River Dynasties in China

1
River Dynasties in China
2
The Geography of China

• Natural barriers isolated ancient China from all
  other civilizations. To the east were the Yellow
  Sea, East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.
  Mountain ranges and deserts comprise 2/3rds of
  the land mass. In west China lay the Taklimakan
  Desert and the Plateau of Tibet. In the south
  are the Himalayas and to the north is the Gobi
  Desert and the Mongolian Plateau.

3
River Systems

• Two major rivers flow from the west to the
  Pacific Ocean the Huang He (Yellow River) and
  Chang Jiang (Yangtze). The Yellow River deposits
  large amounts of yellow silt called loess when it
  overflows its banks.
• Environmental Challenges?
• The Huang Hes floods could be horrible. They
  could take out whole villages, earning the river
  the nickname Chinas Sorrow.
• Thanks to geographic isolation, trade was next to
  impossible.
• The natural boundaries did not protect China
  totally. Invasions from the west and north
  occurred from time to time.

4
Chinas Heartland

• Only about 10 of Chinas land is suitable for
  farming, and this land lies between a small plain
  between the Huang He and the Chang Jiang in
  eastern China. This is known as the North China
  Plain, and has long been regarded as the center
  of Chinas civilization.

5
Civilization Emerges

• Around 2000 BC, Chinas first cities arose even
  before the Sumarians. These cities were along
  the Huang He river.
• The first dynasty, the Xia emerged around this
  time. Its leader was a mathematician named Yu.
  His flood control ideas kept the river in check
  and helped civilization to flourish.
• Around the time that the other civilizations were
  falling, the Shang rose to power in north China.
  They lasted from 1700-1027 BC and left written
  records.

6
Early Cities

• One of the earliest and most important cities was
  Anyang, which was built mainly of wood in a
  forest clearing.
• The Shang era cities had extremely high earthen
  walls because they were constantly waging war.

7
Development of Chinese Culture

• FAMILY central to Chinese society. Respect for
  ones parents and ancestors was vital. The men
  controlled the family, and the women were seen as
  inferior. Between the ages of 13 and 16 her
  marriage was arranged and she moved in with her
  husband.
• SOCIAL CLASSES Sharply divided between nobility
  and peasants. Warrior nobility ruled the Shang
  and owned the land.

8
Development of Chinese Culture

• RELIGION The spirits of dead ancestors were
  believed to bring good fortune or even disaster
  to the family depending on that familys actions
  and worship of the ancestors. These sprits were
  looked at like helpful or troublesome neighbors,
  not as gods.
• Through these spirits, and the rolling of oracle
  bones, the people communicated with their gods,
  such as Shang Di.

9
Development of Chinese Culture

• DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING One character one
  syllable. However, one can read the language
  without being able to speak it. (Think of 224
  again).
• People across China could learn one system of
  writing despite the fact that their languages
  differed. This helped unify people across a
  very diverse country.
• People needed to know at least 1500 characters to
  be considered barely literate 10,000 to be a
  true scholar.

10
Zhou and the Dynastic Cycle

• Around 1027 BC, a people called the Zhou
  overthrew the Shang and established their own
  empire. A large cultural change didnt happen
  because the Zhou adopted many aspects of Shang
  culture. They did bring new ideas.

11
The Mandate of Heaven

• The Zhou used this to justify their conquests.
  They declared that the last Shang king had been
  such a poor ruler that the gods took his power
  away from him and gave it to the Zhou. This
  justification developed that the power of royalty
  came from heaven. A just ruler had a Mandate
  from Heaven, but that mandate could be revoked.
• This mandate became central to Chinese
  civilization. When disasters happened, it was
  seen that the ruler violated the mandate and it
  was time for him to go.
• Historians call this the dynastic cycle (p. 54)

12
Mandate of Heaven v. Manifest Destiny

• Mandate of Heaven traditional Chinese
  sovereignty concept of legitimacy used to support
  the rule of the kings of the Zhou Dynasty and
  later the Emperors of China. Heaven would bless
  the authority of a just ruler, but Heaven would
  be displeased with an unwise ruler and give the
  Mandate to someone else. "Mandate of Heaven" was
  also the very first era name of the Qin Dynasty.
• Manifest Destiny United States was destined to
  expand from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific
  Ocean it has also been used to advocate for or
  justify other territorial acquisitions. Advocates
  of Manifest Destiny believed that expansion was
  not only good, but that it was obvious
  ("manifest") and certain ("destiny").

13
Control Through Feudalism

• To govern its large territory, the Zhou gave
  control of large areas of land to members of the
  royal family and other trusted nobles. They were
  responsible for the land and those who lived on
  it came under their control. The nobles owed
  loyalty to the king.
• Towns grew into cities, and those hostile to Zhou
  lords eventually became accepting of their rule
  and ways.

14
Zhou Bonuses

• Improvements in Technology Trade
• Roads canals for agriculture trade
• Coined money introduced
• Blast furnaces for cast iron created weapons
  and agricultural tools.

15
Zhou Problems

• The Zhou were generally peaceful, but over time
  rule weakened. In 771 BC nomads from the north
  and west sacked the Zhou capital and killed their
  monarch. The surviving members of the royal
  family picked fights with each other and the rule
  weakened further.
• Amongst the fighting, the traditional values of
  order, harmony, and respect for authority were
  replaced by arrogance, chaos, and defiance.