Early Civilizations in China: Powerpoint By: Esther Lee

Early Civilizations in
China
PowerPoint by: Esther Lee
The Geography of China
Chinese civilizations has grown up by the H

uang ho(yellow river) and the Yangtze river
.
Throughout chinas history, its political bo
undaries have expanded and contracted de
pending on the strenght or weakness of its
ruling families.
A civilization based on Sinoc

entrism
Sinocentrism-refers to the tendency of the Chi

nese to regard their culture as more superior t
o other cultures.
China remained the center of civilization with
cities, writing, organized government, religion,
specialized crafts, paper printing, gun powde
r , and magnetic compass that made changes
of the history I the whole world.
China saw the country as the center of the civi
lized world, their own name for China was the
middle kingdom.
This sinocentric view among the chinese cam
e to an end in the 19th century when Japan def
eated China in the first Sino-Japanese war.
Environmental challenges
Due to chinas geographic Isolation early
settlers had to supply their own goods t
han trade. However Chinas natural bou
ndaries did not protect these settlers fro
m outsiders.
Huang Ho river(Yellow river)
Deposited huge amount of yellowish silt cal

led loess that is blown by winds from the G
obi desert to the east.
With its 2900 mi length, the Huang Ho flo
ods can be very generous or ruinous, At its
worst the flood demolished whole villages t
hus its also called Chinas sorrow
Environmental challenges
The Yangtze river
Is 5471.62 km long.
It is quite deep allowing large ocean-going ships to trav
el 600 miles upstream to the great city of Wuhan.
The Si river
Is more than 1931.16 km long.

Is also important as a commercial waterway.
The Emergence of civilization in the S

hang times
With the discovery of the pecking man in Ch

ina , it is believed that the Chinas history be
gan with the Paleolithic age.
The civilization found in the yellow river had
led the ancient world in arts, science, philos
ophy, and the skills in governance.
Shang Dynasty
The Shang dynasty which lasted about 1532 to 1027 BC

E , became first family of the rulers to leave written recor
ds.
Anyang, the capital of the Shang dynasty was excavated
around 1930.
Social classes
Shang society was divided between nobles and peasants

.
Shang was governed by a ruling class of warrior-nobles
headed by a king. These noble families owned the land.
They governed the scattered villages within the Shang la
nds and sent tribute to the Shang ruler in exchange for l
ocal control.
Shang Dynasty
Religious Beliefs
The Chinese believed that the spirits of family ancestor had t

he power to bring good fortune or disaster to living membe
rs the family.
The Chinese did not regard these spirits as mighty Gods, rat
her the spirits were more like troublesome or helpful neighb
ors who demanded attention and respect.
Development of writing
The earliest evidence of Chinese writing comes from the ora
cle bones.(shoulder blade of animals or turtle shells.
ADVANTAGE- that is , people in all parts of china could learn th
e same system of written language that helped unify a large
and diverse land.
Shang Dynasty
DISADVANTAGE- was the enormous written characters to be me
morized( a person needed to know about 1000 characters just
to barely literate, to be a true scholar , one needed to know ab
out 10000 characters).
Shang Economy
Was characterized mainly by farming.

People grew millet and rice.
They also domesticated animals and used elephants in ti
mes of war.
They also learned to weave silk cloth from silk thread
The Shang artisans laid the foundation for Chinese cera
mic arts.
They used kaolin a very fine white clay to shape potteries.
Chou Dynasty
The Chou dynasty overthrew Shang and established th
eir own dynasty. Had adopted much of the Shang cult
ure. Nevertheless, Chou rule brought new ideas to Chi
nese civilization.
The Chou leaders declared that the final Shang king ha
d been such a poor ruler that the Gods had taken awa
y the Shang's rule and given it to the Chou.
The Mandate of the Heaven
It became the standard Chinese view of government.
Chou Dynasty
Control through Feudalism
Feudalism is a political system in which nobles or lords

are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the k
ing, in return the nobles owe loyalty and military service
to the king and the protection to the people who live o
ne their estates.
Technology and Trade.
The Era of Chou introduced many innovations.

The Chou built roads and canals that stimulated trade a
nd agriculture.(they also introduced coined money)
The Chou developed the blow up furnaces that allowed
them to produce cast iron.
The Period of Warring States
When Chou rule weakened in 771BCE , nomads from t

he north and west sacked the city of Hao, the Chao capi
tal. They murdered the Chao monarch, but a few memb
ers of the royal family had escaped to the city of Luoya
ng. At that time Chou rulers were almost powerless and
could no longer control the noble families . They were tr
ained as warriors ,the lords sought every opportunity to
fight with the neighboring lords. As their powers grew t
hese lords claim to be kings of their own territory and as
a reuslt the later years of Chous were known as the tim
e of the warring states.
New Chinese philosophies and ideas took form

Confucius Urged Harmony
Confucius was chinas most influencial scholar born in 5

51 BCE. Confucius lived at the time when the Chou dyn
asty was being torn apart by the warring lords.
He led a scholarly life, studying, and teaching history, m
usic, and moral character.
He believed that social order, harmony , and good gov
ernment could be restored in china if society was orga
nize around five basic relationships.
New Chinese philosophies and ideas to

ok form
Taoist sought harmony with nature
For Lao Tzu, only the natural order was important

According to Lao Tzu , if you seek order and harmony,
go up into the hills, sit by the stream. And observe a dri
fting cloud .
According to Lao Tzu , such arguments are futile.
Man should not strive for glory.
The philosophy of Lao Tzu came to be known as Taois
m. A Chinese who adopted the Taoist philosophy withd
rew from society to live close to the nature.
Legalists urged harsh government
Legalists believed that a highly efficient and powerful g

overnment was the key to restoring order.
The legalist stressed punishment more than rewards.
They also suggested that a ruler should burn all writing
s that might encourage people to think critically about t
he government.
Eventually, the legalists ideas gained favor with a prince
of a new dynasty that replaced the Chou
Ensure
The discovery of the pecking man in china prove

d that Chinas history began with the Paleolithic
age.
The birthplace of civilization in china were the Y
ellow and the Yangtze rivers.
The first dynasty that ruled China was the Shang
Dynasty.
The Chou dynasty ruled China with its ruler clai
ming to rule by the Mandate of the Heaven
New ideas and philosophies in life emerged duri
ng the period of the Warring states of the China
.
THE END
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Early Civilizations in

The Geography of China

Chinese civilizations has grown up by the H

A civilization based on Sinoc

Sinocentrism-refers to the tendency of the Chi

Huang Ho river(Yellow river)

Deposited huge amount of yellowish silt cal

Is more than 1931.16 km long.

The Emergence of civilization in the S

With the discovery of the pecking man in Ch

The Shang dynasty which lasted about 1532 to 1027 BC

Shang society was divided between nobles and peasants

The Chinese believed that the spirits of family ancestor had t

Was characterized mainly by farming.

The Mandate of the Heaven

It became the standard Chinese view of government.

Feudalism is a political system in which nobles or lords

Technology and Trade.

The Era of Chou introduced many innovations.

The Period of Warring States

When Chou rule weakened in 771BCE , nomads from t

New Chinese philosophies and ideas took form

Confucius was chinas most influencial scholar born in 5

New Chinese philosophies and ideas to

For Lao Tzu, only the natural order was important

Legalists urged harsh government

Legalists believed that a highly efficient and powerful g

The discovery of the pecking man in china prove

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