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Early Chinese History
World HistoryDecember10, 2012
China’s Geography China is located on the continent of
Asia, became one of the largest countries in the world
It has a great variety of climates and terrains South China
Wet and tropical climate with some rainforest coverage
Northwest China
Covered in desert land
Northeast China
Arctic climate (close to Russia) in the winter
West China
Himalayas borders China in the west
China’s Rivers Yellow River
Yangzi River
China’s First Peoples
First people arrived around 50,000 BC About the same time the first
people settled in Europe
These people were hunter/gatherers living in caves
Between 4,000-3,000BC, the people of China began farming rice and keeping animals
People settled in miniature cities along the Yellow River in northern China They began living in small farming
villages
At this time people in China began to use silk to make clothes
Shortly after, the early people settled into a unified kingdom Under a dynasty
Dynasty = a family or group of rulers
Xia Dynasty The first dynasty of China
2070-1600 BCE
Established by legendary Yu the Great He was able to unite
approximately 13.5 million people
Spent 13 years stopping the great flood and brought irrigation to the Yellow River Valley
They had many accomplishments for an early civilization Irrigated the Yellow River
Had a calendar
Created a wheeled vehicle
The last king, Jie, was overthrown by the people, and the Shang dynasty was founded
Shang Dynasty United the Yellow River Valley
1600-1046 BCE
Archeological sites at Anyang – the capital city – have uncovered eleven major royal tombs and the palaces The amount of bronze, jade, stone,
bone, and ceramic artifacts show an advanced civilization
The Shang dynasty rose to power under Qi He helped control the Great Flood
and was granted a place called Shang as a plot of land
The Shang dynasty united people of the Yellow River Valley and defeated those who rose against them
The Dynasty ended when the last Shang king, Di Xin, was overthrown by Wu of Zhou
Zhou Dynasty Ruled China from about 1027 – 221 BCE
– the longest dynasty in Chinese history
The Zhou dynasty appointed “lords” to control certain plots of land and the people who lived there This spread the power to many upper-
class men
The Zhou dynasty has many advancements Ox-drawn plows, iron, horseback
riding, coins, chopsticks, and the crossbow
Roads, canals, major irrigation projects
The philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism emerged
Originated the “Mandate of Heaven” An ancient Chinese philosophical
concept that determines whether a Chinese ruler is able to rule
Qin Dynasty Lasted from 221 – 206 BCE
Saw China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang He started out as king of the Chinese
State of Qin, and became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BCE at the age of 49
He is a pivotal figure in China’s history Unified China
Passed a series of major economic and political reforms
Built and unified sections of the Great Wall of China
Famous city-sized mausoleum guarded by the life-sized Terracotta Army
Massive national road system
To ensure his political stability, he outlawed and burned many books and buried scholars who opposed him alive
After Qin Shi Huang’s death in 210 BCE, civil war broke out, ending the Qin Dynasty