The Foundations of Chinese

Civilization:
Ancestors, Dynasties, and Writing (Shang
and Zhou)
 Today’s topics
• Chinese Geography: The Basics
• Ruler, Heaven and Man
• The concept of Wen （文）
Chinese
Geography:
The Basics

Land mass
Chinese
Geography:
The Basics

Topography
Chinese
Geography:
The Basics

Major
waterways
•Yellow
River
•Yangtze
River
(Long
River)
Chinese
Geography:
The Basics

Regions
•Temperate
•Sub-
tropical
•Tropical
 Think-Pair-Share
• How might China’s physical
geography have affected the way
China developed as a civilization?
(Make an educated guess, based on what you’ve
just learned).
 Ruler and people
• Dynasty:
– Rule by a single clan
– handed down through the father-son
lineage of that clan
– Set pattern for later periods
Timeline of Chinese History
Chinese Dynasties Europe
– Xia, Shang
– Zhou Ancient
– Han Roman
Empire
– Period of Division
– Sui Medieval
– Tang
– Song
– Yuan Early Modern
– Ming
Renaissance
– Qing Late imperial
 Timeline of Early Chinese
History

• Xia dynasty: 2205?-1554? B. C.

• Shang dynasty: 1554?-1045/1040 B.
C
• Western Zhou: 1045/1040-771 B. C
• Eastern Zhou:
– Spring and Autumn: 722-481 B. C
– The Warring States: 403-221 B. C
Heaven, gods and ancestors

• Importance of Ancestors
– Past as source of biological, political and
religious identity
– Ancestral rituals showed extent of
ruler’s power over the living
 Heaven, gods and ancestors:
“Di” and “Heaven”
• “Di” (Shang) • Heaven (Zhou)
– Highest deity in the – Not at all
pantheon anthropomorphic
– May have been a – Far removed from
divinized ancestor human realm
– Not always – Agent of good &
benevolent order
– Very distant & – Very distant, but
awe-inspiring not as fearsome as
Di
 Ruler and people
• No separation between religious and
political responsibilities
– Communication with spirits, ancestors
– Link between heaven and earth

• Religious authority as political

authority
– Political stability
– Maintain clan authority, social order
 Ruler and authority: Oracle
bones
• Divination
• Ruler’s access to truth, ability to communicate
with heaven and ancestors
Oracle bones
 Mandate of Heaven
• A ruler and a dynasty’s virtuous
conduct justifies his/its hold on power

• If a formerly virtuous dynasty

becomes unjust, it lays itself open to
rebellion

• Maintaining the Mandate requires

constant self-review and self-
correction
 “Minute Paper”
• Write for one minute on the following
question:
• Why was lineage so important in
early China?

Your response will be counted as an in-class

exercise for credit. Please be sure to put
your name, date and section number on
your paper and turn it in to the correct box
in the back of the room before you leave.
 Wen 文 :
Meanings and Significance
• “Pattern” (original meaning)
– Patterns in nature
• e.g. tiger stripes
– Human patterns
• e.g. decoration on bronze vessels
• “Writing or script”, i.e., “patterns” of
language (late Shang-early Zhou)
 Wen 文
• “Culture” or “civilized”
– wen (civil affairs) and wu 武 (military
affairs)
Religion and politics
Religion and politics
Wen
Compare and contrast
 Summary
• What three main things should you
remember from this session?