Xia dynasty first ? Shang clans documented in writing. Warrior leaders near Yellow River. ...
Transcript of Xia dynasty first ? Shang clans documented in writing. Warrior leaders near Yellow River. ...
Xia dynasty first ? Shang clans documented in writing.
Warrior leaders near Yellow River. King/admin ruled core directly. Aristocrats &
royal family administered provinces. Distant areas, native rulers. Fought barbarians.
King intermediary between people and gods Zhou replaced Shang: Mandate of Heaven
100+ subject territories Zhou weakened – Eastern Zhou, then
“Warring States”
Early: agricultural with millet, pigs/chickens, stone tools.
Shang; trade networks developed bringing jade, ivory, mother-of-pearl – decorative. Possible contact with Mesopotamia.
Warring States: concept of private property. Land belongs to men/divided among sons.
Shang Worshiped male ancestors. Divination using oracle bones; court ritual; sacrifices. Bronze vessels to gain support of gods
Zhou Decline in divination/ritual/sacrifices. Priests’ power
reduced. More secular philosophies Feng shui
Philosophies Legalism: need strict rules because people are bad Confucianism (Kongzi): Hierarchy innate – human behavior
should reflect this. Know your place. Venerate ancestors/elders; parallel state & family relationships.
Daoism (Laozi): Follow the “path.” Accept the world; take minimal action. Passive. Believes world is always changing – no absolute morality/meaning – understand “path.”
Yin & Yang: Idea of balance in nature. Justifies differences between men & women.
Shang: warrior aristocracy Possession of bronze indicated
authority/nobility. Scribes an elite class. Warring States: 3-generation family
fundamental unit. Father @ head: rituals, authority, arrange
marriages, sell labor of family. Women: wives and concubines. Little
status. Marriage as political alliance.
Rice cultivation Pottery (later porcelain) & potter’s
wheel/kiln. Pounded earth walls. Bronze metalworking, then iron. Horse-drawn chariots (from Middle East?) Domesticated water buffalo – labor Engineering/human labor led to cities,
defensive walls, tombs. Writing system – pictograms & phonetics. Made silk Astrology Gunpowder (fireworks @ first…)
Earthen dikes/channels, reservoirs to control water. Retaining walls for tiers; rice paddies.
Beginnings of Great Wall Buildings of wood, some stone (high
status), dirt (dug out of hills, mud brick) Bronze ritual vessels, mirrors, bells…
jade/ivory/mother of pearl jewelry & decorative figurines.
Calligraphy an art – needed to learn thousands of characters
Isolated by Himalayas, Pamir & Tian Mts., Takla Makan Desert, Gobi Desert, Mongolian Steppe, & Pacific Ocean.
Major rivers: Huang He (Yellow) and Yangzi. Flow west to east.
Eastern section better for agriculture – west dryer/colder. East more densely populated. South gets more rain.
Resources: stone, timber, minerals. North: loess soil is fertile & soft. Lots of
silt in Yellow River results in damaging floods (“China’s Sorrow”).