China

Chinese Dynasties

• 1500-1046 BC Shang Dynasty

• 618 – 907 AD Tang Dynasty

• 960-1279 AD Song Dynasty

• 1279-1368 AD Yuan Dynasty

• 1368-1644 AD Ming Dynasty

• 1644-1911 AD Qing Dynasty

Founder of Song Dynasty

Founder of Tang Dynasty

Founder of Ming Dynasty

Agriculture

• Grow rice

• Barley

• Sorghum

• Millet

• Soybeans

• wheat

• Developed ways to irrigate their crops

• Used iron farm implements

– Made farming more effective

– Made more land available for farming

• Why is this important?

Commerce

• Trade with their neighbors

– Tin was imported to make bronze

– Cowry and turtle shells exported

– Exported iron ore products

– Exported silk

Money

• Silk, jade, pearls, metal leather, dogs and horses was used as money at first

• Began casting bronze into shapes

• First civilization to print paper money

Innovations

Paper

• Developed earliest known paper

• Developed toilet paper, tea bags, paper money

Compass

• First to use a compass

• Used it to align buildings

• Used it late to find direction – during the Song dynasty

Gunpowder

• Discovered it by accident

• Trying to come up with substance that would give them eternal life

• Quickly developed weapons

– Flamethrowers, rockets and crude bombs

• Developed guns during the Ming Dynasty

Printing

• First to develop woodblock printing

• Also developed movable type printing, but didn’t utilize it

• Johannes Gutenberg was the first to utilize it.

Earliest known book – Tang Dynasty

Iron

• Among the first to develop cast iron

Merchant Class

• Merchants were considered undesirable

• Thought to be dangerous because they were mobile and wealthy

• They weren’t allowed to own property or serve in the government

• Things changed during the Song Dynasty

• They took examinations and entered civil service

• They worked to become respected and influential members of Chinese society

• The growth of the merchant class brought benefits to China

1. Factories were built

2. Towns rose up near trading centers

3. Standard of living improved

Religion

Ancestor Worship

• Hoped their ancestors would bless and guide them

Confucianism

• 5 basic relationships

1. Father and son

2. Elder and younger brothers

3. Husband and wife

4. Friend and friend

5. Ruler and subjects

Confucius

Buddhism

• Founded on four truths:

1. Suffering is part of all existence

2. Suffering has a cause

3. Suffering can be overcome by destroying selfish desires

4. If man follows the eightfold path, he will destroy selfish desires and end suffering

Taoism

• Peace and harmony can be found by living in harmony with nature

• Very passive that rejects striving after power, wealth and learning

Lao-tzu