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Chapter 4, Section 1: Geographic and Cultural Influences. Objectives: Explore the role rivers play in Chinese life. Investigate how geography influenced the development of Chinese culture. When you come in…. Turn in your homework into the tray (map of Asia with the questions on the back)
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Chapter 4, Section 1:Geographic and Cultural Influences Objectives: Explore the role rivers play in Chinese life. Investigate how geography influenced the development of Chinese culture.
When you come in… • Turn in your homework into the tray (map of Asia with the questions on the back) • On a scratch sheet of paper, I want you to list down all the geographic things you know about China.
The Physical Setting • Enormous sized land • Rugged, snow-capped mountains from west to east Qinling Shandi • Separates the valleys of the Huang and Chang Rivers • Marks the boundaries between the northern and southern parts of China. • Gives us plateaus that are either desert or semi-desert terrain • Northern part of China receives less rain, temperatures are more extreme here, and have shorter growing seasons • Wheat is grown here
The Physical Setting (cont.) • Central and southern areas more rain, growing season is longer, and rice is the main crop grown here • Heart of China China Proper which stretches from the eastern seacoast inland • Three Rivers Huang, Chang, and Xi (SHEE) • Seas surrounding China Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea
Rivers in China • Uses of Rivers • Huang (Yellow) Fertile soil used for farming • 2,900 miles long and empties into the Yellow Sea • Has loess (fertile soil) that gives it a yellow tint hence why its called the “Yellow River” • Prone to flooding nicknamed “China’s Sorrow” • Built earthen walls called dikes to hold back the water • Rainfall is unpredictable so there are times of drought and flood
Rivers in China (cont.) • Uses of Rivers (cont.) • Chang (Yangtze) Commercial waterway • 2,434 miles long • Cuts into a deep channel • Xi (Pearl) Commercial waterway • 1,200 miles long • Large ships can travel about 1/3 of the river
China’s Isolation • Due to isolation China develops its own culture • Great Distances • Rugged mountains • Harsh deserts Gobi Desert • Did have some contact with outsiders • Northern and northwestern borders regular contact with nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples • Usually traded peacefully • Sometimes had warriors that came down to fight the Chinese and the Chinese called them barbarians
China’s Isolation (cont.) • Due to infrequent contact with outsiders, the Chinese believed that they were superior • Called their kingdom the “Middle Kingdom” because they thought they were the center of the world • People would only become “civilized” by learning the Chinese language and adopting Chinese customs