Dynasty D Major Religious Beliefs example essay topic

Chinese Dynasties: 1. Shang: Also called Yin, dynasty that was China's earliest historically verifiable state 1766 B.C. to 1122 B.C.A. Reason's for Rise: Unlike the early accounts of history by the Chinese, there is archaeological evidence of the Shang, who built their cities in northern China around the eastern parts of the Yellow River. For this reason they are called the Yellow River civilization. They were a bronze age people; bronze-working seems to have entered China around 2000 BC (about one thousand years after its invention in Mesopotamia). B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): The Shang ruled the area from the North China Plain northward into present-day Shantung Province and westward to the tip of Honan Province. C. System of government & rule & names of noted rulers and their accomplishments: A city-state confederation with a three-fold structure of king, officials, commoners. D. Major Religious beliefs & practices: The Shang worshiped the earth and other nature deities to whom they offered human sacrifices. They communicated with the supernatural by writing messages on oracle bones. E. Major Accomplishments, Achievements, and contributions: The Shang society was many agricultural. They had a large army.

Bronze casting was highly developed and a writing system had evolved. There commerce was highly developed and they used cowrie shells was used as currency. Shang art consisted of Bronze, pottery, and jade ornaments. Writing: The singular aspect of Shang civilization is their invention of writing. Almost all the written records of the Shang have disappeared, for the court records were kept on strips of bamboo. However, inscriptions on bronze and on the oracle bones still survive so we have specimens of the very first Chinese writings.

The writing system was originally pictographic, that is, words were represented by pictures that fairly closely resembled the meaning of the word. The picture for 'sun,' for instance, looked much like the sun. This pictographic writing eventually developed into the more complex ideographic writing that we are more familiar with. Chinese writing is one of the only contemporary writing systems that still prominently bears traces of its pictographic origins.

Religion: The Shang worshipped a figure they called 'Shang Ti,' or 'Lord on High. ' This supreme god ruled over lesser gods of the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and other natural forces and places. Shang-Ti also regulated human affairs as well as ruling over the material universe. This dual function would, in the Chou dynasty, be attributed to a more abstract figure, 't'ien,' or 'Heaven. ' The Shang also believed that their ancestors d welled in heaven after their death and continued to show an interest in their family and descendants.

The obligations within the family included, therefore, the ancestors. Failing in one's duties to the ancestors could bring all sorts of disaster on a family. All of these divine and semi-divine figures, from Shang-Ti to a family's ancestors, were sacrificed to. However, we know little of the nature or the frequency of these sacrifices. We do know, however, that in the Chou dynasty only the king could sacrifice to Shang-Ti; it is highly likely that Shang-Ti was the 'local god' of the Shang kings who was subsequently elevated in order to elevate the Shang themselves. The one disturbing fact of Shang sacrifice is that it certainly involved humans; slaves and prisoners of war were often sacrificed by the hundreds when a king died.

Lesser numbers were sacrificed at the founding of a palace or temple. F. Major reasons for decline and fall: 2. Chou: dynasty (1122-221 B.C.) that ruled ancient china from almost a thousand years establishing a distinctive political and cultural characteristics which would be identified with China for the next 2,000 years. A. Reason's for Rise: B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): The Chou people seemed to have been a group of semi-nomadic barbarians living on the western fringe of the north China plain. C. System of government & rule & names of noted rulers and their accomplishments: A series of feudal states: Primitive communications made it impossible to institute central rule over the territory. They partitioned it off among the members of the ruling family and the loyal generals. The Chou kings never exercised any real military or political power over the entire country. D. Major Religious beliefs & practices: E. Major Accomplishments, Achievements, and contributions: China changed from one of the most backward parts of the world to one of the most advanced. Iron, Ox-drawn plow, crossbow, and horses were all introduced. Large scale irrigation and water control projects increased crop yield greatly.

Communication system was improved due to the increase of new roads. Coinage was developed and chopsticks came into use. Chinese writing system was developed. The great schools of Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism developed in this period. F. Major reasons for decline and fall: 3. Chin: dynasty, (221-206 B.C.) That established the first great Chinese Empire. The Ch " in, is the origin of the word china, established the approximate boundaries and basic administrative system that all Chinese dynasties were to follow. A. Reason's for Rise: B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): Was originated by the state of chin one of the many small feudal states into which china had been divided.

It occupied the Wei river valley in the extreme north west of the country. C. System of government & rule & names of noted rulers and their accomplishments: It was the most martial states. The rulers of Chin began to centralize state power creating a rigid system of law that were applicable through out the country. The state was divided into a series of provinces ruled by officials appointed by the central government. D. Major Religious beliefs & practices: E. Major Accomplishments, Achievements, and contributions: To rule his vast territory Shih Huang Ti, instituted a rid gid government and standardized the writing system. They built the Great Wall of china F. Major reasons for decline and fall: The harsh methods of ruling combined with large taxes caused a rebellion after Shih Huang Ti death in 210 B.C. The dynasty was replaced by the Han dynasty. 4. Han: dynasty, (206 B.C. -228 A.D. ), the second great Chinese imperial dynasty A. Reason's for Rise: The dynasty was founded by Liu Pang a man of humble birth that lead the revolt against the repressive policies of the Chin dynasty. B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): Fought against the Huns in the north and advanced into western Turkestan where they opened up communication to the subcontinent of India.

They conquered western Korea and took over trade with Japan. They conquered northern Vietnam. C. System of government & rule & names of noted rulers and their accomplishments: The Han copied the highly centralized structure of the chin dynasty. The county was divided into a series of areas appointed by the central government. They adopted a Confucian ideology that emphasized moderation and virtue.

This was so successful that the Han dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty. D. Major Religious beliefs & practices: Confucianism, the emperor was the intermediary between his subjects and heaven. Confucian historians saw history not as progressive but as cyclical. E. Major Accomplishments, Achievements, and contributions: Dramatic increase of trade with the outside world. This was a major time of peace and prosperity. They achieved breakthroughs in medicine and astronomy.

Zhang Heng developed a instrument to measure earth quakes. Greatly improved farming methods that lead to better crops. Improved the plow, and methods of grinding grain. Irrigation was improved. Clothes where elaborate, and the people eat well. Entertainment was common.

They invented paper which was cheaper than previous writing materials. They improved iron working, which lead to better weapons and tools. F. Major reasons for decline and fall: Eventually war on the frontier and the Emperors building projects put a large stain on society. The peasants were drafted into the army and agricultural production fell. Many farms were lost to rich people and the peasants wound up being hired workers or even bandits. The peasants revolted and the Generals used this opportunity to establish land for them self and the empire collapsed in confusion.

China was broken up into 3 kingdoms, the kingdom of Wei in the north, Shu in the upper Yangtze river, and the Wu kingdom in the lower Yangtze river. 5. Sui: (A.D. 581-618), dynasty that reunified China after the long-standing divisions of the Six Dynasties period (A.D. 220-589). A. Reason's for Rise: Began on a Grand Canal, a system of waterways designed to unite North and South China both economically and politically. B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): C. System of government & rule & names of noted rulers and their accomplishments: D. Major Religious beliefs & practices: E. Major Accomplishments, Achievements, and contributions: They undertook massive construction projects at their two capitals, Lo-yang and Ch " ang-an, and they reasserted Chinese sovereignty over Central Asia. F. Major reasons for decline and fall: These efforts put some much strain on the populace that it finally led to the overthrow of this dynasty. 6. Tian g: (618 A.D. - 907 B.C.) founded by a former high official of the Sui Dynasty A. Reason's for Rise: B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): Re-extended Chinese control over much of central Asia and Korea. C. Sy.