Geography of China

1. Geography of China

2. China was isolated. Why?

3. Would you want to cross these to get into China? Cliffs along Huang He in Gansu

4. 1. Natural Barriers a. Mountains: south- Himalayas west- Kunlun and Tien Shan b. Large deserts: north- Gobi west- Takla Makan c. Pacific Ocean- east

5. Impact of Isolation Ethnocentric society developed Ethnocentrism-the belief that your race or culture is better than all others. Called China “Zhongguo” or Middle Kingdom because they believed they were between Heaven and Earth.

6. 3. Population Distribution How people distribute themselves in an area • 96% of pop. live along coast and river valleys because 2/3 of China is mountains and deserts There’s farmable land along the coast and river valleys.

8. b. Modern China’s population: ~1.6 Billion people 1 Child Law- To control the population, Chinese families are only allowed to have one child. There are many exceptions.

9. 4. Agriculture • Only 11% of the land is arable. • Arable = farmable Farmers practice: 1. subsistence farming- producing just enough to meet your basic needs (little or no surplus) 2. terrace farming- carving steps into the sides of mountains for farming

11. 5. Rivers in China a. Huang He (Yellow River)- where the earliest Chinese civilization developed. -loess- fine, windblown soil, very fertile, settles in river causing flooding - known as “China’s Sorrow” because of flood damage

12. Xi River

13. b. Chang (Yangtze) 1. Longest river 2. commercial c. Xi (Si) 1. southern- most river 2. commercial

14. 6. Coastline • Long and irregular (jagged) with excellent harbors Used for trade and transportation

15. Ancient Chinese DYNASTIES

16. The 4 Ancient River Valley Civilizations

17. Shang Dynasty 1766-1027 BCE 1.

18. a. supervised flood control projects (Yellow R.) b. developed an accurate calendar

19. c. developed a form of writing ideographs- symbols that represent ideas Oracle Bones- pictograms on bone used to predict the future

20. The Evolution of ChineseWriting during the Shang Pictographs Ideographs

21. Zhou Dynasty 1027 - 256 BCE (“Joe”) 2.

22. Ancient Chinese DYNASTIES

23. The 4 Ancient River Valley Civilizations

24. Shang Dynasty 1766-1027 BCE 1.

25. a. supervised flood control projects (Yellow R.) b. developed an accurate calendar

26. c. developed a form of writing ideographs- symbols that represent ideas Oracle Bones- pictograms on bone used to predict the future

27. The Evolution of ChineseWriting during the Shang Pictographs Ideographs

28. Zhou Dynasty 1027 - 256 BCE (“Joe”) 2.

29. a. Philosophies of Confucianism, Legalism and Daoism developed b. Economy grew (because of iron) population grew c. Broke into warring states

30. d. Developed the Mandate of Heaven-a dynasty’s divine right to rule Dynastic Cycle- cycle of how dynasties rise and fall Ritual Food Vessel, bronze 11c BCE (Western Zhou)

31. A new dynasty comes to power. The emperorreforms the govt.& makes it moreefficient. Start here Lives of common people improved;taxes reduced;farming encouraged. Emperor isdefeated !! TheDynasticCycle Problems begin(extensive wars,invasions, etc.) Rebel bands findstrong leader whounites them.Attack the emperor. Poor loserespect for govt.They join rebels& attack landlords. Taxes increase;men forced towork for army.Farming neglected. Droughts,floods,famines occur. Govt. increasesspending; corruption.

32. Imperial Dynasties

33. 3. Qin Dynasty (“Cheeng”) 221 BCE

34. a. believed in Legalist principles b. united China & started Great Wall

35. c. Emperor Shi Huangdi’s Tomb with his Terra Cotta Army

36. Shi Huangdi’s Terra Cotta Army

38. 4. Han Dynasty 206 BCE – 220 CE

39. Used Civil Service Exam based on Confucian ideas - Emperor Wudi- improved life b. Made achievements in medicine (acupuncture), science and agriculture c. overthrown by foreign invasions

41. c. inventedpaper [105 B.C.E.] d. Est. Silk Road trade route

42. 5. Tang Dynasty (618 -907 CE) • spread Chinese culture in Asia b. The printing press, gunpowder, small pox vaccine, and

43. the earthquake detectorwas invented. Each of the eight dragons had a bronze ball in its mouth. Whenever there was even a slight earth tremor, a mechanism inside the seismograph would open the mouth of one dragon. The bronze ball would fall into the open mouth of one of the toads, making enough noise to alert someone that an earthquake had just happened. Imperial watchman could tell which direction the earthquake came from by seeing which dragon's mouth was empty.

44. 6. Song Dynasty (Sung) 960- 1279 CE • China experienced a “Golden Age” with a stable government • Culture flourished- grew & succeeded c. Silk Road grew - trade between China and the Fertile Crescent increased. It was 4,000 miles of harsh terrain.

46. 7. Yuan Dynasty (Mongol) 1279 -1368 CE

47. a. Kublai Khan (non-Chinese) ruled China b. Marco Polo visited China. Europeans became interested in China from his book. Kublai Khan Genghiz Khan Marco Polo

48. 8. Ming Dynasty 1369 – 1644 CE a. Revived arts and literature but isolated China when Europeans began developing advancing. Ming Vases, 18c Ming Painting and Calligraphy, early 16c

49. Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) China’s “Columbus?” Zheng He’s treasure ship was 400 ft. long in comparison to Columbus’ Santa Maria, which was 85 ft. long. That’s a BIG difference!

50. 9. Ch’ing Dynasty (Manchu) 1644 – 1911 CE a. The last of China’s dynastic families came from Manchuria b. Could not prevent Europeans from gaining power in China.