Title: Early Civilization in China
1Early Civilization in China
Shang
Zhou
2Old DynastyTaxes people too muchStops
protecting peopleLets roads and walls fall apart
treats people unfairly.
The Dynastic Cycle
New Dynasty brings peace builds roads and canals
gives land to peasants protects people.
Generations go by. New dynasty becomes
New dynasty claims Mandate of Heaven.
Problems-floods, earthquakes, peasants revolt,
invaders attack empire, bandits raid provinces.
Old Dynasty loses Mandate of Heaven.
3Geography of China
- 1)Natural barriers isolated ancient China from
all other civilizations. - Distance.
- To east- Pacific Ocean.
- To west- Täklimakän Desert and the icy 14,000
miles of the Plateau of Tibet. - To the southwest- Himalayan Mountains.
- To north- Gobi Desert and Mongolian Plateau.
- To the southeast- thick jungles.
4Geography (Continued)
- 2) This isolation contributed to the Chinese
belief that China was the center of the earth, so
they called themselves The Middle Kingdom.
5Geography ( Yes More )
- 3) Two major river systems flow from the
mountains of the West to the Pacific Ocean. - Huang He (Yellow River)- named for loess.
- (loh-uhs) fine yellow soil from Mongolia and
Siberia. - Yangzi ( also River of Sorrows and Chinas
Sorrows).
6Yangzi
- Loess settles to the bottom and raises
water level. Dikes are constantly built and
repaired to keep the river from flooding. If the
dikes burst, crops would be destroyed, and mass
starvation would occur.
7Geography
- 4) Chinas natural barriers did not completely
protect them from outsiders. Invaders from the
West and North attacked again and again.
8Religion
- The legend of a man-god, Yu who drove out
serpents and dragons along the Huang He. He also
drained land so people could live along rivers
and cross them. According to Chinese
civilization, Yu founded the kingdom Xia (sheah).
9Religoin ( Continued again )
- The chief god was Shang Di. There were many gods
of nature, such as spirits living in mountains,
rivers, and seas. - Yin was the force linked to Earth, darkness, and
females. - Yang was the force linked to Heaven, light, and
males. - Harmony balance must exist between the two for
the well of the universe.
10Speaking to the Spirits
- Chinese believed spirits of ancestors had power
to bring good fortune or disaster to the living
members of the family. They offered ancestors
food, wine, and special prayers.
11Oracle Bones
- Oracle bones are animal bones and tortoise
shells on which priests scratched questions for
the gods or ancestors. Priest applied a hot
poker to the bone causing it to crack. Priest
interpreted the cracks to see how the god had
answered them.
- The king was the link between the people and
the gods.
12Chinese Writing
- Ideographs express signs that represent thoughts
or ideas not sounds. - Pictographs stood for objects.
- Each character represents a word or ideas that
can be made up of several strokes.
13Dont You Just Love Chinese Writing? Heres more!
- No links between Chinese written language and
spoken language. Although Chinese speak many
languages and dont understand each other they
all have the same writing system and all can read
it. So Chinese written language helped unify a
large and diverse land. - To be barely literate a person must know 1,000
different characters. To be well educated you
must know 10,000 characters.
14Words to Know
- Zhongguo Name Chinese used for their land The
Middle Kingdom. - Loess Fine, wind blown yellow soil.
- Clan Group of people who claim a common
ancestor. - Yin and Yang Terms used to describe the two
forces Chinese believed must be balance in the
universe. - Ideograph Pictures that express abstract
thoughts or ideas. - Oracle Bones Used by Shang priests to
prophesize the future.
15Yes, Even More Words To Know
- Calligraphy Finely styled handwriting done with
ink and brush. - Mandate of Heaven The support of the gods for a
ruling family. - Dynastic Cycle The rise and fall of dynasties.
16Shang Rise of Cities
- By 1800 B.C., farms and villages were built all
along the Huang He River. - The first records of Chinese civilization came
about 1766 B.C. when Shang dynasty came to power.
17Shang Technology and Artistry
- People skilled in special crafts made up a
separate class in Chinese society. - Lived outside city walls.
- Manufactured weapons, jewelry, and religious
items for nobles. - Excelled in bronze working.
- Silk became most valuable export.
18Arent you tired of my stupid remarks? Well too
bad heres more Shang!
- They learned how to make silk cloth from threads
of silk worm cocoons. Women took care of the
silk worms by weaving threads into cloth and
colored cloth with dyes. Only royalty and nobles
could afford silk robes. - According to legend, a group of visiting
Byzantine monks stole some silkworm eggs
concealed them in hollow bamboo walking sticks
smuggled them to the west.
19The Fall of the Shang(Bout time, eh?!)
- In 1027 B.C., the Zhou people overthrew the
Shang and set up their own Dynasty period. The
Zhou told the people that the gods had become
angry with the Shang and now the Zhou have been
chosen to rule.
20The New Zhou Dynasty!
- To justify their conquest, Zhou leaders declared
that final Shang King had been such a poor ruler
that the gods had taken away the Shangs rule
given it to the Zhou. This justification
developed over time into a broader view that
royal authority came from Heaven. A just ruler
had divine approval known as the Mandate of
Heaven.
21What the Zhou thought...
- A Wicked or foolish king could lose the Mandate
of Heaven thus lose the right to rule. The
Mandate of Heaven became central to the Chinese
view of government. - The historians described the pattern of rise,
decline, replacement of dynasties as the
dynastic cycle (2nd slide).
22How the Zhou explained chaos
- Flood, riots, and calamities might be signs
that the ancestral spirits were displeased with a
kings rule. In that case the Mandate of Heaven
might pass to another noble family. This was the
Chinese explanation for rebellion, civil war, and
rise of new dynasties. Dynastic rule was finally
overthrown in the early 1900s.
23Feudalism
- Feudalism is a political system in which nobles
or lords are granted the use of lands that
legally belong to the king. In return, the
nobles owe loyalty and military service to the
king and protection to the people who live on
their estates.
24Local Lords
- Local lords lived in small walled towns and had
to submit to the superior strength control of
the Zhou rulers. Gradually, as towns grew into
cities, and expanded into surrounding territory,
the lords grew stronger. Local lords became less
dependant on the king.
- More and more they fought among themselves and
with neighboring peoples for wealth and
territory.
25Innovations
- Zhou built roads canals. These stimulated trade
agriculture. - Zhou introduced coined money which also improved
trade. To run the daily operations of growing
cities, a new class of civil servants emerged.
26More Innovations!
- They developed blast furnaces that allowed them
to produce cast iron (iron poured into molds).
Iron farm tools helped make farm work easier and
more productive.
27Innovative aren't they!?
- They produced the first books by taking thin
strips of wood and bamboo and glued them together.
28The Bigger They are the Harder They Fall!
- The Zhou ruled from 1027B.C. to 256B.C. For the
first 300 years the empire was peaceful and
stable. Gradually Zhou rule weakened. They could
not control noble families. As power of nobles
grew they claim to be kings of their own
territory.
29The Zhou Collapsed
- Peasant foot soldiers cavalry replaced
chariots in battlefield. The crossbow was also
introduced. Traditional Chinese values
collapsed. The dynastic cycle is about to bring
a new start!
30- This is the end. Happy? We are too.
- Jamie Pitts Animation and some typing.
- Will Sparks Information, most typing, and
some animation. - Zac Payne Sounds, pictures, and very little
typing. ( Also did the web page ) - Justin Sane Did all the work producing while
we sat around and looked stoopid!
31oiji!
Meow