Xia dynasty first ? Shang clans documented in writing.

Warrior leaders near Yellow River. King/admin ruled core directly. Aristocrats &

royal family administered provinces. Distant areas, native rulers. Fought barbarians.

King intermediary between people and gods Zhou replaced Shang: Mandate of Heaven

100+ subject territories Zhou weakened – Eastern Zhou, then

“Warring States”

Early: agricultural with millet, pigs/chickens, stone tools.

Shang; trade networks developed bringing jade, ivory, mother-of-pearl – decorative. Possible contact with Mesopotamia.

Warring States: concept of private property. Land belongs to men/divided among sons.

Shang Worshiped male ancestors. Divination using oracle bones; court ritual; sacrifices. Bronze vessels to gain support of gods

Zhou Decline in divination/ritual/sacrifices. Priests’ power

reduced. More secular philosophies Feng shui

Philosophies Legalism: need strict rules because people are bad Confucianism (Kongzi): Hierarchy innate – human behavior

should reflect this. Know your place. Venerate ancestors/elders; parallel state & family relationships.

Daoism (Laozi): Follow the “path.” Accept the world; take minimal action. Passive. Believes world is always changing – no absolute morality/meaning – understand “path.”

Yin & Yang: Idea of balance in nature. Justifies differences between men & women.

Shang: warrior aristocracy Possession of bronze indicated

authority/nobility. Scribes an elite class. Warring States: 3-generation family

fundamental unit. Father @ head: rituals, authority, arrange

marriages, sell labor of family. Women: wives and concubines. Little

status. Marriage as political alliance.

Rice cultivation Pottery (later porcelain) & potter’s

wheel/kiln. Pounded earth walls. Bronze metalworking, then iron. Horse-drawn chariots (from Middle East?) Domesticated water buffalo – labor Engineering/human labor led to cities,

defensive walls, tombs. Writing system – pictograms & phonetics. Made silk Astrology Gunpowder (fireworks @ first…)

Earthen dikes/channels, reservoirs to control water. Retaining walls for tiers; rice paddies.

Beginnings of Great Wall Buildings of wood, some stone (high

status), dirt (dug out of hills, mud brick) Bronze ritual vessels, mirrors, bells…

jade/ivory/mother of pearl jewelry & decorative figurines.

Calligraphy an art – needed to learn thousands of characters

Isolated by Himalayas, Pamir & Tian Mts., Takla Makan Desert, Gobi Desert, Mongolian Steppe, & Pacific Ocean.

Major rivers: Huang He (Yellow) and Yangzi. Flow west to east.

Eastern section better for agriculture – west dryer/colder. East more densely populated. South gets more rain.

Resources: stone, timber, minerals. North: loess soil is fertile & soft. Lots of

silt in Yellow River results in damaging floods (“China’s Sorrow”).