Ancient China

1. Ancient China Dynasties, Philosophers and Ancient Life

2. Huang He (Yellow River) • Named for the rich yellow soil it carries • Runs from Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) • Runs east across Central China to the Yellow Sea • Longer than the Huang He During the Shang Dynasty, China began to grow. The first city was the Anyang (China’s first capital) Geography

3. Landowning aristocrats Peasant farmers Merchants Aristocrats owned large estates. They lived in large houses with courtyards and gardens. They had fine furniture and silk hangings. The houses were surrounded by walls. Farmers lived in simple houses inside village walls. The aristocrats owned the fields outside the walls and the farmers worked the land. They grew wheat, millet, and rice. Merchants included shopkeepers, traders and bankers. They lived in towns and provided services to the landowners. Merchants were not allowed government jobs. Life in Ancient China

4. Filial Piety: Children had to respect their parents, and older relatives. Family members placed the needs and desires of the head of the family above their own. • For farming, Chinese created terraces for farming and used insects to protect crops. • They used bronze and iron tools such as a hoe, plow blade and shovel. • Ancient China worshiped spirits and ancestors. • Oracle Bones: carvings on bones that priests would read and interpret. • Pictographs: characters that represent objects • Ideographs: characters that represent ideas Ancient Life

6. Ancient China

8. 190 AD • 1750BC • 1045BC • 551 BC • 300 BC • 221 BC • 202 BC • 200 BC • 100 AD Ancient China Timeline Overview