Ancient China2000 B.C. ?

The Huang He (Yellow River) flows about 2903 miles from its source in the Kunlun Mountains to its mouth on the Bo Hai

gulf. The river picks up silt in the region where it flows south from the Ordos Desert, coloring the water yellow. The silt

settles in the river bed, causing the water level to rise over time. It was nicknamed the "River of Sorrows" because it

often flooded and destroyed crops.

Geography

How did geography affect the development of China?

Cities

Chinese Dynasties

I. 2100-1600 B.C. Xia Dynasty (Legendary)

II. 1600-1100 B.C. Shang Dynasty (N. China only)

III. 1100-221 B.C. Zhou Dynasty (N. China only)

Gained control of corner of northern China along Huang He.

Drove off nomads from northern steppes and deserts.

Held complex religious beliefs.

Developed written language used by all Chinese people.

Overthrew the Shang.

Promoted idea of Mandate of Heaven.

Set up feudal state.

Economy and commerce grew.

Population increased.

Shang Dynasty (1650 B.C.–1027 B.C.)

Zhou Dynasty (1027 B.C.–256 B.C.)

Why was it necessary to create the Dynastic Cycle?

Xia Dynasty Achievements

Silk, potters wheel, baked brick houses, flood control & irrigation

How is silk made?

Shang DynastyTwo important events of

the period were the development of a writing system, as revealed in

archaic Chinese inscriptions found on tortoise shells and flat

cattle bones (commonly called oracle bones), and

the use of bronze metallurgy.

Why is bronze metallurgy important?

The first paper appeared in China about 200 BC. Its name is derived from papyrus. Silk was transformed into paper by a process of pasting, but because silk was expensive, wool and cotton came to be used instead. This invention

was attributed to Ts'ai Lun.

In the picture above, the manufacturing process used by the Chinese. They steeped mulberry or bamboo bark in

water, then kneaded it to produce a paste from which they obtained smooth thin sheets of paper.

AchievementsPaper

Chinese Calendar• Solar-lunar calendar

– Months = cycle of the Moon– Years = solar year– + a leap month

• The Quarter Calendar (475 – 221 B.C.)

– Years = 365 and 1/4 days– Months = 29 and 499/940 days

• The 1st complete calendar was made in Emperor Han Wu’s 7th year (104 B.C.). There were 365 and 385/1539 days in a year and 29 and 43/81 days in a month.

• The current Chinese calendar was the one modified in Qing Dynasty Qian Long’s 7th Year (1742). It uses 1723 as the start of the calendar.

Religion

Chinese religious practices centered on the veneration of ancestors and the belief that the universe was balanced

between two opposing forces, the yin and the yang.

How does Ancient Chinese religion compare to other early civilizations?