New Things

• Will do bell ringers weekly now. Keep all on same page and turn in at the end of the week for a weekly bell ringer grade.

• Participation grade. Will be based on your participation in class. If you take notes do your classwork sit in your assigned seat and do not have to be told anything two times you will get a 100. Otherwise you will lose points.

Chapter 7: Early China

Section 1: The First Civilizations (pg. 224)

I. China’s Geography(pages 225-226)

A. Huang He, or the Yellow River, flows for more than 2,900 miles across China. Flooding of the river brought destruction and good farming conditions to China.

B. Chang Jiang, or the Yangtze River, is about 3,400 miles long and flows across central China.

C. China has very little farm land because much of the country is either mountains or deserts.

D. The Middle Kingdom was created after the Chinese people united to form one kingdom.

The mountains and deserts separated the Chinese people from most other peoples.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/map/china_map.htm

II. The Shang Dynasty(pages 226-229)

A. Archaeologists believe the Huang He valley was the center of Chinese civilization.

B. The first rulers were probably part of the Xia dynasty.

C. The Shang kings ruled from about 1750 B.C. to 1122 B.C.

D. Anyang was China’s first capital. It was built during the Shang dynasty.

E. People of the Shang dynasty were divided into groups. The king and his royal family were the most powerful group. Warlords and other royal officials were in the class below the kings. They were aristocrats, nobles whose wealth came from the land they owned. Traders and artisans were below aristocrats. Most were farmers. Slaves captured during wars were the lowest class of people.

According to ancient Chinese records, the Shang dynasty formed around 1766 BC, although many archaeologists believe it actually began somewhat later than that.

• China ruled by strong monarchy

• At capital city, Anyang, kings surrounded by court

• Rituals performed to strengthen kingdom, keep safe

Government and Society

• King’s governors ruled distant parts of kingdom

• King also had large army at disposal

• Prevented rebellions, fought outside opponents

Order

• Shang China largely agricultural

• Most tended crops in fields

• Farmers called on to fight in army, work on building projects—tombs, palaces, walls

Agricultural Society

The Shang Dynasty

F. People in the Shang dynasty believed in many spirits and gods and honored ancestors with offerings.

G. Shang kings believed they received wisdom and power from the gods, spirits, and ancestors.

Ancestor Worship•Shang offered gifts to deceased ancestors to keep them happy in afterlife•Steam from ritual meals nourished ancestors’ spirits

H. Early Chinese writing used pictographs, or characters that stand for objects. Ideographs are two or more pictographs joined to represent an idea.

I. Artisans created many works but are best known for their bronze objects.

Video Clip

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf01jXjpOYw

Bell ringer

• Write the questions and answers. You have until 5 minutes after the bell to complete.

• 1. What was the name of the first capital in China?

2. How did Chinese people show respect to their dead ancestors?

3. Where was the center of Chinese civilization at this time?

Writing• Development of Chinese writing closely tied to use of oracle bones

• Earliest examples of Chinese writing, questions written on bones themselves

• Early Shang texts used picture symbols to represent objects, ideas

End of Dynasty • Shang ruled for more than 600 years, until about 1100 BC

• Ruling China’s growing population proved too much for Shang

• Armies from nearby tribe, Zhou, invaded, established new ruling dynasty

Bronze • Shang religion led to great advances in working with bronze

• Highly decorative bronze vessels, objects created for religious rituals

• Also built huge structures like tombs; created calendar, first money systems

Shang Achievements and Decline

Did you know???

• How does the Chinese language differ from the alphabet system used by Americans?

• In the American alphabet, each letter represents a sound. In the Chinese language, each marking, or symbol, represents a whole word.

III. The Zhou Dynasty(pages 229-231)

A. Wu Wang and his followers rebelled against the Shang dynasty and created the Zhou dynasty.

B. The Zhou dynasty ruled longer than any dynasty in Chinese history.

C. Kings in the Zhou dynasty served at the head of the government. A bureaucracy—officials who are responsible for different areas of government—served under the king.

D. The Zhou kingdom was divided into smaller territories. Each territory was led by an aristocrat.

E. Zhou kings were thought to be the link between gods and people.

F. The Mandate of Heaven was a heavenly law that gave Zhou kings power to rule. The Mandate of heaven also gave people rights.

G. The Dao was the proper way kings were to rule their people.

H. Irrigation and flood-control were developed during the Zhou dynasty. Farm tools, such as the plow, were developed.

I. Silk was an important trade item during the Zhou dynasty.

J. The Period of Warring States occurred during the fall of the Zhou dynasty. During this time, the local rulers began fighting each other.

• Before Zhou, Chinese metalwork done almost exclusively in bronze

• Zhou learned to use iron, became backbone of economy

• Iron was strong, could be cast more cheaply, quickly than bronze

• Iron weapons strengthened Zhou army, as did new weapons like catapult and creation of China’s first cavalry

• Population grew under Zhou

• Farmers learned new techniques, increased size of harvest, created food surpluses; cities also grew

• Roads, canals allowed better transportation, communication

• Introduced coins, use of chopsticks

Growth• Conflict arose during latter part of

Zhou dynasty

• Clan leaders within China rose up against king

• As time passed, more and more local leaders turned against Zhou, further weakening rule

Decline of the Zhou

Zhou Achievements

Mandate of Heaven• Remember the Mandate of Heaven gave

the Chinese dynasties the right to rule the right way, aka Dao, and to keep the gods happy. This gave the people the right to overthrow the government if they did not rule the right way. Write about some problems you can see that might occur from having a form of government that works this way, what would happen if we operated this way. 6-7 sentences.