Ancient+China

Clark, Rhiannon and Meyer, Emily 3000B.C.-A.D.500

At sight of worth, think to grow like it. When evil meets thee, search thine own heart. -Confucius

China's geography was based mainly around the China proper, it had the largest population. The Haung He river is one of the best known rivers. It is called the "River of Sorrows" because it has caused much death and destruction. The second major river is the Yangtze river. The Chinese people called there land the middle kingdom meaning it was the center of the world. China has a very large size alot of territory, but like most societies a lot of the population lived close to the water because it was a source of life and ships were used alot of the time for travel.

The reign of kings in this country where called Dynasties. They consisted of the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties. The Xia dynasty was debated as the first ever Chinese Civilization because there are not many records from that time period. But, the Shang Dynasty is called the first historical dynasty. The kings from that time period, cut off the heads of people to show that they had power. Aristocracy was the main form of government in the period. In the Zhou Dynasty the Mandate of heaven came into view, it states that the power to rule comes from heaven, but it can be taken if you defeat the ruler, then you could claim the mandate of heaven. Confucius also lived during the Zhou Dynasty, he was a creator of Confucianism a major religon in China. The Qin Dynasty had the first emperor of China who was also known as the Chinese Caesar.The great wall was also built then to keep the mongols out of China, and the legendary Terra Cotta army was created to guard the King in his tomb. The Han dynasty created it's self on Confucius teachings.

Natrualism was the workings of nature and cosmic principles, it also included Dualism which where the two sides of nature. The Yin, was the female, dark, cold, and passive. and the Yang mend Male, light, hot, and active. Buddhism is practiced and it is where Buddha was seen as a god. The peoples beliefs are based on these topics.
 * __Five Key Terms from Ancient China__:**
 * 1) __Aristocracy__ - An aristocrat is an upperclass whose wealth is based on land and whose power is passed on from one generation to another.**
 * 2) __Oracle Bones__ - Oracle bones are groups of inscribed animal bones and shells discovered in China and used originally in divination by the ancient chinese, especially during the Shang Dynasty.**
 * 3) __Mandate of Heaven__ - The mandate of heavan is a claim by the Chinese Kings of the Zhou dynasty that they had direct authority from heaven to rule and keep order in the universe.**
 * 4) __Filial Piety__ The duty of family members to subordinate their needs to those of the male head of the family, a concept important in Confucianism.**
 * 5) __Legalism__ - Ideographs are a combination of two or more pictographs. A popular philosophy developed in China toward the end of the Zhous dynasty, it proposes that human beings are evil by nature and can only be brought to the correct path by harsh laws.**


 * __Five Important People from Ancient China__:**
 * 1) __Han Wadi__ : “Warrior Emperor” He was the most famous Han Emperor. He conquered Korea, Manchuria, and Vietnam. He also stopped invading Huns in 140 BC.**
 * 2) __Quin Shih Huang T__ : He was the first emperor of China, also known as, the “Chinese Caesar” He ruled from 221 BC to 207 BC.**
 * 3) __Confucius__ : Confucious was a Chinese philosopher who lived during Zhou Dynasty. He was called “The Master Kung” or “The First Teacher”. He lived from 551 BC to 478 BC.**
 * 4) __Fu Hao__ : Fu Hao was Wu Ding’s wife, and the greatest Shang General. She helped stategize many wars and, lived from 1750 BC to 1122 BC.**
 * 5) __Liu Pang__ : Also known as “Exalted Emperor of Han”, Liu Pang, led a revolt against Chin Dyn from 202 BC to 220 AD.**

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Links to other websites... Discovery Channel Chinese Religion and Philosophy--This website contains information about different Chinese religions and philosophies. Ancient China Timeline--This website has a timeline of many important eventst that took place in Ancient China. Ancient Chinese Inventions--This website explains different inventions during different time periods in a chart formation. Ancient China Maps--This website has different maps of different dynasties from ancient china. Ancient Chinese Coins--Chinese developed a system of coins used as a form of payment. At this website you can see pictures of different coins from ancient china and when they were in use.

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Timeline: 2205 B.C. - Xia Dynasty began 1766 B.C. - Shang Dynasty began 1050 B.C. - Zhou Dynasty began 551 B.C. - Confucius was born 256 B.C. - Qin Dynasty began 221 B.C. - Quin shih Huang T becam ethe first emperor of China 210 B.C. - Terra Cotta Army built to serve emperor after his death 206 B.C. - Han Dynasty began 202 B.C. - Liu Pang led a revolt against the Chin Dynasty 140 B.C. - Han Wadi stopped the invading Huns