Xia Dynasty
The first Chinese dynasty established around 2200 BCE along the Yellow River with Yu(hero of flood control) as their king and Erlitou as their capital. Organized large-scale public works projects to help establish authority and political institutions. Enc
The Yellow River
(Huang He River). 2,920 miles long, periodically floods and devastates fields, communities, etc. Altered its course many times and caused so much destruction that is was nicknamed "China's Sorrow.
Yangshao Society and Banpo Village
Yangshao society; flourished from 5000-3000 BCE in the middle region of the Yellow River Valley. Well-known for the discovery in 1952 of a neolithic village at Banpo, near modern Xi'an. Found painted pottery and bone tools used by early cultivators in the
Bronze Metallurgy and Horse-Drawn Chariots
Technology helps explain the rise and success of the Shang dynasty. Bronze metallurgy went to China from southwest Asia, with horse-drawn chariots, horses and other wheeled vehicles. They reached China by 1200 BCE. Shang ruling elites monopolized the prod
Shang Political Organization
Shang rulers relied on a large corps of political allies. Local rulers recognized the authority of the Shang kings. Shang kings may have controlled one thousand or more towns. Others who shared the agricultural surplus of Shang China included advisors, mi
The Shang Capital at Ao
Most remarkable feature of this site is the city wall, 33 feet high, 66 feet thick. Even today, parts of the wall of Ao still survive at a height of 10-13 feet. The wall required 10,000 workers working 20 years.
The Shang Capital at Yin
More impressive than Ao, archaeologists identified a complex of royal palaces, archives with written documents, some residential neighborhoods, two large bronze foundries, several workshops used by potters, bone carvers, woodworkers, craftsmen, and scatte
Beyond the Yellow River Valley
Legendary and historical accounts paid special attention to the Xia and Shang dynasties because of their location in the Yellow River Valley, where the first Chinese imperial states rose in later times. Recent excavations unearthed evidence of a large cit
The Rise of the Zhou
According to Zhou accounts, the last Shang king was a greedy drunk, tyrant. As a result, many of the towns and political districts under the Shang transferred their loyalties to the Zhou. After some unsuccessful attempts to discipline the Shang king, the
The Mandate of Heaven
The Zhou dynasty wrote a set of principles that influenced Chinese thinking about government. Zhou theory of politics based on the assumption that earthly events were closely related to heavenly affairs. Heavenly powers granted the right to govern to an e
Political Organization
Zhou state was larger than the Shang, so large that a single court couldn't rule the entire land effectively. As a result, Zhou rulers relied on a decentralized administration: they entrusted power, authority, and responsibility to subordinates, who in tu
Weakening of the Zhou
Zhou kings couldn't maintain control over the decentralized political system. Subordinates eventually established their own bases of power: they ruled their territories not only as allies of the Zhou kings but also as long-established and traditional gove
Iron Metallurgy
Technological developments also worked in favor of subordinate rulers. Zhou kings couldn't control the production of bronze as closely as the Shang did, so subordinates built a stockpile of weapons. During the first millennium BCE iron metallurgy spread t
Ruling Elites
During the Xia, Shang and early Zhou dynasties, royal family and allied noble families occupied most honored positions in Chinese society. They lived in large compounds, lived on the agricultural surplus and taxes delivered by their subjects. They possess
Specialized Labor
A small class of free artisans and craftsmen piled their trades in the cities of ancient China. During Shang dynasty, bronze metalsmiths lived in houses built of pounded earth. Their dwellings were modest, but expensive and sturdy to build. Jewelers, jade
Merchants and Trade
Long distance trade routes reached China during Shang and Xia dynasties. Trade networks linked China to the west and south early in the 3rd millennium BCE. Jade in Shang tombs came from central Asia, military technology involving horse-drawn chariots came
Peasants
Large class of semi-servile peasants populated Chinese countryside. They didn't own land but provided agricultural, military and labor services for their lords in exchange for plots to cultivate, security,and a portion of the harvest. Lived in small house
Slaves
Slaves were mostly enemy warriors captured in battles between the many competing states of ancient China. They performed hard labor, such as clearing new fields or building city walls that required large workforces. During the Shang dynasty, hundreds of s
Veneration of Ancestors
Reason for pronounced influence of the Chinese family. Early agricultural people tended the graves and memories of their deceased ancestors. They thought the spirits of the ancestors would pass into another realm of existence where they had the power to s
Patriarchal Society
Elderly males who headed the household had most authority. Chinese men had public authority, but women were important too. Two queens had, they had temples built in their memories. Women played important roles in public life too. Fu Hao performed sacrific
Oracle Bones
Oracle bones were main instruments used by Chinese fortune tellers. Diviners used special broad bones(shoulder blades of sheep or turtle shells), they inscribed a question on the bone and then heated it by placing it in the fire or scorching it with an ex
Zhou Literature
Several writings of the Zhou dynasty won recognition as works of high authority, and they exercised deep influence because they served as textbooks in Chinese schools. Some of the popular ones include the Book of Changes, which was a manual instructing di
The Book of Songs
Most notable of the classic works, also known as the Book of Poetry and the Book of Odes, a collection of verses on themes both light and serious. Compiled and edited after 600 BCE, many of the 311 poems date back from an earlier period and reflect condit
Destruction of Early Chinese Literature
Most Zhou writings have perished. Ones written on bamboo and silk fabrics have deteriorated, others destroyed by people. When the imperial empire of Qin ended the chaos of the Period of the Warring States and brought all of China under centralized rule in
Steppe Nomads
Chinese cultivators met nomadic people who built pastoral societies in the grassy steppe lands of central Asia. These lands too arid to sustain large agricultural societies, but their grasses supported herds of horses, cattle, sheep, goats and yaks. After
Nomadic Society
Nomads did little farming, instead, they focused on herding their animals to places with food and water. Herds provided food, tools(bone tools) and clothing. Nomads served as links to agricultural societies between east and west. Brought knowledge of bron
The Yangzi Valley
Chang Jiang "Long River". 3,915 miles long, doesn't bring floods like the Yellow River. Intensive cultivation of rice depended on the construction and maintenance of an elaborate irrigation system that allowed cultivators to flood their paddies and releas
The State of Chu
During the late Zhou dynasty, the powerful state of Chu(central region of the Yangzi), governed its affairs and challenged the Zhou for supremacy. By end of Zhou dynasty, Chu and other states were in communication with their counterparts in the Yellow Riv