RIVER DYNASTIES IN CHINA Developed about 1 000

RIVER DYNASTIES IN CHINA

• Developed about 1, 000 years after the walls of Ur, the pyramids of Egypt, and the planned cities of the Indus Valley • Isolated by Natural Barriers – The Yellow Sea in the East, the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean – Mountain ranges and deserts dominate 2/3 of China

• Two major river systems flow through China – The Huang He (Yellow River) – The Yangtze or the Chang Jiang • Huang He deposits large amounts of yellowish silt called loess – Blown by winds from deserts to the west and north

Nicknamed “River of Sorrows” or “China’s Sorrow” because it often flooded and destroyed crops

GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA Environmental Challenges � Isolated by seas, mountains, and deserts forced early settlers to supply their own goods. � Natural boundaries did not completely protect them from outside invaders. Invasions from North and west happened over

GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA The Heartland of China

Civilization Emerges • First Dynasties – Building farming settlements along the Huang He – 2000 BC settlements grow into China’s first cities – First Dynasty: • Xia Dynasty- led by Yu, developed flood control and irrigation projects that tamed the Huang He – Helped make the transition to civilization – Shang rise when Meso. , Egypt, and Indus Valley were invaded

Shang Dynasty • 1700 BC-1027 BC • 1 st family of Chinese rulers to leave written records • Built elaborate palaces and tombs that have been discovered by archeologists • Artifacts revealed much about Shang society

EARLY CITIES • Anyang: one of oldest and most important cities • Built mostly of wood • Higher classes lived in timber-framed houses with walls of clay or straw inside city walls • Peasants lived in huts outside city • Shang surrounded cities with massive walls due to constant warfare • Chariot is introduced

CHINESE CULTURE d e w e Vi s a s r e d i s t ou s n a i r a b r a B China known as Middle Kingdom (center of civilization) Extre me l o the f yalty to amil Obe y; dien t to r uler

FAMILY Most important virtue was respect for ones family Elder men controlled the family’s property and made important decisions Women treated as inferiors, expected to obey own sons Marriages arranged at age 1316 yrs old Only having sons could improve a woman’s status

SOCIAL CLASSES Sharply divided between nobles and peasants Noble families owned lands and governed villages Warrior-nobles headed by a king made up the ruling class

ORACLE BONES Family closely linked to religion Family ancestors had power to bring good fortune or disaster to living family members The Shang consulted gods through oracle bones SHANG DI known as supreme god Priest scratch questions on bone Priests interpret and then heat and cracks to see how crack bone gods answered

CHINESE WRITING No link between spoken language and written language You can read Chinese without the ability to speak the language It’s like the number system, everyone knows what is meant when they see 2 + 2=4 Although many spoke different languages, all could learn same system of writing Advantage: unified diverse land Disadvantage: today, over 50, 000 characters to memorize

ZHOU DYNASTY and the DYNASTIC CYCLE • 1027 BC Zhou dominates and overthrows the Shang • Adopted Shang culture • Brought new ideas to China How did they justify overthrowing the Shang Dynasty? • Claimed Shang ruler was a poor king and so the gods took his power away and gave it to Zhou • This is known as the Mandate of Heaven- a ruler has divine approval New dynasty gains power, restores peace, now has Mandate Dynasty is overthrown through rebellion; new dynasty emerges Strong dynasty establishes peace and prosperity, has Mandate of Heaven In time dynasty declines, power grows weaker Dynastic cycle Old Dynasty is seen as having lost mandate, rebellion is justified Disasters (floods, famine, invasions, etc) occur

Zhou controlled a vast area of land Established Fuedalism system: Land in exchange for service Nobles also offer protection to people who live in their estate Feudalism Gave control to members of royal family and trusted nobles Nobles get land that belongs to King, King gets nobles military service

Technology and Trade Roads and canals stimulate trade and agriculture Coined money introduced, improved trade Cast iron produced in blast furnaces