Ancient Chinese Civilization ANCIENT CHINA Chinese civilization began

Ancient Chinese Civilization

ANCIENT CHINA • Chinese civilization began to form during the mid-2 nd millennium B. C. E. along the Huanghe River. • The Shang dynasty, founded by nomadic warrior peoples, expanded and improved earlier irrigation systems and developed the Chinese system of writing.

CHINESE ROOTS • The North China Plain had been occupied by humanlike creatures and humans from a very early date. • It is the home of Peking Man, one of the earliest hominids. • During Neolithic times, the Ordos bulge of the Huanghe received migrants who worked its rich loess soil and used the abundant river water resources.

YANSHAO &LONSHAN CULTURES • By 4000 B. C. E. the many sedentary communities formed two cultural complexes that laid the basis for the Shang. • In the Yangshao culture (2500– 2000 B. C. E. ) supplementary shifting cultivation aided a predominantly hunting and fishing society. • The later Longshan culture (2000– 1500 B. C. E. ) relied upon millet cultivation and was able to support large, permanent villages.

CHINA’S RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATION • Irrigation systems were vital to the growth of this agricultural society. • The seasonal flow of the Huanghe, and the large amounts of silt in the water, required the building and upkeep of great earthen dikes. • The first rulers, like the mythical hero Yu, ruler of Xia, were associated with successful flood control.

The Shang

ORIGINS OF THE SHANG • Around 1500 B. C. E. many small kingdoms, ruled by nomadic tribal groups coming from the north and west, emerged near the Ordos bulge. • A distinctive Chinese culture emerged.

THE SHANG TRIBE • Key features were cooking vessels and cuisine, use of cracked animal bones for religious ritual, domestication of the silkworm, use of silk fabrics, and ancestor worship. • One tribe, the Shang, became dominant and established the foundations of Chinese civilization.

WARRIOR KINGS • Shang were warlike nomads, ruled by strong kings, with advanced military techniques. • The ruler was regarded as the intermediary between the supreme being and mortals; he held responsibility for the fertility of the state.

SHANG BUREAUCRACY • The Shang had a thriving bureaucracy in Anyang, the capital city, but most subjects were governed by vassal lords recruited from the former ruling groups. • The vassals depended upon the produce and labor of commoners to support their power and to provide tribute and soldiers for the king.

SHANG PEASANT LIFE • Peasants worked land in cooperative teams and grew millet, wheat, beans, and rice. • They lived in sunken homes of stamped earth. • Some skilled artisans were wealthy and lived in large homes. • The lowest societal group was the large slave population. • Many artisans were slaves, but some skilled individuals were free and prosperous

SHANG SOCIETY • The Shang ruling elite lived within walled towns in large compounds holding extended families. • Older males held absolute authority in their households. • Marriage tradition was patrilocal. • The majority of the population followed a different pattern. • Commoner families lived in nuclear households, which probably were maledominated and patrilocal.

SHANG CULTURE • Shang elites were preoccupied with rituals, oracles, and sacrifices. • They joined the ruler in asking gods to provide crops and children. • Artistic expression peaked in bronze vessels used for offerings of grain, incense, wine, and animals to the gods (spirits of the ancestors). • Human sacrifice occurred during ritual warfare and when war captives and servants were buried with the king and important officials.

SHANG BELIEFS • Shamans read oracle bones and tortoise shells, make predictions for harvests, wars, journeys, and marriages. • Oracle bones and shells were drilled and heated, and the resulting cracks were interpreted. • Patterns inscribed on the bones and shells formed the basis for a written language that provided the diverse peoples of the loess zone with a common culture.

SHANG WRITING • The initially pictographic characters evolved to convey complex ideas. • By the end of the Shang period there were 3000 characters. • The bones and bronze vessels on which the characters were first carved gave way to bamboo, silk, and wooden surfaces. • In the 1 st century C. E. , they were replaced by the Chinese invention of paper.

WRITING AND CHINESE IDENTITY • Writing became fundamental to Chinese identity and the growth of civilization. • The written language made communication possible between the elite of the many different groups of the region and provided a foundation for the basic elements of the developing Chinese civilization.

DECLINE OF THE SHANG • The Zhou, a Turkic-speaking nomadic people from central Asia, became vassals of the Shang. • By the end of the 12 th century B. C. E. they seized power and established a dynasty enduring until the 3 rd century B. C. E. • The first ruler, Wu, greatly expanded the state’s borders to the east and south. • The new rulers had a more centralized government than the Shang.