How Geography Affected Early Chinese

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Ancient China

• How Geography Affected Early Chinese

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(No Transcript)
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Geography Earliest Civilization Xia Dynasty Shang Dynasty
Travel and communication was limited due to the Gobi and Taklimakan Deserts to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Himalaya Mountains to the southwest The river valleys were ideal for farming because the floods of the Huang He River and Chang Jiang River left silt to fertilize the soil Chinese Civilization began along the Huang He River also known as the Yellow River According to ancient stories Yu the Great was the founder of the Xia Dynasty First dynasty to have been proven by evidence
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Two Rivers of China

• Huang He
• Also called the Yellow River
• Nearly 3,000 miles long across northern China
• Often floods, and has been referred to as
  Chinas sorrow because of the destruction

• Chang Jiang
• The longest river in Asia also called the Yangzi
  River
• Flows across central China from Tibet to the
  Pacific Ocean

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Civilization Begins
Farming

• Frequent flooding made the land fertile around
  the Chang Jiang and Huang He rivers.
• Along with farming, the Chinese people hunted,
  fished, and domesticated animals.

Early Settlements

• Small villages grew into larger cities.
• Findings at burial sites suggest that the ancient
  Chinese believed in an afterlife and had a
  complex social order.

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Xia dynasty

• The Xia dynasty might have been founded around
  2200 BC, by Yu the Great.
• Tales say that Yu dug channels to drain
  floodwaters and created the major waterways of
  North China.
• Archaeologists have no firm evidence that tales
  about the Xia dynasty are true.

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Shang Dynasty

• 1500 BC
• First dynasty to have been proven by evidence
• The King was the center of Shang political and
  religious life
• Attacked neighboring lands and expanded
  territory.
• Priests used oracle bones to make predictions
• Society
• royal family and nobles at highest level
• artisans at middle level
• farmers and slaves at lower level
• Achievements writing system, use of bronze,
  calendar, war chariots, and bows

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Oracle Bones

• Whats the importance of oracle bones for people
  living in China today?

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Shang Bronze

• Why would artisans have a higher social status in
  early Chinese civilization?

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The Zhou Dynasty

• Create a chart in which identify the
  characteristics of the Zhou Dynasty
• Government
• The Mandate of Heaven
• Warring States Period
• Structure of Society
• Family Relationships
• Economy and Technology
• Cultural Life

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Qin Dynasty

• United the Warring States of China
• Gave himself title of Shi Huangdi (First
  Emperor)
• Created the Great Wall to defend from nomadic
  tribes in the North
• Created standards that unified Chinas economy
  and culture
• Established a single language and characters.
• Produced uniform coins to be used as currency.

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Qin Dynasty

• Established a central governing system.
• 36 different provinces that reported to the
  Emperor
• To prevent rebellion, he moved noble families to
  the capital.
• Created harsh rules
• Adopted idea of Legalism
• Strong leader and strong legal system needed to
  create social order.
• Censored ideas he found dangerous
• Implemented harsh laws

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Fall of the Qin Dynasty

• Succeeded in creating a united China but dynasty
  collapsed fast.
• Rebellions started because of the dynastys harsh
  laws.
• China came back to chaos, with kingdoms fighting
  each other again.

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Han Dynasty

• Strong Central Government
• Expansion of China
• Civil Service
• System of government employees mainly selected
  for skills and knowledge
• Silk Road
• Trade Route
• Exchange of goods
• Safer route to trade

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Newscast Qin and Han Dynasties

• Qin Dynasty

• Han Dynasty

• Defending the Empire
• Uniform Standards and the Organization of the
  Empire
• Rule of the First Emperor
• Legalist Government
• Harsh Laws
• Thought Control
• The Fall of the Qin Dynasty

• Reuniting and Expanding China
• The Structure of Government
• Civil Service
• The Silk Road