East Asia

The Early River Valley Civilization

of the Yellow River (Huang River)

Objective:
Students will learn about the early history
of the Chinese civilization, including
history, achievements, and power.

The Yellow River (Huang River)

1,500 years after the
city of Ur
(Mesopotamia) was
beginning and 1,000
years after the
planned cities of the
Indus valley, the
Yellow River Valley
Civilization
flourished.

Natural Barriers
Natural barriers isolated China from other civilizations. To
the east is the Pacific ocean. To the west lay the
Taklimakan desert and the icy 14,000 foot Plateau of Tibet.
To the North lies the desolate Gobi Desert and the
Mongolian Plateau.
The two rivers in the area are the Yellow river and the
Yangtze in central China.
About 90% of the remaining land that is suitable for
farming lies within the comparatively small plain between
these rivers.

National Pride
Due to this isolation, the
Chinese had little contact
with foreigners. This led
to a strong sense of
identity and superiority.
They regarded China as
the only civilized land,
calling it Zhongguo, or
Middle Kingdom,
referring to it as the center
of the world.

Dynasties
Humans have inhabited
China for about a million
years.
The First Dynasties Before the Sumerians
settled in southern
Mesopotamia, early
Chinese cultures were
building farming
settlements along the
Yellow river.

Xia Peoples
The first dynasty in China
was the Xia.
Its leader was a
mathematician and
engineer named Yu.
Yu started flood control
systems and irrigation
projects to control the
Yellow river.

Shang Dynasty
1750-1500 B.C. Invaders
called the Shang swept
into the Huang River
Valley.
Introduced irrigation and
flood-control systems into
the region.
By controlling these
systems, the Shang could
more easily control the
regions people.

Shang Government
Created a complex bureaucracy:
government organized into different
levels and tasks.
A hereditary King ruled over all land
in the kingdom
War chariots and bronze weapons
were used to defend against invaders.
Military might and well-organized
government allowed the Shang to
gain territory.

Shang Economy and handicrafts

Economy was based
mainly on agriculture:
millet and rice.
Raised silkworms so that
they could spin thread
from the cocoons and
wove silk cloth from the
thread.

Artisans
Artisans
worked in
bone, ivory,
and jade.
Pottery and
ceramic art
was very
popular.

Astronomy and the calendar

Two calendars: one
based on the sun and one
based on the moon.
Moon Calendar: record
of private and public
events.
Planting was determined
by the calendar. A good
harvest meant popularity
for the king. Therefore
the priest-astronomers
were important.

Religion

Combined animism (the belief

that spirits inhabit everything)
with ancestor worship
Dragon became symbol of
Chinese rulers
They also worshipped gods of
the wind, sun, clouds, and
moon. POLYTHEISTIC
The Shang also believed in
Shangdi, a great god who
controlled human destiny and
forces of nature.

Religion
Oracle Bones: the
shoulder bones of
cattle or tortoise
shells.
The priests heated the
bones and interpreted
the cracks that would
appear.

Language and Writing.

Many dialects were spoken.
The Chinese method of writing, each character
stands for an idea, not a sound.
People in all parts of China could learn the same
system of writing.
To be barely literate one had to know 1,000
characters. (Not just 26 letters)

Language and Writing

Writing was limited to
a small number of
specialists: clerks,
scribes, and teachers.
It demanded much
study and practice,
therefore workers, had
little time for such
luxury.

Social Classes
The civilization was
sharply divided between
nobles and peasants.
These noble families
owned the land.
They would send tribute to
the Shang ruler in exchange
for local control.

Family
The family was central to
Chinese society. The most
important virtue was respect
for ones parents.
Women were treated as
inferiors.
When a girl was between 13
and 16 years old, her
marriage was arranged.

The Fall of the Shang Dynasty

1200B.C. : Herders from the harsh Gobi desert
and the Tian Shan foothills began moving in and
settling along the borders.
The Shang were almost continuously fighting
them off.
The extended military efforts exhausted the Shang
rulers.

The Fall
1050 B.C
The Zhou formed an
alliance and
overthrew the
Shang, claiming the
Shang were corrupt
and unfit to rule.

Works Cited
Holt. World History: The Human
Journey. Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, Austin. 2003
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