River Dynasties in China
The Geography of China
• Natural barriers isolated ancient China
from all other civilizations. To the east
were the Yellow Sea, East China Sea,
and the Pacific Ocean. Mountain
ranges and deserts comprise 2/3rds of
the land mass.
• What does these land forms tell you
about this civilization?
River Systems
• Two major rivers flow from the west to the Pacific
Ocean: the Huang He (Yellow River) and Chang
Jiang (Yangtze). The Yellow River deposits large
amounts of yellow silt called loess when it overflows
its banks.
• Environmental Challenges?
Development of Chinese
Culture
• FAMILY: central to Chinese society. Respect
for one’s parents and ancestors was vital.
The men controlled the family, and the
women were seen as inferior. Between the
ages of 13 and 16 her marriage was
arranged and she moved in with her
husband.
• SOCIAL CLASSES: Sharply divided between
nobility and peasants. Warrior nobility ruled
the Shang and owned the land.
Development of Chinese
Culture
• RELIGION: The spirits of dead
ancestors were believed to
bring good fortune or even
disaster to the family
depending on that family’s
actions and worship of the
ancestors. These sprits were
looked at like helpful or
troublesome neighbors, not
as gods.
• Through these spirits, and
the rolling of oracle bones,
the people communicated
with their gods, such as
Shang Di.
Dynasty
• XIA- First Dynasty, not well known?
Why not? 2000 BCE
• Shang 1700-1027 BCE Anyang capitol
built of wood
• Zhou (Joh) 1027 -256 BCE- Mandate of
Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven
• The Zhou used this to justify their conquests. They
declared that the last Shang king had been such a
poor ruler that the gods took his power away from
him and gave it to the Zhou. This justification
developed that the power of royalty came from
heaven. A just ruler had a Mandate from Heaven,
but that mandate could be revoked.
• Historians call this the dynastic cycle (p. 54)
• Was there something similar to the
Mandate of Heaven in the
colonization of the United Staes?
• What was it called?
Mandate of Heaven v. Manifest
Destiny
•
Manifest Destiny: United States was
destined to expand from the
Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific
Ocean; it has also been used to
advocate for or justify other
territorial acquisitions. Advocates of
Manifest Destiny believed that
expansion was not only good, but
that it was obvious ("manifest") and
certain ("destiny").
Control Through Feudalism
• To govern its large territory, the Zhou gave
control of large areas of land to members of
the royal family and other trusted nobles.
They were responsible for the land and
those who lived on it came under their
control. The nobles owed loyalty to the king.
• Towns grew into cities, and those hostile to
Zhou lords eventually became accepting of
their rule and ways.
Zhou Problems
• The Zhou were generally peaceful, but over
time rule weakened. In 771 BC nomads
from the north and west sacked the Zhou
capital and killed their monarch. The
surviving members of the royal family picked
fights with each other and the rule
weakened further.
• Amongst the fighting, the traditional values
of order, harmony, and respect for authority
were replaced by arrogance, chaos, and
defiance.
Page 52-53