Ancient China

What is the name of the river where early chinese civilization began.

Huang He, it means yellow river

How long is the Huang He, Where does it begin? Where does it end?

The river is more than 2900 miles. It begins in china’s western mountains and flows to the pacific ocean

Why is the river nicknames the yellow river.

It cuts through thick layers of rich yellow soil called loess. The river can abosorb large amounts of loess spreads it further downstream.

How was the Huang He Helpful?

The rich soil helped farmers grow large amounts of food on small plots of land.

How was the Huang He Troublesome

It often overflowed it’s banks, causing massive floods. More than 1500 floods havebeen recorded. Which have taken many lives. Which is why it is nicknamed “china’s sorrow

How much of china’s land can be farmed

1/10

Why can only 1/10 of china’s land be farmed

Because mountains and deserts covered much of the country’s land.

What seperates china from southeast asia?

The himilaya mountain range.

What large desert is in northern china?

The Gobi desert.

How did the mountains and walls affect early china?

They acted like walls around the country and they limited comunication between china and other civilizations. It developeda unique culture and a strong sense of independence.

Based on written records, what was china’s first dynasty and when did they rule?

The shang dynasty, Shang kings ruled china from about 1750 BCto 1045 BC. (700 years)

What was the first capital city

Anyang

What were the duties of the shang kings

They were the political, religous, and military leader.

What are warlords

MIlitary leaders who lead their own armies and protected china’s borders.

Who were the aristocrats?

Wealthy Land owners

Who formed the upper class

The king, warlords, other royal officials and aristocrats

What did most people of shang china do as a job? Whose land did they use?

Farmers, They worked the land that belonged to the aristocrats.

Describe the shang dynasty’s religon

Polytheistic, they admired and feared the gods, they believed they could bring good or bad fortune.

What are ancestors, why were they important?

A person someone descended from that is no longer alive, they hoped that their ancestors would bring good luck in difficult times.

What are oracle bones and how did priests use them.

Priests would scratch questions on the bones.Then heated the bones over a fire until they cracked. The pattern of the cracks provided answers from the gods and ancestors

What are pictographs?

A symbol in a writing system based on pictures

What are ideographs

A symbol in a writing system based on ideas.

What were some of the materials people from the Shang dynasty used?

They created objects made of bronze, used clay and created sculptures, daggers, vases, cups, and urns. Silk was also used along with jade.

Who overthrew the shang government and what was this new dynasty called? how long did they rule?

An aristocrat named Wu Wang overthrew the government and declared a new dynasty called the zhou that ruled china for more than 800 years.

What is a bureaucracy?

A bureaucracy is made up of officials who carry out the tasks of the government.

How did the emporer manage such a kingdom like the zhou.

The kind divided the kingdom into territories and assigned loyal aristocrats to govern each of the territories the positions were hereditary.

Explain the Mandate Of Heaven

The belief that the chinese king’s right to rule came from the gods

What is Dao?

The proper “Way” the king must rule by, his duty was to honor and please the gods.

What 2 areas developed during the zhou dynasty

Good farming due to irrigation and trade also expanded.

Describe the warring states period

the aristocrasts grew more powerful and ignored the king’s commands. They took control of their own territory. They began to fight one another. Farmers had to fight as well, soldiers were armed with swords spaears and crossbows, they also used horses. This period lasted 200 years.

What is philosiphy the study of?

Philosophy means “love of wisdom” it is the study of some of the most basic questions about human life

What is the goal of all philosiphies?

Each philosiphy aimed to create a peaceful and well run society

Duty is the centeral idea of confucionism, what does that mean?

A person places the needs of family and community above theur own certain duties to fufill

Confucious urged people to be good meaning..

Behaving moderately, Keeping one’s promises, honoring traditions, respecting the elderly, seeking knowlage

What did confucious believe about government service

It should be open to all men of ability and merit, and not limited to those of noble birth.

Who created daoism

Laozi

What was daoism trying to promote

A peaceful society

What does Daoism teach

It teaches people how to live a good life.

What did daoists believe?

people should free themselves from worldly desires and live simply. Turn to nature and the dao yo enjoy a happy life.

What did the philosiphy of legalism stress

Legalism stressedthe importance of a system of laws

Who was the philosipher who started legalism

Han Fei Zi

What did Han Fei Zi believe?

He believed that humans are natrually evil ansd that strict laws and harsh ounishments were requiredto force people to do their dudy

Who supported legalism and why

The aristocrats because it emphasized force and did not require rulers to consider the needs or wishes of their people,

What were the four social classes in asia

1. land owning aristocrats. 2. farmers, 3. artisans. 4. merchants

What was life like for an aristocrat

They were wealthy, owned large plots of land which got equally dibided among all of the male heirs

What was life like for a farmer

9 out of 10 people farmed for a living. farmers rented out the fields by turning over part of their crops to the owners. They grew wheat, millit, and rice. They had to pay taxes and work one month a year on government projects and serve as warriors

What types of things did artisans make

They crafted iron tools and weapons, silk cloth, and vessels made out of bronze or jade. many artisans where woodworkers orarchitects.

What types of jobs did merchants have?

Shopkeepers, traders and bankers they provided goods and services to the artisans

why werent merchants respected parts of the community

because people believed merchants worked only for their own gain, not for the good of society like artisans and farmers.

What were chinese families like?

Family was the center of early chinse society, Families took care of those members in need, the aged, tje young and the sick.

What is Filial Piety

The responsibility children have to respect, obey, and care for their parents.

What were the role of men in chinese society

they grew crops, attended school and ran the government.

What were the role of women

Raised children, saw to their education, managed the household and family.

What are some chinese inventions

Silk, Kung Fu, Wood Block Print, Cast Iron plow.

What dynasty came after the zhou dynasty

Qin dynasty

Who was the ruler of the Qin dynasty

Qin ShiHuangDi, which means the first qin emperor

How did Qin ShiHuangDi Rule China>

He ruled with abseloute control and swift, harsh punishments, anyone who disagreed with him was pinished or killed. Writings that displeased Qin were burned

ShiHuangDi also increased the power of his government by apointing censors. What is a censor

An official who watches others like government officers for correct behavior, kind of like a spy

What policies or projects did shihuangdi come up with to unify china?

He Developed a currency that everyone had to use, He hires scholars to simplify the chinese writing system. He constructed his own tomb with an army of life sized terracotta clay soldiers. He ordered tens of thousands of farmers to build palaces, roads, dams, and a huge canal.

Why was the great wall of china built

to keep the xiongnu out of china. They were skilled warriors who fought on horseback and often attacks chinese settlements.

Why did the Qin dynasty end?

After Qin’s death in 210 BC, aristocrats and farmers revolted against the harsh qin rule. Fighting erupted, by 206 BC, the Qin dynasty was overand a new dynasty arose

How did the next dynasty come to power and what was it called?

The an dynasty, it’s founfer was liu bang, a former farmer turned soldier. Han dynasty would rule for more than 400 years.

Who was the first strong ruler in the han dynasty

Han Wudi

Why was he a good ruler

He focused on imporving china’s government he recruited dedicated and talented people for civil service.

How was this method of selecting goverment workers flawed

The system favored the rich, only wealthy families could educate their sons for the difficult civil service test.

What did Han Wudi create to prepare students for the exams

Han wedi created schools where they studied law, history and the ideas of confuiciounism

What is a tenant farmer?

A farmer who works on land owned by someone else and pays rent in cash or as a share of their crops

Why did farmers need to sell their land and work for wealthy landowners

When farmeres died, their land was divided among their sons. Gradually they did not own enough land to feed their families.

what blossomed during this era of peace

Literature and arts. Painters and sculptors reached out to an audience

What is acupuncture

A chinese practice of inserting fine needles through the skin at specific points to treat diseases or relive pain

Who is Zhang Qian

he was a general who han wudi sent out to explore areas west of china and to recruit allies. He returned 13 years later with no allies but records of horsed of great size and strangth that elighted the emporer.

Describe the silk road

It was a network of trade routes that was 4000 miles long and stretched from western china to the mediteranian sea. Rough terrain and bandits made travel difficult and dangerous. They traded fruits, vegetables, flowers and inventions or other goods like silk.

What was the silk road able to spread?

Buddhism

Why did the han dynasty collapse?

the emporors who succeded Han Wudi were weak and dishonest. People began to rise up and rebel. Rebel armies destroyed the han capital and civil war divided china.

what is the order of the dynasties

Shang, Zhou, Warring states, Qin, Han