2. Chinese Dynasties
• 1500-1046 BC Shang Dynasty
• 618 – 907 AD Tang Dynasty
• 960-1279 AD Song Dynasty
• 1279-1368 AD Yuan Dynasty
• 1368-1644 AD Ming Dynasty
• 1644-1911 AD Qing Dynasty
7. • Developed ways to irrigate their crops
• Used iron farm implements
– Made farming more effective
– Made more land available for farming
• Why is this important?
8.
9. Commerce
• Trade with their neighbors
– Tin was imported to make bronze
– Cowry and turtle shells exported
– Exported iron ore products
– Exported silk
10. Money
• Silk, jade, pearls, metal leather, dogs and
horses was used as money at first
• Began casting bronze into shapes
• First civilization to print paper money
13. Compass
• First to use a compass
• Used it to align buildings
• Used it late to find direction – during the Song
dynasty
14. Gunpowder
• Discovered it by accident
• Trying to come up with substance that would
give them eternal life
• Quickly developed weapons
– Flamethrowers, rockets and crude bombs
• Developed guns during the Ming Dynasty
15. Printing
• First to develop woodblock printing
• Also developed movable type printing, but
didn’t utilize it
• Johannes Gutenberg was the first to utilize it.
19. Merchant Class
• Merchants were considered undesirable
• Thought to be dangerous because they were
mobile and wealthy
• They weren’t allowed to own property or
serve in the government
20. • Things changed during the Song Dynasty
• They took examinations and entered civil
service
• They worked to become respected and
influential members of Chinese society
21. • The growth of the merchant class brought
benefits to China
1. Factories were built
2. Towns rose up near trading centers
3. Standard of living improved
24. Confucianism
• 5 basic relationships
1. Father and son
2. Elder and younger brothers
3. Husband and wife
4. Friend and friend
5. Ruler and subjects
Confucius
25. Buddhism
• Founded on four truths:
1. Suffering is part of all existence
2. Suffering has a cause
3. Suffering can be overcome by destroying
selfish desires
4. If man follows the eightfold path, he will
destroy selfish desires and end suffering
26.
27. Taoism
• Peace and harmony can be found by living in
harmony with nature
• Very passive that rejects striving after power,
wealth and learning
Need it to support the growing population!
Population numbers varied greatly due to several reasons: 1. women and children did not pay taxes and so weren’t on tax lists…2. the dynasty could be in decline and could not produce an accurate count…3. wars made counts lower due to death…when the ming dynasty fell an estimated 25 million people died
8 fold path: right beliefs, intentions, speech, conduct, labor, effort, thoughts and meditation
