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EARLY CHINA WORLD HISTORYNOVEMBER 5, 2013

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GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT CHINA o China is located on the continent of Asia Has one of the largest landmasses in the world o Major rivers flow through China Yellow River & Yangtze River These rivers provide fertile land for farming Once a year these rivers would flood, fertilizing the soil o Even though it is large in size, only one tenth of its land can be farmed Much of China is covered in mountains and deserts o Eventually, the people of China were able to come together to create a unified civilization They called themselves the Middle Kingdom because they believed they were at the center of the world o First people who settled in China, Xia Dynasty, settled in the Yellow River basin

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SHANG DYNASTY o Settled around the the banks of the Yellow River Archeologists found evidence of the first ever Chinese cities o Ruled by a king Later, warlords ruled over the smaller areas around the civilization Aristocrats = nobles whose wealth comes from the land they owned Majority of the population were farmers o Shang people worshipped their Gods and Ancestors o They would use Oracle bones to tell the future and what would happen These are the first examples of Chinese writing o Chinese writing was made up of pictographs and ideographs Pictographs = characters that stand for objects Ideographs = are another kind of character used in Chinese writing o The Shang are known for weaving silk and producing bronze

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ZHOU DYNASTY o Established by an aristocrat named Wu Wang who led a rebellion to overthrow the Shang Dynasty o The Zhou Dynasty developed a centralized form of government Zhou emperor established a large bureaucracy Bureaucracy = made up of appointed officials who are responsible for different areas of the government Aristocrats were in charge of their own independent territories The King was considered to be a link between heaven and earth o Kings were chosen by the Mandate of Heaven Mandate = a formal order Mandate of Heaven had 4 rules to governing the state: 1.Heaven chooses the ruler 2.A persons virtue determines their right to rule 3.No dynasty is permitted to rule forever 4.Rebellion and disaster is evidence that ruler loses legitimacy to the throne o Farmers developed new technologies to improve crop production o Eventually the separate territories gained too much power and began fighting with one another Known as the Period of the Warring States

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A DAY IN THE LIFE IN ANCIENT CHINA o The Chinese were broken up into many different social classes Social Class = includes people who share a similar position in society The upper class lived in beautiful homes with yards and farmland These people were known as aristocrats Majority of the population were farmers Practiced terrace farming allowed them to farm in the dry mountain side The lowest class were merchants Ranked below farmers because they relied on farmers to do their job o The Chinese family was the building blocks of their society Practiced filial piety = children must respect their parents and older relatives

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CHINESE THINKERS o During the Period of the Warring States, many Chinese thinkers sought ways to reform the society o Three main philosophies emerged: o Confucianism o Based on the teachings of Confucius o Preached the ideas of virtues, respect, loyalty and devotion o People should put the needs of their family and community first o Daoism o Based on the teachings of Laozi o Preached the ideas of balance, nature, and destiny o People should give up worldly desires in favor of nature and the Dao o Legalism o Based on the teachings of Hanfeizi o Preached that people were innately evil and would do wrong if allowed to o Society needs a system of harsh laws and strict punishment

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QIN DYNASTY o During the Period of the Warring States, a group of people took over the states one by one until they developed the Qin Dynasty Led by Qin Shihuangdi = means the First Qin Emperor o Developed a strict, rigid government based on the teachings of Legalism Centralized the government Killed anyone publicly opposing his views Created a universal currency Built roads and the Grand Canal o One important achievement was the creation of the Great Wall Many nomads from the north threatened to attack farming villages He started the building of the wall, however it was not nearly completed by the end of his reign o His cruel leadership caused people to rebel 4 years after his death, the people overthrew his dynasty Civil war ensued to decide who would be leader

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HAN DYNASTY o Founded by Liu Bang o Was once a peasant but became a military leader and defeated his rivals o He continued the leadership of centralizing the government o The Han Dynasty reached its peak under the leadership of Han Wudi who ruled from 141 B.C.E. to 87 B.C.E. He created a civil service system in China Had to pass a test to work as a government official Saw to it that only those who are qualified will secure jobs in the government Only one in five passed the exam As people prepared for these tests, they focused on studying law, history, and the teachings of Confucius o With the explosion in education many new inventions and ideas arose Paper Steel Salt Medicines Acupuncture The rudder o This allowed China to continue to modernize

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THE SILK ROAD o The emperor Han Wudi ordered a general named Zhang Qian to explore areas west of China He did not find Chinese allies, the original purpose of the journey, however he discovered many civilizations to the west He described meeting the Romans, the Muslims, and many other booming civilizations o Emperor Wudi was excited to learn about the impressive cavalry and began an extensive trade network stretching 4,000 miles from western China to southwest Asia o This was known as the Silk Road o This became the predominant trade route across Europe and Asia and encouraged a blending of cultures and ideas

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