East Asia
The Early River Valley Civilization of the Yellow River (Huang River)
Objective:
• Students will learn about the early history of the Chinese civilization, including history, achievements, and power.
The Yellow River (Huang River)
• 1,500 years after the city of Ur (Mesopotamia) was beginning and 1,000 years after the planned cities of the Indus valley, the Yellow River Valley Civilization flourished.
Natural Barriers
• Natural barriers isolated China from other civilizations. To the east is the Pacific ocean. To the west lay the Taklimakan desert and the icy 14,000 foot Plateau of Tibet.
• To the North lies the desolate Gobi Desert and the Mongolian Plateau.
• The two rivers in the area are the Yellow river and the Yangtze in central China.
• About 90% of the remaining land that is suitable for farming lies within the comparatively small plain between these rivers.
National Pride
• Due to this isolation, the Chinese had little contact with foreigners. This led to a strong sense of identity and superiority.
• They regarded China as the only civilized land, calling it Zhongguo, or “Middle Kingdom,” referring to it as the center of the world.
Dynasties
• Humans have inhabited China for about a million years.
• The First Dynasties- • Before the Sumerians settled
in southern Mesopotamia, early Chinese cultures were building farming settlements along the Yellow river.
Xia Peoples
• The first dynasty in China was the Xia.
• Its leader was a mathematician and engineer named Yu.
• Yu started flood control systems and irrigation projects to control the Yellow river.
Shang Dynasty
• 1750-1500 B.C. Invaders called the Shang swept into the Huang River Valley.
• Introduced irrigation and flood-control systems into the region.
• By controlling these systems, the Shang could more easily control the region’s people.
Shang Government
• Created a complex bureaucracy: government organized into different levels and tasks.
• A hereditary King ruled over all land in the kingdom
• War chariots and bronze weapons were used to defend against invaders.
• Military might and well-organized government allowed the Shang to gain territory.
Shang Economy and handicrafts
• Economy was based mainly on agriculture: millet and rice.
• Raised silkworms so that they could spin thread from the cocoons and wove silk cloth from the thread.
Artisans
• Artisans worked in bone, ivory, and jade. Pottery and ceramic art was very popular.
Astronomy and the calendar
• Two calendars: one based on the sun and one based on the moon.
• Moon Calendar: record of private and public events.
• Planting was determined by the calendar. A good harvest meant popularity for the king. Therefore the priest-astronomers were important.
Religion
• Combined animism (the belief that spirits inhabit everything)—with ancestor worship
• Dragon became symbol of Chinese rulers
• They also worshipped gods of the wind, sun, clouds, and moon. POLYTHEISTIC
• The Shang also believed in Shangdi, a great god who controlled human destiny and forces of nature.
Religion
• Oracle Bones: the shoulder bones of cattle or tortoise shells.
• The priests heated the bones and interpreted the cracks that would appear.
Language and Writing.
• Many dialects were spoken. • The Chinese method of writing, each character
stands for an idea, not a sound.
• People in all parts of China could learn the same system of writing.
• To be barely literate one had to know 1,000 characters. (Not just 26 letters)
Language and Writing
• Writing was limited to a small number of specialists: clerks, scribes, and teachers.
• It demanded much study and practice, therefore workers, had little time for such luxury.
Social Classes
• The civilization was sharply divided between nobles and peasants.
• These noble families owned the land.
• They would send tribute to the Shang ruler in exchange for local control.
Family
• The family was central to Chinese society. The most important virtue was respect for one’s parents.
• Women were treated as inferiors.
• When a girl was between 13 and 16 years old, her marriage was arranged.
The Fall of the Shang Dynasty
• 1200B.C. : Herders from the harsh Gobi desert and the Tian Shan foothills began moving in and settling along the borders.
• The Shang were almost continuously fighting them off.
• The extended military efforts exhausted the Shang rulers.
The Fall
• 1050 B.C • The Zhou formed an
alliance and overthrew the Shang, claiming the Shang were corrupt and unfit to rule.
Works Cited
• Holt. World History: The Human Journey. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Austin. 2003
• www.google.com/images