Emily's+China+zhen's+home

Emily's Home! CHINA! (hey i've been there. lol.)

bordered by Chang Jian/Yangtze river and huang He/Yellow river, yellow river because it's silt is yellow silt called LOESS which actually means fertile soil. * North china plain (between yellow and yangtze rivers)
 * //__Geography/Location__//** : East- Yellow Sea, East China Sea and Pacific Ocean. 2/3 landmass is Mountains or deserts. West- Taklimakan Desert, and Plateau of Tibet, South West- himalayas .... North- Gobi Desert and Mongolian Plateau.



-floods devoured whole villages yellow river nicknamed "china's sorrow" -not much trading. had to provide for themselves -many many many invasions from the North and West - only ten % or the land is farmable.
 * __Environmental Challenges__:**

//__**Civ. Begins**:__// around 2000bc. first dynasty called Xia emerged leader named Yu, helped flood contorl and irrigation projects, then Shaang rose to power (1700-1027 bc) first to have written records for china, built palaces and tombs(elaborate), Anyang- capital city, made of wood, in a forest clearing, walls of clay and straw for the rich, peasants lived outside the city, surrounded with earthen walls -118 feet tall circled 1.2 sq. miles, good government for that to happen, constant warring, made the chariot


 * //__Culture__//:** China is center of the world. "middle kingdom" group is more important then individual, chief loyalty to family then the country leader, women are inferior, obeyed all men, married form 13-16 years of age, improve their status by bearing baby boys, marriges were arranged.


 * //__Social Classes__//:** it was Nobels bs. Peasants King - warrior nobels - nobels/landowners - peasants


 * //__Religion__//:** family very Important!!! sprits of ancestors give family good/bad fortune. NOT regarded as gods ... paid respects to fathers ancestors by giving sacrifices. worshipped supreme god SHAND DI and many lesser gods (polytheism) * oracle bones- animal bones or tortoise shells priests wrote questions on, then poked with hot poker, cracks made would be interpretted as message from gods.
 * //__Writing__//**: each charactor stood for a syllable, only one written language ... unified china, made contol much easier. over 10000 characters. a nobels child learned to write but a pheasants child did not.

Zhou was calm and peaceful. when he was murdered time called "time of the warring states" no traditional values kept. chariot due to constant warring. :)
 * //__Dynastic cycle/ Government__//**: 1027 bc. Zhou overthrows Shang, the government adopted shang culture- no culture change. Mandate of Heaven- royal authority comes from heaven this is central to chinese government. explained rebellions, wars, new dynasties, rise and decline of dynasties--- called bynastic cycle feudalism- a political system where nobels and lords are granted permission from the king to use the kings land which resulted in lords growing stronger.
 * //__Technology and Warfare__//**: coined money!!! $$$$$ blast furnaces, cast iron - used to make sickles, knives, spades