Warm-Up

• Using your notes from yesterday, write one paragraph comparing/contrasting China’s geography to Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley.

Vocabulary

• Dynasty

• Mandate of Heaven

• Aristocracy

• 4-Square activity

DynastyDefinition: Picture:

Similar to: What it is NOT:

A series of rulers from the same family

Mandate of HeavenDefinition: Picture:

Similar to: What it is NOT:

The ruler is divinely chosen

Aristocracy Definition: Picture:

Similar to: What it is NOT:

A hereditary ruling class; nobility

The Xia (SHAH) Dynasty• Founded by: Yu the Great in 2200 BCE

• Settled near Huang He River (Yellow River)

• No written records about life in Xia Dynasty. Knowledge comes from town ruins, ancient stories and legends

• Many legends about Xia Dynasty about kings who helped people to solve their problems by working together

• Terrible floods during Yu’s lifetime. Yu dug channels to drain water to the ocean. This created the major waterways of north China.

The Shang Dynasty

• Established in 1500s BCE

• Huang He Valley

• Shang ruled a broad (large) area in northern China

• Shang rulers moved their capital several times. WHY?– To avoid floods or attack by enemies

Advances of Shang Dynasty

• China’s first writing system– Over 2,000 symbols to express words or

ideas– Symbols that are used today were started in

the Shang Dynasty– The development of the word: Horse

Advances of the Shang Dynasty

• Artisans made:

– bronze containers (cooking/religious ceremonies)

– axes, knives and ornaments from jade

• Military developed:

– War chariots, powerful bows, bronze body armor

• Astrologers contributed:

– Developed a calendar based on the cycles of the moon

A very tough stone

Shang Dynasty• Social order (classes) became organized

KING &ROYAL FAMILY

NOBLES

WARRIOR LEADERS

ARTISANS

FARMERS

SLAVES

Center of religious and political life

Owned land. Passed on wealth & power to sons

Lived in large homes in cities all over China

Lived outside city walls. Lived in groups based on what they made (weapons, pottery, tools, clothing)

Worked long hours; little $$ because they paid taxes

Important source of labor

- What do you see?- What do you wonder?- What do you think it is?

“Fortune Tellers” of the Shang Dynasty

• Shang writing has been found on…cattle bones and turtle shells!– Priests carved questions about the

future on the bones, then heated them, causing them to crack. The priests “read” these cracks and predicted the future.

– Why were these bones called oracle bones?

• These bones were called oracle bones because an oracle is a prediction.