China Ancient China 12000 BC 221 AD BC

China

Ancient China 12000 BC – 221 AD

BC & AD BC = Before Christ Years count towards 0 Ex. 19 BC, 18 BC, 17 BC, . . . AD = Anno Domini (Latin for “in the year of our Lord”) Years count away from 0 Ex. 1 AD, 2 AD, 3 AD, . . .

Centuries are 1 ahead of years Ex. 1900’s = 20 th century 1500 = Why? 0 -99 AD was the 1 st Century, so 100 AD 199 AD was the 2 nd century th 16 Century

Early Humans Over 12, 000 years ago, early humans lived in small groups. They lived by hunting animals and gathering plants to eat. (Paleolithic) They soon learned how to farm and domesticate animals. With a steady food supply, they stopped hunting and gathering. They began to build homes and settle in small villages. (Neolithic)

Ancient China - Geography • The availability of resources affect where people migrate and settle.

Civilizations Many of these villages began to grow and create civilizations. A civilization is an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, economy, and government has been reached.

rivers agriculture villages civilizations

Two river systems in China provide fertile soil and safe drinking water - the Huang He (Yellow River) and the Yangtze River (Long River). HUANG HE RIVER YANGTZE RIVER

The Yangtze (Long River) is the third longest river in the world. It is about 4000 miles long. It floods each year and leaves fertile soil along the banks.

The Huang He (Yellow River) is about 3000 miles long. It also floods each year since the banks along the Huang He River are low. The Huang He is full of loess. Loess is a powder-like soil that is extremely fertile.

These early people called all rivers in China by the nickname "The Great Sorrow". That is because each year during the flood season, all homes along the Huang He River were destroyed. Each year, the ancient Chinese had to rebuild their homes and their lives. Over time, people learned the techniques of flood control.

Ancient China - Geography • Landforms can provide more than water and fertile soil. • China's landforms helped to protect the early people from invasion. The China Sea, the Yellow Sea, Himalayan Mountains, and Gobi Desert isolated the country from the rest of the world for many thousands of years. • Although protection is a positive, what would be a negative about these landforms?

The Gobi desert prevented people from invading/migrating from the north. The Himalayas also prevented people from invading/migrating from the west.

fertile Definition: Capable of producing good crops; good soil Category: Geography Examples: Land around Huang He and Yangtze Rivers

civilization Definition: An advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, economy, and government has been reached Category: Cultural Economic Political Examples: Ancient China

Ancient China - Government Neolithic Period (Xia Dynasty) • 12000 BC-2000 BC • Debate if Xia dynasty existed • Small Villages • Still Hunters & Gatherers • Begin Agriculture • Pottery

Ancient China - Government • The growth of villages created a need for an authority to maintain order and settle arguments. • Small dynasties formed and began to extend their control over larger and larger areas. • A dynasty is a sequence of powerful leaders from the same family. The name of the ruling family became the name of the dynasty.

Shang Dynasty • 1800 BC-1123 BC • Formed around the Huang He • First Dynasty of China • Chinese writing • Polytheistic • Mandate from Heaven – The gods chose the family to rule. • Developed silk

Zhou Dynasty • 1122 BC-256 BC • Adopted parts of Shang Dynasty culture • Controlled for the longest period of time • Copper and gold coins used for the 1 st time • Ruled during a time of constant fighting between the areas • Confucius and Laozi

Qin Dynasty • 221 BC-206 BC • First emperor - Shi Huangdi • Standardized currency (money) • Built 5000 miles of road • Great Wall of China

Shi Huangdi • Shi Huangdi was not a popular leader due to the large taxes the people had to pay. • Shi Huangdi banned all books that advocated any other forms of government. The writings of Confucius and other philosophers were burned and more than 400 opponents were executed.

Han Dynasty • 202 BC-220 AD • Military expansion • Trade • Paper invented • Acupuncture • Adopted Confucianism • Buddhism spread rapidly toward the end of this dynasty.

dynasty Definition: a sequence of powerful leaders from the same family Category: Political Examples: Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han

emperor Definition: Category: Leader Examples: Political Shi Huangdi

What cultural impact did Ancient China make?

The “Four” Great Inventions of Ancient China • Gunpowder • Compass • Papermaking • Printing

Gunpowder • Accidentally discovered gunpowder when trying to find a medical liquid that would give the user immortality. • Chinese later realized that the chemical liquid created would flash and explode when exposed to an open flame.

Compass • The circular center represents Heaven, and the square plate represents Earth. • The handle of the spoon points south. The plate bears Chinese characters which represent the eight main directions of north, northeast, southeast, south, southwest, and northwest.

Papermaking • Made paper from hemp fibers and silk. • Paper was used to keep records and other information.

Printing • The text was first written on a piece of thin paper, then glued face down onto a wooden plate. The characters were carved out to make a wood-block printing plate, which was used to print the text when it came into contact with the paper or cloth. • Wood-block printing took a long time as a new block had to be carved for every page in a book.

Chinese Cultural Impact: Chinese Literature

Mulan: Fiction or Nonfiction? • The Disney movie, Mulan, is based on a Chinese poem entitled The Ballad of Mulan. • In the poem, Mulan is the only child of a Chinese general. She is trained by her father on how to use a weapon and ride a horse. • When each Chinese family was required to send a male to war, Mulan took her father’s place. It is believed that Mulan served for 12 years in the Chinese army. • Mulan’s story is considered a legend. There is no evidence that she existed, but there is also no evidence that she did not exist.

Chinese Cultural Impact: The Great Wall

Construction During the Qin Dynasty • The main reason why the Chinese built the Great Wall was to prevent troops from invading Chinese territory. • The Qin dynasty first constructed the wall with just loose stone. • Then the wall was constructed by a wooden rectangular frame filled with loose soil. Workers would come and stomp the soil until it was 4 inches.

Construction During the Han Dynasty • The Han dynasty extended the wall and made it more durable. • They even constructed the wall in the Gobi Desert. • The Han dynasty improved the Qin process of building the wall which was much quicker and faster.

Completion of Great Wall • After the Han dynasty, the building and rebuilding of eroded sections of the Great Wall were completed by 2 additional dynasties. • Currently, it is the world’s longest wall and biggest piece of ancient architecture.

Ancient China - Religion Confucius 551 BC-479 BC Buddha 560 BC-480 BC Laozi

Confucianism • Founded by Confucius • Based on a strict code of behavior that honored ancestors and ancient rituals. • Confucius said that there were 5 principle relationships. Each person in the relationship had responsibilities to each other. 1. Ruler & Subject 2. Father & Son 3. Husband & Wife 4. Older Brother & Younger Brother 5. Older Friend & Younger Friend

Daoism (Taoism) • Founded by Laozi • To practice Daoism one must follow Tao is a force that flows through all life. The goal of the followers of Daoism is to find a way to harmonize themselves with the Tao. • Yin-Yang is the most recognizable symbol of Daoism. It represents the balance of opposites in the universe. The symbol shows that in nature everything that appears to be all bad has some good in it, and that everything that is good has some bad in it.

Origins of Buddhism • Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who would one day be known as the Buddha, began his life as a prince in ancient India. • The prince was bothered by the pain, sickness, and death in the world. He decided to leave his wealth, his comfort, his wife, and his newborn son, to become a monk. • After 6 years of traveling through India as a monk, he came to an understanding that he believed was the way to end suffering. On this day, he began to earn the new title, the Buddha, which means “Awakened One”.

Buddhism Four Noble Truths 1. Life is filled with suffering 2. Suffering is caused by people's wants. 3. Suffering can be ended if people stop wanting things, like more pleasure or more power. 4. To stop wanting things, people must follow 8 basic laws, called the Eightfold Path 1. To know the truth 2. To intend to resist evil 3. To not say anything to hurt others 4. To respect life, property, and morality 5. To work at a job that does not injure others 6. To try to free one's mind from evil 7. To be in control of one's feelings and thoughts 8. To practice appropriate forms of concentration

Buddhism • Buddhist believe in karma and reincarnation. Karma is the basic principle that “what goes around, comes around. ” Reincarnation is the idea that when you die your soul is reborn in another form. • Buddha believed that if you had good karma, you would be rewarded in reincarnation. If you had bad karma, you would be punished. • According to Buddha, once a person no longer wants for anything, his or her spirit has reached nirvana.

reincarnation Definition: The idea that when you die your soul is reborn in another form Category: Examples: Religion Buddhism

karma Definition: What goes around, comes around Category: Examples: Religion Buddhism

More Dynasties in China

Using what you know about dynasties, why is the show called “Duck Dynasty”?

After the Han Dynasty • The end of the Han Dynasty was followed by a long period of civil war. • From 220 -589 AD, China was not stable. There was a constant change in governments.

Sui Dynasty • 580 -618 A. D. • United China T’ang Dynasty • Fortified the Great Wall • 618 -907 A. D. • Expanded their territory through costly military campaigns • Built Grand Canal • Land distribution program • Rice production rapidly increased during this period. • Didn’t think the Great Wall was important

Song Dynasty • 960 -1279 A. D. • Used gunpowder as a weapon in warfare • Foreign trade expanded Yuan Dynasty • 1279 -1368 A. D. • Was ruled by the Mongols • Genghis Khan led the Mongols when they defeated the Chinese. • Kublai Khan founded the dynasty. • Marco Polo • At the end, China was impoverished.