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Ancient China
CLASSWORK
Directions: Read and annotate the following passage. Answer all questions.
Like the civilizations in Sumer, Egypt, and India, the first people in Ancient China settled near a river. This river is called the Huang He, or, in English, the Yellow River. Why do you think people chose to settle by the Yellow River? You will need to look up the Yellow River (Huang Hu) to find some facts why it was attractive to settlers.
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The people who settled here were isolated, or separated, from other ancient civilizations. This was because of China’s geography. To the east of China is the Pacific Ocean; to the west of China are the Himalaya Mountains, the tallest mountains in the world. This kept people from crossing from India into China. Finally, in the north of China, there is theGobiDesert. The desert acted as a barrier. Why do you think outsiders weren’t able to cross the Gobi Desert? You will need to look up some facts on the Gobi Desert.
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Thousands of years ago, China was not a country, but a number of clans, or extended families, led by warrior clans. Rival clans fought each other. Occasionally, one clan became powerful enough to control all of China and start a dynasty. A dynasty is a family that rules for several generations. What are the pros and cons for someone to become a ruler just because his parents and his grandparents were rulers?
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The first great dynasty of Ancient China was the Shang Dynasty (pronounced “Shung”). The Shang Dynasty ruled the area around the Yellow River from 1700 to 1122 BCE. Archaeologists first discovered the Shang Dynasty when they dug up oracle bones. Oracle bones are animal bones and turtle shells with that have inscriptions, or writing, carved into them. Shang kings and nobles used these bones in religious ceremonies to communicate with their dead ancestors. They believed that their dead ancestors had the power to either help or harm the living. They used the oracle bones to talk to their ancestors and to ask for their advice. What philosophy (of the three we have studied) do you think this Dynasty practiced and why do you think so?
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The second great dynasty of Ancient China was the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty ruled the area around the Yellow River from 1045 to 256 BCE—after overthrowing the Shang. To justify their conquest, the Zhou claimed they had beengiven the Mandate of Heaven, a right from the gods to rule China. According to this belief, Heaven was an ultimate power that controlled the destiny of humans on Earth. The king was the son of Heaven. As long as the king governed (ruled) his people well, Heaven gave him the right to rule. If the king did not govern well, Heaven would send signs of its displeasure, such as earthquakes and floods. When the king lost the support of Heaven, others had the right to overthrow him. According to the Mandate of Heaven, what would happen if a king foolishly started a war that killed many of his people? Underline the evidence for your answer in the paragraph.
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The third great dynasty of Ancient China was the Qin Dynasty (pronounced “Chin). The Chin Dynasty ruled from 221 to 210 BCE. The emperor, or king, of the Qin Dynasty had many accomplishments during his reign. His most ambitious project was the building of the Great Wall along China’s northern border. The purpose of the wall was to protect the north China border from invasion. The Emperor of Qin set about building the wall like a general trying to win a war! Supply camps were set up to bring food and materials to the mountains and deserts of the northern frontier. Soldiers were posted to fight off bandits and to stop workers from running away. Thousands of Chinese were marched from their homes and forced to work on the wall. Construction of the wall took ten years. Tens of thousands of men died while working on the project, and their bodies were buried inside the wall. The Great Wall was effective and kept invaders out of the Qin kingdom. Do you think the Qin Emperor did the right thing? Tell me why or why not.
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The fourth great dynasty of Ancient China was the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty ruled from 206 BCE to 220 CE. Under the Han Dynasty, China enjoyed a “golden age,” a long period of stability and wealth. Education, literature, and art flourished. The Han army was powerful and well-organized. All men had to serve at least two years in the army. The soldiers had iron armor, iron swords, and crossbows. The Han Dynasty became very wealthy because of two main industries: salt and silk. Salt was valuable in ancient times because people used it to preserve food. The chemicals in salt kept food from rotting. The Han knew how to mine salt from under the ground. They also developed a foot-powered machine that allowed them to spin silk. No one outside of China knew how to make silk, so it was very valuable. The Han Dynasty opened trade routes that allowed the Chinese to trade with other ancient civilizations. These trade routes became known as the Silk Road.
How do you think the Silk Road got its name? How did the silk and salt trade help the Han Dynasty become powerful? Underline evidences from the paragraph for your answer.
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Directions: Make an illustrated timeline below (or on the back) that shows the reigns of each of China’s great dynasties. Each timeline event should have a date, a title (name of Dynasty), and a picture that represents something about the dynasty. Remember, BCE is Before Common Era and is the same as BC. CE is Common Era and the same as AD. Your timeline must have a zero on it.