,434 miles long
• Large ocean-going ships can navigate nearly 600 miles upstream.
• Smaller ships can travel about 1,700 miles upstream.
Xi River• 1,200 miles long
• Large ships can navigate about 1/3 of its length.
• Forms an important commercial waterway for China
China’s isolation• China was isolated by great distances,
rugged mountains, and deserts, such as the Gobi.
• As a result of its geographic isolation, China developed its own distinct culture
Alien Contact!• Along their northern and northwestern
borders, the Chinese had contact with nomadic people.
• Usually they were peaceful and traded with the Chinese.
Nomads attack!• Sometimes the nomads attacked Chinese
settlements.
• The Chinese considered the nomadic invaders culturally inferior and called them “barbarians.”
A superior attitude!• Infrequent contact with foreigners gave the
Chinese a strong sense of identity and a superior attitude.
• The Chinese considered theirs the only civilized land.
The Chinese Zhongguo• Zhongguo meant “Middle Kingdom”.
• The Chinese considered their land the “center of the world”.
The inferior outsiders• The inferior outsiders only became fully
civilized when they learned to speak Chinese and adopted Chinese customs
Assimilation!• Often when invaders did overrun parts of
China, the invaders would lose their identity over time and be absorbed into China’s population.
Ideas for television, movies, and video games often come from the creator’s knowledge of history.
A serious case of “assimilation”
This, however, was not the Chinesemethod of assimilation!
Geographic differences:• Northern China receives less rain • Temperatures in the north are more extreme.• The growing season in the north is shorter.
Wheat is the principal crop.• Central and Southern China receive more
rainfall. Rice is the principal crop.
The Chinese developed a superior attitude and strong sense of identity largely due to their geographical isolation from other cultures.
Population Statistics
http://www.geohive.com/earth/population1.aspx
The Shang Dynasty4.2
The Shang dynasty established a model that affected future
governments of China.
Objectives
• To describe how Shang government and economy were organized
• To identify characteristics and contributions of ancient China
Xia (shah)
• The Xia were the first inhabitants of the Huang River valley.
• The Xia existed at least as early as the Neolithic Age.
Power through Public Works
• The Shang were involved in irrigation and flood control and took control of the area from the Xia.
The Shang in Control
• The Shang were able to gain territory and influence other regions because they had their act together: they had a complex government and a strong military.
• The Shang were ready for anything!
Religion during the Shang Dynasty
• The Shang believed in animism.
• What’s animism?
• The belief that spirits inhabit everything including rocks, trees, water, etc.
• The Shang also believed in ancestor worship.
Achievements of the Shang Dynasty
• The Shang used kaolin (a white clay) to make pottery.
• The Shang also developed a writing system that used 600 pictographs—calligraphy.
• The Shang knew how to make silk.
Government in the Shang Dynasty
• The government was a bureaucracy under an emperor.
• What’s a bureaucracy?• Bureaucracy:
Government organized into different levels and tasks.
Shang Agriculture
• They grew millet and rice.
• They raised pigs and chickens for meat.
• They used horses for labor.
Priest-Astronomers
• The priest astronomers helped keep the calendar in sync with the seasons by saying when to add days to a month or year.
• The calendar helped farmers determine when the floods might come or when they should harvest.
• Priest astronomers were powerful.
Religion in the Shang Dynasty
• Religion in the Shang dynasty combined animism with ancestor worship.
The Magic Dragon?
• People believed in an all-powerful and kindly dragon who lived in the seas and rivers and could rise into the clouds.
In time--
• This dragon became the symbol of Chinese rulers.
• The ruler’s wife was symbolized by the phoenix.
A good party ensures a good harvest right?
• Religious festivals in the spring were held to ensure a good crop.
• In an autumn festival people thanked the moon god for the harvest.
The Amazing Shangdi!
• The Chinese believed Shangdi was the god who controlled human destiny and the forces of nature.
• Rulers often asked their ancestors to plead on their behalf with Shangdi.
Even more importantly ---
• Rulers used Shangdi’s control over destiny to justify their decisions --- it is the will of Shangdi.
How convenient is that?
The Role of Priests
• Priests played an important role in Chinese religion.
• Some tried to predict the future or interpret divine messages, especially messages from the spirits.
• How could they do that?
Language and Writing
• The Shang were among the few early peoples to develop a system of writing.
• The Chinese spoke many dialects—variations of a language.
• Chinese developed a system of writing that could handle all of these dialects.
Evolution of Chinese Writing
• Pictographs: drawings of objects• Ideographs: two parts – an idea sign and a
phonetic sign• The signifier of the ideograph showed the
meaning of the character• The phonetic sign told how to pronounce it.
Surprise!
• For many centuries the ability to read and write was limited to a small number of specialists.
• They usually served the emperor as clerks, scribes, and teachers.
Scribes• Recorded special events• Composed literary works• Wrote from top to bottom beginning on the right
side of the page
Calligraphy
• Eventually the writing evolved into an art form called “calligraphy.”
• Artists used the same kind of brush for calligraphy as for painting.
Fall of the Shang
• Herders from the Gobi Desert and Tian Shan foothills began to edge toward the rich river valley c. 1200 B.C.
• They began to settle along the borders.
• During the 1100s B.C. the Shang almost continually battled these warlike neighboring states.
Doomed!
• The extended military efforts exhausted the Shang rulers.
• The last Shang king (Di-Xin) could not protect the kingdom’s northwest borders. (The real reason the Shang dynasty fell.)
Enter the Zhou!
• c. 1050 B.C. the Zhou formed an alliance with nearby tribes and overthrew the dynasty.
• It ended about 700-800 years of Shang rule.
And . . .
• The Zhou justified their takeover by saying that the Shang rulers had become corrupt and unfit to rule.
• This explanation for the overthrow of one dynasty (or government) has been used throughout China’s history. (patterns of living --- a part of culture)
Achievements of the Shang Dynasty
• Using kaolin (a white clay) to make pottery
• Developing a writing system --calligraphy
Priest-astronomers helped keep the calendar in sync with the seasons of the year by saying
when to add days to a month or year.
The Shang, plagued by border wars, were finally defeated by
an alliance of the Zhou with nearby tribes.
“Wherever You GoGo With All Your Heart.” -- Confucius
The Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties
Three major dynasties—the Zhou, the Qin, and the Han—built China
into a powerful country.
Zhou Dynasty 1050-256 B.C.
• The Zhou dynasty had no centralized form of government. Instead ruled territories whose leaders swore loyalty to the ruler and promised military service and tribute
The Mandate of Heaven
• The Chinese believed that the god of Heaven determined who should rule—“Mandate of Heaven”.
• Rebels used the “Mandate of Heaven” to justify overthrowing a previous ruler
Zhou and the Invaders
• Zhou were often attacked by outsiders and local leaders often fought amongst themselves
Qin Dynasty 221 to 206 B.C.
• Qin rule only lasted 15 years.
• The Western name for “China” comes from the Qin.
Don’t criticize the Qin!
• The Qin suppressed and executed scholars who criticized the government.
• At one point, Qin had some people who criticized him, buried alive.
•Guarded against invasion by building defensive walls along the border—would eventually become the Great Wall of China
•Great Wall –1,500 miles long during Qin dynasty•Used forced labor to build
The Qin Dynasty:
Qin’s Tomb
• In 1974 Qin’s tomb was found. It was completely untouched by vandalism or grave robbers.
• It contained 6,000 life-size terra cotta soldiers, all of whom had different faces.
More on the Qin
• The gap widened between the ruler and the mass of the people.• Rebellion came in 206 B.C.• Liu Bang started the Han Dynasty
Liu Bang the Bad Boy
• Han was born into a peasant family, but he didn’t like farm work. Not his father’s favorite son, he was living the rogue’s life.
• After he grew up, he became a patrol officer in his county.
Liu Bang the Outlaw• At one point he was responsible for
transporting a group of prisoners. During the trip, some of the prisoners escaped.
• Liu Bang released the rest of the prisoners and fled himself.
• He joined a band of outlaws and became their leader.
• On one of his raids, a magistrate was so impressed with his leadership skills that he gave Liu Bang his daughter in marriage.
Liu the Emperor
• Liu Bang overthrew the Qin emperor and established the Han dynasty. (He liked the name better.)
• He encouraged Confucian thought rather than the harsh Legalist laws of his predecessor.
Han Dynasty
• Han dynasty took its name from “King of Han” –the name Liu Bang took
• 206 B.C.-220 A.D.—ruled for 400 years• People of China still call themselves the “People of
Han”• Longest-ruling Han emperor was Liu Ch’e, also
known as Wu Ti• The Han ruled over an area larger than the Roman
Empire
More on the Han
• The Han had a centralized government.
• The Han introduced a civil service system based on merit exams that remained until the early 1900s A.D.
The Han and the Leveling System
• Leveling system—economic policy which used price controls to balance the effects of farm surpluses and shortages—stored surplus grain for use during lean years
More on the Silk Road• The Silk Road was a trade route that stretched
from China across central Asia to the Mediterranean
• Camel caravans carried jade, silk, and other valuable Chinese goods.
• The goods were sold to wealthy Greeks and Romans.
• The caravans returned to China with gold, silver, and wool.
During the Han dynasty--
• China’s population grew to about 50 million.
• Luxury goods could be found in the capital city, including paper, a Chinese invention.
After Liu Ch’e--
• None of his successors had his leadership ability, but the Han dynasty continued to rule China until 220 A.D. (with the exception of one brief interruption)
• Nomadic peoples swept across China causing many Han subjects to move south.
The End of the Han
• After the fall of the Han dynasty—nomadic tribes invaded.
• The people of Han moved south ahead of them.
Emperor at the head of the government. Centralized
government with merit system for determining government
employees.
People who wanted to work for the government had to take an exam. Those with the highest scores were the most likely to
get the jobs.
People were selected by who their familes were and how they
were “connected.” It was a matter of “who do you know.”
Setting price controls on grain and storing surplus grain so that farmers did not suffer rising and
falling prices.
“Learning without thinking is useless. Thinking without learning is
dangerous.”Confucius
Chinese philosophers and teachers sought ways to understand the universe and the human condition.
Philosophies of Ancient China
Objectives:To examine Confucianism and Daoism in Chinese society
To describe the influence of Legalism and Buddhism on Chinesehistory
Dualism
• Dualism believed there was a “two-sidedness to nature”.
• The world results from the balance between two forces.
Dualism
• Dualism led to the belief that there would be a balance to extremes: for example, the Qin (harsh government) would be balanced by the Han (moderate government)
Confucius
See a person's means … Observe his motives. Examine that in which he rests. How can a person conceal his character?
His works and teachings were collected in a work called the Analects.
The Analects
What is virtue?
“Virtue, according to Confucius,involved correct behavior toward
others.” textbook quote
Confucius
• Confucius was not a religious prophet.
• He was concerned about political and social unrest and how moral and ethical leadership can solve those problems.
What did Confucius believe about government and its leaders?
• He believed government and its leaders should be “virtuous.”
• He believed they should be honest and honorable toward those they lead.
• He believed they should have the welfare and interest of their people as their greatest interest.
Concepts of Confucianism
• Importance of family• Respect for one’s elders (mothers, fathers,
etc.)• Reverence for the past and one’s ancestors
Confucius believed that every person should accept his or her role in society and should perform the
duties of that role.
Mencius
• Mencius came after Confucius and followed his teachings.
• Mencius taught that people were basically good and that—
Mencius the Dangerous?
• Mencius taught that people had a right to overthrow governments that were weak or harsh!
Teachings of Laozi
• Laozi saw Dao as an indescribable force that governed the universe and all nature.
Laozi taught --
• Laozi taught that people should withdraw from the world and contemplate nature so that they could understand Dao and live in harmony with it.
• He taught that people should not strive for material wealth.
• He taught that people should live humbly, quietly, and thoughtfully.
Does any of that sound familiar?
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Did you know that “Dagobah” is Sanskrit for “Stupa”?
Legalism
• Legalism concerned itself with politics
• Legalists believed in power and in harsh laws rather than virtue.
Crummy People
• Legalists believed people were selfish and untrustworthy by nature.
• Peace and prosperity were only possible if people were threatened with harsh laws.
Legalism Applied
• Cheng of the Qin dynasty followed the ideas of Legalism and created a great empire, but it didn’t last long.
A Balancing Act --
• The Han dynasty balanced Legalism with Confucianism and lasted much longer. Han dynasty lasted four hundred years.
Buddhism in China
• Buddhism was brought to China by missionaries from India.
• Buddhism also taught compassion and charity, values overlooked in other philosophies.
• Buddhist teachings did not attempt to correct political or social disorder. They just brought comfort during a turbulent time.
The Fall of the Han –
• The later years of the Han dynasty were full of violence and destruction so the Chinese found security in the Buddhist teachings.
The Rise of Buddhism--
• Buddha’s teachings gained support because they provided comfort during the unrest at the end of the Han dynasty.
In summary--
• Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism provided moral and ethical guides to right living.
• Legalism provided a strong foundation for Chinese government.
What was “Legalism”?
• Legalism was the belief that people were by nature selfish and untrustworthy and needed harsh laws to control them.
What are the three tenets of Confucianism?
• Importance of family• Respect for elders• Reverence for the past
Chinese Life and Culture
The family, farming, and educational pursuits for government officials
marked daily life in China.
Objectives
• To identify major characteristics and contributions of Ancient China
• To compare social practices of ancient civilizations to those of today
Important Points of the Section
• The family, not the individual, was the important factor in Chinese society.
• Families were patriarchal (Dad ruled!!).• Women had fewer rights than men and could not
own property.• Chinese society taught great respect for mothers and
mothers-in-law, but a woman without children was not held in high esteem.
The Economy
• Most Chinese were small farmers.• Trade and commerce grew quickly during the
Qin dynasty.• The Qin standardized currency and the system
of weights and measures.
“Small Farmer”
Trade also increased during the Han dynasty as the Silk Road connected China with the
Mediterranean.
Arts and Sciences
• Chinese relied on five texts to train scholars and civil servants.
• The five texts became known as the Five Classics.
• The Five Classics came into use during the Zhou dynasty.
The Five Classics
• The Book of History—contains speeches and documents about government.
• The Book of Changes—the art of predicting the future.
• The Spring and Autumn Annals--record of events in the city-state of Lu
• The Book of Rites--deals with manners and ceremonies
• The Book of Poetry--contains more than 300 songs about life, love, and politics
Science and Technology
• 1. In 28 B.C. Chinese astronomers first observed sunspots.• 2. Chinese built the first seismograph.• 3. Chinese invented paper (made from old fishing nets,
hemp, old rags, and tree bark) -By the A.D. 700s it had spread throughout Central
Asia and the Middle East where it replaced papyrus. 4. Made discoveries in chemistry: dyes for cloth and
glazing for pottery 5. Developed acupuncture 6. Also invented the sundial, water clock, and the process
of printing
The seismograph was used to record earthquakes. Small metal balls would fall from the dragons’ mouths into the mouths of the frogs.
Chinese Water Clock• The Su Sung clock tower,
over 30 feet tall, possessed a bronze power-driven armillary-sphere for observations, an automatically rotating celestial globe, and five front panels with doors that permitted the viewing of changing manikins which rang bells or gongs, and held tablets indicating the hour or other special times of the day. Wikipedia