Do Now

•Please answer the following HW question for your do now.

•How are gender segregation and zhenjie related? Explain in your own words.

•HW: Study for your quiz

Ancient China:

The Shang Dynasty, ANOTHER River Valley

Civilization!

• 1. Origins of Chinese civilization

• 2. Features of the Shang civilization

• 3. Creation of the Mandate of Heaven

• 4. End of the Shang dynasty

Overview

China & the Yellow River

Why is the river yellow?

Answer: Loess

• Loess is yellow, wind-blown dust from the desert that ended up in the river and colored its waters.

OriginsThe Yangshao and Longshan village societies

Yangshao (3000 BCE)

People: -hunted,

-reared animals-farmed

(irrigation)-painted pottery

Longshan (2200 BCE)

People: -reared animals,-farmed

(irrigation)-Made pottery

from wheels

Yangshao Society Longshan Society

NOTE: THEY BOTH CLING TO THE YELLOW RIVER.

Flooding & Farming were key!

Yangshao 5,000-3,000 BCE•Central Yellow River

•Cultivated mainly millet,rice, turnips, yams, cabbage, other vegetables

•Domesticated pigs, chickens, sheep, goats, cattle, dogs

DecorativePottery

Longshan 3,000-2,000 BCE•Central/Lower Yellow River

•More advanced than the Yangshao people:–Pottery–Musical instruments–Murals–Copper bells

•Farming & Animal Husbandry

Shang Civilization, 1528-1028 BCE

• 1st Chinese civilization

• Natural Barriers=Isolation– Pacific Ocean to East– Taklimakan Desert to West– Gobi Desert to North– Himalayan Mts. to South

• Focused on Yellow River:– Floods resulted in fertile soil

for farmers– BUT floods routinely wiped

out entire villages– Called “THE GREAT

SORROW”

Consider:Ancient

China’s relationship with the Yellow River.

*Was Ancient China more like Ancient Egypt or Ancient

Mesopotamia?

(see above)

Shang Cities

Capitol City of Ao:(artist’s reconstruction)

The First Shang Government

•T'ang, overthrew the decadent emperor Jie, the last of the (maybe mythical) Xia dynasty.

•He claimed Jie’s lack of virtue meant that he lost the ability to govern his people.

Emperor T’ang

New dynasty gains power and claims to have the Mandate of

Heaven.

The new dynasty establishes peace and is considered to have

the mandate of Heaven.

Gradually, the dynasty declines and power grows

weak.

Disasters occur and the dynasty grows weaker.

Old dynasty is seen as having

lost the Mandate of Heaven and

rebellions break out.

New dynasty emerges as old

dynasty is overthrown .

Dynastic Cycle

Mandate of Heaven - the divine approval

thought to be the basis of royal

authority

Dynastic Cycle - the historical pattern of

the rise, decline, and replacement of

dynasties

GOVERNING IDEAL: The Mandate of Heaven

The Emperor: Gov’t & Religion• Emperors were seen as

intermediaries between Di, dead ancestors, and Humankind.

• He made government decisions AND led religious rituals:

– Supervised dances designed to end droughts.

– Had dancers burned to please the gods.Di, the Sky

God

Emperors and Nobles•Nobles governed Peasants/ artisans as

Vassals: •Vassals are subordinate leaders who

carried out a superior’s (the Emperor’s) orders.

•In return for local power, Nobles •collected tribute (usually in the form of

agricultural produce) that supported the emperor and his government.

•raised armies and waged war for the empire.

Shang Elite Culture [FOCUS ON THE SPIRIT WORLD]

Nobility valued the predictions of Shamans/ Priests and Oracles.

--Oracles were humans who channeled the will of the gods.

Shang artists produced ritual objects used by oracles, warriors, families negotiating marriage alliances.

Lesser Occupations❖Scholars

❖Merchants

❖Craftsmen

❖Farmers

❖Slaves

What about women?

Signs of Civilization: Writing

❖Pictograms found on oracle bones

❖Oracle bones were designed to predict the future and help rulers govern.

❖Basis of modern Chinese script

*Each character stands for an idea not a sound.

•A person needed to know over a 1,000 characters in order to be barely literate.

•A scholar needed to know around 10,000 characters.

•The Shang Dynasty is known as the Bronze Age of China.•Bronze was the source of Shang art, weapons, and tools.

Bronze Metallurgy

East Asian Bronze Age Timeline

Shang Bronze Ritual Objects

End of the Shang DynastyLast Shang king, Zhou, was killed in 1100 BCE.

The Shang lost the Mandate of Heaven in the eyes of the people.

A new dynasty took over the direction of China.

The Zhou Dynasty

2 Epochs:

Western Zhou (1027 – 771 BCE)

Eastern Zhou (771-256 BCE)

The Shang and Zhou Dynasties helped China become a powerful and

prosperous civilization.

Summary Question

Why was the Shang Dynasty considered the

first Chinese “civilization”?