Notes _ China (1).docx

📖CONCEPT / SUB-CONCEPTS Introduction: China is the world’s largest nation in terms of population, and one of the oldest continuing civilizations, going back more than six thousand years ago. It has the world’s oldest written language, continuously used, unlike cuneiform and other ancient languages...

📖CONCEPT / SUB-CONCEPTS Introduction: China is the world’s largest nation in terms of population, and one of the oldest continuing civilizations, going back more than six thousand years ago. It has the world’s oldest written language, continuously used, unlike cuneiform and other ancient languages which are no longer used. Its four greatest inventions - paper, printing, gunpowder, and the compass- are still in use today. China’s cultural influence extends beyond its boundaries, because the Chinese people, religion, culture and the language are found in Japan, Korea, Indochina, Philippines and Chinese communities around the world. China’s name came from the Qin (Chin) emperor (221 BC), and persians and Indians knew the country as “cin” or “cina”. Other names of China in history were “sinae,” or “sino.” Filipinos call it “Tsina,” and refer to the Chinese as “intsik,” or “singkit” (slant-eyed). Mandarin Chinese call their country “Zhongguo”, meaning “middle kingdom” (Central Nation). It is like saying that they are the center of the world. China’s history comprises a total of 10 dynasties (a sequence of rulers from the same family or group) that successfully ruled the country. Figure 1. Map of China Capital Beijing Location East Asia Population At the end of 2021, China's population was 1.413 billion Official Language Mandarin Chinese Religions Buddhism, Christianism, Taoism, Islam Government One-party communist dictatorship Currency Chinese Yuan/renminbi Nationality Chinese People Geographical Features of China Geographical Features found in China Image Location 1. Rivers Huang He/Yellow River Yangtze River Yellow River Yangtze River - Eastern Qinghai Province, China - rises in the mountains of Qinghai province of China, on the Tibetan plateau, and flows 6,300km to reach the East China Sea at Shanghai. 2. Desert Gobi Desert Taklamakan Desert Gobi Desert Taklamakan Desert - Northern and Northeastern part of China - Southwest Xinjiang in Northwest China 3. Mountain Ranges Himalayas Mountain Ranges Kunlun Mountain Himalayas Mountain Ranges Kunlun Mountain - Tibet Autonomous Region of China - Kunlun Mountains start at the eastern Pamir plateau, traverse Xinjiang and Tibet, and extend to Qinghai. Climate of China China's climate varies from bitter cold in winter to unbearable heat in summer. The Yangtze River serves as China's official dividing line between north and south. Given the size and varied landscape of the country, there is no one time in the year when Chinese weather is ideal. Of course, the warmest areas in winter are to be found in the South and Southwest, such as Sichuan, Banna in Yunnan, and Hainan Island. In summer the coolest spots are in the far northeast. Part of China Climate 1. North China - Northern winters, from December to March, can be extremely cold. Beijing generally experiences a temperature of -20C, dry and no sun. Further north, temperatures reaching -40C are not uncommon - During the summer, from May to August, temperatures in Beijing can hit 38C (100F), coinciding with the rainy season for the city. 2. Central China - Winters there, with temperatures dropping well below freezing, can be as cold as in Beijing, particularly as there is no heating in public buildings south of the Yangtze. 3. South China - The summer is a season of typhoons between July and September. Temperatures can rise to around 38C. Winters are short, between January and March. It's not as cold as in the north, but you'd better bring warm clothes with you while visiting. - Autumn and spring can be good times to visit, with day temperatures in the 20C to 25C (68F to 75F) range. Sometimes, it can be miserably wet and cold, with rain or drizzle. 4. Northwest China - It gets hot in summer, dry and sunny. The desert regions can be scorching in the daytime. Turpan, which sits in a depression 150m below sea level, is referred to as the 'hottest place in China' with maximums of around 47C. - In winter this region is as severely cold as the rest of northern China. Temperatures in Turpan during Winter are only slightly more favorable to human existence. - This area of China experiences little rain, and as a consequence, the air is very dry. Summers, however, can exceed 40C, while winters may drop to -10C. List of Chinese Contributions to the World The Four Greatest Chinese Contributions to the World: Paper Printing Gunpowder Compass Other Chinese Inventions, Discoveries, and Monuments: Abacus calculator Agricultural cultivation of rice, millet, soybeans and tea Agricultural implements - triangular plow, iron plow, wheelbarrow, winnowing fan, seed drill, irrigation pumps. Architecture - pagoda and stupa (also claimed by India), building bracket, open spandrel segmented arch bridge, suspension bridge, canal locks, four entrances (North, South, East, and West0 Beverages : Beer, tea, etc. Burial coffins, jade burial suits, burial urns Calendar of animal zodiac and lunar calendar Calligraphy Chopsticks, spoon, and fork Civil Service Exams for professional and government employees Fireworks Fuel - coal, petroleum oil, natural gas in cylinders Housewares – rotary fan air conditioning, door handle, locks, toothbrush, mirrors, umbrella, fan, etc. Mathematics - positive and negative numbers, decimal fractions, parallelograms, spherical trigonometry Silk, silk loom and silk industry Instructions: Read and understand the Xia and Shang Dynasties below and take note of the important events and people. HISTORY OF CHINA Xia Dynasty The Xia Dynasty(c. 2070-1600 BCE) was the first government to emerge in ancient China and the first to adopt the policy of dynastic succession. Consequently, the Xia was the first dynasty of China. Long regarded as a mythical construct of later Chinese historians, 20th-century excavations uncovered sites which corresponded to descriptions in earlier historians' accounts. The Xia Dynasty was overthrown by the Shang Dynasty (c.1600-1046 BCE), a more historically certain governmental entity, which was in turn overthrown by the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE). The Rise of the Xia According to historians like Sima Qian (145-86 BCE), there was once a great ruler named Huang-ti (also Huangdi, `emperor') better known as the Yellow Emperor who emerged from the tribal system prehistoric China to rule the region of Shandong between 2697-2597 BCE. The Yellow Emperor created Chinese culture and established a form of government which would last for centuries. He is credited with inventing musical instruments, developing the production of silk, instituting law and customs, and the development of medicine and agriculture. Upon his death, he was buried in Huangling County, Shaanxi Province in the mausoleum which is today a popular tourist attraction. Huang-ti was succeeded by his grandson Zhuanxu, one of the famous Five Emperors, who founded the Xia tribe. After defeating their rivals, the Xia established the first dynasty in China under the leadership of the Emperor Yao. Yao ordered great palaces to be built and small villages of huts grew into urban centers. He is considered a great philosopher-king who ruled his people wisely and worked in their best interests following the precepts of Huang-ti. The Flood Yao had a serious problem during his reign in controlling the flooding of the Yellow River which disrupted agriculture as well as drowning or displacing his people. He appointed a man named Gun (revered as a demi-god in many accounts) to take care of this situation. Gun tried for nine years to stop the flooding but every year the waters grew stronger and more lands were covered and people killed. Finally, Gun constructed a series of dykes which he hoped would hold back the water but the dykes collapsed, causing further destruction and death. Yao had relinquished rule by this time to his successor Yu Shun who was not pleased at Gun's failure to control the waters. According to some versions of the tale, Gun then killed himself while according to others he was imprisoned by Yu Shun and still others report he exiled himself to the mountains. After he was gone, Emperor Shun appointed Gun's son Yu to complete the work and stop the flooding. Yu the Great Yu learned from his father's mistakes: Gun had tried to do too much by himself, had underestimated his need for help, and had overestimated his own abilities. He had also acted without respect for the forces of nature and had worked against the water instead of working with it. Yu enlisted the aid of the surrounding tribes and had them construct canals which would work with the water to lead it out toward its own kind in the sea. Yu's project lasted thirteen years and he was so dedicated to his task that he never visited his home once, even though he passed by it three times in his work. Yu's wife and young son would call out to him as he passed and his colleagues would encourage him to go home for a rest but Yu would not abandon his task until it was completed. He claimed there were many who were homeless, who had lost their own wives and children to the flooding, and he did not feel he should rest until the problem was solved. His single-mindedness and dedication to his work inspired those around him who looked up to him as a role model and worked harder until the waters of the river were contained and there were no more floods. Once the water problem had been solved, Shun was very proud of Yu and placed him in command of his army. Yu led his men against the Sanmiao, a tribe hostile to the Xia who continuously raided their borders. He defeated the San Miao and drove them from the land and, as a reward for his victories, Shun declared him heir to the throne. Yu's rule is considered the beginning of the Xia Dynasty and he is known as Yu the Great not only for his victories over the flood and the Sanmiao but for the establishment of a stable central government and the organization of the country into nine provinces to make governing such an enormous area more manageable. Death of Yu & Decline of Xia Yu ruled for 45 years and, on his deathbed, named his son Qi as his successor. Qi had been a young boy during the time of the great flood and many people loved him for the story of how his father refused to return home until the flooding had been stopped and how young Qi bore his father's absence so well. Yu had intended to name his minister as successor, not wishing his son to have the burden of rule, but so many people favored Qi that Yu had no choice. In naming Qi his successor, Yu initiated the policy of dynastic succession.Qi's son, Tai Kang, was a poor ruler but many of his successors were highly skilled and numerous inventions and innovations are attributed to the later Xia, such as the development of armor in warfare and rules of chivalry in battle. The fourth ruler after Qi was the great hero Shao Kang who revitalized the country and is well known through the many legends which tell his tales. The Xia Dynasty began to decline under the rule of Kong Jia (c. 1789 -1758 BCE) who cared more for strong drink than the responsibilities of rule. He was succeeded by Gao who was succeeded by Fa, neither of whom did a great deal to improve the lives of anyone but themselves. The last emperor was Jie (1728-1675 BCE) who was known as a tyrant and who lost the mandate of heaven (also known as Heaven’s mandate, was the divine source of authority and the right to rule of China’s early kings and emperors (Stated also in Dynastic Cycle) to rule). He was overthrown by Tang who established the Shang Dynasty Shang Dynasty The Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE) was the second dynasty of China, which succeeded the Xia Dynasty (c. 2700-1600 BCE) after the overthrow of the Xia tyrant Jie by the Shang leader, Tang. Since many historians question whether the Xia Dynasty really existed, the Shang Dynasty may have actually been the first in China and the origin of Chinese culture. The stability of the country during the Shang Dynasty led to numerous cultural advances such as industrialised bronze casting, the calendar, religious rituals, and writing. The first king, Tang, instantly began to work for the people of his country instead of for his own pleasure and luxury and provided a role model for his successors. These men created a stable government, which would continue for 600 years, but eventually, according to the records of the Chinese historians, they lost the Mandate of Heaven which allowed them to rule. The Shang were overthrown by King Wu of Zhou in 1046 BCE who founded the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE). The Zhou would be the last before the Qin Dynasty (221-210 BCE) which unified China and gave it its name. By the time of the Zhou and Qin dynasties, Chinese culture was already formed, so if one discounts the Xia Dynasty as a politically motivated fabrication of later historians, one must conclude that the Shang Dynasty is responsible for the foundations of Chinese culture and civilization. If one accepts the Xia as historical reality, then it was still during the Shang Dynasty that the most important aspects of the culture were developed. King Tang of Shang Tang ruled the kingdom of Shang, a vassal state under the higher rule of the Xia Dynasty. His years of rule are disputed. Historian Joshua J. Mark notes how "The dates popularly assigned to him (1675-1646 BCE) do not in any way correspond to the known events in which he took part and must be considered erroneous." The last emperor of the Xia Dynasty, Jie, was a tyrant who lived for his own pleasure at the expense of his people. Tang endured this treatment as long as he could for the sake of harmony and peace and because, most of all, it was believed that the Xia ruled according to the mandate of heaven, the principle that the gods gave certain people the right to rule over others. Eventually, Tang came to see that Xia had lost the mandate and led his people in revolt. At the Battle of Mingtiao, fought in the midst of a huge rainstorm of thunder and lightning, Tang defeated Jie. Jie ran from the field and sought safety in exile, eventually dying from an illness. Tang abolished Jie's tyrannical policies and excessive taxes and instituted a new government, which worked for the people instead of against them. Although Tang, and his successors, kept a standing army of around 1,000 troops at the ready, he lowered the number of conscripts and the amount of time one needed to serve. He also began government-funded social programs for the poor. One of these included giving specially marked gold coins to poor people who had needed to sell their children to survive a famine; the coin was issued so they could buy their children back. The country suffered from famine a number of times during Tang's reign but was on the whole very prosperous. The Shang initiated the technique of hangtu ('stamped-earth') in constructing these cities. Wintle explains that hangtu "involves compacting soil, usually with up-ended logs or beams, into a hard base which is then used as a platform upon which to erect wooden edifices, or built up using the same process to form walls and ramparts. Its appearance, especially in the north of China, denotes considerable manpower resources" (11). The use of hangtu, and the ornate tombs and public building projects of the Shang, all point to political stability and a thriving economy which allowed people the freedom from subsistence farming to participate in such projects. The best example of this can be seen in the city of Erligang in Zhengzhou. Shang’s Contributions: The Calendar, Writing & Music The traditional Chinese calendar was lunar, based on the moon, but the farmers needed a solar calendar so they could tell when the best times were to plant and harvest their crops. During the Shang Dynasty a man named Wan-Nien measured time over a one-year period by measuring the shadows throughout a day using a sun-dial and a water clock. He established the two solstices of the year and, after that, the two equinoxes and so created the calendar known as the Wan-lien-li or the "perpetual calendar". Before Wan-Nien, the Chinese believed there were 354 days in a year, but Wan-Nien proved there are 365. The exact date of Wan-Nien's work is unknown but when it comes to the invention of writing there is a little more certainty. Writing developed in China gradually through the use of oracle bones. Oracle bones were shells of turtles or bones of animals, which were used in divination. If a person wanted to know their future they would go to a fortune-teller who would carve a question on a bone or shell. If one wanted to know whether to attend a friend's wedding, the fortune teller would write "I will go to my friend's wedding" on one part of the shell and "I will not go to my friend's wedding" on another part. These were not necessarily words but could have been symbols, pictograms. The shell or bone would then be placed in a fire until it cracked. The fortune-teller would interpret that crack to answer the question. Correct sequence of the Dynasties that ruled in China. 1 2100-1600 BCE Xia 6 581-618 CE Sui 2 1600-1050 BCE Shang 7 618-907 CE Tang 3 1050-221 BCE Chou 8 980-1279 CE Sung 4 221-206 BCE Ch’in 9 1279-1368 CE Yuan 5 206 BCE - 220 CE Han 10 1368-1644 CE Ming Other dynasties can be found in your Civics book. Please refer to the page number below. 1. The Zhou or Chou Dynasty Pp. 139-141 2. The Qin or Ch'in Dynasty Pp. 141-143 3. The Han Dynasty Pp. 143-145 4. The Sui Dynasty P. 146 5. The T’ang Dynasty Pp. 146-147 6. The Sung Dynasty Pp. 147-148 7. The Yuan Dynasty Pp. 148-149 8. The Ming Dynasty Pp. 149-152