CHAPTER 3Section 3 Notes

The Geography of China

The ancient Chinese called their land “Zhongguo”---Middle Kingdom

China was isolated by long distances and physical barriers---the ancient Chinese believed that China was the center of the Earth and the sole source of civilization

The Geography of China

Physical barriers--- West and Southwest---high mountain

ranges (Tien Shan and Himalayas) Southeast---thick jungles North---Gobi desert East---Pacific Ocean All of these physical barriers helped

to contribute to Chinese isolation

Himalayan Mountains

Himalayas

Mt. Everest (29,035 ft.)

Mt. Everest

Gobi Desert

Gobi Desert

The Geography of China

The Chinese heartland lay along the east coast and the valleys of the Huang He River (Yellow River) and the Yangzi River

In ancient times as today, these fertile farming regions supported the largest populations

The rivers provided water for irrigation and served as transportation routes

Yangzi River

Yangzi River

Yangzi River

Geography of China

Beyond the heartland are the outlying regions of Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Manchuria

China also extended its influence over the Himalayan region of Tibet, which the Chinese called Xizang

Tibet

Flag of Tibet

Dalai Lama

Tibet

Tibet

Tibet

Protests for a Free Tibet

The Geography of China

Chinese history began in the Huang He (Yellow River) valley, where Neolithic people learned to farm

The needed to control the flooding of the river

The Yellow River got its name from the loess that it carries eastward from Siberia and Mongolia

Nicknamed the “River of Sorrows”

The Geography of China

As loess settles to the river bottom, it raises the water level

Chinese peasants labored constantly to build and repair dikes that kept the river from overflowing

If the dikes broke, flood waters burst over the land, destroying crops and bringing mass starvation

Huang He (Yellow River)

Yellow River (Huang He)

China Under the Shang

The Shang dynasty ruled from 1650-1027BC

Shang China probably more closely resembled the city-states of Sumer than the centralized government ruled by the Egyptian pharaohs

Shang society---royal family, warriors, artisans and merchants, peasants

Religious Beliefs

Prayed to many gods and nature spirits (polytheistic)

The prayers of rulers and nobles to their ancestors were thought to serve the community as a whole, ensuring good harvests or victory in war

Many westerners saw this as “ancestor worship”

Religious Beliefs

The Chinese believed the universe reflected a delicate balance between two forces, yin and yang

Yin was linked to Earth, darkness, and female forces

Yang stood for Heaven, light, and male forces

The well-being of the universe depended on maintaining balance between yin and yang (they were not opposing forces)

Yin and Yang

System of Writing

Writing, like religious beliefs, was an early development that continued to influence cultures in China throughout history

The system used both pictographs and ideographs

Shang priests wrote on oracle bones The questions were addressed to the gods or

the spirit of an ancestor Priests heated the bone or shell until it cracked

and then interpreted the pattern of cracks to provide answers or advice from the ancestors

System of Writing

Written Chinese took shape almost 4,000 years ago and it evolved to include tens of thousands of characters

Each character represented a word or idea and was made up of a number of different strokes

The Chinese have simplified their writing over the years

Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn---students must memorize over 10,000 characters to read a newspaper!!!

Chinese Writing

The Zhou Dynasty

Battle-hardened Zhou people overthrew the Shang dynasty

Last from 1027-256BC Used the Mandate of Heaven idea to

justify their overthrow of the Shang Mandate of Heaven---rulers got the

divine right to rule from the gods---if a ruler was cruel or unjust Heaven would withdraw its support for the rulers

The Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou rewarded their supporters by granting them control over different regions

China became a feudal state Feudalism---system of government in

which local lords governed their own lands but owed military service and other forms of support to the ruler

The Zhou Dynasty

China’s economy grew Iron axes and ox-drawn iron plows

replaced stone, wood, and bronze tools allowing farmers to be more productive

New crops such as soybeans Began to use money, built new

roads, built new canals Economic expansion led to an

increase in population and territory

Chinese Achievements

Calendar was composed of 365 ¼ days

By 1000BC, the Chinese had discovered how to make silk thread from the cocoons of silkworms

Women did the laborious work of tending the silkworms and processing the cocoons into thread and weaving the threads into a smooth cloth that was then dyed

Only royalty and nobles could afford this silk

Silkworms

Processing the Cocoons

Spinning the Thread

Final Product (thread)

Chinese Achievements

Silk became China’s most valuable export

The trade route that eventually linked China and the Middle East became known as the Silk Road

To protect their control of this profitable trade, the Chinese kept the process of silk-making a secret

The Silk Road

Chinese Achievements

Under the Zhou, the Chinese made the first books

They bound thin strips of wood or bamboo together and then carefully drew characters on the flat surface with a brush and ink

Among the greatest Zhou works is the Book of Songs---many of its poems describe such events as planting, harvesting, praise kings and describe court ceremonies, and also includes sad love songs!!!