Early China Section 1

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Early ChinaSection 1
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Places to Locate

• Huang He river in China, also called the
• Yellow River provided rich soil for Huang He
  valley
• Chang Jiang river in China, also provided rich
  soil for farming
• Anyang the first capital city of China Shang
  kings ruled from here

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Terms to Know

• Dynasty a line or rulers who belong to the
• same family
• Aristocrat noble or member of the ruling class
• Pictograph characters that stand for objects
• Ideograph characters that join two or more
  pictographs to represent an idea

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Terms to Know

• Bureaucracy the officials and their areas or
• departments of government
• Mandate a formal order
• Dao the proper Way to keep the gods happy

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Terms to Know

• Confucianism Chinese philosophy that taught that
  people must do their duty to others to improve
  society
• Daoism Chinese philosophy that says people
  should give up worldly desires and turn to nature
  and the Dao
• Legalism Chinese philosophy that taught that
  people are evil and need harsh laws to make them
  do their duty

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People to Meet

• Wu Wang aristocrat who overthrew the Shang and
  started the Zhou dynasty

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Section Overview

• This section describes the first civilizations in
  China and how the geography of the region,
  especially its rivers, mountains, and deserts,
  influenced Chinas cultural development.

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Chinas Geography

• Huang He, or the Yellow River, flows for more
  than 2,900 miles across China.
• Flooding of the river brought destruction and
  good farming conditions to China.
• Chang Jiang, or the Yangtze River, is about 3,400
  miles long and flows across central China.

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Geography

• China has very little farm land because much of
  the country is either mountains or deserts.
• The Middle Kingdom was created after the Chinese
  people united to form one kingdom.

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Chinas First Civilizations

What effect did the mountains and deserts have on
the Chinese people?
The mountains and deserts separated the Chinese
from most other peoples.
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The Shang Dynasty

• Archaeologists believe the Huang He valley was
  the center of Chinese civilization
• The first rulers were probably part of the Xia
  dynasty.
• The Shang kings ruled from about 1750 B.C. to
  1122 B.C.
• Anyang was Chinas first capital. It was built
  during the Shang dynasty.

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The Shang Dynasty

• People of the Shang dynasty were divided into
  groups.
• The king and his family were the most powerful
  group.
• Warlords and other royal officials were in the
  class below the kings.
• They were aristocrats, nobles whose wealth came
  from the land they owned.

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The Shang Dynasty

• Traders and artisans were below the aristocrats.
• Most of the lower classes were farmers.
• Slaves captured during wars were the lowest class
  of people.
• People in the Shang dynasty believed in many
  spirits and gods and honored ancestors with
  offerings.

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The Shang Dynasty

• Shang kings believed they received wisdom and
  power from the gods, spirits, and ancestors.
• Early Chinese writing used pictographs, or
  characters that stand for objects.
• Ideographs are two or more pictographs joined to
  represent an idea.
• Artisans created many works but are best known
  for their bronze objects.

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Pictographs
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Chinas First Civilizations

How does the Chinese language differ from the
alphabet system used by Americans?
In the American alphabet, each letter represents
a sound. The letters, or sounds, are put
together to make words. In the Chinese language,
each marking, or symbol, represents a whole word.
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The Zhou Dynasty

• Wu Wang and his followers rebelled against the
  Shang dynasty and created the Zhou dynasty
• The Zhou dynasty ruled longer than any other
  dynasty in Chinese history.

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The Zhou Dynasty

• Kings in the Zhou dynasty served as the head of
  the government.
• A bureaucracyofficials who are responsible for
  different areas of governments and served under
  the king.

• The Zhou kingdom was divided into smaller
  territories.
• Each territory was led by an aristocrat
• Zhou kings were thought to be the link between
  the gods and people.

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The Zhou Dynasty

• The Mandate of Heaven was a heavenly law that
  gave Zhou kings the power to rule.
• The Mandate of Heaven also gave people rights.
• The Dao was the proper way kings were to rule
  their people.
• Irrigation and flood-control systems were
  developed during the Zhou dynasty.

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The Zhou Dynasty

• Farm tools, such as the plow, were developed.
• Silk was an important trade item during the Zhou
  dynasty.
• The Period of Warring States occurred before the
  fall of the Zhou dynasty.
• During this time, the local rulers began fighting
  with each other.

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Chinas First Civilizations

What innovative weapons and equipment were used
during the Period of Warring States?
The Chinese used crossbows for fighting. They
invented the saddle and stirrup during the Period
of Warring States.
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Chinas First Civilizations

What is a dynasty?
A dynasty is a line of rulers who belong to the
same family.
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Chinas First Civilizations

What were oracle bones and how were they used?
Oracle bones were bones with questions on them
used to interpret answers from the gods.
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Chinas First Civilizations

Analyze How did the Mandate of Heaven allow for
the overthrow of kings in ancient China?
If a king failed in his duty and the kingdom
experienced a disaster, the king could be
replaced.
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Chinas First Civilizations

Evaluate What were some important technological
changes during the Zhou dynasty, and how did they
lead to a larger population?
Development of irrigation and flood-control
systems, along with the iron plow, led to
increased crop production and a rising population.
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Chinas First Civilizations

Explain How did ancient Chinese kings maintain
control of their dynasties?
Kings maintained large armies to conquer land and
protect borders but also appointed warlords to
govern the kingdoms territories.