Chinese Geography and Early Culture

Located in East Asia and defined by natural borders

• To the East: Pacific, East China Sea and South China Sea

• To the North Gobi Desert• To the West Takla Makan Desert, Himalayas and Plateau of Tibet

Heartland Fertilized by Yangtze and Huang (Yellow) Rivers.

• Yellow River called China’s Sorrow…allows for fertile plain but unpredictable floods over-deposit loess.

Believed they were the Middle Kingdom

Mongols to the North

Indus Aryans to the West

Maybe they were right

Early Chinese Civilization

• Strong bonds hold culture together• Family firsta. Central to Societyb. Role fixed from birth to deathc. Elders have authorityd. Women treated as inferiorse. First known use of two names

Family closely linked to religion

• Spirits of ancestors bring good luck• Sacrifices made to honor ancestors• Ancestors of father honored, mother not

Views of Government• Obedience to ruler second to family• Ruler had the Mandate of Heavena. A just ruler has divine approvalb. A foolish king can lose approval

Dynastic Cycle:Once the Mandate was “Lost” a new ruling family must

gain the blessing to rule. This is proven through warfare.

• Shang 1600-1027 BCE• Zhou 1027-256 BCECivil war• Ch’in 221-202 BCE• Han 206 BCE-220 CELong phase of civil war• Sui 580-618• Tang 618-907• Song 960-1279• Yuan 1279-1368 (Mongol)• Ming 1368-1644• Qing 1644-1911 (Manchu)

Shang culture 1600-1027 BCE

• Extreme social classes. Mostly just worried about survival.

• Some culture emerges such as writing.Chinese writing is in characters• Lost mandate when became drunks and

maybe insane from lead poisoning.

Zhou dynasty 1027-256 BCE

• Created a feudal system that backfired as local lords tried to fight for Mandate and “chaos, arrogance and defiance replace order, harmony and respect.”

• Warlords fight for mandate and Northern barbarians take the opportunity to attack.

• Philosophers promote theories to bring order back to society

Attempting order• Confucius• Lao Tzu: Taoism• Han Fei Tzu: Legalism• Buddhism

• You will become one of these philosophers and describe how you would bring order to a chaotic, warring, disrespectful society:

• Summarize how the teachings/principles/values/rules of your Chinese philosophy will work best to bring order to society. This should be about a page. (Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Legalism) If the reading provided is not enough information please feel welcome to do more research.

A teenage boy will kill all other warring factions and establish “China” named after himself, Ch’in 221-202 BCE

• Emperor Ch’in is hated, ruthless and effective. • Doubles size of country, sets standards of

laws, money, weights and measures in trading, builds network of highways and increases navigation of rivers.

• Creates 36 administrative districts to organize his territory.

For control and security Ch’in:Built Great Wall to protect from Northern

barbariansBurned all books judged useless or harmfulBuried scholars alive

• Even protected himself in death…

• Protected himself in death

Ch’in’s death brings end to Dynasty. Han is next and civilization flowered 206 BCE-220 CE

• Time of Glory, Unity, Peace• Enlarged empire• Poetry and books flourish• University founded• Silk Road brings wealth

• Eventually drought, famine, plague and high taxes lead to peasant revolts and overthrow of Han. Will be a long period of war until next dynasty emerges.

• Sui, Tang, Song, Mongol, Ming, Qing• http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=szxPar0BcMo Were the Mongol’s that bad?

Song Comparison to Europe 960-1279

• Serfdom ended• Agricultural revolution (rice and tea)• Currency• Books, movable type• Gunpowder• astronomy• Porcelain• Silk• Poetry• Art• Philosophy and scholarship emphasized• Shipping, compass, rudder• Large cities: Kaifeng about a million v London about 18,000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylWORyToTo4

• http://flocabulary.com/ancient-china/