Yr 7

1. Ancient China Introduction

2. With history as a
mirror, one can
understand the rise
and fall of a nation.
- Emperor Taizong

3. "Westerners value
science and philosophy;
the Middle East, South
Asia and North Africa
gave birth to religions;
yet Chinese people
treasure the wisdom of
history ... for self-
cultivation, family
management and state
governance."
- Prof. Zhang Guogang

4. “Several thousand years ago, the
Chinese nation trod a path that was
different from other nations' culture
and development. ...We should be
more respectful and mindful of
5,000 years of continuous Chinese
culture. ...people should draw
deeply from the past, taking what
they find valuable and leaving what
they don't, keeping fully in mind the
experiences, lessons and warnings
of history.”
-Xi Jinping (2014)

11. Coastal region (Shanghai)

12. Himalayan Mountains

13. Gobi Desert

15. Yellow River

16. Yellow River

17. Yangtze River

18. Yangtze River

21. River Valley Civilisations

22. Water-powered Mill

23. Paleolithic
tools

24. Hunter-Gatherers
Become
Herders
Become
Farmers
Continue
H-Gs

25. Xiongnu
(Huns)
Tibetans

26. Grand Canal

27. Rice

28. Terracing

29. Wheat

30. Millet

32. Banpo
archaeological site

33. Reconstruction of Banpo
Neolithic Village

34. Reconstruction of Banpo
Neolithic Village

36. Dynasties
• Definition of Dynasty:
• A time when a sequence of rulers from the
same family rule over a kingdom or empire
• Several Dynasties ruled Ancient China
• Examples: Shang, Zhao, Qin, Han, Sui, Yuan,
Ming, Tang
• How to remember them all:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJis9TSw1r

38. Tian Ming - Mandate of Heaven
• Heaven bestowed the right to be Emperor (tian zi “Son
of Heaven”)
• But the ruler and his successors had to be good, just
and perform special rites
• Natural disasters or invasions were signs of Heaven’s
unhappiness with a ruler
• If so, the people had a right to revolt
• A new leader would eventually emerge to found a new
dynasty
• When a dynasty lost power, this meant that they must
also have lost the Mandate of Heaven

39. New Dynasty
• Brings peace
• (Re)builds infrastructure
• Gives land to peasants
• Protects people
Old Dynasty
• Taxes people too much
• Fails to protect people
• Lets infrastructure
decay
• Treats people unfairly
• High taxes
• Corruption and moral
corruption
Problems
• Floods, earthquakes etc.
• Famine
• Peasants revolt
• Invaders attack
• Bandits raid countryside
Time goes by and
the New Dynasty
becomes…
New leader arises
and claims the
Mandate of
Heaven
Old Dynasty loses
the Mandate of
Heaven
The Dynastic Cycle

41. Tian Xia - “All under Heaven”
• area given to the Emperor to rule and bring order
to
• envisaged as circles of decreasing civilization,
order and influence
• peoples of varied cultural and regional
backgrounds brought together under the
authority of a singer ruler
• rulers everywhere derive their power from the
Emperor

42. Lord’s
Zone
Pacified
Zone
Controlled
Zone
Wild Zone
Uncivilized
Civilized
Ordered
Disordered
More tribute
Less tribute

43. Imperial
Domain
Lord’s
Zone
Pacified
Zone
Controlled
Zone
Wild Zone

44. Map of Tien Xia (Ming Dynasty)

45. Map of Tien Xia (1623)

50. Video
• Crash Course World History
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylWORyTo
To4