AP World History: Xia and Shang dynasties in ancient China

1. AP World History: Xia and Shang dynasties in ancient China

2. Presentation Outline Xia dynasty • Geography and origins • Characteristics Shang dynasty 3) Geography and origins 4) Characteristics 5) Common features

3. 1) Xia dynasty: Geography and origins • Lasted from 2070-1600 B.C.E • Founded by Yu the Great who would become the dynasty’s first emperor • Located along the Yellow river in north central China

4. 2) Xia dynasty: characteristics • Yu the Great implemented a flood control system to tame the waters of the Yellow river • Irrigation channels were built to sustain agriculture • The concept of the mandate of heaven was first proclaimed that all Chinese emperors rule by divine (god) right • No written records- Xia China was an oral culture • Very much a Neolithic civilization though bronze was cast in the later period • Belief in natural spirits

5. Xia irrigation system

6. 3) Shang dynasty: Geography and origins • Lasted from 1600 to 1046 B.C.E • Established by an army which overthrew the Xia emperor • Larger dynasty located between two major river valleys: The Yellow river and the Yangtze river

7. 4) Shang dynasty: characteristics • Developed first written Chinese language (character system) • Bronze age civilization which refined the use of iron and bronze to create weapons, cooking ware, and art • The Bronze age developed much later in China than in the fertile crescent and Egypt • Hierarchical society (Nobles Commoners Slaves • Religion was based on a belief in spirits and ancestor worship • Belief in the afterlife • Shang rulers were concerned about the “uncivilized” nomadic peoples who lived outside the dynasty’s borders

8. Shang emperors created first Chinese government system by imposing and collecting taxes • The emperor’s decisions were recorded by court stenographers

10. Uses of bronze and iron

11. 5) Common features • Agricultural societies which depended on the cultivation of rice • Belief in spirits • Yellow river valley civilizations • Permanent settlements Question: 1) Why do historians know much more about the Shang dynasty but relatively little about the Xia dynasty?