Ancient India and China Section 1
“Anyone who believes you can’t change history
has never tried to write his memoirs.”
- David Ben Gurion
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman
somewhere.
Ancient India and China Section 1
China’s First Dynasties
Main Idea
China’s river valley civilizations built the
foundations of a long-shared Chinese culture.
The achievements of the Shang and Zhou
dynasties can be felt to this day.
Ancient India and China Section 1
China’s Geography
The development of civilization in early China was aided by features
like long rivers, fertile soils, temperate climates, and isolated valleys.
Rivers, Soils, Climates Loess
• China’s first civilizations • Annual floods deposited
developed in river valleys rich soil, loess, on flood
• Two major rivers supplied water plains
for earliest civilizations
• Valley of Huang He
– Chang Jiang, also called particularly fertile due to
Yangzi
loess
– Huang He, or Yellow River
– Fine dusty soil
– Both flow east from Plateau
of Tibet to Yellow Sea – Carried into China by
desert winds
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
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Crops
• Most of eastern China covered with fertile soils; some regions better
suited than others for growing certain crops
• Southern China—warm, receives plenty of rainfall, excellent region
for growing rice
• Further north—climate cooler, drier; suitable for grains, wheat, millet
Isolation
• Combination of rivers for irrigation, fertile soil for planting allowed
Chinese to thrive, as did China’s relative isolation
• Mountains, hills, desert protected China from invasion
• Himalaya Mountains separate southern China from India, rest of
southern Asia; vast Gobi Desert prevented reaching China from west
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
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China’s Geography
Beginnings of Civilization Xia
• Archaeological • Legend says earliest
discoveries suggest Chinese ruled by Xia
dynasty
Chinese civilization
began in Huang He • No written, archaeological
valley evidence Xia dynasty
existed
• People started • Most historians date
growing crops there beginning of Chinese
9,000 years ago civilization to rise of Shang
dynasty
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Question:
What geographic features influenced
life in early China?
Answer(s): Rivers deposited rich soil for farming;
mountains, hills, and desert isolated the area.
Ancient India and China Section 1
The Shang Dynasty
According to ancient Chinese records, the Shang dynasty formed
around 1766 BC, although many archaeologists believe it actually
began somewhat later than that.
Government and Order Agricultural Society
Society
• China ruled by • King’s governors • Shang China
strong monarchy ruled distant parts largely agricultural
• At capital city, of kingdom • Most tended crops
Anyang, kings • King also had large in fields
surrounded by army at disposal • Farmers called on
court • Prevented to fight in army,
• Rituals performed rebellions, fought work on building
to strengthen outside opponents projects—tombs,
kingdom, keep safe palaces, walls
Ancient India and China Section 1
Shang Elite
Leisure Artifacts
• Ruling elite had free time to • Much of what is known comes
pursue leisure activities, hunting from studying royal tombs
for sport • Contained valuable items made
• Wealthy enjoyed collecting of bronze, jade
expensive bronze, jade objects
Afterlife Ancestor Worship
• Tombs held remains of • Shang offered gifts to deceased
sacrificed prisoners of war ancestors to keep them happy
in afterlife
• Believed in afterlife where ruler
would need riches, servants • Steam from ritual meals
nourished ancestors’ spirits
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Oracle Bones
As part of worship, Shang asked ancestors for
advice
• Sought advice through use of oracle bones
– Inscribed bits of animal bone, turtle shell
– Living person asked question of ancestor
– Hot piece of metal applied to oracle bone
resulting in cracks on bone’s surface
– Specially trained priests interpreted meaning of
cracks to learn answer
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Shang Achievements and Decline
Writing
• Development of Chinese writing closely tied to use of oracle bones
• Earliest examples of Chinese writing, questions written on bones themselves
• Early Shang texts used picture symbols to represent objects, ideas
Bronze
• Shang religion led to great advances in working with bronze
• Highly decorative bronze vessels, objects created for religious rituals
• Also built huge structures like tombs; created calendar, first money systems
End of Dynasty
• Shang ruled for more than 600 years, until about 1100 BC
• Ruling China’s growing population proved too much for Shang
• Armies from nearby tribe, Zhou, invaded, established new ruling dynasty
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Question:
How did religion influence other
aspects of Shang culture?
Answer(s): ritual meals for ancestors; oracle
bones connected to early writing; bronze work for
rituals; built stable tombs
Ancient India and China Section 1
The Zhou Dynasty
Beginning around 1100 BC, the Zhou rules China for several centuries.
The Zhou dynasty is divided into two periods. During the Western
Zhou, kings ruled from Xian in a peaceful period. Later conflict arose,
kings moved east to Luoyang, beginning the Eastern Zhou period.
Government Dynastic Cycle
• When Zhou conquered Shang, • Zhou said Shang overthrown
leaders worried Chinese people because they lost gods’ favor
would not accept them • Later rulers used Mandate of
• Introduced idea they ruled by Heaven to explain dynastic cycle,
Mandate of Heaven rise and fall of dynasties in China
• gods would support just ruler, not • If dynasty lost power, it obviously
allow anyone corrupt to hold power had become corrupt
In that case, they said, it was the will of the gods that that dynasty be
overthrown and a new one take power.
Ancient India and China Section 1
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Zhou Achievements
• Before Zhou, Chinese metalwork done almost exclusively in bronze
• Zhou learned to use iron, became backbone of economy
• Iron was strong, could be cast more cheaply, quickly than bronze
• Iron weapons strengthened Zhou army, as did new weapons like
catapult and creation of China’s first cavalry
Growth Decline of the Zhou
• Population grew under Zhou • Conflict arose during latter part of
• Farmers learned new techniques, Zhou dynasty
increased size of harvest, created • Clan leaders within China rose up
food surpluses; cities also grew against king
• Roads, canals allowed better • As time passed, more and more
transportation, communication local leaders turned against Zhou,
• Introduced coins, use of chopsticks further weakening rule
Ancient India and China Section 1
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Small States Fight
Result of rebellions was Warring States Period
• 403 BC to 221 BC, number of small
states fought each other for land, power
• Zhou still nominally in charge, but power
almost nonexistent by mid-200s BC
• Qin, new dynasty, arose to bring end to
Warring States Period, Zhou dynasty
Ancient India and China Section 1
Question:
How did China change under the
Zhou?
Answer(s): iron technology, population grew, new
farm techniques, more food, cities grew, roads
and canals built, coins and chopsticks introduced
Ancient India and China Section 1
New Philosophies
The conflicts of the late Zhou period led many Chinese thinkers to
question the nature of society and people’s roles in it.
Effort to make sense Of many philosophies
of chaos led to created during late Zhou
period, two became
creation of many new
influential in later
Chinese philosophies, Chinese history:
or ways of looking at
• Confucianism
the world
• Daoism
Ancient India and China Section 1
Confucianism
Confucius
• Confucianism based on teachings of scholar named Kongfuzi, better known
as Confucius, who thought people should treat one another humanely
• Should express love, respect for others, honor one’s ancestors
Love and Respect
• Believed that love, respect had disappeared and was responsible for violence
in society; restoring respect for tradition would make society stable
• Thoughts on how to improve society collected in book, Analects
Analects
• Ruler should treat subjects fairly; subjects reward ruler with respect, loyalty
• People should respect members of family, devote selves to public service
• Confucian ideas spread elsewhere in Asia, including Korea, Japan, Vietnam
Ancient India and China Section 1
Confucianism: The Way of the Ancients
• Every human, animal, and object has an appointed place in the order of nature
and should behave as its station requires.
• Death and afterlife are not important – the conduct of life is.
• There is no sin
• Punishment is the shame of failing to meet expected standards of living.
• No church, priesthood, of god – Many Confucianists also practice another faith,
such as Buddhism. There are temples dedicated to Kongfuzi.
Confucius’ Five Relationships
• Confucius believed that everyone had their role to play based on their
relationship with others.
• If everyone fulfilled their duties and kept their place then society would be stable
and harmonious.
• There are five basic human relationships in Confucianism: 1) ruler to ruled; 2)
father to son; 3) husband to wife; 4) elder brother of younger brother; 5) friend to
friend
Ancient India and China Section 1
Confucianism: The Way of the Sages
• Important behaviors and attributes:
• Calmness of spirit, trustworthiness, respect for tradition, respect for family, respect for
elders, kindness, politeness, social harmony, and education
• Quotes:
• “Do not do to others what you would not wish them to do to you.”
• “The superior man know what is right; the inferior man knows what will sell.”
• “The good man who wishes to provide for himself will provide for others; if he wishes
to better himself, he will better others.”
• “Man who stands on toilet is high on pot; if drop watch in toilet have crappy time.”
• “Man who eat many prunes get good run for money.”
• “He who thinks only of number one must remember this number is next to nothing.”
• “Man who runs in front of car is tired; behind he is exhausted.”
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Daoism
Definition Yin and Yang
• Unlike Confucianism, which • Daoism embraced Chinese concept
focuses on improving society, of yin and yang, representing
Daoism encourages people to balancing aspect of nature—male,
retreat from laws of society, yield to female; dark, light; hot, cold
law of nature • Neither can exist without other
• Heart of Daoism is concept of the • Important for two to remain
dao, or the way balanced for perfect harmony
• Dao is the limitless force that is part • Origins of Daoist teachings
of all creation attributed to philosopher named
• Through the dao, all things in Laozi
nature connected • Wrote book called Dao De Jing
• Finding one’s place in nature allows • Laozi worshipped by some as a
person to achieve harmony with god
universe
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Some Lasting Effects
Daoism eventually proved less influential than
Confucianism in Chinese history
• Still played major role in later dynasties
• Idea of balance key concept in China for
centuries as result of Daoist teaching
• Daoist philosophy led many followers to
work for preservation, protection of natural
environment
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Question:
What is one difference between
Confucianism and Daoism?
Answer(s): Daoism—retreat from society and
commune with nature; Confucianism—improve
society
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
Ancient India and China Section 1
