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**__CHINA__ 

Important Dates **
 * China's first civilizations were built 4,000 years ago.
 * Homo erectus skeleton found - early humans lived there 1.7 million years ago
 * Shang Dynasty ruled from 1700 BC to 1027 BC
 * Zhou Dynasty rul.ed from 1027 BC to 256 BC but weakened in 771 BC

**Natural Barriers**
 * Water (Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and Pacific Ocean), Mountains (Himalayas), Deserts (Taklimakan and Gobi), Plateaus (Plateau of Tibet and Mongolian)

**Geography ** 
 * Water - Yellow Sea, East China Sea, Pacific Ocean
 * Mountains - Himalayas, Huang He, Chang Siang
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Deserts - Taklimakan and Gobi
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Plateaus - Plateau of Tibet and Mongolian
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Rivers - Yangtze and Yellow River
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Yellow River delivers yellow silt to fertilize fields
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">North China Plain is center of China

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">**Cities**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Environmental Challenges **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Yellow River's floods would destroy cities
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">No trade
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Lots of invasions
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Only 10% of China's land is farmland
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Mountains are 2/3 of land
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Dynasties **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">First Dynasty - Xia
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Xia was led by Yu who developed irrigation ditches and helped technology to develop
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Shang Dynasty took over Xia in 1700 BC
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">While Shang Dynasty ruled, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India were taken over
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Shang Dynasty (1700 - 1027 BC) left written records and built palaces and tombs
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Zhou people overthrew Shang in 1027 BC
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Created Mandate of Heaven and switching of this from noble family to noble family became known as Dynastic Cycle in China
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Feudalism - a political system in which nobles, or lords, are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the king
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Zhou used feudalism to rule vast area
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Lords became stronger, towns grew to cities, and people got used to Zhou ways
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Zhou ruled until 256 BC
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">771 BC - Zhou weakened after peaceful rule and nomads came and murdered rulers
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Remaining Zhou made capital in Louyang but were powerless and couldn't control lords
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Warlords claimed to be kings in their own territory (later years of Zhou are called "the time of warring states")
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Through fighting and war; love, harmony, and respect changed to chaos, arrogance, and defiance
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Main city is Anyang
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Anyang is built of wood in forest clearing
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Protected cities with giant walls
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Chinese thought China was center of all civilization while all others were barbarian

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">**Social Class**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">High class lived in houses
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Low class lived in huts
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Men were most important - made all big decisions for family
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Women obeyed their fathers, husbands, and later their sons
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Women also had arranged marriages
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Social class was strictly royal family and peasants
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Country is ruled by warrior-nobles

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">**Warfare**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Constant war
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Because of constant war, invented the horse-drawn chariot
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">During Zhou dynasty, lords got less dependent on kings so they soon fought a lot over territory and wealth

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">**Religion**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Family is most important in life
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Believed that dead ancestors could either bring good or bad fortune
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Viewed dead ancestors as helpful or troublesome and had to keep them pleased with respect and sacrifice
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Consulted gods through spirits by writing questions on oracle bones and shells then applying a hot poker and examining the way it cracked for a God's answer
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Worshipped main god, Shang Di, and many lesser gods
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">When Zhou took over, believed that authority to rule came from gods - Mandate of Heaven
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Chinese thought floods, riots, and war were signs of bad ruling so Mandate of Heaven would move to another noble family

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">**Writing/ Language**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Spoken language and written language are completely different
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Different parts of China spoke a different language but all wrote the same
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Tons of characters to memorize for writing
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Royal people's children learned to write while a peasant's did not

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">**Technology**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Roads and canals for trade/travel
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Coined money for trade
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Furnaces for iron
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">Used iron to make swords, axes, sickles, knives, spades