Chinese River Valley Dynasties

Geography of China

• Natural Barriers– Pacific Ocean to the East; Taklimakan Desert and

Tibetan Plateau to the West; Himalaya Mountains to the Southwest; Gobi Desert to the North

Geography (continued)

• Ancient Chinese dynasties develop in the areas around the Yellow (Huang He) and Yangtze (Chang Jiang) Rivers.

• Due to surrounding mountains and deserts, civilization in China centered around these two rivers (not much other land for farming)

• The Yellow River is named for the fertile yellowish silt that it deposits when it floods (loess)

Geography (continued)

• Yellow River also floods, but is unpredictable like the Indus (not reliable like the Nile)

Ancient Chinese Civilization

• People have inhabited China for nearly 1.7 million years, but civilization developed later than Egypt and Indus

• Xia Dynasty (no written records, so limited information)– Shortly after 2000 B.C. the first leader Yu was a

mathematician and engineer– Used flood control methods and irrigation to harness the

Yellow River– Agriculture flourished, lead to food surpluses, and thus

cities/civilization

Civilization (continued)

• Shang Dynasty (1532-1027 B.C.)– First gained power in northern China– First to leave written records (more known)– Anyang is one of the oldest cities, and was one of

the capitals (built mostly of wood)– Higher classes lived in wood houses with clay and

straw inside city walls (lower classes lived outside walls in hovels

– Also used chariots (probably from contact with western Asia, just like Egypt)

Shang Dynasty (continued)

• King and Nobles at top and Peasants at the bottom

• Nobles owned land, and paid King for right to control; peasants farmed the land with sticks, hoes, and sickles

Shang Culture

• Begin ancestor worship (Veneration of the Dead; not just Chinese)– Believed that worshipping the ancestors would

help the ancestors in the afterlife, but also appease them and help those still alive in the afterlife

– This concept leads to filial piety; if the family is respected on earth, by honoring, elders, father, and continuing the lineage, then the family is honored in the afterlife

Culture (continued)

• Eldest man controlled property and important decisions; women were treated as inferiors

Religion• Shang Di – supreme god– Lesser gods worshipped

as well• Used oracle bones to

consult gods– Earliest writing was on

these, priests would write questions, then poke with hot poker causing bone to crack, then the priest would interpret what the cracks meant

Chinese Writing

• First appeared on oracle bones• Symbol represents idea not sound• Very few, if any connection between the

spoken language, and the written language• Possible to read but not speak language

(example from book: English and French speakers under stand 2 + 2 = 4; but we may not under stand “deux et deux font quatre”)

Writing (continued)

• Advantage: Even if spoken language was different in different regions, the written language could be shared

• Disadvantage: Since characters represented ideas and not sounds, thousands of characters had to be memorized, not just the ability to form words from sounds

Art and Advancement• Commoners who were

skilled in special crafts were in a slightly higher class, but still outside the city walls.

• Bronze was the main material used in art

• The early Chinese also learned to get silk from silkworms, and made fine things (ex. shoes) that they felt made them civilized, if not superior

Zhou Dynasty

• Pronounced Jo• Overthrew Shang Dynasty around 1027 B.C.• Zhou started Mandate of Heaven as

justification for overthrowing the Shang ruler– Basically stated that Shang king was bad ruler, so

he fell out of favor with gods, and was replaced

Dynastic Cycle

• Lasts until 1900s A.D.

• People use mandate of heaven to justify rebellion; new dynasty established; dynasty gains power; peace and prosperity ensue; dynasty becomes corrupt; natural disaster occurs; dynasty overthrown

Feudalism Begins

• Early form of feudalism established• Nobles given land because the area they ruled

was so large; nobles pledge loyalty to rulers, and protection for the people on the land

• This system leads to fighting amongst nobles for more land and power

Zhou Advancements• Introduction of coined money• Developed blast furnaces to

make cast iron; not done in Europe until the Middle Ages (used for making weapons and agricultural tools)

• Advancements lead to higher food production = bigger cities

End of The Zhou Dynasty

• Zhou ruled from about 1027 – 256 B.C.• Hao, the capital city, was taken over by

nomadic tribes. Zhou leaders moved the capital, and continued the dynasty in name only

• War broke out amongst nobles all over the country; much like the Middle Ages in Europe

• Order will be restored later through dynastic cycle

Japan

• Though nearby, Japan develops differently; mostly because of geography

• Samurai Warriors and Bushido (Way of the Warrior)– Basically classical chivalry; upper class, military

nobles• Shoguns (generals)– Actually held almost all of the power

Japan (continued)

• Economy based primarily on farming, though only 20% of land is arable

• Oddly, trade was slow to develop on this island country