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Ancient China (Shang and Zhou Dynasties) Theme: The importance of rivers and the advantage of technology

•  Book of Songs, dynasty, bronze production monopolization in Shang and Zhou China, mandate of heaven, Shang Dynasty, tian, veneration of ancestors, Yellow River, Zhou Dynasty

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Importance of Rivers

rivers

agriculture

populations

cities

specialization

hierarchy

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YELLOW RIVER

YANGZI RIVER

Population Growth •  Settlements began to crop up along the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers –  Created a need for recognized authorities who could maintain order, resolve disputes, and organize public works projects –  Village-level organizations could only act locally

•  Small dynasties followed that extended their control over progressively larger regions

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Dynasties •  “A sequence of powerful leaders in the same family” –  Shang Dynasty 1766 to 1122 B.C. –  Zhou Dynasty 1122 to 256 B.C. –  Tang Dynasty 618 to 907 A.D. –  Song Dynasty 960 to 1279 A.D.

Shang Dynasty

Characteristics of a Civilization •  •  •  •  •  •  •  • 

Intensive agricultural techniques Specialization of labor Cities A social hierarchy (We’ll discuss mandate of heaven in more detail in Lsn 16) Organized religion and education (We’ll cover Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism in Lsn 16) Development of complex forms of economic exchange Development of new technologies Advanced development of the arts. (This can include writing.)

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Agriculture

Yellow River •  Takes its name from the vast quantities of loess soil it picks up along its route –  Loess is an extremely fine and powder-like soil that gradually builds up in the river bed, raising the river bed and forcing the water out of its established path –  Yellow River periodically unleashes terrible floods, earning it the nickname “China’s Sorrow”

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Agriculture •  Loess soil is extremely fertile and easy to work –  Even before the introduction of metal tools, cultivators with wooden instruments could generate large harvests

Crops •  Initially, millet was the main crop (especially in the north) •  Sometime thereafter, the Chinese began cultivating rice (especially in the south where the Yangzi River is less prone than the Yellow River to devastating floods) –  Extensive rice production would require developing a complex irrigation system (made possible by the centralizing authority of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties)

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Cities

Ruins of Banpo Village near modern Xian

Cities: Shang •  Vast network of walled towns whose local rulers recognized authority of the Shang kings •  Shang rulers moved their capital six times –  Capital at Yin (near modern Anyang) contained a complex of royal palaces and eleven large and lavish royal tombs

Royal tomb at Anyang

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Social Hierarchy

King Wen of Zhou China

Social Hierarchy: Shang and early Zhou •  Royal family and allied noble families –  Resided in large, palatial compounds and lived on the agricultural surplus and taxes delivered by their subjects –  Power tied to bronze

•  Privileged class of hereditary aristocrats –  Rose from the military allies of the rulers –  Possessed extensive land holdings and performed military and administrative tasks –  Some access to education for those who lived in cities –  Detailed rules of etiquette during Zhou era

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Social Hierarchy: Ancient Shang and early Zhou •  Small class of free artisans and craftsmen –  Lived in cities –  Those who worked almost extensively for the privileged classes lived reasonably comfortably •  Peasants –  Semi-servile class that lived in the countryside and did not own land –  Provided agricultural, military, and labor services for lords in exchange for plots to cultivate, security, and a portion of the harvest •  Slaves –  Most were captured enemy warriors –  Performed hard labor that required a large work force such as clearing fields or building city walls –  During the Shang Dynasty many were victims of human sacrifice during funerals and other religious and ritual observances

Specialization

Bronze storage jar from Zhou Dynasty Silk making

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Specialization •  •  •  •  • 

Bronzesmiths Jewelers Jade workers Embroiderers Manufacturers of silk textiles –  Silkworms are fed mulberry leaves, they molt and spin cocoons, then workers boil the cocoons to produce the raw silk.

Silkworm cocoon

Religion and Education

Bronze wine vessel used for rituals to honor ancestors during Shang Dynasty

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Religion •  Ancient China did not have an organized religion or official priesthood •  Did not recognize a personal supreme deity who intervened in human affairs or took a special interest in human behavior •  Did speak of an impersonal heavenly power– tian (“heaven”)– that was responsible for bestowing and removing the mandate of heaven on rulers

Religion •  Instead, the patriarchal head of the family presided over rites and ceremonies venerating ancestors’ spirits –  Believed that the spirits of ancestors passed into another realm of existence from which they had the power to support and protect their surviving families if the families demonstrated the proper respect and ministered to the spirit’s needs

Burning paper gifts for the departed is one traditional form of ancestor worship

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Economic Exchange

Cowrie shells used as money

Economic Exchange •  Somewhat limited by the mountain ranges and deserts that stood between China and India and southwest Asia –  Shipbuilding emerged during Zhou era and facilitated trade

•  Evidence of –  Cowrie shells from Burma and the Maldives –  Military technology from Mesopotamia –  Jade from central Asia –  Tin from Malay

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New Technologies

Silk making

New Technologies: Silk •  During the Zhou era, the Chinese discovered how to make silk from the cocoons of silkworms. –  Silk would become China’s most valuable export, eventually linking them with most of the world through trade. –  We’ll talk more about this in Lesson 23 on the Silk Roads

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New Technologies: Bookbinding •  Chinese artisans learned how to bind together long, thin strips of wood or bamboo to make books

New Technologies: Shang and Military Success •  Shang ruling elites were able to monopolize production of bronze in the Yellow River Valley by controlling access to copper and tin ores •  Allowed Shang forces to defeat Xia forces who were equipped with only stone, wood, and bone weapons •  Shang nobles used bronze to make fittings for horse-drawn chariots

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New Technologies: Shang and Military Success •  Shang were also able to exert military might over the Xia through bows

Shang pictograph of composite bow

New Technologies: Zhou and Military Failure •  Zhou kings were not able to monopolize bronze production as the Shang had •  Moreover, iron technology was spreading rapidly throughout China –  Iron ores were cheaper and more abundant than copper and tin so Zhou could not monopolize iron •  Subordinates were able to outfit their forces with iron which enabled them to resist the central government •  When nomads invaded the Zhou capital at Hao in 771 B.C., the subordinates refused to support the king

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New Technologies •  The Great Wall of China originated as a defensive barrier against tribal intrusions •  Construction started in the seventh century B. C. and spanned over 20 states and dynasties –  Two sections were built during the Zhou era –  As China unified, the various sections were connected

Art and Writing

Writing on bamboo strips

Bronze from Sang Dynasty

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Writing •  The earliest form of Chinese writing was the pictograph •  Pictographs were combined into ideographes to represent complex or abstract notions –  The combination of “mother” and “child” renders “good”

•  Unlike most other languages, written Chinese did not include an alphabetic or phonetic component

Writing: Oracle Bones •  Principal instrument used by fortune tellers in Ancient China •  Diviners inscribed a question on a broad bone such as a tortoise shell and placed it in a fire –  The fortune teller used the cracks that developed to divine the question’s answer

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Book of Songs •  Collection of 331 poems from the Zhou era •  Represent a variety of subjects –  Political themes –  Ritualistic hymns –  Life –  Love and friendship –  Family –  Work and play

Burning of Books •  Many works were lost when Qin came to power in 221 B.C. and ordered all books on poetry, history, and philosophy burned for fear they would inspire doubts about his government or encourage an independence of mind

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