Geography of Ancient China

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Geography of Ancient China
Middle East
Gobi Desert
Middle Kingdom
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• Three Dynasties Xia, Shang Zhou (2200 BCE-221
  BCE)

• Contemporary written records
• only begin with Han period (200 BCE) because
  records from earlier dynasties were written on
  perishable products (silk, bamboo, wood)
• Shi Huangdi ordered the destruction of all
  historical documents except those relating to
  his own dynasty
• Enough survived to piece together the three
  earliest dynasties
• Xia, first Chinese dynasty (2200 BCE-1766 BCE)
• leader was an engineer and mathematician named Yu
• instituted flood-control and irrigation projects
• actual events of period are unknown because there
  are no surviving records
• farm surpluses allowed cities to grow

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• Shang Dynasty (1766-1027 BCE)
• State and Society
• King and his lineage
• Feudal
• Local lords swore loyalty to the king
• Lords governed most of the land
• Anyang
• Last capital of the Shang Dynasty
• On Huang He River, 3.6 miles long
• 90 of the basic material for the study of Shang
  civilization comes from this city
• ceremonial or ritual center
• rich and poor cemeteries
• royal tombs
• Thirteen
• only stone sculptures, carved jades, bronze
  weapons and vessels survive
• human sacrifices were found below the base of the
  tomb pit
• surrounded by bodies of humans sacrificed to the
  ancestors
• Fuhaoqueens grave that was unlooted had 7,000
  cowrie shells, 590 jades, 440 bronzes, items of
  bone and stone

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FU HAOS TOMB
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IVORY WITH INLAID TURQUOISE DRINKING VESSEL
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BRONZE
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BRONZE AXE
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JADE PENDANT IN THE SHAPE OF A PHOENIX
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QUESTIONS

• WHAT DID THEY SPEND MORE TIME ONTHE CONSTRUCTION
  OF THE TOMB OR THE OBJECTS IN THE TOMB? WHAT
  EVIDENCE IS THERE TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM?
• WHAT DOES THAT SUGGEST ABOUT THE SHANG PERIOD?
• WHAT ASSUMPTIONS DO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE DO
  NOT MAKE?

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c. Religious BeliefsPrayed to many gods and
nature spririts, ancestor worship d. Writing
and Society 1. Oracle Bones - 100,000
pieces of inscribed oracle bones in
existence - most come from Anyang -
cattle shoulder blades, shells of turtles -
write an inscription (date, questions,
sometime the interpretations were also
recorded and the outcomes) - heated with
a metal rod - cracks interpreted - called
ancestor worship 2. wrote on bronze
vessels 3. early Chinese writing -
thousands of characters - only wealthy
learned how to read and write
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• Zhou Dynasty (1027-221 BCE)
• Overthrew the Shang Dynasty
• Justification comes from the Mandate of Heaven

NEW DYNASTY

• BRINGS PEACE
• REBUILDS GOVT
• REDISTRIBUTES
• LAND
• PROTECTS PEOPLE

AGING DYNASTY
LOSE MANDATE
MANDATE OF HEAVEN
PROBLEMS

• TAXES ARE TOO HIGH
• PROTECTION IS WEAK
• GOVERNMENT IS
• CORRUPT
• PEOPLE TREATED
• UNFAIRLY

• NATURAL DISASTERS
• PEASANT REVOLTS
• INVADERS

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b. Justification came from Mandate of
Heaven 1. in essence it grants the divine
right to rule 2. Gods sent ruin on Shang
because they were bad rulers and in response
lifted the Zhou to power 3. explains the
dynastic cycle (rise and fall of dynasties) a.
Provide good government enjoy the
Mandate b. Provide bad government heaven
withdraws its support c. Led to the
continuance of feudalism d. Economic
Growth 1. more food production due to
iron 2. expansion of commerce a.
Moneycoins b. Trade became easier c. New
roads and canals 3. increase in population e.
Achievements
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e. Achievements 1. Silk a. Silk comes
from the thread of silkworms b. Growth of the
cultivation of silkworms and mulberry
trees c. Womens work d. Only royalty
nobility could afford e. Most valuable
export f. Development of the Silk Road (from
China to the ME) g. Processsecret 2.
First books a. Bound thin strips of
wood/bamboo together b. Drawing of
characters c. Book of Songspoems about
farmers kings
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• Questions
• How did Europe help fuel the development of the
  Silk Road?
• How did the secret of silk escape China?
• How many various ethnicities were involved in the
  Silk Road?
• Besides silk, what other goods were being traded
  on the Silk Road?
• What led to the downfall of the Silk Road?