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Early Society in East Asia. World’s Oldest Continuous Civilization. By 5000 B.C.E. we see neolithic communities. Rice and Millet were grown at first, then wheat and barley. Rivers: Yellow (Huang He), Yangzi (Chang Jiang). Yellow: Loess Changes path Floods “China’s Sorrow”.
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Rivers: Yellow (Huang He), Yangzi (Chang Jiang)
Yellow: • Loess • Changes path • Floods • “China’s Sorrow”
Xia Dynasty 2200 B.C.E
Hereditary monarchical rule • Sage-king Yu • Flood control projects • Encouraged cities and metallurgy (bronze)
Shang Dynasty 1766 B.C.E.
First written records in China • Used bronze for weapons (elite control) • Horse-drawn chariots • Large military
Shang kings controlled over 1000 towns • Cities were important • City walls thick and tall • Kings’ tombs contain 1000s of objects, animals, and people!
Zhou Dynasty 1122 B.C.E.
Mandate of Heaven, Dynastic Cycle • Nobles given land for military service(like feudalism) • Rule was decentralized
Iron use and invasion led to the Period of Warring States= 403-221 B.C.E.
Social Structure: • 1.Royal Family and Nobles • 2.Specialized labor • 3.Merchants/Traders • 4.Peasants • 5.Slaves
Family and Patriarchy: • Veneration of Ancestors • Eldest male was head of household • At first women had some prominent roles, then completely overshadowed
Religion: • Organized religion not important • Didn’t have priests like other civilizations • Myths and legends • Polytheistic • Ancestor worship
Writing: • Secular • Oracle bones • Characters=Pictograph whole word/idea
Books of poetry and history • Essays dealing with moral, religious, and political themes • Book of Changes, History, Etiquette, Rites
Book of Songs: 311 poems, after 600 B.C.E. • Many works deteriorated or destroyed
Steppe Nomads: • Herders not farmers • Used horses • Intermediaries for trade • Fought with Chinese
Yangzi Valley: • “Long river” • complex irrigation systems for rice • Societies much like those on Yellow, State of Chu