Ancient China

Geography

• Mountains, sea, and desert

provide some protection

and isolation

• Vulnerable to northwest

• River valleys

• 1. Yellow(Huang Ho) earliest

civilization - damaging floodscivilization - damaging floods

• 2. Yangtze- very important in

unification- transportation-

irrigation

Geography (Identify features)

Can You Identify: Himalayas; Yellow River,

Yangtze River, Beijing, Mongolia, India, Saudi

Arabia

Check

your

answers

Dynasties of Early China

Strong Dynasty establishes peace and prosperity

Dynasty declines and becomes

New Dynasty emerges through violent exchange of

• Shang Dynasty

• Thought they had divine right

• Zhou Dynasty

• 1045-256 BC (Longest lasting

dynasty in Chinese History)

• Over threw the Shang ruler

b/c “he swam in ponds of

wine” and “ruined the morale and becomes corrupt

Disasters, revolts and invasions occur

Old Dynasty seen as losing Mandate

of Heaven; Rebellion justified

violent exchange of powerwine” and “ruined the morale

of the nation”

• Feudal Society

• Issued the Mandate of

Heaven

Governing through the Mandate of

Heaven

• Emperor expected to rule

through the proper way

• Gives Emperor power but

also grants right to

revolution

• Emperor serves as

representative of heaven

Strong Dynasty establishes peace and prosperity

Dynasty declines and becomes

New Dynasty emerges through violent exchange of representative of heaven

but not divine himself

and becomes corrupt

Disasters, revolts and invasions occur

Old Dynasty seen as losing Mandate

of Heaven; Rebellion justified

violent exchange of power

Dynasties of Early China

• Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty• 221-206 BC

• Centralized the government

• End of Feudal lords

• Focus on infrastructure

• Roads, Canals

• The Great Wall

• Han Dynasty

• Tang• 618-907

• Used formal civil service exam to

recruit-set up university

• Tried to equalize land holdings-

fought corruption

• literature and art flourished

• invented gun powder,

encyclopedia• Han Dynasty• 202 BC- 220 (Roman Times)

• Similar: built cities, officials to carry out

edicts, heavy taxes collapsed under

invasions and internal revolts

• combination of Confucius and legalism

• advanced in science and literature

• invented rudder, paper, magnetic

compass,

encyclopedia

• Song (Sung)

• 960-1279

• economic expansion- used

paper money

• Silk Road traffic at height

• when dangerous went to sea routes

• first period of great oceanic commerce

• trades tea, silk and porcelain for

exotic woods and precious stones

Ancient Philosophies

• About 500BCE Buddha,

Confucius, Greek

Philosophers and Chinese

• Called a flowering period

• India more concerned with

cosmos and soul

• China more concerned with

• Daoism • contemporary of Confucius

• Tao= the road way

• Absolute=sum of existence

• Goal to bring people into harmony

• very introspective

• Act in harmony by not interfering with

universe • China more concerned with

ethical life on earth

universe

• Legalism• Humans “evil” by nature

• Correct path through

strict laws

Compare Chinese philosophies

(Fill in the diagram)

Confucius

Daoism Legalism

Ancient Chinese History

• What would a timeline of Ancient China look like? Make a

timeline of 8 important historical events

Name of

Event 1

Name of

Event 2

Name of

Event 3

Name of

Event 4

Name of

Event 5

Name of

Event 6

Name of

Event 7

Name of

Event 8

1st Date 2nd Date 3rd Date 4th Date 5th Date 6th Date 7th Date 8th Date

Description of

Event

Description

of Event

Description

of Event

Description

of Event

Description

of Event

Description

of Event

Description

of Event

Description

of Event