ANCIENT CHINA

GEOGRAPHY

• China was isolated from other countries due to the surrounding land forms
• The Gobi Desert
• The Himalayas
• The Pacific Ocean

GEOGRAPHY

• China has two main river systems
• The huang he(yellow river)
• The yangtze

CULTURE

• Has 1/5 of world population
• Family is valued more then individual.
• Individuals duty is to bring honor to family
• Ancestor worship became the leading religion

LANGUAGE & LEARNING

• China has many different variations of the written language
• One common written language
• No alphabet-
• Vast majority of chinese were illiterate due to the complexity

LANGUAGE AND LEARNING

• Known as a scholars world
• Scholars held prominent position in society
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THOUGHT AND LIFE

• Two philosophers influences chinese life greatly
• Confucius and lao-tzu

CONFUCIANISM

• Confucius founded this system of thoughts
• Confucius- k'ung futzu
• Was known as most honored teacher in Chinese history
• Established five basic human relationships

CONFUCIANISM

• Father and son, brothers husband and wife
• Friend and friend rulers and subjects
• Believed these five areas would bring harmony to society
• Fundamental principle- what you dont want done to yourself
• Dont do to others(golden rule)

TAOISM

• Lao-tzu
• Founded taoism
• Encouraged men to find peace by-
• By living in harmony with nature
• Achieved by being passive and supmissive

CONFUCIANISM VS TAOISM

• Confucius promotes actively fullfilling social obligation
• Taoism-passive lifestyle in attempts to free man from responsibility

THE HISTORY OF CHINA

• The time periods of china are split up into dynasties.
• Dynasties were the ruling family of the time.
• Dynasties allowed china to maintain a strong national unity.
• The dynasties would go through cycles.
• The cycle began with maturity, prosperity, then decline.

THE SHANG DYNASTY

• The earliest known dynasty
• Established along the Huang He
• By 1500B.C the rulers united much of northern china

THE ZHOU DYNASTY

• The longest lasting dynasty
• Lasted for 800 years
• Known as the classical age
• The government was decentralized

THE QIN DYNASTY

• Founded by QIn Shi Huang
• The first to unite the provinces of China
• The dynasty marked the beginning of the Great Wall of China

THE HAN DYNASTY

• The most popular dynasty
• Most famous ruler Wu Ti who drove out the huns
• Established the Pax Sinica(Chinese Peace)
• The period marked the creation of China's leading religion-
• Buddhism

THE TANG DYNASTY

• The golden age in Chinese history
• Restored the unity and prosperity of china
• Finest period in Chinese poetry
• Most popular poet- Li Po
• Li Po wrote thousands of emotional poems

THE SONG DYNASTY

• Founded 50 years after the Tang dynasty
• Was politically weak
• Dived into northern Song and southern Song
• China excelled in artistry such as
• Painting, printing, and porcelain