Title: Civilization in the Huang He Valley
1Civilization in the Huang He Valley
2China today has the most people of any nation on
Earth over 1.2 billion
3China has one of the longest continuous histories
on Earth. Their civilization began in the
fertile valley of the Huang He or Yellow River.
4The river is yellow due to the yellow silt it
carries. The silt is called Loess
5The river valley was so fertile that wars were
started to control the food production of the
area.
6The people of China believe that the world was
created by a giant named Pan Gu.
7The Chinese believed in many gods, and even
prayed to their ancestors.
8The Chinese would ask questions about the future
using oracle bones.
9The oracle would cast the bone into a fire. How
the bone broke in the heat determined the answer.
The answer was then written on the bone with
Chinese pictographs. That is how we know so
much about life back then.
10The Xia were the first dynasty. They ruled with
a Mandate of Heaven, or an order to the king to
rule, given by the gods.
11The Shang Dynasty came next. They greatly
expanded the empire. The greatest advancement
was the invention of Chinese writing
(pictographs).
12Because of the difficult terrain (landforms)
around China, communication and travel were
difficult. It is surround by the Pacific Ocean,
The Himalayan Mountains, The Gobi and Takla Makan
Deserts just to name a few. The Chinese people
thought that they were the center of the universe
as a result of this. They knew very little about
the world outside.