A powerpoint on the Yellow River Valley in China

1. East Asia
The Early River Valley Civilization of
the Yellow River (Huang River)

2. Objective:
• Students will learn about the early history of
the Chinese civilization, including history,
achievements, and power.

3. The Yellow River (Huang River)
• 1,500 years after the
city of Ur
(Mesopotamia) was
beginning and 1,000
years after the
planned cities of the
Indus valley, the
Yellow River Valley
Civilization
flourished.

4. Natural Barriers
• Natural barriers isolated China from other civilizations. To
the east is the Pacific ocean. To the west lay the
Taklimakan desert and the icy 14,000 foot Plateau of Tibet.
• To the North lies the desolate Gobi Desert and the
Mongolian Plateau.
• The two rivers in the area are the Yellow river and the
Yangtze in central China.
• About 90% of the remaining land that is suitable for
farming lies within the comparatively small plain between
these rivers.

5. National Pride
• Due to this isolation, the
Chinese had little contact
with foreigners. This led
to a strong sense of identity
and superiority.
• They regarded China as the
only civilized land, calling
it Zhongguo, or “Middle
Kingdom,” referring to it
as the center of the world.

6. Dynasties
• Humans have inhabited
China for about a million
years.
• The First Dynasties-
• Before the Sumerians settled
in southern Mesopotamia,
early Chinese cultures were
building farming settlements
along the Yellow river.

7. Xia Peoples
• The first dynasty in China
was the Xia.
• Its leader was a
mathematician and
engineer named Yu.
• Yu started flood control
systems and irrigation
projects to control the
Yellow river.

8. Shang Dynasty
• 1750-1500 B.C. Invaders
called the Shang swept into
the Huang River Valley.
• Introduced irrigation and
flood-control systems into
the region.
• By controlling these
systems, the Shang could
more easily control the
region’s people.

9. Shang Government
• Created a complex bureaucracy:
government organized into different
levels and tasks.
• A hereditary King ruled over all land
in the kingdom
• War chariots and bronze weapons
were used to defend against invaders.
• Military might and well-organized
government allowed the Shang to
gain territory.

10. Shang Economy and handicrafts
• Economy was based
mainly on agriculture:
millet and rice.
• Raised silkworms so that
they could spin thread from
the cocoons and wove silk
cloth from the thread.

11. Artisans
• Artisans
worked in
bone, ivory,
and jade.
Pottery and
ceramic art
was very
popular.

12. Astronomy and the calendar
• Two calendars: one based
on the sun and one based
on the moon.
• Moon Calendar: record of
private and public events.
• Planting was determined
by the calendar. A good
harvest meant popularity
for the king. Therefore the
priest-astronomers were
important.

13. Religion
• Combined animism (the belief
that spirits inhabit everything)—
with ancestor worship
• Dragon became symbol of
Chinese rulers
• They also worshipped gods of
the wind, sun, clouds, and moon.
POLYTHEISTIC
• The Shang also believed in
Shangdi, a great god who
controlled human destiny and
forces of nature.

14. Religion
• Oracle Bones: the
shoulder bones of
cattle or tortoise shells.
• The priests heated the
bones and interpreted
the cracks that would
appear.

15. Language and Writing.
• Many dialects were spoken.
• The Chinese method of writing, each character
stands for an idea, not a sound.
• People in all parts of China could learn the same
system of writing.
• To be barely literate one had to know 1,000
characters. (Not just 26 letters)

16. Language and Writing
• Writing was limited to
a small number of
specialists: clerks,
scribes, and teachers.
• It demanded much
study and practice,
therefore workers, had
little time for such
luxury.

17. Social Classes
• The civilization was sharply
divided between nobles and
peasants.
• These noble families owned
the land.
• They would send tribute to
the Shang ruler in exchange
for local control.

18. Family
• The family was central to
Chinese society. The most
important virtue was respect
for one’s parents.
• Women were treated as
inferiors.
• When a girl was between 13
and 16 years old, her
marriage was arranged.

19. The Fall of the Shang Dynasty
• 1200B.C. : Herders from the harsh Gobi desert and
the Tian Shan foothills began moving in and
settling along the borders.
• The Shang were almost continuously fighting them
off.
• The extended military efforts exhausted the Shang
rulers.

20. The Fall
• 1050 B.C
• The Zhou formed an
alliance and
overthrew the Shang,
claiming the Shang
were corrupt and
unfit to rule.

21. Works Cited
• Holt. World History: The Human
Journey. Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, Austin. 2003
• www.google.com/images