Ancient+China

Ancient China 1750 - 221 BC  By Jacob Wasem and Cameron Pederson

__5 Ancient Chinese Terms__ Oracle Bones - bones in which priests scratched questions asked by rulers to foretell the future fo what is going to happen. Analects - sayings that were recorded, (Confucious' sayings) and continued on being told because they were helped with entertainment in Ancient China. Censorate - had inspectors who checked on government officials to make sure they were doing their jobs and making sure they arn't gaining to much wealth. Kong Fuzi - "Master Kung," known to the chinese as the first teacher Veneration of Ancestors - the practice of burning replicas of different physical objects to accompany the departed on their journey to the next world

__5 Important People of Ancient China__ __1__ Confucius - was a chinese philosipher, lived from 551 to 478 BC, nicknamed the "Master Kung" or "The First Teacher," lived during the Zhou dynasty, govt. based on confucianism which is a system of confucian ideas. __2__ Qin Shih Huang Ti - known as the Chinese Ceasar, was the 1st emperor of China, unified China. __3__ Sun-tzu - wrote the book "The Art of War," a book on military strategies in 512 BC that is still being read and studied today. __4__ Han Wudi - "Warrior Emperor," most famous Han Emperor, conquered Korea, Manchuria, and Vietnam, also stopped the invading Huns. __5__ Fu Hao - Wu ding's wife, the greatest shang general.

__Overview of Ancient China__ Ancient China was a time of dynasties and rulers. In China there was the Imperial Age, or the "Age of Dynasties." The first dynasty was the Xia Dynasty. This dynasty was called the "Legendary Sage Emperors." The Xia dynasty was the first Chinese dynasty around 4000 BC. During the Xia dynasty there were hero kings who invented important things like marriage, music and the wheel. The next Chinese dynasty was the Shang dynasty which was the 1st historical dynasty. The Shang capital city was Anyang. During this dynasty lived Wu Ding, or the greatest shang king. His wife Fu Hao, was considered the greatest shang general of all time. In China the Shang Di was the supreme emperor. Some of the achievements of the Shang dynasty were bronzemaking, yoke and the lunar calendar. The next Chinese dynasty was the Zhou dynasty which was the longest dynasty in Chinese history. The capital city of Zhou was Xian. During the Zhou dynasty there lived a man named Confucius. Confucius was a Chinese philosipher who lived from 551 BC to 478 BC. His nickname was "The Master Kung" or "The First Teacher." There were many things Confucius created like the Confucian Code which was based on duty and humanity. Also, Analects which were sayings of Confucius collected by his students. The next period in Chinese history was the Period of the Warring States where seven fuedal Lords battled for control. The next dynasty in Chinese history was the Qin Dynasty. Qin Shih Huang Ti or the "Chinese Ceasar," was the 1st emperor of China who also unified China. During this dynasty the Great Wall of China was built and the terra cotta army was also built. The next dynasty in is the Han Dynasty. The ruler of the Han dynasty was Liu Pang who was the "Exalted Emperor of Han." One of the developments of the Han dynasty was the Civil Service or govt. jobs. To be in the Civil Service you had to take an exam on Confucius teachings. The last and final dynasty of Ancient China is the Six Dynasties. During this time there were civil wars and a period where the Huns invaded.

Along of Ancient China's great philosiphers come the great ancient philosiphies. Philosiphies were a big part of China because they were taught to the children who would then reteach these philosiphies when they were older. Confucianism, the philosiphy which the chinese govt. was based off of, was a system of Confucius ideas. In Confucianism there was a Confucian code which was based on duty and humanity and there also were analects which were teachings collected by his students. Another philosiphy was Naturalism which was the workings of nature and cosmic principles. Another philosiphy was Dualism which was the two sides of nature. One side was Yin, which was the female, dark, cold, and passive side and there is the Yang which is the male, light, hot, and active side. Dualism is the balance between Yin and Yang, but not in conflict. Another philosiphy is Legalism. The founder of legalism was Han Fei Tzu. Another philosiphy was Bhuddhism where Bhudda is seen is a god. Another phylisophy is Daoism. The last philosiphy is Taoism which is the "Way of Nature in harmony with Tao." The way of nature is humble, quiet, thoughtful, simplicity, and meditation.

The geography of China was a great influence to the culture. In China there were many rivers. One of the rivers the Huang He or the "Yellow River," was nicknamed the "River of Sorrows, death and destruction." This river received this name because whenever it flooded it killed millions of people and ruined farmland that provided food. The 2nd major river in ancient China is the Yangtze river. The Chinese called the Middle Kingdom "Chung Kuo," which means center of the world. A saying given to China is "China is a sea which salts all rivers that run into it." For China the center of their civilization was China Proper. Some of the historical facts of China are very interesting. Oracle bones or "Dragon Bones," were written on by priests to tell fortunes and record history. The symbol for Chinese rulers was the dragon.One of the prized posessions of the Chinese is Jade which is a link between the gods and humanity and the major prized posession is Silk. The rulers of China would wear silk clothing to show their power. A major geographical influence on China was the Grand Canal which links the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. These rivers was an important trade route along with the Silk Road.


 * //"He who overcomes others is strong, he who overcomes himself is mighty." - Lao-tse//**

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__Timeline of Ancient China__ 4000 BC - Chinese civilization starts 1750-1122 BC - Shang Dynasty, 1st historical dynasty 1122-256 BC - Zhou Dynasty, longest dynasty in Chinese history 551-478 BC - Confucious, the Master Kung, creates confucianism or the system of Confucious ideas 512 BC - (Sun-tzu) writes __The Art of War,__ a book on military strategy 403-221 BC - Period of the Warring States, 7 fuedal lords battle for control 221-207 BC - Qin Dynasty, Qin Shih Huang Ti becomes first Emperor of China and unifies China 202-220 BC - Han Dynasty, Liu Pang led revolt against Qin Dynasty 220-589 AD - Six Dynasties, civil wars and Huns invaded 400 AD - Bhuddhism created, Bhudda seen as a god

Timeline of Chinese Philosiphies - this website shows you taoist and confucian classics and also gives you a timeline with literary dates and links to texts Geography, Govt., and Economics of Ancient China - this website explains the geography, the government, the economics and the contributions of ancient china Dynasties of Ancient China - this website explains the dynasties and what they did Great Wall of China - this website explains the building of the great wall of china and events that took place while the wall was being built Ancient Chinese Philosiphies- this website describes the philosiphers and the philosiphies of ancient china