Chinese Civilization

Associate Professor Dr. Md. Faruk Shah

Adjunct Faculty Member
Department of History and Philosophy
North South University
 Lecture Outline
Background
Geographical location and racial characteristics
Political system: politics, governance system and civil service
Social, Economic & Religious life
Science and technological advancement
Philosophy
 Background
• Global position of China makes a thematic and recurrent topic in academia.
• This civilization emerged in the Yellow River valley (Huang He) of northern China.
• Between 5000 B.C. and 3000 B.C., Stone Age farmers began building permanent
villages.
• Farmers invented effective ways to produce food.
• Because of geographic barriers, Chinese developed a civilization quite different
from others.
• Believed that their land was at the center of the world.
• As civilization advanced, trade and travel across China increased. (Beers, 1986)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLStXl6CmS8
 Geographical Condition
• Imposing geographic barriers encircle China.
• Geographic barriers and great distances restricted China to contact with the
centers of early civilization.
• Only 10% of China is suitable for farming: mostly mountains and deserts
on the northern and western frontiers.
Geography of Chinese Civilization
 Political History: Shang Civilization

• Shang dynasty:1750 to 1045 B.C.

• Chou dynasty: 1122 B.C. to 256 B.C.
• Farming society ruled by aristocracy
• Archeological excavation reveals city walls,
royal palaces & large royal tombs.
 Shang Society

• The king performed political and religious duties (Beers, 1986).

• Shang rulers had a bureaucratic system in the capital city.
• Peasants were better off than most of the slaves.
• Shang society had a strict division of classes.
 Daily Life: Family and Gender
• Majority of the people were peasants living in villages.
• Paid a portion of harvest to the governor.
• Shang farmers lived in tiny houses, built partially underground.
• Practiced extended families.
• Several generations lived in the same household, headed by the male.
• Little is known about women in Shang China.
• Men probably married only one woman.
• Peasant women worked in the fields alongside men (Beers, 1986).
 Shang Culture

• The Shang rulers and nobility were preoccupied with rituals & sacrifices.

• Offerings included fine grain, incense, wine, and animals.

• Shamans strongly influenced beliefs and behavior in the Shang era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmHkOHs00Bo
 Writing and Chinese Identity

• Writing became the key to Chinese identity and the growth of civilization in China.
• The use of increasingly standardized and sophisticated written characters provided peoples a
common identity.
• With the persistence and growth of this identity, the Chinese people entered into history for
the first time. (Stearns et al, 2011)
 Shang Religious Beliefs
• Believed that many gods and spirits reside in nature.
• Gods could cause floods, drought & plagues.
• As God controlled all human affairs, people tried to satisfy the gods.
• Ancestor worship was an important part of Shang religion.
• Priests assisted the king in these ceremonies.
• Shang priests tried to foretell the future. (Beers, 1986)
 Expansion Under the Chou Dynasty
• Aggressive ruler Chou revolted and created a new dynasty.
• Chou dynasty lasted from 1122 B.C. to 256 B.C.
• Chou adopted many features of Shang civilization including laws and
customs.
• Made their own contributions to Chinese civilization, which they extended
over a large region. (Beers, 1986)
 The Mandate of Heaven
• Chou developed the idea of the "Mandate of Heaven," or a divine right to rule.

• To Chou, a dynasty enjoyed heaven's blessing only as long as it governed

wisely and justly. If a ruler was lazy, cruel, or corrupt, heaven withdrew the
mandate, or right, to rule.

• Believed that natural disasters and invasions revealed a ruler's failure to please
heaven. (Beers, 1986)
 Chou Government
• A feudal system emerged.
• Settled disputes between nobles.
• Rulers could not prevent warfare among hundreds of feudal states.
• Bureaus controlled finances, the armed forces, law enforcement &
recordkeeping.
• Government bureaucracy remained important in China for 2,500 years.
(Beers, 1986)
 Social Structure of Chou Dynasty

• Constant feudal warfare after 771 B.C.

• At the head of Chinese society were the government officials.
• Artisans and merchants ranked below peasants.
• Education became increasingly important for government officials.

(Beers, 1986).
 Economic Growth

• Peasants used fertilizers and iron tools.

• Irrigation projects introduced ox-drawn plow & increased food production.
• Feudal lords favoured peasants to settle in new territories.
• Roads & rivers were used to carry products from villages-towns-cities.
• The introduction of metal coins ensured large-scale trade.
(Beers, 1986)
The Silk Road
 Chinese Philosophies

• Between 500 and 200 B.C.: Three major schools of thought about the nature
of human beings and the universe emerged.
Confuciusism
Taoism
Legalism
• Focused on immediate world and how to create a stable order.
 Confucianism
• Born in 551 B.C. in China
• Was upset by violence and moral decay
• Traveled to persuade political leaders to follow his ideas
• Documented his sayings in the Analects
• Good society preserves peace and order among individuals and between people
and their government.
• Stressed virtues: loyalty, courtesy, hard work & kindness to ensure social
harmony.
• Set out five basic relationships: ruler and subject, parent and child, husband
and wife, older brother and younger brother, & friend and friend. (Beers, 1986)
 Taoism

• Taoism was concerned with how to achieve a good society.

• Emphasized simplicity, meditation and a closeness with nature.
 Legalism

• Argued for a system of impersonal laws

• Strong ruler was required to create an orderly society
• Only the fear of harsh punishment would keep order in society
• Ruler did not have to show sympathy for the needs of the people
 Ancient Chinese Medicine

• A broad range of medicine practiced.

• The doctrines of Chinese medicine are rooted in

books such as Huang Di’s Inner Canon and Treatise

on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases.
• Diagnosis consisted of tracing symptoms
Chinese Science and Architecture
The Great Wall
• Shi Huangdi’s greatest
achievement
• 25 feet high, thousands of miles
long
• Feudal states built their own walls,
now they were united together
• Used to protect the civilization
from nomadic bands north of the
wall
Thank You and Questions???