Chinese Language Chapter 27:2 China developed in isolation from the rest of the world. Because they...
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Transcript of Chinese Language Chapter 27:2 China developed in isolation from the rest of the world. Because they...
Chinese LanguageChapter 27:2
China developed in isolation from the rest of the world.
Because they viewed their country as the center of the world, they called their homeland Zhōng Guó, or “Middle Kingdom.”
The Shāng Dynasty, which
ruled China circa 1700-1100 B.C., is the first dynasty that can
be dated from written records.
The earliest examples of
Chinese writing are
found etched onto animal bones and
tortoise shells.[Image source: http://www.chinapage.com/calligraphy/oracle/oraclebone1.html]
[Image source: http://www.crystalinks.com/chinascript.html]
These oracle bones helped Shāng kings predict the
future.
Originally the Chinese written language used
only pictographs or characters that depicted
the objects they represented.
[Image source:
During the Shāng, some characters
became ideograms
representing ideas and concepts.
zhànchē
[Image source: http://www.rom.on.ca/pub/shang/]
Shāng chariot
The Shāng employed the yoke to harness the power of animals in times of both peace and war.
Mastering the complex system
of characters took time, so
only a few people in
ancient China were literate.
[Image source: http://www.chinapage.com/calligraphy/steles/steles.html]
Date
Name of diviner and location of
divination
Positive ChargeNegative Charge
Conclusion