CHINA
2500 B.C. - 550 A.D.
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Early Civilization in China
• Long distances and physical barriers isolated China from other ancient civilizations, leading the Chinese to believe that China was the center of the Earth and the sole source of civilization.
| Yellow River - The Yellow River, or Huang He, received its name due to loess. It was nicknamed the "River of Sorrows" because it often flooded and destroyed crops..
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| Yangzi River - The Yangzi River Valley, along with the Yellow River Valley, supported the first people of the early Chinese civilization. |
• Early Chinese rulers promoted the idea that they ruled by the Mandate of Heaven. The Chinese later expanded this idea to explain the dynastic cycle: When rulers became weak or corrupt, the Chinese believed, Heaven withdrew its support and gave it to another ruler.
• Chinese religious practices centered on the veneration of ancestors and the belief that the universe was balanced between two opposing forces, the yin and the yang.
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• During the Zhou and Shang periods, the Chinese made remarkable achievements in astronomy and bronzework, learned to make silk and create books, and developed a complex system of writing.
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Three Schools of thought in China
• Confucius, China's most influential philosopher, taught that harmony resulted when people accepted their place in society. Confucianism stressed the values of filial piety, loyalty to superiors and respect for inferiors, honesty, hard work, and concern for others.
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• Chinese rulers based their government on the Confucian model, which taught that the best ruler was a virtuous man who led by example.
| Click on this picture to learn more about Confucianism |
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• Legalists stressed strength, not goodness, as a ruler's greatest virtue, while Daoists, who rejected the everyday world, believed that the best government was the one that governed least.
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Strong Rulers Unite China
• Shi Huangdi (click here to learn more about Shihuang Di) united China and built a strong, centralized, authoritarian government. His most remarkable achievement was building the Great Wall (click here).
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click here to take a virtual tour of the Great Wall
• Han rulers strengthened China's government and economy, expanded China's borders and influence, and opened up the Silk Road, a major trade route that would link China and the west for centuries.
• The Han period was one of the golden ages of Chinese civilization, with tremendous advances in the sciences, astronomy, technology, medicine, and the arts.
Click here for a virtual tour of the Forbidden City.
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