Ancient China

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Ancient China

• What you need to know

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I. Physical Geography

• What physical features make up most of China?
• Mountains
• Rivers
• Plains
• Plateaus
• Deserts

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A. Chinas Mountains

• The highest mountains are in the west.
• Himalayas run along Chinas southwestern border,
  dividing China from Nepal.
• The highest peak of the Himalayas (and in the
  world) is
• Mount Everest29, 035 feet.

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This is a view of Mount Everest as taken from the
point of view of a climber.
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A. Mountains, Cont.

• Plateau of Tibet
• Spreads across ¼ of Chinas land
• Highest plateau on Earth
• Nicknamed Roof of the World.

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B. Chinas Great Rivers

• Three Great Rivers are located in China
• Huang He (hwahng huh)
• Chang Jian (chahng jyahng)
• Xi Jian (shee jyahng)
• They all start in the highlands and flow east.

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B. Chinas Great Rivers, cont.

• Xi Jiang is the southernmost.
• The Chang Jiang is north of Xi Jiang and winds
  across China.
• It is Chinas longest river at over 3,400 miles.

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3. Huang He River

• The Huang He is the most northern river in China.
  
• Nicknamed Yellow River because of the fine silt
  that covers the plains along parts of the river.
• The muddiest river in the world!

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3. Huang He River, cont.

• It begins in the Plateau of Tibet.
• Runs east through the North China Plain, and
  often overflows.
• Also nicknamed Chinas Sorrow because of the
  thousands of lives lost in its floods.

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C. Chinas Deserts

• There are two large deserts spread across China.
• 1.Taklimakan (Tah-kluh-muh-KAHN)
• Covers northwestern China
• It has an east-west length of about 600 miles
• One of the worlds largest sandy deserts
• In the spring it experiences dust storms with the
  strength of hurricanes, lifting the dust as high
  as 13,000 feet in the air!

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C. Chinas Deserts, cont.

• 2. The Gobi (GOH-bee) desert is in northern
  China.
• In Mongolian Gobi means waterless place.
• This deserts dryness and temperatures are very
  harsh.
• Summer113 F
• Winter -40 F
• It is approximately 1,423 miles from end to end.

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II. Ancient China--Overview

• A. Foundations of Chinese Civilization
• The Chinese are known for many great inventions.
• Over the course of thousands of years, the
  Chinese have built the longest-lasting culture in
  the world.
• As early as 5,000 b.c., Chinese people lived in
  the fertile river valley of the Huang He.
• In the 1700s b.c., their lives changed
  drastically when different groups of people
  invaded their land.

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II. Ancient ChinaOverview, cont.

• 1. Shang
• First invaders to Huang He river valley _at_1700
  b.c.
• Established Chinas first permanent, organized
  civilization
• Took over rule for most of Chinas history, and
  ruled by dynasties
• Definitionfamily of rulers
• Some reigns last 15, some 100 years
• Examples of dynasty names?

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II. Ancient ChinaOverview, cont.

• 2. Mongol Rule
• A.D. 1200s Chinas greatest fear came true!
• Foreign invaders conquered China
• Mongols invaded China in 1211
• Led by Genghis Khan and later his grandson,
  Kublai Khan
• 1279, Kublai Khan conquered Chinas Song (sung)
  dynasty
• Founded the Yuan dynasty in its place
• Established Chinas capital city at Ta-tu

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II. Ancient ChinaOverview, cont.

• 3. The Ming Dynasty
• War broke out among the leaders of the Yuan
  dynasty
• Why do you think this happened?
• This weakened the dynasty to the point that
  another dynasty (Ming) was able to take over

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3. The Ming Dynasty, cont.

• Ming founder, Zhu Yuanzhang (joo yoo-ahn-jang)
  was called the Hongwu emperor (which means vast
  military power), because of his strong military
  success.
• During battles, he won the Yunnan province from
  the Mongols
• This unified the region that is China today.

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3. The Ming Dynasty, cont.

• Upon Hongwus death, one of his grandsons took
  over rule.
• He is best known for rebuilding the Yuan capital
  and naming it Beijing.
• He had a huge palace constructed in the city
  which was known as the Forbidden City
• This was because only the emperor, his family,
  and select officials could enter it.
• Ming Dynasty ended in 1644 when the Manchus
  attacked and established Chinas last dynasty,
  the Qing who ruled until A.D. 1911!

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B. Religion and Philosophy

• Confucianism
• Founded during the Zhou Dynasty by a man named
  Kongfuzi
• Renamed Confucius by Europeans
• Teachings include
• Importance of Moral Character
• Individuals taking responsibility for the state
  of their society
• Rulers should be like a good father and take
  care of and be kind to his people.

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B. Religion and Philosophy, cont.

• The Impact of Confucianism
• 1211 B.C., Confucianism was established as
  Chinas official philosophy.
• This guided the Chinese bureaucracy
• Defineadministering government through
  departments, called bureaus.
• Staffed officials of these departments are called
  bureaucrats.
• Bureaucracy was called Civil Service, and gave
  the government capable officials, helping
  stabilize their culture.

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B. Religion and Philosophy, cont.

• 3. Taoism (DOW-ism)
• Philosophy developed in 500 B.C. by Lao Tzu
• Wrote the main Taoist book called Taote Ching.
• Main ideas are
• There is a force that guides the universe, though
  it is not seen or named.
• Force is called Tao (means way of nature)
• Believes that the greatest achievement a person
  can make is to find harmony with the
  Tao, or nature.

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B. Religion and Philosophy, cont.

• 4. Buddhism in China
• Buddhism came to China around A.D. 200.
• It was brought to China by traders from India and
  other areas of Asia.
• Many of its teachings focus on how to escape
  suffering.
• It did not replace Confucianism or Taoism, rather
  the Chinese belief system incorporated pieces of
  all three philosophies.

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C. Achievements of the Dynasties

• There were many inventions created by the
  Chinese, which helped them in every day life, and
  eventually spread to Europe through trade.
• Examples silk cloth, writing system, compass,
  paper, and porcelain.
• A few of these held more importance than others
  for how it affected Chinas people, culture, and
  economy.

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C. Achievements, cont.

• Silk
• Kept manufacturing process a secret for
  centuries.
• Why? Because if no one else knew, China earned
  all the profits from selling the precious cloth.
• Silk was carried for thousands of miles to be
  traded in Southwest Asia and as far as Europe.
• The trade route for silk became known as The Silk
  Road.

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C. Achievements, cont.

• The Silk Road
• First records of travel and trade on the Silk
  Road date to around 114 B.C.
• The route was as long as 4,000 miles!
• Goods other than silk were also traded
• porcelain, tea, incense, spices, etc.
• Many natural hazards along the way
• Extreme heat, no water, sandstorms, blizzards,
  altitude sickness, etc.
• Crime was also an issue.
• Why was the Silk Road eventually not used anymore?

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C. Achievements, cont.

• 3. Porcelain
• Is what is now often referred to as the Good
  China.
• It is a delicate, fine type of ceramic made from
  clay called kaolin.
• When fired it changes into a hard, glassy
  substance.
• The method for making porcelain was also kept a
  secret for many centuries.

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C. Achievements, cont.

• 4. Writing
• Chinese culture developed a written language
  during the Shang dynasty.
• At first, it used pictures for words (like
  cuneiform).
• Later it was reformed to shapes, called
  characters, which dont look exactly like what
  they represent.
• There are over 50,000 characters!

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C. Achievements, cont.

• The Great Builders
• Built large construction projectsthe most famous
  would be the Great Wall.
• Many emperors ordered that canals be built.
• Most important canal was the Grand Canal because
  it allowed grain from fertile areas to be carried
  more easily to the cities.
• The canals extend for over 1,000 miles,
  connecting the city of Beijing in the north to
  Hangzhou in the south.