JC+China

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 * __China__**
 * __Geography__**
 * Natural Barriers isolated China from other civilization
 * There are seas to the east, and mountain ranges and deserts surrounding the civilization
 * Most of landscape mountains and deserts
 * Two major rivers: Huang He River (Yellow River) and Chang Jiang River (Yangtze River).
 * The Yellow River is named for the color of the soil it carries.
 * The Yellow River doesn't carry silt. It carries a fertile soil called loess, blown by winds from the west and north.


 * __Environmental Challenges__**
 * Huang He's floods could be catastrophic disasters that destroy villages
 * Natural barriers prevented trade, people had to be self sufficient.
 * Natural barriers didn't completely protect China, invaders still got through.
 * Only 10% of Chinese land is suitable for farming, the North China Plain, which ppolitical changes didn't stop reliance on the land.


 * __Culture__**
 * People were settling in China before Sumerians, even Homo Erectus remains have been found
 * Around 2000 B.C., the first cities rose with the first dynasty, the Xia dynasty
 * Around 1700 B.C., the Xia dynasty was overthrown and the Shang dynasty rose to power
 * Anyone living outside of China was considered a "barbarian"
 * The group is more important than the individual
 * People owed obedience to ruler
 * Family central part of society
 * Respect for parents and elders most important virtue
 * Elder men were the dominant in the family
 * Women were considered inferior and considered as property.
 * A girl's marriage was between 13 and 16 years old.


 * __Social Class__**
 * Strong divide between peasant and noble
 * Ruling class of warrior-nobles headed by a king governed strong lands
 * Noble families owned land


 * __Government/Religion__**
 * Family linked to religion
 * Spirits of ancestors believed to bring good or bad fortune
 * Spirits not "mighty gods"
 * People contacted the gods through the spirits
 * People worshiped a supreme god, Shang Di
 * Oracle bones used for contact to the gods
 * China was ruled by kings in a dynasty
 * Around 1027 B.C., the Zhou overthrew the Shang and made their own dynasty
 * Dynastic Cycle was established
 * Dynastic Cycle: Strong dynasty-Dynasty declines-Disasters occur-Old dynasty rebelled-Dynasty overthrown-New dynasty-Restart cycle
 * Mandate of Heaven put in by the Zhou Dynasty, it became central to Chinese government
 * Mandate of Heaven judges how good a ruler/dynasty is. If the ruler/dynasty is good and strong, it has the Mandate of Heaven. If it is bad, it loses the Mandate of Heaven and is overthrown.
 * Zhou established feudal system, nobles granted use of king's land in return for military service and loyalty to the king


 * __Language__**
 * Each character stood for one syllable
 * No links between spoken and written language
 * Many characters, people had to know over 1500 characters to be barely literate.
 * Only nobles learned to write

__**Technology/Trade**__
 * Roads and canals built by Zhou dynasty for trade
 * Coined money
 * Blast furnaces for cast iron
 * Walls around cities
 * Iron tools and weapons
 * Chariots
 * Trade started in Zhou times
 * Trade helped China grow and thrive

__**War**__
 * Invaders made it through the natural barriers in the west and north.
 * In 771 B.C., nomads sacked the Zhou capital
 * Lords picked fights
 * Chaos, arrogance, and defiance replaced love, order, and harmony
 * Chariot major warfare tool

__**Time Periods**__
 * Xia: 2000-1700 B.C.
 * Shang: 1700-1027 B.C.
 * Zhou: 1027-256 B.C.

__**Important People**__
 * Yu- Irrigation of crops (Xia Dynasty)
 * Shang: First people to write written records
 * Zhou: overthrew Shang, established feudal system, Mandate of Heaven, "justify their conquest"

__**Comparisons to Meso, Egypt, and India**__
 * Not theocratic like others
 * Rulers had ability to control and raise many workers like others
 * Had dynasties
 * Written language
 * Traded, but later than others
 * Relied on rivers