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Chapter 7: Ancient cHINA. Lesson 1: GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA. Read aloud. “Whoever controls the Huang River controls China.”
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Chapter 7: Ancient cHINA Lesson 1: GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA
Read aloud • “Whoever controls the Huang River controls China.” • According to Chinese tradition a powerful ruler spoke these words almost 4,000 years ago. In this lesson you will learn why the river has been so important throughout China’s long history.
THE BIG PICTURE • These events are happening around 3000 B.C. • The Indus River and many of Asia’s largest rivers begin on what we know as the Himalaya Mountains. • The Himalayas separate the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia. • Within these mountains is something called “The Roof of the World,” which is hugeplateau, or raised plain that forms most of Tibet. • In this area, the Huang River starts its 3,000-mile trip across northern China.
THE BIG PICTURE CONTINUED • The Huang River is very important to China’s history. • Similar to the Indus River, it starts as a clear stream but grows and picks up silt along its winding journey. • Due to many floods in the summer, the Huang spreads enough silt on the North China Plain to create one of the world’s largest deltas. • A delta is land made of soil left behind as a river draining into a larger body of water. • Miles of fertile marshland are also created by this river.
A delta is also usually a triangular deposit at the mouth of a river. Look in your book at the map on page 161 and you will see where the Huang River is located and how it leads into what we know as the North China Plain. Notice how the river and this plan form a triangle which is known as a delta (this is where the Huang runs into the pink area which is called the Huang River Valley.
The huang river is also known as the yellow river. This is because loess washes into the Huang River, giving it a yellow color. The word Huang means “yellow” in Chinese. The Huang/Yellow River snakes its way across 3,000 miles of China and has give rise to catastrophic floods killing millions of people.
MORE BIG PICTURE! • Around 4000 B.C. farming communities began developing along the lower part of the Huang River. • China’s oldest civilization grew from these farming communities and later spread to include many regions & groups of people.
The huang river valley • The Huang makes a giant curve around the edge of the Ordos Desert during its long journey throughout northern China. • It cuts through a hilly region and the hills are made almost entirely out of loess. • Loess is a dusty, yellow soil that has been deposited in this region by wind.
WORKING WITH THE ENVIORNMENT • Loess has its pros and cons to Chinese farmers. • During summer rains, huge amounts of it are washed into the Huang. This makes the Huang the world’s muddiest river. • When the Huang floods the North China plain, the silt deposits create a unique environment. • The silt can help famers because it’s fine, rock-free, and very fertile. • It is also easily carried away by storms because it is light & fluffy. When this happens farmers are left with poor soil.
Environment/agriculture cont. • Ancient farmers made use of the Huang Valley’s fertile soil just like farmers in the Indus Valley. • They also fought to control river floods. This battle with nature has been going on since China’s earliest days and continues to this day. • China’s farmers couldn’t afford to let the Huang overflow freely & needed to control floods.
CONTROLLING THE RIVER • About 3,000 years ago, farmers began building earth levees to hold back the Huang. • A levee is a wall that keeps a river within its banks. Over time, a thick layer of mud can build up along the riverbed. As the mud grew, the river would then spill over the farmers’ levees. • Chinese farmers also built canals to bring water to their fields, but the loess clogged the canals and had to be cleared away.
Chinese levee: June 23, 2010 Floodwater flows through after a levee broke in Fuzhou, east China’s Jiangxi province. Chinese authorities rushed to evacuate 12,000 people threatened by this levee failure.
Levee in the Sacramento, California area: flood control agency
Crops grow in loess soil • Although the loess caused problems, it provided a rich soil which grew many plants such as: rice, millet (a type of grain), wheat, green onions, & ginger. • They harvested grapes, peaches, plums, & wild chestnuts. • Due to the success of farmers in the Huang Valley, the population began to grow. More farmable land became needed to feed people.
Crops grow continued • Farmers had to clear trees from rich loess-lands to plant crops. • This resulted in erosion, the wearing away of soil by wind or water. Erosion can occur in areas where trees & shrubs are removed. • Erosion of fertile soil can make it difficult for farmers to grow crops. • If too much soil washes away and crops fail, a famine can happen which is a time when very little food is available & people starve.
Other regions in ancient china • Not all of China was suitable for farming. Growing crops is very difficult or impossible in many parts of China. • To the north of the Huang Valley are windswept steppes. A steppe is a dry, treeless plain. • Other agriculture was used: they herded sheep & cattle on horseback instead of planting crops. Lifestyles differed along the Huang and on the steppes.
QUESTIONS: • HOW MIGHT A TYPICAL DAILY MEAL ON THE STEPPES HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT FROM A MEAL IN THE RIVER VALLEY? • HOW DID THE HUANG RIVER AFFECT ANCIENT CHINESE CIVILIZATION?
Why it matters The hard work of China’s ancient farmers paved the way for powerful kingdoms to develop throughout China. Many grew along the Huang River. In the next lesson we will learn about them!
