Chapter 5: Ancient China Notes
- Geography and Beginning of Ancient China:
-South China, warm and wet (monsoons), North China very dry
-Himalaya Mountains, Pacific Ocean, and Gobi Desert cut off China- believed they were center of the world (“Middle Kingdom")
-Rivers birthplace of civilization- Huang He (Yellow) and Chang Jiang (Yangzi), good for farming, Huang He also brought sorrow with flooding
Beginnings of China:
-Shang Dynasty was first known, family was center of society
-Up to 5 generations living together (extended family)
-Oldest man center of authority (decided everything), women governed by men (father, husband, son)
-Women should be moral, modest, have proper speech and domestic skills
-First people to use 2 names (last name first, the family name)
- Confucius:
-Confucius was a teacher, self-taught, wanted to teach his views of life and government
-Goal was to bring peace, stability, and order to Chinese society by persuading the rulers not to fight
-Taught people to behave properly to one another, know your place in society and family, respect everyone, treat others equally, people of power set good examples (Summary; "Golden Rule")
-His teachings were the basis for training members of government (civilservice), take exams based on Confucianism
-Believed his life was a failure, teachings became a philosophy after he died, but for many functions as a religion
- Chinese Rulers and Dynasties:
Qin Dynasty: (lasted about 15 years)
-ruler Shi Huangdi- (First Emperor), harsh dynasty, cruel ruler
-unified China by creating a common currency and laws, outlawed ideas of Confucius
-built The Great Wall of China
Han Dynasty: (lasted about 400 years)
-ruler Liu Bang- created a stable gov't, created a civil service (educate people to work for gov't), not very harsh ruler
-ruler Wudi- focused on war and military, he ruled for more than 50 years
- Achievements of China:
-Silk Road- traded with Central Asia (new foods), all the way to the Mediterranean Sea
-Silk was being made in China, desired by other civilizations (trade silk for horses, glass, other cloth)
-Han Dynasty- advances in art, literature and technology (first dictionary, iron tools, paper, wheelbarrow)
-Other achievements in medicine (plant medicine, knowledge about blood, acupuncture and anesthetics)
-People in China today call themselves the “Children of Han” because they want to be connected to such a great dynasty
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