2. Time
The story of Ancient China is told in traditional historical records
that refer as far back to the Five Emperors and Three Sovereigns
about 5,000 years ago this is enforced by archaeological records
dating to the 16th century BC.
China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations.
221 BC is the commonly accepted year when China became unified
under a large kingdom or empire.
China was first united by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC.
3. The Three Sovereigns, were
said to be god-kings or
demigods who initiated very
important aspects of the
ancient Chinese civilization
and culture these being:
agriculture, fishing, herbal
medicine, writing, and the
drinking of tea, and in some
cases created men and
animals.
http://history.cultural-china.com/en/46History5031.html
The Five Emperors were
legends that were morally
perfect sage-kings.
4. Geography
The geography of ancient
China can be conveniently
divided up into three regions:
1) The Yangtze and Yellow
Rivers
2) The Gobi and
Taklamakan Deserts
3) The Himalayas
In ancient China, the
importance of the Yangtze
and Yellow Rivers is hard to
overstate. People mostly
settled along these rivers, and
different settlements were
ruled by different kings
5. THE HIMALAYAS
YELLOW RIVER
YANGTZE RIVER
TAKLA MAKAN DESERT GOBI DESERT
6. Economy
Ancient Chinese people traded salt, iron, fish, cattle, and silk.
Silk was traded for goods and services – Silk route
Through the famous Silk Route, they also traded externally: goods from
China could wind up in Greece.
At the eastern end of the route, the Chinese traded with people from
India, providing them with silk and getting lapis
lazuli, coral, jade, glass, and pearls in exchange.
Fish, farmed and irrigated the land
The ancient Chinese first used cowrie shells for money in China as early
as 1800 BC.
Then people used metal imitations of cowrie shells, and then metal strings
of beads called cash.
7. Economy
• Cowry shells were used as
the medium of exchange /
money in the late Xia
Dynasty (21st century BC).
• Those from the Shang
Dynasty usually had
“teeth” on one side and a
hole for stringing on the
flat polished other side.
• As natural cowries were
limited in quantity, copies
made of stone, other
seashells, bone and bronze
were also in circulation.
• Bronze replicas of cowries
became the first Chinese
cast coins.
http://www.calgarycoin.com/reference/china/china1.htm
8. Society
In ancient China there was a massive demographic gap
between farmers and kings and the nobles.
The farmers were far more in population numbers and were
made to work very hard for little money.
The nobles lived in palaces while the farmers survived in tiny
huts. The nobles were highly regarded and lived with great
riches.
Painting of five Han nobles conversing and wearing
elegant clothing
9. Position of
Women
Male domination was
common in ancient China.
The women were asked to
take care of the children and
household. They never had
their choice in marriage and
were not included in any
decision making.
The ancient Chinese had
many peculiar customs one
being foot binding.
Girls at the age of puberty
were made to go through this
painful custom. Their toes
were broken and bandaged.
This normally reduced the http://www.suite101.com/view_image.cfm/1600261
size of their feet. This process
continued for a long time.
10. Society: Religion and Art
Ancient China practiced The ancient Chinese were
mainly three religions master
creators, artists, craftsmen
Buddhism and warlords.
Confucianism They developed many
martial arts and other art
Taoism forms such as calligraphy.
They had a rich spiritual
heritage and they believed
in YIN and YANG - the
male and female energies
which complimented each
other.
11. Yin - Yang
• This Symbol represents the
ancient Chinese
understanding of how
things work (Male and
Female energies that
complement each other)
• The outer circle represents
"everything", while the
black and white shapes
within the circle represent
the interaction of two
energies, called "yin"
(black) and "yang"
(white), which cause
everything to happen.
12. Trade and Production
• Many ethnic groups in the ancient times
• Han people, mainly living in the yellow river areas and
Yangtze River
• Some minority groups in the north and south
YANGTZE RIVER
YELLOW
RIVER
13. Trade Routs
"The Silk Road" is a special term which describes the trade
route between the Central Asia and China. 5000 mile long
trade route. In ancient times, Chinese people transported
silk, tea and other products to exchange for horses with small
kingdoms in west of China. The famous explorer Marco Polo
opened this trade route to the Middle East, Western Europe
and North Africa. Over time the Silk Road became one of the
most important trade route linking China and Europe..
From 206 BC a sea route was added to the silk road land
routes.
Sea route began at mouth of the Red River, through SouthEast
Asia to Sri Lanka and India, then to Persia, Axum and
Rome…..
14. …Trades along the route were conducted by central
Asian Merchants from who brought horses, cattle, furs,
hides and luxuries such as ivory and jade. New goods
were also introduced to the Chinese by the traders such
as Cucumber, walnut, sesame, figs, alfalfa and
pomegranate, and new skills such as using grapes to
make wine, which enriched China's ancient civilization
Chinese emperor Wu Di (141-87 BC) dispatched missions
to the west , thirteen years later missioner returned.
119 BC lead a second expedition to the west. Effectively
establishing diplomatic relations, beginning a process of
regular diplomatic missions to the Chinese capital.
16. Relationships
CONFUCIUS: Latin name for chinese philosopher Kung Fu-tze. 551-479 BC.
•Created ethical system called CONFUCIANISM – system of ideal human
relationships based on happiness, respect for elders and family unity.
•Human behaviour and contact
•Not religion
•Formed the basis of society, government and justice.
•Practiced correctly would bring order.
•Each person was to strive to be
•Polite
•Honest
•Hardworking
•Respectful
•Wise
•Power and right to rule belonged to superiors over subordinated:
•Older over younger --- Each having to give obedience and respect to
superior.
•Man over woman --- Superior owed loving respect to inferior.
•Emphasised importance of education.
• Chinese Agricultural Productivity resulted inn relationships with other countries
in trading.
17. Marriage
• Arranged
• Bride moves into husbands home.
• Becomes daughter to husbands mother
• If widowed, will take care of in-laws and children
• Very improper to remarry.
• Pressure for son
– Carry on family name
– Daughters unwanted burden and cannot care for aging parents.
Sometimes left to die or sold in poorer families.
– Reason for men to have more than one wife.
• Wealth and social status
• Unfamiliar until wedding day
• Wear red – believed meaning of foreshadowed delight.
18. Culture
• Girls and women were seen as weak and submissive
• Boys and men stronger, active and dominant
• Woman had to behave respectfully, put others first, never mention their
own good deeds or deny faults, endured insults and mistreatment, went to
bed late, woke up early, never put off work, served their husbands, rarely
laugh nor told jokes .. Kept to them selves
• With the influence of Conficius, Chinese have become more reserved.
• Some Chinese cultures:
– Chinese arts
– Architecture
– New years
– Martial arts
• Chinese are not so much religious as they are superstitious.
• Many different gods
• ancestors.
• Mandate of heaven
19. Dwellings
• Poor dwellings
• One roomed
• Mud brick
• Thatch roof
• High wall surrounding house made of earth
• No windows, just one door
• Screen wall as soon as entered
( short wall which kept people from seeing into court yard.)
• Rich dwellings
• Two stories
• Balconies
• Courtyard
• Ponds
• Built with wood
Structural principles of Chinese architecture remains unchanged.
As old as Chinese civilisation
20. Transport
• Inland water transport
• 215bc first contour canal built
• 210bc, extensive network of roads, 4000 miles of imperial highways.
• Romans used throat and girth harnesses, choked horses – slowed them
down. Chinese made improvements, placed force load on horses chest ..
Horse pulled load 6times greater
• Same path followed by stirrup .. Chinese invention ..
Greatly improved ability to ride a horse.
22. Communication
China considered oldest civilization in the world
Worlds oldest records of continuously used writing system
Many of the ancient characters still used today
Symbols represent whole concepts and carry complete meaning
Most ancient Chinese symbols discovered in form of oracle bone
scripts – symbols etched into animal bone and shell
Also discovered symbols etched in to bronze vessels.
24. Inventions
Paper
AD 105 - the year in which Early Chinese paper
papermaking was invented.
appears to have been made
In that year, historical by from a suspension of
records show that the hemp waste in water,
invention of paper was washed, soaked, and
reported to the Chinese
Emperor by Ts'ai Lun, an beaten to a pulp with a
official of the Imperial Court. wooden mallet.
Recent archaeological
investigations - the actual
invention of papermaking
some 200 years earlier.
25. Inventions
Toilet Paper interesting fact Compass
The compass was invented
This invention was during the Feudal
invented during the Sui Period, in 4th century BC.
Dynasty, about 581-618 The first compass was
AD. created out of bronze and
lodestone.
It was the Chinese who
first exchanged water to The pointer was a spoon
toilet paper to clean created out of lodestone
themselves. From then, this
The plate was bronze.
invention moved all over
the world.
26. Chinese Cuisine
• Food in China has been the foundation of life for many centuries.
• Rice is a well know crop in Southern China and has been grown since
the fourth mellenium BC. Millet, a well known crop in Northern China
has been grown since the fifth millenium BC.
• The first Chinese crop was grown in the upper Yellow River Valley.
27. Food
Rice was the first grain that people Tea grows wild in China. By about 3000
farmed in China. BC people in China had begun to drink
tea.
People cooked rice by boiling it in
water, the way they do today. Or they Tofu and Bean Curd in food as a source
made it into wine. of protein as the Buddists didn’t eat
meat.
Rice wouldn’t grow in Northern
China, so they farmed millet. They ate
it boiled into a kind of porridge.
The ancient Chinese began eating ice
cream-like deserts around 2000 B.C.
Ancient noblemen were particularly
fond of a soft paste made with soft rice
and milk, packed with snow.
Soybeans and Cucumber are native to
china.
30. .
• Once the ancient chinese
had invented a needle
made of bone. They began
to sew. From there then
began to spin and weave
and created coats made
with linen.
• Soon dress became a token
of social status.
• There were very strict rules
about color, design, and
adornment of the clothes.
• Rules were made by the
emperor and the officials.
• The color yellow was for
the emperor only.
Green, red, white, and
black were symbols for
north, south, east, and
west.
The robe embroidered with dragon patterns was made
for the exclusive use of an emperor during the Qing
dynasty.
31. Hair
• Ancient Chinese Hair
used to be considered holy
and a deeply personal
item.
• “Our body, our hair and
skin are granted by our
parents and we should not
be allowed to destroy
them”.
• Both Chinese men and
women would sometimes
wear their hair in a coiled
bun and use a hairpin to
secure it.
• Women's hair ornaments
were as your can see far
more embellished than
men's.
32. Unmarried Chinese girls hair
was usually worn long and
braided.
Women combed the hair back
from the face and wound into a
knot at the nape of the neck.
The Manchu regime of the time
dictated that men shaved the
front of the head and wore the
back hair long and braided, tied
with black silk.
There were many interesting
styles seen that branched off
those particular rules.
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?/topic/266
04-ancient-chinese-childrens-hairstyles/
34. Jewellery
Jewellery is seen to provide Colours and semi precious
power and strength to the stones –give power
wearer.
Cure some diseases, give
The dragon - power and longevity, and to be healthy.
good luck
The most famous stones
The goldfish - abundance of used for many centuries are
gold coral, turquoise and jade.
The phoenix - good
fortune, opportunity and
luck
Others -
bird, tiger, monkey, bat, peac
ock. Clouds, flowers and
twigs were also symbols of
good luck.
35. Jade
“Stone of heaven,”
The use of carved jade has
been a very important part
of Chinese society for more
than 6,000 years.
Played significant roles in
Chinese
politics, economics, philosop
hy, and religion.
They felt it embodied
qualities of
nobility, perfection, constanc
y and immortality; a
symbolic link between man
and the spiritual world
37. Jade
• Anciently jade
was made into
sacrificial
vessel, tools, ornaments
, utensils and many
other items.
• To preserve his
body, Liu Sheng, the
ruler of the Zhongshan
State (113 BC) was
buried in a jade burial
suit composed of 2,498
pieces of jade, sewn
together with gold
thread.
