CHINA 1 Huang He River AKA Yellow River

CHINA

1. Huang He River • AKA- Yellow River • Gets it’s name from the rich yellow silt that it carries from Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean • Flooded the land, creating rich silt for farming • However, flooding also destroyed many houses and many people drowned • This led it to be called “China’s sorrow”

2. The Yangtze River • Longest river in Asia • Also had rich soil for farming

3. China’s Geography • Only a little more than one tenth of China’s land can be farmed • Mountains and deserts cover most of the land

4. Mountains and Deserts • China’s mountains and deserts acted as walls separating the Chinese from most other people • Chinese people united over time to form the “Middle Kingdom”

5. The Shang Dynasty • Anyang: China’s first capital • The people of the Shang Dynasty were divided into groups • The most powerful group was the king and his family • Shang kings chose warlords to govern the kingdom’s territories • Warlords: military leaders who command their own armies

5. The Shang Dynasty (cnt. ) • Warlords and aristocrats made up the upper class • Aristocrats: nobles whose wealth came from the land they owned • A few people were traders and artisans, but most people were farmers • Farmers worked the land that belonged to the aristocrats • Small number of slaves

6. Religion in the Shang Dynasty • Worshipped gods and spirits • Believed that spirits lived in mountains, rivers, and seas • Offerings of goods made gods and spirits happy • Honored ancestors so that they would bring good luck in times of need

7. Government in the Shang Dynasty • Kings believed that they received power and wisdom from gods, spirits, and ancestors • It was the duty of the King to contact ancestors, spirits, and gods before making important decisions • Kings asked for help using oracle bones

8. Oracle Bones • Priests scratched questions on the bones and placed them on hot metal rods • This caused them to crack • They believed that the patterns of the cracks formed answers from the gods

9. Chinese Language • Pictographs: characters that stand for objects • Ideographs: join two or more pictographs to create an idea

10. End of the Shang Dynasty • During the Shang dynasty, kings lived in luxury and began to treat people cruelly • An aristocrat named Wu Wang lead a rebellion to overthrow the Shang Dynasty

11. Zhou Dynasty • Ruled for over 800 years, longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history • The Zhou kings were the head of the government • Under the king was a large bureaucracy • Bureaucracy: made up of appointed officials who are responsible for different areas of government

12. Mandate of Heaven • Mandate: formal order • Mandate of Heaven was a heavenly law that gave the Zhou king the power to rule because of his talent and virtue • King’s duty was to keep the gods happy • Gave the people rights • People had the right to overthrow a dishonest ruler • Natural disasters were signs that the king had lost the Mandate of Heaven

13. Fall of the Zhou Dynasty • Local leaders became powerful and stopped obeying Zhou kings • Fighting broke out • 200 years- “Period of the Warring States” • 221 B. C. the ruler of Qin used a cavalry to defeat the Zhou Dynasty and set up the Qin Dynasty

14. Life in Ancient China • Nine out of ten Chinese were farmers • Farmers ranked above merchants and looked down on them • Filial Piety: children had to respect their parents and older relatives • Men grew crops, went to school, ran the government, and fought wars • Women stayed home and raised children

Chinese Philosophies Confucianism Daoism Legalism Founder Confucius Laozi Hanfeizi Main Ideas People should put the needs of their family and community first People should give up worldly desires in favor of nature and the Dao Society needs a system of harsh laws and strict punishment

15. Qin Dynasty • Qin Shihuangdi- “the First Qin Emperor” • Based rule on legalism • Had anyone who opposed him killed or punished • Made the central government strong • Unified China • One currency

16. Great Wall of China • Nomads from the Gobi Desert, called “Xiongnu”, often attacked • Built walls to keep them out • This STARTED the Great Wall of China (rest was built 1, 500 years later)

17. End of the Qin Dynasty • Qin Shihuangdi was viewed as cruel by many • Aristocrats didn’t like him because he reduced their power • Scholars didn’t like him because he burned their writings • Farmers hated him forcing them to build roads and the Great Wall • Four years after his death, civil war broke out and the Qin Dynasty was overthrown

18. Han Dynasty • Founded by Liu Bang in 202 B. C. • Once a peasant, but became a military leader • Declared himself Han Gaozu- “Exalted Emperor of Han” • Threw out harsh policies of the Qin dynasty

19. Han Wudi • Han dynasty reached it's peak under Han Wudi • Wanted talented people to fill government posts • Created long, difficult, tests that people had to take and pass in order to get a government job • These tests became “civil service examinations”

20. Fall of the Han Dynasty • During the Han dynasty, the population grew from 20 million to 60 million • Lived in peace for 150 years • Emperors after Han Wudi were weak and foolish, causing the central government to lose respect and power • Wars, rebellions, and plots against the emperor caused the fall of the Han dynasty

21. The Silk Road • Silk Road: large network of trade routes stretching 4, 000 miles from western China to southwest Asia • Trip over the Silk Road was expensive because merchants had to pay taxes to kingdoms along the way • Carried only expensive goods