WH1b China

Unit 1: Birth of Civilization

I can describe Chinese (China) society as it relates to religion, culture, economics, politics and technology. (WH1b)

​China’s Huang He “China’s Sorrow” & Yangtze Rivers

• ​The farming villages between the Huang He and Yangtze Rivers of China grew into cities about 2000 BCE thanks to the spirits of ancestors

• These urban areas both benefited from and suffered because of the rich but loose yellow silt called loess deposited by the flooding of Yangtze.

​China’s Huang He “China’s Sorrow” & Yangtze Rivers

• Farmers built canals for crop irrigation

• While the soil supported agriculture its loose nature made major shifts in the course of the river and massive unpredictable floods common. 

• These struggles are recorded in Chinese legend as the Xia Dynasty whose Emperor Yu is said to have brought flood control and irrigation to China.

​1st Dynasty of Shang

• ​The first documented dynasty of China was the Shang which was founded about 1700 BCE. 

• This dynasty started a long tradition of governance in China that included a hereditary monarch supported by a complex bureaucracy.

• Mandate of Heaven- right ruler will bring peace used to justify the rule of a King or Emperor

​What is the Mandate of Heaven?

​right ruler will bring peace used to justify the rule of a King or Emperor:

• rulers must be virtuous 

• lose the right to rule if they do not behave properly

• If a ruler is just, there will be harmony between Heaven and Earth

​The Shang Period

• ​Like other early civilizations, during the Shang period urban centers were walled and surrounded by large agricultural areas. 

• While the economy was dominated by agriculture (commoners farmed land owned by nobility), craft production and trade were also present. 

• Huang He River Valley civilization developed a writing system, complex urban planning, irrigation and flood control in this period. 

​

​Interesting  fact: Writing was found on animal bones; bronze weapons, horse drawn chariots

​able to conquer other areas

​Daoism

• ​Daoism (Taoism), founded by Lao Tsu, asked humanity to respect and live in harmony with nature and ancestor worship venerated deceased family members in the hope that they would intercede with the powers in Heaven on behalf of the living. (passed family members to intervene with Heaven’s plans to protect their living family members)

​Chinese Religion

• This period also saw the emergence of foundational and interconnected Chinese religious principles. 

• These include concept of Yin and Yang which offered an early and enduring understanding of the universe as balanced between male and female forces or two complementary forces

• Yin & Yang must work in harmony to create order in the universe​

​India & China Similarities

• wall city systems

• religion very important