Why did the

Chinese
Empire last so
long?
Early World History
David Peal
Katherine Thomas High School

Geography

China and the U.S. (today)

compared

Geography provided
protection

Chinas Geographical
features

Two great rivers

NORTH: Huang He River (Chinas Sorrow), also known as
the Yellow River (2,500 miles long)
SOUTH: Yangsi River (3,000 miles long)
Two deserts: the Taklamakan in the west and the Gobi in
the north
Mountains: One third of China is mountains: Himalaya
Mountains in the south and east plus the Tibetan plateau
Today, China is slightly larger than the U.S. but has five
times the population
How does China feed so many people on so little land?

Geography and history

Mountains protected China from invaders

coming from the south.
China was open to nomads from the north and
west
China was open to contact with cultural contact in
the west and along the Pacific coast
Rivers encouraged internal trade between east
and west, but...
North-south trade was expensive

Grand Canal

The Grand Canal linked the North and

South. It was completed by the Sui
Dynasty in the 600s. It was 1,114 miles
long, and had 60 bridges and 24 locks.

Major rivers supported

agriculture

Source: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/china/geog/M_rivr.htm

Agriculture fed a large

population

The Chinese got as much food from as little land

as possible. They used

What they grew

Irrigation, with dikes, to bring water to fields

Terraced farming so that mountains could be farmed
Year-round cultivation of fields, with heavy fertilization
Grain was grown in the north (millet and wheat)
Rice was grown in the south, producing 2-3 times more
calories per acre than wheat
Vegetables: Soybean, beans

Peasant farmers were the largest group in

society. Most were poor.

Terraced agriculture

Irrigation brought water to

the fields

enabled China to trade with

other countries

Silk: the Chinese learned to cultivate, produce,

and trade silk (made from silkworms,
Porcelain: special clay fired at very high
temperatures
Jade: rare green gems
Paper: invented in China, along with advanced
printing methods
Cottonfor light-weight clothing
Tealater, everyone in the world wanted Chinas
tea
Gunpowder

government, cities
developed.

So much food was

grown that people
could live in cities.
The first big city was
Anyang (Xian)
Other cities were
supported by trade.
Great port cities grew
up during the Song
dynasty (900s) as
China began to trade
with southeast Asia
and India

Beliefs

Beliefs: Confucianism
Confucius

lived from between

about 551 BC until about 479 BC
He believed that
Fathers had authority over sons, men
over women, and rulers over subjects
One behaved according to ones position
in society
Everyone showed respect the parents,
ancestors, and rulers
The needs of the community always
came first

Beliefs: Buddhism

Buddhism focused on
individual growth,
not social order
It spread along Silk
Road and into China
during the Han
dynasty
It spread from China
into Korea and Japan

Different beliefs were existed

together
in China.

Buddhist beliefs focused on

individuals and how they should
feel, think, and act toward other
living things
Confucian beliefs were focused on
society.
Respect and tolerance were part of
Confucianism and Buddhism.
Neither system cared very much
about what happened after death.
How are these systems different
from our own?

Government

Writing made it possible to rule a

large country

First writing: oracle bones (more

than 3,000 years ago)

The ruler asked a question

A priest wrote the question on oxen
bones or inside of tortoise shells.
They pressed hot metal instrument onto
the bone until it cracked.
An oracle (fortune teller) interpreted the
cracks as messages from the gods

A common writing system gave the

government more control of whole
country.
Writing was unified in the Han
Dynasty (2000 years ago)

An oracle is someone
who predicts the
future.

China had strong rulers.

A dynasty is a family that rules

Dynasties got their power from ancestors and
from nature spirits. It was important to stay on
good terms with ancestors and nature!
Bureaucrats collected taxes, organized the
army, and maintained order
Government officials were trained to serve
society.
Difficult exams were used to select the best
government officials.
Bureaucrats were the most important people in
society.

The Dynasty system begins

The first dynasty to unify China was the Qin, which
defeated all the warring states to create a single
country in 220 BC
The Qin:
unified the written language system
used a common language system
developed the Chinese bureaucracy into a
machine for getting taxes from peasants, creating
a justice system, and developing a huge army
The Qin lasted only 15 years and were very violent
They were followed by the Han dynasty, which was
more peaceful and encouraged trade

with enemies inside and

outside of China

They kept invaders out.

Nomads in the North and West were the main
enemy. Nomads herded animals and moved from
place to place to feed the animals.
Dynastiesfought nomads.
sometimes bought them off.
Built the Great Wall tried to keep them out.

Dynasties kept rich landowners (nobles)

from getting too strong by
Taking care of peasants and their needs
Giving power to educated bureaucrats

Dynasties werent just

strong, they were flexible

They could bring enemies, like the

Mongols, into the system.
They could use the ideas of Confucius and
Buddha to increase their power:
Confucius: his ideas were taught to
bureaucrats
Buddha: his ideas taught ideals of calm living
and awareness of all living things

Capital cities moved over time

Chinas borders changed many times

Song Empire
Tang
Empire

Yuan Empire
(Mongols)

Chinas borders changed over

time

Ming
Empire

Most importantpeaceful
change of government was
possible.

Power was based on heavenly approval (Mandate

of Heaven)
Power could be withdrawn (taken away) by the
heavens
If rulers were weak, people thought their power
had been taken away, and it was OK to resist and
rebel (not go along with dynasty)
In Europe, kings and queens believed their power
came from God. How is this idea different from
the Mandate of Heaven?

Why was China able to

survive so long?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Geography provided protection

Belief systems focused on getting along
with other people and living with nature
Political system (dynasties) provided
strong but flexible rule
Government was managed by educated
and thoughtful people (bureaucrats)
Good standard of living. Excellent natural
resources combined with a culture that
encouraged innovation and problemsolving.