Ancient China
Big Idea
• China's physical geography made farming possible but travel & communication difficult
• Developed along 2 rivers
• China's first dynasties helped Chinese society develop and made many other achievements
Review Section 1
• Geography– Gobi Desert– Low-lying plains: farmland– Quinling Shandi: mountains
• Separates north/south China
– Monsoons– Developed
• Huang He or Yellow River (China’s Sorrow)
• Chang Jiang, or Yangzi
Development of Farming
• Food– Rice -Cereal millet & wheat
• Location: Huang He & Chang Jiang
• Hunter & Fisherman
• Domestication animals
• Increase Population
Early Settlements
• Houses– Partly underground, covered roofs
• Walls– Surrounded towns
• Animal pens, storage pits, cemeteries
• Potters wheel
2 seperate cultures
• Separate cultures in North & South China
• Sanxingdui
• Hongshan
Burial Sites
• Provide information– Filled tombs with objects
• Food
– Social Hierarchy– Beautiful jewelry
• Jade
Burial Sites
• Provide information– Filled tombs with objects
• Food
– Social Hierarchy– Beautiful jewelry
• Jade
Xia Dynasty
• Yu the Great – founder
• Channels– Flooding to drain the water– Yu dug the channels???
• Stories– Provide Chinese with stories of working
together
Shang Dynasty
• 1500 B.C. In the Huang He Valley– Northern China
• Moved capital several times
• King center of life– Political– religious
Shang Dynasty
Social Order
King: Royal Family & Nobles
Warriors
Artisans: lived outside city walls
Farmers: long hours, high taxes, no $
Slaves: source of labor
Shang Advancements
• China's first writing system– Writing found on oracle bones
• Cattle bones & turtle shells
• Priest would interpret the cracks
• Oracle: is a prediction
• Bronze containers
• Axes, ornaments, knives, war chariots, bows, body armor, calender
Section 2 Overview
• Zhou Dynasty expanded China but then declined
• Confucius offered ideas to bring order to the Chinese
• Daoism and Legalism also gained followers
Big Idea
• The Zhou dynasty brought political stability and new ways to deal with political and social changes in ancient China
Zhou Dynasty
• Overthrew the Shang
• Kings gained power through Heaven– Mandate of Heaven
• Lords & Peasants– Taxes & soldiers
• Lack of Loyalty from generation to generation
Decline of Zhou Power
• Fire• Warring States Period
– A time of many civil wars– China lacked a strong government to stop
power struggles within the ruling class families
• Internal Problems– Families broke apart—decrease in loyalty
Confucius
• China was rude and people dishonest
• Wanted to restore family order and social harmony
Confucius Guidelines
• Fathers should display high moral values to inspire their families
• Children should respect and obey their parents
• All family members should be loyal to each other
Ideas on Government
• Moral leadership, not laws
• A king should lead by example inspiring good behavior in all of his subjects
• The lower classes would learn by following the example of their superiors.
Confucius
• Great Teacher
• The Analects
Daoism
• Reaction to Confucianism
• Government stay out of peoples lives
• Be like water
• Balance of opposites: low high
• Dao
• Natural world
• Laozi
Legalism
• Political Philosophy
• Government & Social Control
• Reject Confucianism and Daoism
• Society-Strict laws– People and neighbors and family punished
• Always be ready for war to expand territory
The Qin Dynasty
• Main Ideas– The first Qin Emperor created a strong but
strict government.– A unified China was created through Qin
policies and achievements.
The Qin Dynasty
• Main Ideas– The first Qin Emperor created a strong but
strict government.– A unified China was created through Qin
policies and achievements.
Big Idea
• The Qin Dynasty unified China with a strong government and a system of standardization.
Qin Dynasty
• Developed a strong military during the Warring State (civil war period)
• Qin king Ying Zheng:– Named himself: Shi Huangdi “first emperor”
• Legalism
• Strong government
• Strict laws
• Harsh punishments
Shi Huangdi
• Must follow his policies
• Burning of books– Opposition buried alive
• Expanded Empire– When they conquered a city they destroyed the
walls and took all the weapons
Change in the Rules
• He did not share power
• He took away land from nobles
• He forced people to work on government buildings
• He controlled China by dividing it into districts with governors being which enforced the tax system
Unified China
• Uniform system of laws (everyone does the same thing)– Rules – Laws– Writing Symbols– Money System– Weight & Measures
Unified China
• Trade became easier
• Severe Punishments if you did not obey
Qin Achievements
• Roads- connected to the capital
• Water system-canals
• Irrigation System- still used today
• Great Wall
The Fall of the Qin
• New policies stirred resentment– Peasant, scholars, nobles
• Shi Huangdi died in 210 B.C.
• Rebels formed and said the received the “Mandate of Heaven”
• Country falls to civil war
Top Related