Chapter 7

1. Chapter 7 Ancient China

2. Section 1: Geography of China • In Chapter 6 you read about the Himalaya Mountains that separate India from the rest of Asia. • These mountains are the tallest in the world and it is here where the Huang River begins. • The Huang River is a 3,000 mile river that floods and spreads silt throughout the North China Plain.

3. The Huang River Valley • As the Huang River winds through the Chinese countryside, it passes through a desert named the Ordos Desert. • The area near this desert is made up of a dusty, yellow soil called loess. • This yellow color of the soil turns the Huang River a yellow color. For this reason, the Chinese had another name for the River; the Yellow River.

4. Working With the Environment • Loess has been a blessing and a curse to Chinese farmers. • During the summer, huge amounts of it are washed into the river making it the world’s muddiest river. • There are two things about loess that makes it a blessing and a curse: • Farmers like it because it is fine, rock free, and very fertile. • Farmers don’t like it because it is very light and can blow away with the wind. This leaves behind a poor soil.

5. 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 however, mud and loess deposits would build up and cause the river to overflow. • Chinese farmers did use irrigation canals, but those too would become clogged by the loess.

6. Crops Grow in Loess Soil • Loess was very fertile even though it caused other problems. • Many kinds of plants would grow in it: • Rice • Millet • Wheat • Green onions • Ginger • Grapes • Peaches • Plums • Wild chestnuts

7. Farming Problems • Since the Chinese population began to grow sharply, food became more important. • Since food was important, land to grow it on was also important. • Farmers would begin to cut down trees to make farmland. One of the problems created with clearing trees is erosion. • Erosion is the wearing away of soil by wind or water. Erosion causes soil to lose its fertility making it difficult to grow crops. • If there are not enough crops for everyone to eat then a famine could happen. A famine is a time when very little food is available and people starve.

8. Other Regions in Ancient China • Not all of China was as suitable for farming as the Huang River valley. • In northern China are windswept steppes. • Steppes are dry, treeless plains. • In these areas growing crops is difficult so farmers have to rely on other kinds of agriculture like herding sheep and cattle.

9. Section 2: The First Dynasty • Along the same time that towns were growing in Egypt and Mesopotamia, towns were also springing up around China. • The largest towns became the capitals of their states. • By 1700 B.C. one kingdom had won control over the large Huang River delta. • The name of this kingdom was called Shang. • Since the Shang family ruled this kingdom for a long time, it became known as a dynasty. • A dynasty is a line of rulers who belong to the same family. • The Shang Dynasty would last for 600 years.

10. Towns Along the Huang River • The Shang state spread along the Huang River until it ruled hundreds of towns. • The Shang kings created new towns by giving land to their relatives, or nobles. • These nobles oversaw the construction of the new towns and became their rulers. • These towns had several purposes: • They were centers of production • They supplied food and clothing • The kept invaders out of the state • People in these towns were also soldiers.

11. An Ancient City • Near the end of the Shang dynasty’s 600-year rule, the capital was moved. • Its new site was near the town that is today Anyang. • Archaeologists have discovered “pit-houses”, houses buried halfway in the ground. • Palaces, bronze cups, stone carvings, and chariots were also found

12. Buried Treasures • Archaeologists have discovered many things buried in graves at Anyang. • Some of the items found in one particular grave were hundreds of bronze containers, ivory statues, and other valuable objects. • This grave is believed to belong to a king’s wife named Fu Hao, or “Lady Hao”. • She was remembered as a successful leader because many records were kept about her life in her tomb.

13. A Written Record • Much like cuneiform, early Chinese writing was simple, picture based objects. • Many ancient writings were written on bamboo and silk. • More recent writings were found on bronze pots and stone. • More writing however has been discovered on thousands of “dragon bones” found at Anyang

14. The Oracle Bones • Many of these “dragon bones” were bones that came from cattle or sheep. • They were used by special priests who the Shang believed were oracles, or people who could predict the future. • These bones became known as “oracles bones” • Priests heated the bones over a fire until they cracked. The pattern of the cracks were used to answer questions about the future.

15. Religion of the Shang • Shang Chinese believed that their ancestors lived in another world and controlled human life. • If, for instance, an oracle’s prediction came true, they believed that the king was being helped by his ancestors. • This proved to them that he was the right person to be king. • The people of Shang were also polytheistic. Many of their gods, they believed, controlled nature.

16. Section 3: The Emperor’s Clay Army • The Shang dynasty came to an end around 1100 B.C. • Slowly one region, called Qin, built up its strength. • Qin’s ruler led an army that controlled Northern China. • After Qin’s leader’s victory was complete, he set himself up as China’s emperor, or supreme ruler of an empire. • He celebrated his new role by taking the name Shihuangdi or “First Grand Emperor”.

17. The Rise of an Empire • Geography played a big part in the Qin Empire’s ability to hold the empire together. • The Qinling Mountains protected one side while the Huang River on the other side. • This made it easier to protect.

18. A New Kind of Government • Shihuangdi had new ideas on how to run his empire. • He split his empire in 36 provinces, or political divisions of land. • He also forced the nobles to move to the capital of the Qin empire, Xianyang. • He also created one system of writing and money.

19. Farmers Build an Empire • Under Shihuangdi, the empire grew large and powerful. • Farmers were an important part of this building. They were required to do things like: • Grow food like wheat and rice • Serve as soldiers • Build roads to connect the empire • Build walls to protect the empire • The Great Wall of China was one such wall that protected the northern part of the empire.

20. The Great Wall of China • The Great Wall of China was built to keep Mongolian invaders out of China. • It was a massive wall, 1500 miles long.

21. Building the Emperor’s Tomb • One of the greatest projects in the Qin empire was the construction of the tomb for Shihuangdi. • He build a massive clay army that would serve him in the afterlife. • This clay army consisted of soldiers, horses, and chariots.

22. Contents of the Tomb • The tomb was discovered with many things:

23. Lesson 4: Confucius Changes China • The Qin dynasty would be overthrown by other groups in 206 B.C. • A farmer-turned-general named Han Gaozou would lead a new dynasty called the Han dynasty. • He would expand China further south into places we know today as Vietnam and North and South Korea. • He would model his government after the teachings of a man named Confucius.

24. Confucius • Confucius lived between 551 B.C. and 479 B.C. • He lived during a time of great conflict and war. • Over time, Confucius suggested a more peaceful way to live. • He won many followers. • His teachings did not start a new religion, rather his ideas would reshape entire civilizations.

25. The Followers of Confucius • Confucius’ ideas became known as Confucianism. • It taught that Chinese culture had lost its traditions. • The central idea of Confucianism was to have respect within the family. • This idea taught that children should obey their parents. • It also affected government. People should respect their rulers as a child should respect their parents.

26. The Mandate of Heaven • Some Chinese people believed that some kings should not be able to rule because they came from a certain family. • Rather, each emperor received right to rule from the gods called the Mandate of Heaven. • This mandate echoed the Shang belief that the gods spoke to kings through the oracle bones.

27. The Rise of the Han Dynasty • Under the Han dynasty, Confucianism was widely accepted. • The Han did keep the Qin dynasty’s system of government. • Wudi was the first strong emperor of the Han dynasty. • Wudi believed strongly in education, building school all over the Han Empire. • Very good students were sent to the emperor’s school, the Grand School.

28. An Amazing Invention • One of the most remarkable achievements of the Han inventors was the seismograph. • The seismograph is an instrument that detects earthquakes. • It looks like a bronze pot but inside it had a pendulum that swung when the ground moved. • When the pendulum swung it would hit a dragon that had a ball in its mouth. • Whichever dragon was struck by the pendulum, that would indicate which direction the earthquake came from.

29. The T’ang Dynasty • Another empire that was influential in Chinese history was the T’ang Empire. • During their rule block printing was invented. • Chinese characters were carved into a block of wood. Ink was then rubbed on carved block wood. • Finally, paper was pressed onto the inked wood blocks. • The T’ang also invented gunpowder. They mixed together saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. • They would adapt it eventually to be used in fireworks.

30. The Song Dynasty • During the Song period printing was encouraged by the government. • Books were printed using the wood block printing system developed by the T’ang. • Bi Sheng invented a new modification called movable type. This allowed thousands of characters to be used to make books. • The Song Dynasty took the gunpowder invented by the T’ang and used it in weapons such as flaming arrows, grenades, and cannon balls.

31. Taoism • Taoism started in China around 400 B.C. • Lao-tzu was its founder. • The main book of Taoism is the Tao-te Ching. • According to Taoism, Tao is an energy that guides the universe. • This energy is the union of two opposite forces, yin and yang. • The goal of Taoism is to find a balance of Tao. • To do this, one must live a simple life and shun distractions such as ambition, greed, fame, and desire.

32. Shinto • Shinto is Japan’s oldest religion. • Followers of Shinto worship many nature gods called kami. • Followers will worship the kami at shrines set up for the god. • Shinto began to mix with Confucianism and Buddhism and began to create myths. • Two books, the Nihongi (The Chronicles of Japan) and the Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matter) record the teachings of Shinto.