ANCIENT CHINA Chinese civilization begins along the Huang He (Yellow) River. The religious authority of the King.It was believed that rulers received their authority fro the gods.It was called !The "andate of Heaven.#$s dynastieswea%ened and new leaders arose& the Chinese believed that the gods were reoving their andate and giving it to another. The Chinese have been ruled by a succession of dynasties (failies that 'ass the right to rule the nation fro onegeneration to the ne(t).Chinese Dynasties and TheirAchievementsDynastiesNotableRulersAchievementsXia Dynasty 21001!00 "#C#E#Aryans "igrated into the area and con)uered the local 'eo'les*evelo'ed su'erior wea'onry and technology$han% Dynasty 1&001100 "#C#E#Thirty se'arate (in%s Ruled fro a succession of seven different ca'itals. Invention of writing)hou Dynasty11222&* "#C#E#+in%s ,Noblemen+('ansionRegional rulers-in Dynasty22120* -in Centralization of authority,ritten laws"#C#E# -uilding 'ro.ects (/reat ,all of China)Han DynastyHan.udi011 year rule+('loration (2hang 3ian)+('ansion of trade4il% Road5a( 4inica 6ood reserves"erit7based a''ointentsEAR/0 E1IDENCE 23 .RITIN4 8racle bones9bones of birds& anials& and shells of turtles9were inscribed with ar%ings and writings for use in 'redicting the future. $fter they were ar%ed& these bones were 'laced in a fire and ta''ed lightly with a rod until they began to crac%. The crac%ers were then inter'reted by s'ecialists in 'redicting the future. 8racles bones were used as early as the 4hang *ynasty. 4oe of the oracle bone inscri'tions confir the naes and a''ro(iate dates of :ia and 4hang rulers. 8ther bones suggest that their 'ur'ose was to counicate with the gods.)H25 RE/I4I2N R5/ER$ 2hou %ings assigned noblean& who were usually ebers of the royal faily& to serve as regional rulers. These noblean owned the land& and were given absolute authority over it. The 'easants could not own land& but instead wor%ed the land for the nobleen.N2"E/E6EN 4RE. IN 72.ER This for of governent wor%ed well for several hundred years. However& overtie the %ing slowly becae less 'owerful& while the noblean grew in 'ower.CENTRA/I)ATI2N 23 A5TH2RIT0 3in 4hihuangdi again reorganized the affairs of China. Instead of a syste of noblean& 3in wanted everything to be under his direct authority and control..RITTEN /A.$ He established a strict set of written lawsthat were recognized throughout China& and setu' ilitary control in each region of China so that local noblean could not rebel against the e'eror. All people are subject to me, Every field harvest, and Everyone can have enough food.-5IN "5I/DIN4 7R28ECT$ To a%e China the ost glorious nation on +arth& 3in needed labor. He used the 'easants& forcing the to wor% under slave conditions& so that he could build roads& bridges& canals& buildings& and his ost faous building 'ro.ect of all& the /reat ,all of China.THE $I/+ R2AD In order to a%e trade 'ossible & +'eror ,udi began to develo' what has been called in odern ties& the sil%road. 6ollowing this route erchant traders too% sil% fro China to the ,est& and brought glass& linen& and gold bac% to China. TRAI/$9 R2AD$9 "RID4E$ The sil% road consisted of trails& roads& bridges& and 'athways that stretched across nearly ;111 iles of land and water. The sil% road is not one long road&but rather any saller roads and 'athways that were connected& and wornby the use of thousands of travelers over a 'eriod of hundreds of years. 5$: 4I