• 10/23 Focus– The Chinese Civilization developed in

the Huang He and Yangtze river valleys

– Geography isolated the Chinese culture more than it did other civilizations

• Important Terms: • Isolation, Ethnocentrism

• Do Now– What was the Neolithic Revolution?– Why did people settle in river

valleys?

River Valley Civilizations

China

•

Neolithic Revolution in China

• Farming in China first appears in the Huang He River Valley

• Favorable geographic conditions allowed for the development of civilization

Geography

• Major Geographic Influences– Mountains– Deserts – River

Valleys– Plains

Mountains

• High mountains served a barrier to the movement of people

• Himalayas in the West– separate China

from India

Deserts

• Gobi Desert– Large desert in

the North – Forms a barrier

between China and Mongolia

– Very Rocky; few sand dunes

Deserts

• Taklamakan Desert– Western China– Very difficult to

cross•Taklamakan

meant “Go in and you won’t come out”

•“Sea of Death”

•

Effect of Natural Barriers• Mountains and deserts in China:

– protection from invasions in the west– Isolation

•Chinese civilizations developed without outside influences

•Limited cultural diffusion

– Ethnocentrism •The belief in the superiority of one’s race

or ethnic group•Chinese believed that people outside of

their world were inferior •Chinese viewed outsiders as barbarians

River Valleys• The Huang He (Yellow River)

– Flows to the east from Tibetan Plateau

– Located in Northern China– Loess

•Fine, dusty desert soil•Carried by winds and

deposited in the river•Deposited by annual

flooding •Created fertile flood plains

– Flooding was unpredictable and could be very destructive

River Valleys• Yangtze

(Chang Jiang)– Flows east

from Tibetan Plateau

– Located in southern China

– Warm climate with abundant rainfall

Plains• Importance of fertile

plains– Only 11% of land in

China can be farmed– 90% of farming occurs

on plains between Huang He and Yangtze rivers

– Most people live near the plains and in eastern China (along coast)

Closure

• Identify the two major natural barriers that influenced the development of Chinese civilization.

• How did these barriers influence the Chinese view of themselves and other groups?

Review

• China is isolated by its geography. • This leads to Ethnocentrism – they

thought that they were better than other people

• This is why they called themselves the Middle Kingdom and considered others to be barbarians.

The Shang Dynasty• 1650 B.C.• Shang gain

control of N. China

• Government– Ruled by Kings– Establish first

dynasty• A ruling family

The Shang Dynasty• Religion

– Polytheistic – Worshiped ancestors – Used oracle bones to try

to communicate with them•Bones inscribed with

pictographs•Priests could read them for

messages from ancestors

– Offered ancestors gifts for the afterlife

The Shang Dynasty• written language

– used pictograms • symbols that represent

pictures

– Ideograms • symbols that represent

ideas.

• used on the Oracle Bones, but only few people learned how to read and write

The Shang Dynasty

• Early class systems • small warrior class ruling over the

peasants• Patriarchal Society

• Male dominated

The Shang Dynasty

• Technology/Achievements/Developments:– Bronze production for weapons and

ceremonial vessels (not tools)– Army had horse drawn chariots– Silk production

– Irrigation systems