Christy'sChina

Go Home. ** China. **

Geography: -Natural barriers isolated it somewhat. -To the east is the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and Pacific ocean. -2/3 of the land is mountains and deserts. -West is Taklimakan River, and 15000 ft. of icy Tibetan Plateau. -To the southwest are the Himalayas. -To the north is Gobi Desert and Mongolian Plateau. -Two main rivers: -Huang He (Yellow River) is to the north. Known for yellow-ish silt called loess. - In central, Chang Jiang or Yangtze flows east.

Challenges: -Floods. -Huang He floods were nicknamed "China's Sorrow." -Supplied own goods, so there was no trading. - Invasions occurred very often.

Heartland/Agriculture: - 10% of land is suitable for farming. -North China Plain is the center of civilization, or heartland. -Between Huang He and Chang Jiang Rivers.

Dynasties: -First dynasty was Xia Dynasty. -The leader was Yu. -Shang took over and ruled from 1700 bc to 1027bc. -1027-ish, Zhou overthrew Shang. -They established feudalism. -Mandate of Heaven: -Divine approval. -Given to good leaders. -Taken when possibly a disaster happens.

Dynastic Cycle in China: 1. A strong dynasty establishes prosperity and gets the Mandate of Peace. 2. Dynasty begins to decline, and power gets weaker. 3. Famine, and other disasters can occur. 4. Old dynasty loses Mandate of Heaven. 5. Dynasty is overthrown and a new dynasty is seen. 6. New dynasty takes over, goes back to happy ways and gets Mandate of Heaven.

Religion: -Family is closely related to religion. -Ancestors had power to bring good fortune or disasters. - They aren't gods, but "neighbors." -Sacrifices were made for them.

Family: -Center of society. -Most imporant trait was to have respect for one's parents. -Elder men were in control. -Women were inferior. -When a girl is 13 at the youngest, she could get married and move in w/ her husband. - They only had sons.

Social Class: -Shang dynasty had social classes. -They were divided between nobles and peasents.

Culture: -In their veiw, every other culture was barbaric. -"Center" of the civilized world. -Strong unified bonds. -Loyal to family and ruler. -Scattered villages were governed by noble families.

Technology/Trade: -Zhou dynasty produced most innovations. - Had roads and canals. -Bronze money, or coins, improved trading. -Blast furnaces produced cast iron. -Cast iron was used to make tools, such as swords, or spades. - So, farm work was easy.

Writing: - No links between written and spoken languages. - Everyone could learn writing, even if everyone spoke differently. -Needed to learn from 1500 to about 10000 characters.

-Oracle Bone: - A bone in which they inscribed questions to ask the gods. - To get the answers, priests would come and crack the bones, or shells they'd put the questions on. - The priests would decipher the questions from the cracks in the bones.

Cities: -Anyang (capital of Shang dynasty) was built mostly of wood. -There was constant wars, so they needed large walls to block them.

War: - Chariots were used. -Zhou ruled from 1027bc to 256-ish. - Nomads murdered the monarch. - Louyang eventually fell from chaos. - That was the time of the warring states.