CChina’s hina’s FFirst irst CCivilizationsivilizations

What’s the Connection?In earlier chapters, you learned

that many civilizations developed in river valleys. The civilizations ofChina also began in river valleys.However, other features of the land,such as mountains and deserts,affected China’s history as well.

Focusing on the • Rivers, mountains, and deserts helped

shape China’s civilization. (page 225)

• Rulers known as the Shang becamepowerful because they controlledland and had strong armies. (page 226)

• Chinese rulers claimed that theMandate of Heaven gave them the right to rule. (page 229)

Locating PlacesHuang He (HWAHNG HUH)Chang Jiang (CHAHNG JYAHNG) Anyang (AHN•YAHNG)

Meeting PeopleWu Wang (WOO WAHNG)

Building Your Vocabularydynasty (DY•nuh•stee)aristocrat (uh•RIHS•tuh•KRAT)pictograph (PIHK•tuh•GRAF)ideograph (IH•dee•uh•GRAF)bureaucracy (byu•RAH•kruh•see)mandate (MAN•DAYT)Dao (DOW)

Reading StrategySummarizing Information Completea chart like the one below describingthe characteristics of the Shang andZhou dynasties.

c. 1750 B.C.Shang dynastybegins

1045 B.C. Wu Wangcreates Zhoudynasty

221 B.C.Qin dynastybegins

LuoyangAnyang

1750 B.C. 975 B.C. 200 B.C.1750 B.C. 975 B.C. 200 B.C.

224 CHAPTER 7 Early China

ZhouDynasty

ShangDynasty

Dates

Leadership

Accomplishments

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China’s GeographyRivers, mountains, and deserts helped

shape China’s civilization.

Reading Focus Why do you think so many cities and

towns were built beside rivers? Read to learn why rivers

were important to the development of China.

The Huang He (HWAHNG HUH), orYellow River, flows across China for morethan 2,900 miles (4,666 km). It gets its namefrom the rich yellow soil it carries fromMongolia to the Pacific Ocean.

Like rivers in early Mesopotamia andEgypt, China’s Huang He flooded the land.The flooding was good and bad for theChinese. When the river overflowed, many

people drowned and many homes weredestroyed. As a result, the Chinese calledthe Huang He “China’s sorrow.”

The river, however, also brought a gift.When the river flooded, it left behind richtopsoil in the Huang He valley. As a result,farmers could grow large amounts of foodon very small farms.

China also has another great river,called the Chang Jiang (CHAHNG JYAHNG),or the Yangtze River. The Chang Jiang iseven longer than the Huang He. It flows for about 3,400 miles (5,471 km) east across central China where it empties into theYellow Sea. Like the Huang He valley, thevalley of the Chang Jiang also has rich soil for farming.

CHAPTER 7 Early China 225

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The Geography of China

While the country of China has one ofthe world’s largest populations, little ofits land can be farmed.1. What is the name of the desert on

China’s northern border near Mongolia?2. What effect did China’s mountains and

deserts have on its history?Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

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Anyang

226 CHAPTER 7 Early China

The Shang probably built the firstChinese cities.1. What rivers were found within

the borders of the Shang dynasty? 2. In what part of the Shang

kingdom was Anyang found?

Even though China has rich soil alongits rivers, only a little more than one-tenthof its land can be farmed. That is becausemountains and deserts cover most of theland. The towering Himalaya close offChina to the southwest. The Kunlun Shanand Tian Shan are mountain ranges onChina’s western border. The Gobi, a vast,cold, rocky desert, spreads east from themountains. These mountains and desertsshaped much of Chinese history. They werelike a wall around the Chinese, separatingthem from most other peoples.

Over time, the Chinese people united toform one kingdom. They called their home-land “the Middle Kingdom.” To them, itwas the world’s center and its leading civi-lization. The Chinese developed a way oflife that lasted into modern times.

Identify Name two riversimportant to early Chinese civilizations.

Shang empire,c. 1750-1045 B.C.

KEY

The Shang DynastyRulers known as the Shang became

powerful because they controlled land and hadstrong armies.

Reading Focus Who are the leaders in your commu-

nity? What gives them their power? Read to learn

why some people in early China had more power than

others.

Little is known about how Chinese civi-lization began. Archaeologists, however,have found pottery in the Huang He valleydating back thousands of years. These arti-facts show that the Huang He valley wasthe first center of Chinese civilization.Archaeologists think that people stayed inthe valley and farmed the land because ofrich soil. As their numbers rose, they beganbuilding towns, and soon after, the firstChinese civilization began.

China’s first rulers were probably part ofthe Xia (SYAH) dynasty. A dynasty (DY•nuh • stee) is a line of rulers who belongto the same family. Little is knownabout the Xia. We know more about the

next dynasty, the Shang. The Shang kingsruled from about 1750 B.C. to 1045 B.C.

Who Were the Shang? Archaeologistshave found huge walls, royal palaces, androyal tombs from the time of the Shang.These remains show that the Shang mayhave built the first Chinese cities. One ofthese cities was Anyang (AHN • YAHNG) innorthern China. Anyang was China’s firstcapital. From there, the Shang kings ruledthe early Chinese people.

The people of the Shang dynasty weredivided into groups. The most powerfulgroup was the king and his family. The firstShang king ruled over a small area in north-ern China. His armies used chariots andbronze weapons to take over nearby areas.

Shang Empire

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In time, the Shang kings ruled over most ofthe Huang He valley.

Later, Shang kings chose warlords togovern the kingdom’s territories. Warlordsare military leaders who commandtheir own armies. However, the kingcontrolled even larger armies whodefended the kingdom’s borders.The king’s armies helped him stay in power.

Under the king, the warlords andother royal officials made up theupper class. They were aristocrats (uh • RIHS • tuh • KRATS), nobles whosewealth came from the land theyowned. Aristocrats passed their landand their power from one generationto the next.

In Shang China, a few people weretraders and artisans. Most Chinese, how-ever, were farmers. They worked the landthat belonged to the aristocrats. They grewgrains, such as millet, wheat, and rice, andraised cattle, sheep, and chickens. A smallnumber of enslaved people captured in waralso lived in Shang China.

Spirits and Ancestors People in ShangChina worshiped gods and spirits. Spiritswere believed to live in mountains, rivers,and seas. The people believed that they hadto keep the gods and spirits happy by mak-ing offerings of food and other goods. Theybelieved that the gods and spirits would beangry if they were not treated well. Angrygods and spirits might cause farmers to havea poor harvest or armies to lose a battle.

People also honored their ancestors, ordeparted family members. Offerings weremade in the hope that ancestors would helpin times of need and bring good luck. Tothis day, many Chinese still remember theirancestors by going to temples and burningsmall paper copies of food and clothing.

The Role of Women ZhengZhenxiang was China’s firstfemale archaeologist. In 1976she found the tomb of Fu Hao,China’s first female general.In the tomb were more than2,000 artifacts from the Shangdynasty, including weapons,bronze vessels, jade objects,and bones with Chinesecharacters carved on them.

Fu Hao, the wife of KingWu Ding, was given a royalburial. She was famous for

her strength, martial arts skills, andmilitary strategies. She often helpedher husband defeat their enemies onthe battlefield. Fu Hao was the firstfemale in China’s history to receivethe highest military rank.

Her tomb and its artifacts reveal the grand civilization of China’s Shang dynasty. Duringthis period, theChinese developedwriting, a calendar, and musical instruments.

Jade sculpture of a seated human figure

Bronzevessel

Connecting to the Past1. What was Fu Hao famous for during

her life?

2. Describe what the artifacts found inFu Hao’s tomb might reveal aboutlife during that time.

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Chinese WritingThe Chinese writing system was created nearly3,500 years ago during theShang dynasty. The earliestexamples of Chinese writinghave been found on animalbones. The carvings on thesebones show that Chinesewriting has always usedsymbols to represent words.Some of the carvings arepictures. For example, the verbto go was represented by apicture of a foot. The characterswere carved in vertical columnsand read from top to bottom,like modern Chinese writing. Thewriting on the bones recordedthe Shang kings’ questions abouta wide range of topics—from the weather to good fortune.Chinese writing has changed in many ways, but it still reflects its ancient roots in pictures and symbols.

Shang religion and government wereclosely linked, just as they were in ancientMesopotamia and Egypt. An importantduty of Shang kings was to contact thegods, the spirits, and ancestors before mak-ing important decisions.

The kings asked for the gods’ help byusing oracle (AWR • uh • kuhl) bones. Theyhad priests scratch questions on the bones,such as “Will I win the battle?” and “Will I recover from my illness?” Then the priestsplaced hot metal rods inside the bones,causing them to crack. They believed thatthe pattern of the cracks formed answersfrom the gods. The priests interpreted theanswers and wrote them down for thekings. Scratches on oracle bones are the ear-liest known examples of Chinese writing.

The Chinese Language The scratches onoracle bones show how today’s Chinesewriting began. However, the modernChinese language is much more complex.

Like many other ancient languages,early Chinese writing used pictographs andideographs. Pictographs (PIHK • tuh • GRAFS)are characters that stand for objects. Forexample, the Chinese characters for amountain, the sun, and the moon are pic-tographs. Ideographs (IH • dee • uh • GRAFS)are another kind of character used inChinese writing. They join two or more pictographs to represent an idea. Forexample, the ideograph for “east” relatesto the idea of the sun rising in the east. Itis a combination of pictographs thatshow the sun coming up behind trees.

Unlike Chinese, English and manyother languages have writing systemsbased on an alphabet. An alphabetuses characters that stand for sounds.The Chinese use some characters tostand for sounds, but most charactersstill represent whole words.

These copies represent things that theirdeparted relatives need in the afterlife.

Telling the Future Shang kings believedthat they received power and wisdom fromthe gods, the spirits, and their ancestors.

Oracle bone

228 CHAPTER 7 Early ChinaBridgeman/Art Resource, NY

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CHAPTER 7 Early China 229

Shang Artists The people in Shang Chinadeveloped many skills. Farmers producedsilk, which weavers used to make colorfulclothes. Artisans made vases and dishesfrom fine white clay. They also carved stat-ues from ivory and a green stone called jade.

The Shang are best known for their worksof bronze. To make bronze objects, artisansmade clay molds in several sections. Next,they carved detailed designs into the clay.Then, they fit the pieces of the mold tightlytogether and poured in melted bronze. Whenthe bronze cooled, the mold was removed. Abeautifully decorated work of art remained.

Shang bronze objects included sculp-tures, vases, drinking cups, and containerscalled urns. The Shang used bronze urns toprepare and serve food for rituals honoringancestors.

Explain What was the roleof Shang warlords?

The Zhou DynastyChinese rulers claimed that the Mandate

of Heaven gave them the right to rule.

Reading Focus Who gives you permission to do the

things you do? Your mother? Your teacher? Read to find

out how the rulers of the Zhou dynasty turned to the

heavens for permission to rule.

During the rule of the Shang, a great gapexisted between the rich and the poor.Shang kings lived in luxury and began totreat people cruelly. As a result, they lost thesupport of the people in their kingdom. In1045 B.C. an aristocrat named Wu Wang(WOO WAHNG) led a rebellion against theShang. After defeating the Shang, Wubegan a new dynasty called the Zhou (JOH).

The Zhou Government The Zhou dynastyruled for more than 800 years—longer thanany other dynasty in Chinese history.

Zhou kings ruled much like Shang rulers.The Zhou king was at the head of the govern-ment. Under him was a large bureaucracy(byu• RAH• kruh• see). A bureaucracy is madeup of appointed officials who are responsi-ble for different areas of government. Likethe Shang rulers, the Zhou king was incharge of defending the kingdom.

These bronze bells are fromthe Zhou dynasty. How longdid the Zhou dynasty last?

Bronze bowland ladle fromZhou dynasty

Buffalo-shapedbronze vesselfrom the Shang dynasty

Bronze foodcontainer fromthe Shang dynasty

(bl)file photo, (br)The Art Archive/Musee Cernuschi Paris/Dagli Orti, (others)Asian Art & Archaeology/CORBIS

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Web Activity Visit jat.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 7—Student Web Activity to learn more about ancient China.

FPO

The Zhou kings copied the Shang sys-tem of dividing the kingdom into smallerterritories. The kings put aristocrats theytrusted in charge of each territory. The posi-tions the aristocrats held were hereditary.That meant that when an aristocrat died,his son or another relative would take overas ruler of the territory.

The Chinese considered the king theirlink between heaven and earth. His chiefduty was to carry out religious rituals. TheChinese believed these rituals strengthenedthe link between them and the gods. Thisbelief paved the way for a new idea that the Zhou kings introduced to government.They claimed that kings ruled China becausethey had the Mandate of Heaven.

What Was the Mandate of Heaven?According to Zhou rulers, a heavenly lawgave the Zhou king the power to rule. Thismandate (MAN • DAYT), or formal order, wascalled the Mandate of Heaven. Based on themandate, the king was chosen by heavenly

order because of his talent and virtue.Therefore, he would rule the people withgoodness and wisdom.

The Mandate of Heaven worked intwo ways. First, the people expected theking to rule according to the proper“Way,” called the Dao (DOW). His dutywas to keep the gods happy. A natural dis-aster or a bad harvest was a sign that hehad failed in his duty. People then had theright to overthrow and replace the king.

The Mandate of Heaven also workedanother way. It gave the people, as well as theking, important rights. For example, peoplehad the right to overthrow a dishonest or evilruler. It also made clear that the king was nota god himself. Of course, each new dynastyclaimed it had the Mandate of Heaven. Theonly way people could question the claimwas by overthrowing the dynasty.

New Tools and Trade For thousands ofyears, Chinese farmers depended on rain towater their crops. During the Zhou dynasty,the Chinese developed irrigation and flood-control systems. As a result, farmers couldgrow more crops than ever before.

Improvements in farming tools alsohelped farmers produce more crops. By 550 B.C., the Chinese were using iron plows.These sturdy plows broke up land that hadbeen too hard to farm with wooden plows.As a result, the Chinese could plow moreand produce more crops. Because morefood could support more people, the popu-lation increased. During the late Zhoudynasty, China had a population of about50 million people.

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Zhou rulers maintained the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history.1. What body of water made up the

eastern border of Zhou territory?2. Why did the Zhou divide their

kingdom into smaller territories?

230 CHAPTER 7 Early China

Zhou Empire

Zhou empire,1045-256 B.C.

KEY

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Reading SummaryReview the • China’s first civilizations formed

in river valleys. The Chinese wereisolated from other people by mountains and deserts.

• The rulers of the Shang dynastycontrolled the area around theHuang He valley.

• The Zhou dynasty replaced theShang and claimed to rule withthe Mandate of Heaven. Duringthe Zhou dynasty, farming methods improved and tradeincreased.

1. What is a dynasty?

2. What were oracle bones andhow were they used?

Critical Thinking3. Analyze How did the

Mandate of Heaven allow forthe overthrow of kings inancient China?

4. Summarizing InformationDraw a diagram like the onebelow. Add details that describethe members of Shang society.

5. Evaluate What were someimportant technologicalchanges during the Zhoudynasty, and how did they leadto a larger population?

6. Explain How did ancientChinese kings maintain controlof their dynasties?

7. Text StructureExplain why parentheses areused in the following sentence.“The Huang He (HWAHNGHUH), or Yellow River, flowsacross China for more than2,900 miles (4,666 km).”

What Did You Learn?

Homework Helper Need help with the material in this section? Visit jat.glencoe.com

CHAPTER 7 Early China 231

Trade and manufacturinggrew along with farming. Animportant trade item during theZhou dynasty was silk. Pieces ofChinese silk have been foundthroughout central Asia and asfar away as Greece. This suggeststhat the Chinese traded far and wide.

The Zhou Empire Falls Over time, the localrulers of the Zhou territories became pow-erful. They stopped obeying the Zhou kingsand set up their own states. In 403 B.C. fight-ing broke out. For almost 200 years, thestates battled each other. Historians call thistime the “Period of the Warring States.”

Instead of nobles driving chariots, thewarring states used large armies of foot soldiers. To get enough soldiers, they issuedlaws forcing peasants to serve in the army.The armies fought with swords, spears, and

Shang Society

crossbows. A crossbow uses a crank to pullthe string and shoots arrows with greatforce.

As the fighting went on, the Chineseinvented the saddle and stirrup. These let soldiers ride horses and use spears and crossbows while riding. In 221 B.C. the rulerof Qin (CHIHN), one of the warring states,used a large cavalry force to defeat theother states and set up a new dynasty.

Identify What was thechief duty of Chinese kings?

This statue of a wingeddragon is from the Zhoudynasty. From whatmetal did the Chinesemake plows and weaponsduring the Zhou dynasty?

file photo

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