CHINA

THE LAND

• called themselves Middle Kingdom
• they believed they are at the center of earth
• one of the world's oldest civilizations
• unique and staple culture

SOCIAL FEATURES

Strong Family Ties

• family - the center of life
• major responsibility - to bring honor to the family
• ancestor worship - leading religion

language and learnig

• great variations in the spoken language
• common written language
• China has been called a "scholar's world"

confucianism

• the heart of Chinese religions and beliefs and practices
• Kung Futzu started it
• became the guiding philosophy of China's education

confucius

• Kung Futzu - grew up in poverty during a time of unrest
• He taught through proper conduct man could slove the problems of the society
• "what you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others"

taoism

• Lao-tzu - founder of Taoism
• taught that tao is the pervading force in nature
• encouraged men to find peace and happiness by living in happiness by living in harmony with nature
• "the soft overcomes the hard; the weak overcomes the strong"
• became the basis of mystical, magical, and superstitious elements in Chinese society

Dynasties

shang dynasty

• the earliest known Chinese dynasty
• along the Yellow River
• knowledge comes from early Chinese writings on animal shell
• they cracked the shells and interpret the crack to get the answer for the future

zhou dynasty

• longest dynasty ( lasted over 800 years )
• called "classical" or "formative" age of Chinese history
• much of China's culture has established
• decentralized government
• too much freedom was allowed to powerful nobles

zhou dynasty

• Zhou rulers became unable to control the nobles
• sporadic fighting broke out among rival states

Qin dynasty

• by Qin Shi Huang - short-lived but memorable
• united the provinces of China under one centralized government
• standardized the Chinese weight, measurement, and coinage systems
• brought uniformity to China's writing system
• began the construction of the Great Wall for defense against Huns

qin dynasty

• harsh and ruthless ruling led to revolt

han dynasty

• Wu Ti - the most famous Han ruler
• drove back the Huns
• extended China's territory
• Pax Sinica(Chinese Peace) was established during this dynasty
• Buddhism entered

Tang Dynasty

• a golden age in Chinese history
• a stable government, an expanding empire, increased trade
• contact with other civilizations, advances in learning
• magnificent works of art and literature
• Li Po - the most popular and prolific poet

TANG DYNASTY

• lasted about three centuries
• lost both prosperity and power

song dynasty

• politically weak
• China was divided into the Northern and the Southern
• active trade
• Chinese culture flourished
• excelled in painting, printing, and porcelain

CHINESE CULTURE

silk and porcelain

• China was first to produce silk
• China developed the process for making porcelain
• silk became fashionable
• porcelain was one of the most valued possessions

block printing

• China invented movable type of printing to speed up
• due to the thousands of characters, it was not widely used in China
• also was not practical

others

• first to develop paper
• invented magnetic compass
• first used in the manufacturing of fireworks