River Valley Civilizations

Ancient Egypt

•        Centered along the Nile River and its tributaries

•        Nile River is 4,000 miles long flowing from Khartoum to the Mediterranean

•        Flood cycle of the Nile helped shape ancient Egyptian life

•        Protected by location

•        Originally divided into two kingdoms

–       Upper Egypt – river valley

–       Lower Egypt – river delta

•        Menes unified Upper and Lower Egypt in appx. 3000 BCE, establishing the first Egyptian Dynasty

•        Capital located at Memphis

•        King or Pharaoh was considered divine

•        Entire society was organized under the Pharaoh – trade, labor, religion…

•        Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BCE)

•        Adopted the pictograph form from the Mesopotamians

–       Hieroglyphics

•        Had intricate religious and afterlife detail

•        Instituted magnificent burial practices to evidence the power of the Pharaoh

Indus Valley Civilization
Dravidians (native people)

•        2500-1500 BCE

•        Settled Indus River valley

–       Pakistan/Western India

•        3-season climate gave plentiful food

•        Archeological digging complicated by ground water

•        Language can not be deciphered

•        Most writing on small “seals” (not animals)

•        Cities were well planned

–       City laid out in grid

–       City probably housed over 100,000 people

–       Many smaller towns also in the area

–       Oven-baked bricks (versus sun-dried of Mesopotamia)

–       Sewer systems

–       Great baths

–       Unfortified

•        Religion was polytheistic

•        Civilization declined over many years

–       Isolation problem

ANCIENT CHINA

•        Great Wall

•        Began 2000 B.C.E.

•        Mandate of Heaven

•        Dynasties

•        Silk

•        astronomy

As in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and along the Indus River, Chinese civilization began within a major river valley. Modern China itself is a huge geographical expanse. Around 4000 BCE, this huge area contained an almost infinite number of ethnic groups and languages. 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.

Yellow River Civilization

•        Ancient China was formed around the Yellow River.

•        The color yellow symbolized “centrality”, as in China is the center of the world.

Chinese accomplishments

•        During the Zhou and Shang periods, the Chinese made remarkable achievements in astronomy and bronzework, learned to make silk and create books, and developed a complex system of writing

Chinese invented silk

•        Silk was exotic and expensive, so it was good for trading with the rest of the world.

•        It is made from silk worms.

•        Silk also makes “paper”

According to Chinese political theory, every dynasty goes through the so-called dynastic cycle:

1. A new ruler unites China and founds a new dynasty.
2. China, under the new dynasty, achieves prosperity and a new golden age.
3. The royal family of the dynasty begins to decay, corruption becomes rampant in the imperial court, and the empire begins to enter decline and instability.
4. The dynasty loses the Mandate of Heaven, their legitimacy to rule, and is overthrown by a rebellion. The Mandate of Heaven is then passed to the next dynasty

Neolithic “China”

•        Chinese” civilization developed around two main rivers: the Yellow (Huang He) and Yangtze.

•        Around 7000 B.C.E.

•        Cultivation of agriculture led to the development of urban areas.

•        Yangshao and Longshan cultures.

•        Development of dynasties.

Early Dynasties

•        Xia Dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 B.C.E.)

–       Not much known, mostly legend verified by some archaeological findings.

–       Records of the Grand Historian (109 – 91 B.C.E.) by Sima Qian.

–       Early writing found on bones and shells.

•        Shang Dynasty (1600 – 1046 B.C.E.)

–       Chinese culture as we discussed earlier begins to develop during this period.

–       History pieced together from oracle bones.

–       What is an oracle bone?

Politics and Society of Shang

•        Primarily agricultural society ruled by a king and aristocratic class.

•        King (王; wang) was an intermediary between “heaven” and earth.

–       Religious system revolved around gods in early Shang period.

–       Human sacrifice evolves into ancestor veneration by end of Shang Dynasty.

–       Emergence of idea of Mandate of Heaven (天命)

•        Differentiation of classes: aristocrats, peasants, and slaves.

•        Writing system disseminates throughout East Asia.

Last Shang King

•        King Di Xin (aka Zhou Wang; 紂王).

•        Added territory to Shang empire.

•        According to Sima Qian, he was given to drinking, women, festive orgies, and “songs with crude lyrics.”

•        Ignored affairs of state.

Fall of Shang Dynasty, 1046 B.C.E

Zhou Dynasty

•        Zhou Dynasty (1045 – 256 B.C.E.), named after the Zhou province, emerged in western Yellow River as a principality of the Shang Dynasty.

•        Founded by Ji Chang, son Ji Fa (aka King Wu) first Zhou emperor; claimed Mandate of Heaven.

•        Battle of Muye (1046 B.C.E.), Zhou army attacks Shang capital; Di Xin sets his own palace on fire and is burned alive.

•        Dynasty divided into Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou dynasties.

Zhou Politics

•        Zhou Dynasty becomes “feudal”: Fengjian system.

–       Decentralized rule, emperor appoints lords and vassals as territorial governors.

–       Eventually results in instability.

•        Mandate of Heaven elaborated on.

–       Not only justifies rule, but also overthrow.

–       “He who wins is the king; he who loses is the rebel.”

–       Permanent rule of statecraft.

Zhou Economy

•        Feudal economy and land divisions: “well field system” from Chinese character for well, jing      (井); slavery decreased.

•        Development of an artisinal and merchant class in the walled towns and villages.

•        Improvements in agriculture = improved crop yields = rise in population.

•        Silk trade begins with ancient Mediterranean and Middle East cultures.

•        Barter system transitions into money system.

Confucianism

•        How did Confucius (Kung Fuci) explain Dao?

•        First, duty to family and community.

•        Second, “human-heartedness” compassion or empathy for others.

•        Third, deemphasize gods, death, and the afterlife.

Daoism

•        Founded by Laozi (4^th c. B.C.E.), contemporary of Confucius.

•        Similar to Confucianism, except:

–       Inaction over action.

–       Let nature take its course.

–       Stress on deities and spirits.