Ancient ChinaCHAPTER 7

The Land of China – How did each geographic feature help to shape Chinese

civilization?

Rivers Mountains DesertsHuang He –• loess helps to create

rich farmland; wheat• enormous floods take

many lives.Chang Jiang – • Important for trade

and transportation.• Rich farmland; rice

The Himalaya, Kunlun Shan, and Tian Shan Mountains –• Acted like walls

protecting and isolating China from other parts of the world.

Gobi – • Vast, rocky desert

protecting and isolating China.

The First Chinese Dynasty

Question: How did the Shang kings control China?

Answer: Shang kings relied on warlords to stay in power.

The First Chinese Dynasty

Question: What did most people living in Shang China do for work?

Answer: Farming – cattle, sheep, and chickens; Grewgrains – millet, wheat, and rice.

The First Chinese Dynasty

Question: What was religion like in Shang China?

Answer: Polytheism. Honored ancestors and gods with gifts. Believed in luck and the afterlife.

The First Chinese Dynasty

Question: How were bones used during the Shang dynasty to predict the future?

Answer: priests would scratch questions on bone, heat them until they cracked, and read the pattern of the cracks

The First Chinese Dynasty

Question: What is the difference between a pictograph and an ideograph?

Answer: Pictographs are characters that represent objects; ideographs are a combination of pictographs that represent an idea.

The First Chinese Dynasty

Question: What were the steps used by Shang artists to create bronze objects?

Answer: 1. Make clay models in several parts2. Carve designs into clay3. Put mold together and pour in melted bronze4. Remove the mold when bronze is cool

The Zhou: China’s Longest Dynasty

Question: How did the Zhou rule china?

Answer: The kings ruled through the Mandate of Heaven. The king must rule by the proper “Way”.

The Zhou: China’s Longest Dynasty

Question: How did farming change under the Zhou kings?

Answer: The Chinese developed a new system of irrigation.

The Zhou: China’s Longest Dynasty

Question: How far did Chinese trade expand?

Answer: Chinese silk was found in Greece.

Chinese Philosophies Confucianism Daoism Legalism

Founded by Confucius Laozi HanfeiziGoal To create a well-

run and peaceful society

To create a well-run and peaceful society

To create a well-run and peaceful society

Important Ideas Honor ancestors;Duty – put others needs above your own; “golden rule”

“path” or “the way”; harmony with nature; Dao - spiritual force

“school of law”; strict harsh laws and punishments

Chinese LifeSocial Class Important Points

Land-owning aristocrats Wealthy, large housesFarmers Largest class, rural villages, rented fields, paid

taxes, worked for government one month each year

Artisans Made iron tools and weapons, silk cloth, bronze or jade vessels; architects, artists,

wood workersMerchants Shopkeepers, traders, bankers; were not

respected – out for personal gain; barred from government jobs

Chinese Life

Question: What were Chinese families like?

Answer: Family was the center of Chinese culture. Filial piety – responsibility to obey parents.

The Qin EmperorQin Shihuangdi

GovernmentAbsolute control.

Appointed censors.

Money and WritingCommon currency. Scholars simplified writing

system.

Building Projects

Tombs, roads, canals, “The Great Wall”

Han Rulers Improv

ements

Government – chose people

based on written tests

Education – government run schools

Culture – art was created for regular

people

Inventions – cast-iron plow,

waterwheels, wheelbarrow, silk,

paper, rudder

Medicine – food prevents

disease, herbs treat illness, acupuncture

On the Silk Road

Question: Who was Zhang Qian?

Answer: Chinese general who explored west of China. Established trade of horses for silk.

On the Silk Road

Question: What was the “silk road”?

Answer: The name of China’s trade route; made famous by the trade of silk.

Buddhism Reaches China

Emperors who came after Han Wudi were weak and corrupt.

Corrupt officials and greedy aristocrats took over.

Rebel armies destroyed the Han capital.

Many years of civil war follow.

The fall of the Han dynasty.People turn to Buddhism to try to deal with their anxiety and

fear.