East Asia

The Early River Valley Civilization of the Yellow River (Huang River)

Objective:

• Students will learn about the early history of the Chinese civilization, including history, achievements, and power.

The Yellow River (Huang River)

• 1,500 years after the city of Ur (Mesopotamia) was beginning and 1,000 years after the planned cities of the Indus valley, the Yellow River Valley Civilization flourished.

Natural Barriers

• Natural barriers isolated China from other civilizations. To the east is the Pacific ocean. To the west lay the Taklimakan desert and the icy 14,000 foot Plateau of Tibet.

• To the North lies the desolate Gobi Desert and the Mongolian Plateau.

• The two rivers in the area are the Yellow river and the Yangtze in central China.

• About 90% of the remaining land that is suitable for farming lies within the comparatively small plain between these rivers.

National Pride

• Due to this isolation, the Chinese had little contact with foreigners. This led to a strong sense of identity and superiority.

• They regarded China as the only civilized land, calling it Zhongguo, or “Middle Kingdom,” referring to it as the center of the world.

Dynasties

• Humans have inhabited China for about a million years.

• The First Dynasties- • Before the Sumerians

settled in southern Mesopotamia, early Chinese cultures were building farming settlements along the Yellow river.

Xia Peoples

• The first dynasty in China was the Xia.

• Its leader was a mathematician and engineer named Yu.

• Yu started flood control systems and irrigation projects to control the Yellow river.

Shang Dynasty

• 1750-1500 B.C. Invaders called the Shang swept into the Huang River Valley.

• Introduced irrigation and flood-control systems into the region.

• By controlling these systems, the Shang could more easily control the region’s people.

Shang Government

• Created a complex bureaucracy: government organized into different levels and tasks.

• A hereditary King ruled over all land in the kingdom

• War chariots and bronze weapons were used to defend against invaders.

• Military might and well-organized government allowed the Shang to gain territory.

Shang Economy and handicrafts

• Economy was based mainly on agriculture: millet and rice.

• Raised silkworms so that they could spin thread from the cocoons and wove silk cloth from the thread.

Artisans

• Artisans worked in bone, ivory, and jade. Pottery and ceramic art was very popular.

Astronomy and the calendar

• Two calendars: one based on the sun and one based on the moon.

• Moon Calendar: record of private and public events.

• Planting was determined by the calendar. A good harvest meant popularity for the king. Therefore the priest-astronomers were important.

Religion

• Combined animism (the belief that spirits inhabit everything)—with ancestor worship

• Dragon became symbol of Chinese rulers

• They also worshipped gods of the wind, sun, clouds, and moon. POLYTHEISTIC

• The Shang also believed in Shangdi, a great god who controlled human destiny and forces of nature.

Religion

• Oracle Bones: the shoulder bones of cattle or tortoise shells.

• The priests heated the bones and interpreted the cracks that would appear.

Language and Writing.

• Many dialects were spoken.• The Chinese method of writing, each character

stands for an idea, not a sound.

• People in all parts of China could learn the same system of writing.

• To be barely literate one had to know 1,000 characters. (Not just 26 letters)

Language and Writing

• Writing was limited to a small number of specialists: clerks, scribes, and teachers.

• It demanded much study and practice, therefore workers, had little time for such luxury.

Social Classes

• The civilization was sharply divided between nobles and peasants.

• These noble families owned the land.

• They would send tribute to the Shang ruler in exchange for local control.

Family

• The family was central to Chinese society. The most important virtue was respect for one’s parents.

• Women were treated as inferiors.

• When a girl was between 13 and 16 years old, her marriage was arranged.

The Fall of the Shang Dynasty

• 1200B.C. : Herders from the harsh Gobi desert and the Tian Shan foothills began moving in and settling along the borders.

• The Shang were almost continuously fighting them off.

• The extended military efforts exhausted the Shang rulers.

The Fall

• 1050 B.C • The Zhou formed an

alliance and overthrew the Shang, claiming the Shang were corrupt and unfit to rule.

Works Cited

• Holt. World History: The Human Journey. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Austin. 2003

• www.google.com/images