China
Location and How Geography Affected Life
Ancient China was located in northeast Asia, one of the most geographically diverse landscapes in the world. It was isolated from all other civilizations due to natural barriers, meaning that it had to supply its own goods instead of trading. The barriers were: The Himalayas, Gobi Desert, the rain forest, Taklimakan Desert, East China Sea, and South China Sea. However, this did not protect China from invasions. Therefore, the invasions happened again and again from north and west. China also had many water resources varying from salt to brackish to freshwater. The main resources Chinese civilizations used were the Huang He River, the Chang Jiang River, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. The civilization also had to learn how to adapt to floods due to danger from Huang He River.
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Agricultural Surpluses
Food production in ancient China was run by the peasants. Therefore, peasants were about in the middle of the social pyramid because the production of food was considered vital to the existence of the empire. The inventions of things like blast furnaces, which created cast iron, lead to many common agricultural tools (sickles, knives, spades) that made farm work much, much easier and more productive. The ability to grow more food with these tools helped Zhou farmers support thriving cities. Later on, irrigation projects increased farm production even more under Shi Huangdi's rule. With all of the extra food, trade through a road system was a good way to get rid of surpluses and make money.
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How Did They Grow Their Society and Job Specialization/Social Hierarchies
The Chinese River Valley Civilization grew their population through the strict social classes that they enforced heavily. The classes from top to bottom were: emperor, king/governor, state officials/nobles and scholars, peasants, artisans/merchants, soldiers, and slaves. They were sharply divided between nobles and peasants. The warrior-nobles ruled the classes, and the dynasties granted territory to family and allies in return for military service. This system is called feudalism, and it led to the Qin Dynasty's superior military. An oppressive and strict philosophy called Legalism also helped the Qin Dynasty's military. Within this philosophy, scholars are oppressed and educated for challenging society's norms, and by the end of it the Chinese rulers and their philosophy were extremely unpopular. However, the duration of feudalism brought the Zhou Dynasty lands far from the Huang He River that were leased out to nobles.
Another important aspect of social hierarchies was family. Family was very important to the Chinese culture. Men controlled the families property, and the women were expected to follow all orders from men, whether they be fathers, husbands, or sons, because they were seen as inferior. A girl's marriage was even arranged when she was between the ages of 13-16, and the marriage could only improve her status if she beared her husband's children. |
Innovations/Inventions and Writing Systems
China created many innovative objects that we may not think of as innovative, but we still use them today. They invented money with holes through it for easy carrying, the Great Wall of China, blast furnaces that produced cast iron, a highway network of more than 4,000 miles, the Great Canal, standardization within measurements/weights, language/writing, and currency, paper, the seismograph, acupuncture, calligraphy, and the wheel barrow. Through all of these discoveries, they changed our world today, paving the path for even inventions today. We still use most of these inventions, which is so insane when you think about it.
The Chinese writing system in ancient China was made to be as universal as possible. We were not as good at creating languages back then, however, so there were some flaws. In the Chinese writing system, each character generally stood for one unit of language. There were also almost no links between China's spoken and written language, making a civilization-wide writing system more plausible. However, the fatal flaw was that a person had to know over 1,500 characters to be barely literate. True scholars knew at least 10,000 characters. This limited the amount of citizens that could read and write to only the most educated. The Chinese wrote in calligraphy. |
Religion
In China, the emperor was considered semi-divine. This means that the people considered him godlike. A just ruler was considered to have the "Mandate of Heaven". This meant that the gods believed that they were the best ruler for the people. However, if the ruler was not just then they would lose the Mandate of Heaven, and they would get thrown out of the ruler's seat. This mandate was very important to the Chinese view of government. Any floods, riots, or natural disasters signaled that it was time for the next ruler to come along.
There were three Chinese ethical systems: Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), and Legalism. Confucianism is all about family. It strongly encourages bonds with family, and tells people to worship their ancestors. It also believes that man is born good. Daoism is about living simply and rejecting all bad from life. The main concept and symbol behind Daoism is Yin and Yang. It symbolizes that there is always bad in the good, and vice versa. Daoism also emphasizes living in harmony with nature. Legalism is a much stricter ethical system than either Confucianism or Daoism. It gives the government a lot of control over the people, and talks about respect and social order. Legalism has had the longest lasting affect on the chinese government, as some of the concepts of Legalism are still embedded in the Chinese government today. |
Important Cities and Cultural Landmarks
Anyang is one of the oldest and most important cities of ancient China. It was one of the capitals of the Shang Dynasty. The houses there were mostly built out of wood, and the city stood in a forest clearing. The higher classes lived in houses outside of the city walls, made of timber frames and walls of clay and straw. The peasants and craftspeople only lived in huts that were also located outside the city. Due to the constant invasions that the Chinese faced and the fact that they were always waging war, the city was surrounded by walls for protection.
Some cultural landmarks found in China would include the Great Wall of China, the Great Canal, and the Huang He River. |
Fun Facts!
China's most influential scholar was Confucius. He lived a scholarly life, teaching music, history, and moral character. He was the one to come up with the ethical system Confucianism. This was due to the fact that he was born in a time of crisis and violence in China, so he encouraged ancestor worship.