Turning Point Webquest - River Valley - Yellow
Turning Points in History
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Timeline Event
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Huang He (Yellow) River - China
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When
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c. 4000BCE - 1945CE
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Where
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Asia - China
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Participants (Who) | }}
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{{ #if: Qin Shi Huang Di - First Emperor | *Qin Shi Huang Di - First Emperor| }} {{ #if: | *| }} {{ #if: | *| }} {{ #if: | *| }} {{ #if: | *| }} {{ #if: | *| }} {{ #if: | *| }} |
What Happened | }}
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The fertile soil of the Yellow river allowed for farming of Rice and other foods to develop. Rice is the main crop in China.
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Causes/Why Happened | }}
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Geography determined that the Yellow river had fertile soil for civilization to start, although China had subsistence farming until the time of the first emperor (Qin Shi Huang Di) who unified China.
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Results/Outcomes | }}
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Chinese civilization became very self-sufficient and isolated from the western world except for some trade along the Silk Road.
Vocabulary
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YELLOW RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATION
Around 4000 B.C the Yellow (Hueng He) River valley Civilization began in China. Which was the start of the many Chinese Empires. Many of the ethnic groups and cultures began in this era in China. This history, in which a vast area populated by diverse ethnic groups became, over time, a more or less single culture, began in the Yellow River Valley.
Impact of Geography
The Huang He (yellow) river stretches across China for more than 2,900 miles. It carries its rich yellow silt all the way from Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean. Also the Chang Jiang river or Yangtze river is longer, stretching about 3,400 miles across central china. The two major rivers both merge together to create a great food-producing area. Although China has to major rivers running through it only 10% of its land is fertile and has rich enough soil to grow crops unlike the 19% by the United States. Also another negative is that China is surrounded by mountain ranges and river valleys, which make it hard for people to travel and trade their crops and live stocks, so they have to mostly rely on their food.
Social Structure
The Shang King ruled from the capital city of Anyang. His kingdom was divided into different territories that were ruled by aristocratic warlords(military leaders). Although they were leaders of their land the King had the power to add and remove them whenever he chooses. The Chinese believed in supernatural forces so that they could talk to the Gods and receive help when needed.
Gender Roles
Family is very important for the Chinese culture. The authority of the family belongs to the father. The father always arranges the marriages for his daughters, controls the amount of education received by the children and chooses the career for his sons. The mother occupies a subordinate position in the family and they are unable to own their own property. A typical Chinese family contains a mother, father the sons and the unmarried daughters live in the home together. All the rituals are performed by the males.
Literature
There was a lot of literature back in the civilization time. The Zhon literature was very important to the Chinese people. There was a few different books the "Book of History" is the actual history of the Zhou. Another is the "Book of Change" is the manual of diviners. The "Book of Rites" is the rules of Etiquette and rituals for the aristocrats. Another piece from Zhou is the "Book of Songs." It tells about the condition and early Zhou. Also it is most notable of the classic works. Most of the Zhou writings have been destroyed by the first empire.
Characters
The Three Wise Sage Kings
- King Yao: a virtuous ruler bringing harmony to society
- King Shun: regulating the four seasons, weights, measures, and units of time
- King Yu: rescued China from raging floods of the Yellow River
Economy
The yellow river valley in particular lacked written language for an extensive period. Because of this, documented economics are rare. What is known is that the civilization primarily focused on day to day agriculture, rather than spontaneous growth.
The Silk Road was a major part of the this agricultural purpose in china that helped it grow. People would travel all over the silk road for trading purposes which brought cultural immersion, and agriculure was an immediate profit due to the fertile soil.
Weapons
Iron Metallurgy was used for farming tools, utensils and weapons because of its strength
First Emperor
Qin Shi Huang (260–210 BC), personal name Zheng, was the King of the state of Qin (r. 246–221 BC) who conquered all other Warring States and united China in 221 BC. Rather than maintain the title of king borne by the Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty from 220 to 210 BC. The title emperor (huangdi) would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia.
During his reign, his generals greatly expanded the size of the Chinese state: campaigns south of Chu permanently added the Yue lands of Hunan and Guangdong to the Chinese cultural orbit; campaigns in Central Asia conquered the Ordos Loop from the nomad Xiongnu, although eventually causing their confederation under Modu Chanyu. Qin Shi Huang also worked with his minister Li Si to enact major economic and politic reforms aimed at the standardization of the diverse practices of the earlier Chinese states. This process also led to the banning and burning of many books and the execution of recalcitrant scholars. His public works projects included the unification of diverse state walls into a single Great Wall of China and a massive new national road system, as well as the city-sized mausoleum (tomb) guarded by the life-sized Terracotta Army. He ruled until his death, which occurred in 210BC despite an infamous search for an elixir (potion) of immortality.