Chapter 4: Ancient Chinese Civilization c. 1500 B.C.A.D. 589

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Chapter 4 Ancient Chinese Civilizationc. 1500
B.C.A.D. 589
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Section 1 Geographic and Cultural Influences

• The Story Continues
• Floodwater dashed up against the skies. . . .
• God issued a command allowing Yü to spread
• out the self-replacing soil so as to quell the
• floods in the Nine Provinces. This myth from
• Chinas remote past may reflect stories about
• the efforts of early rulers to control the
• floodwaters of the Huang Riverthe mighty
• river that has been central to Chinese
• civilization since earliest times.

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I. The Physical Setting

• China varies greatly in geography and climate -
  mountains, desert plateaus, low hills and
  valleys, and coastal plains

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A. Different Regions

• The Qinling Shandi mountain range divides
  northern and southern China

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A. Different Regions

• The Qinling Shandi separates the valleys of the
  Huang (Yellow) and the Chang (Yangtze) rivers

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A. Different Regions

• Northern China receives less rain and has more
  extreme temperatures

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A. Different Regions

• Northern Chinas growing season is shorter and
  wheat is the principal crop

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A. Different Regions

• Central and southern China receive more rainfall
  and rice is the main crop

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A. Different Regions

• The heart of China, called China Proper,
  stretches inland from the eastern seacoast

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A. Different Regions

• Three river systems flow through China Proper -
  the Huang, Chang, and Xi rivers

Chang ((Yangtze) 3917 miles, 3 Huang He
(Yellow) 3398 miles, 6 Xi Jiang 1376
miles, 53
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A. Different Regions

• During its history China has conquered and ruled
  Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Manchuria, and
  northern Korea

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A. Different Regions

• At times, nomads from these regions conquered and
  ruled China

Mongol Warriors
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B. The Rivers of China

• The Huang River valley has a fertile yellow soil
  called loess that discolors the river

Huang He (Yellow) River
Loess Plateau, China
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B. The Rivers of China

• The Huang is prone to terrible flooding and is
  nicknamed Chinas Sorrow

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B. The Rivers of China

• Earthen dikes were built higher and higher, but
  deposited silt caused continued flooding

Yellow River flooding in Shandong province
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B. The Rivers of China

• The Chang (Yangtze) River is deep and long,
  enabling ships to navigate hundreds of miles
  upstream

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B. The Rivers of China

• The Xi River, in southern China, is an important
  commercial waterway

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II. Chinas Isolation

• Great distances, mountains, and deserts isolated
  China, resulting in a distinct culture

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II. Chinas Isolation

• The Chinese had contact with nomadic and
  semi-nomadic peoples along their northern borders
  through trade and warfare

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II. Chinas Isolation

• The Chinese considered these people culturally
  inferior and called them barbarians

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II. Chinas Isolation

• Isolation gave the people a strong sense of
  identity and superiority China was the Middle
  Kingdom, the center of the world

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II. Chinas Isolation

• They believed that other people only became
  civilized when they adopted the Chinese language
  and culture

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II. Chinas Isolation

• Invaders often lost their identity over time and
  were absorbed into Chinas population