Ancient Chinese civilization developed along the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers in China between 2070 BC-1912 AD. Key periods included the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties which established early Chinese culture, followed by the Qin Dynasty which first unified China in 221 BC. The long-lasting Han Dynasty which ruled from 206 BC-220 AD saw advancements in agriculture, trade, and bureaucracy which established institutions that shaped China for the next 2,000 years. Imperial China was then governed by a succession of dynasties until 1912.

1. Ancient Chinese Civilization
 China is one of the world's four ancient civilizations
 Lies between Yellow and Yangtze rivers.
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2. Timeline of Chinese Civilization
 The Xia Dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) — Early Bronze Age China
 Ancient China (c. 1600–221 BC)
1. The Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC)
2. The Zhou Dynasty (1045-221 BC)
 Imperial China (221 BC – 1912 AD)
 The Qin and Han Dynasties (221BC –220 AD)
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3. Inventions and Discoveries
 Ancient Chinese Technology include
 modern agriculture,
 decimal mathematics,
 umbrella,
 shipping,
 astronomical observations,
 Coin and paper money
 wheelbarrow
 the game of chess and even multi-staged rockets.
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4. The Xia Dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) — Early
Bronze Age China
 The Xia Dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) — Early Bronze Age China
 First Dynasty- founded by Yu the Great
 Yu was famous for building canals to help control the flooding of the Yellow River.
 It was consisted of several clans which were living alongside the Yellow River
 Very less information about it due to unwritten historical record.
 But it was evident by the remains of Erlitou culture- early Bronze Age urban society
and archaeological culture that existed in the Yellow River valley from approximately
1900 to 1500 BC
 Xia ended under the reign of Jie, a very notorious tyrannical emperor in Chinese
history.
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5. Ancient China (c. 1600–221 BC)
 Ancient China (c. 1600–221 BC)
 1: The Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC)
 The Shang Dynasty was the first to have historical records remaining.
 Written history of China (c. 1600–1046 BC), over 3,000 years ago.
 Bronze objects and jade articles, have been found to support these early
archaeological records.
 Traditional Chinese philosophies, such as Confucianism and Daoism
developed.
 Territory and population expanded.
 Earliest form of Chinese writing – oracle bones – was found.
 It had Pictographic characters.
 The Shang Dynasty's capital was Yin (Anyang)
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6. Ancient China (c. 1600–221 BC)
 2: The Zhou Dynasty (1045-221 BC)
 After the Shang era, the larger Zhou era started
 Territory was divided by a network of feudal states and was ruled over by kings.
 The king of Zhou only had direct control over a small portion of the realm
 He received tributes from the feudal states.
 The first part of the Zhou era was called the Western Zhou (1045–771 BC)- peaceful
time
 After 770 BC, the Zhou king lost his authority and seven prominent states emerged.
 7 warring states: Qin, Chu, Zhao, Wei, Han, Yan, and Qi.
 The Warring States Period (475–221 BC) ended with Qin's conquest of the other states.
 It was transitional period between ancient China and Imperial China.( tribal society to
feudal society)
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7. Imperial China (221 BC – 1912 AD)
 First centralized feudal empire, the Qin Dynasty, which was
established in 221 BC and ended 1912
 This period is known as the imperial era of China.
 Rise and fall of dynasties
 The Qin and Han Dynasties (221BC –220 AD)
 During this period, a number of institutions were established
 Provided foundation for the basic political system for the next 2,000
years.
 The short-lived Qin Dynasty was the first to unite China as a country
under an emperor
 A bureaucratic government was introduced
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8. The Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC)
 First and shortest imperial dynasty
 Qin Shi Huang was first to use the title of emperor in China.
 Qin Shi Huang centralized the power of the empire - Set up a system of laws.
 He standardized units of weight and measurements, as well as the writing
system.
 Great building projects, such as the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army,
 The wall was built to repel nomadic invaders, the Xiongnu. Highways were also
built.
 When he died, the emperor was buried in an enormous tomb with a terra
cotta army.
 Liu Bang, a peasant leader, overthrew the unpopular Qin regime and
established the Han Dynasty.
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9. Terra cotta army for protection
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11. Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China
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12. Terracotta army -Some important facts
 It was constructed over 2,200 years ago.
 It was discovered by local farmers. while digging a well in 1974 in Xi’an.
 Describes as eighth ancient wonder
 Experts estimate there are more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots, and 670
horses.
 Every soldier is unique, no two are alike and each has unique and realistic
features.
 700,000 laborers constructed and took 40 years to finish
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13. The Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD)
 Peasant Revolt -Liu Bang, a peasant leader, overthrew the unpopular Qin
regime and established the Han Dynasty.
 The Han Dynasty was one of the most powerful and important dynasties in
China's history.
 The longest imperial dynasty, the Han Dynasty, was known for starting the
Silk Road trade and connecting China with Central Asia and Europe.
 Bureaucratic system introduced in which promotion was based on merit
 Confucianism was adopted by the state for national governance.
 agriculture, handicrafts, and commerce developed rapidly.
 The multiethnic country became more united during the Han regime.
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14. Three competing belief systems
• These three philosophies influenced early Chinese empires; some even
became official state ideologies.
• Confucianism is an ethic of moral uprightness, social order, and moral
responsibility.
• Legalism is a theory of autocratic, centralized rule and harsh penalties.
• King Zheng later known as Qin Shi Huangdi, formed Qin dynasty which is
often credited as the first dynasty to unify China adopted this philosophy.
• Daoism was a philosophy of universal harmony that urged its practitioners
not to get too involved in worldly affairs.
• The Dao is meant to represent the natural order of the universe, and
Daoism stipulates that human beings are the only species that disobeys the
Dao.
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15. Government
 King/ Emperors
 the early rulers, of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, styled themselves “kings”
 the monarchs of the Qin and Han dynasties ruled over a united China, and as a result they
styled themselves “emperors”
 The Mandate of Heaven (Qin Dynasty)
 Divine authority to rule.
 Chinese rulers bore the title “Son of Heaven”.
 Emperors were viewed as sacred figures: to disobey them was like to disobey Heaven.
 It was believed that if emperors ruled badly or unjustly, their dynasty was liable to lose this
mandate
 It provoked rebels attempt to replace the dynasty
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16. The Court
 Emperors were surrounded by courts.
 Nobles of society: Royal family, ministers and officials
responsible for helping the emperor in governing the
huge country.
 The court was housed in the royal palace, located in
the capital.
 Capital was political center of the state
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17. The Civil Service
 Emergence of one of the most impressive governing institutions in world history, the Chinese civil service.
 Examining candidates for public posts.
 One of the most revered institutions in Chinese history.
 Origin of Institution- Zhou dynasty, when the territorial princes were centralizing the government of their
states
 Institution maturity came under the Han dynasty.
 During Han times, the civil service became a huge organization, employing many thousands of officials.
 Key Responsibilities of civil servants
1. keeping law and order,
2. collecting taxes,
3. maintaining irrigation systems and flood defenses,
4. and a host of other tasks to do with keeping China governed effectively.
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18. Defence System
 Ancient China saw the transformation of armed forces from feudal forces in Shang
and early Zhou times,
 late Zhou, Qin and Han periods- mass armies composed largely of infantry troops.
 Composition of Army: different kinds of recruits:
 long service, professional soldiers, peasant conscripts, and non- Chinese
tribesmen.
 The Great Wall 0f China
 In the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, the northern and western border states most
exposed to raids by steppe nomads.
 These walls were the ancestors of the famous Great wall of China
 Refurbished into its present form under the Ming dynasty, in the 15th century CE.
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19. Economy in Ancient China
 Ancient China’s economy and society was based on agriculture.
 Social position and economic condition of farmers has been different at
different time
 During Shang and early Zhou, they were serfs, semi-servile bondsmen tied to
their particular lords.
 From middle Zhou times, as the old feudal aristocracy disappeared, more of
them became free owners of their small farms.
 Han times, their status declined again.
 Chinese agriculture became more and more productive.
 New crops and the spread of iron tools and new techniques led to more
intensive farming.
 later Zhou times, government became active in promoting agriculture,
especially by bringing new land under irrigation,
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20.  As agriculture became more productive and population
increased, trade and industry also grew.
 The introduction of coinage in later Zhou times facilitated trade,
 Technological innovations such as the development of steel-
making contributed to industrial expansion.
 Another major factor was state intervention.
 Under the Qin and Han, the standardization in such things as
weights and measures and road building would have had a major
impact on economy
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21. International trade
 International trade first gained prominence under the Han dynasty.
 Silk Road: By gaining control over the eastern steppes of central Asia, the Han
enabled the Silk Road, that great trade route across Asia to the Middle East
and Europe, to become established.
 At the same time, the conquest of south China opened up the maritime trade
to south east Asia.
 Craftsmen must have formed a privileged class in early China.
 It was in this period that Canton began its long history as a center of
international commerce
 In middle and later Zhou times, merchants became more influential as a
class,
 Economic expansion under the Han dynasty especially benefitted the urban
classes.
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22. Social structure in ancient China
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23. Writing System
 Origin of writing in China dates from 3500 years ago
 China is among the first societies that adopted a formal writing language.
 Ancient Chinese writing on oracle bones is called Jiaguwen shell bone
writing
 Earliest form was Pictographic.
 They were used for divination.
 Divination was a process whereby the bones were heated and the cracks
thus formed was studied to find solutions to one’s questions.
 The bones were then inscribed with details of the questions and the
answers.
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24.  Dazhuan represents the next stage of Chinese writing. script
on Bronze. It may be the same as the Jiaguwen.
 By 500 B.C. the angular script that characterizes modern
Chinese writing had developed in the form called Xiaozhuan.
 Bureaucrats of the Qin Dynasty used Lishu, a script still
sometimes used.
 Kaishu appeared towards the end of Han dynasty was very
similar to Lishu.
 Xingshu was a cursive version of Lishu
 Caoshu script appeared during the Qin dynasty
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25. Jiaguwen
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27. Literature
 Literature in Ancient China really got going in mid-Zhou times – the
time of Confucius and other philosophers.
 A number of works, dating to Zhou and Han times, gained the status
of “Classics“ (5 Books)
 Works of history
 The Han historian Sima Qian (c. 145-87 BC) set the standard for
historical writing for the next two thousand years.
 History would be a major feature of Chinese literature.
 Poetry: Han period
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28. Religion
 Three main philosophies provided basis to ancient China
religion
 Taoism,
 Confucianism
 and Buddhism
 People worshipped a supreme god who was king of many
other lesser deities as early as c. 2200 BCE.
 By the time of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) religious
beliefs recognized existence a definite "king of the gods"
named Shangdi
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29. Taoism
 6th centaury by Lao tzu
 His book Tao Te Ching explains his philosophy
 People should be one with nature
 Taoists believe in spiritual immortality, where the spirit of the body joins the universe
after death
 It did not believe on government and rulers-Government is unnatural because it tries
to change the nature which usually makes things worse
 The Idea of Ying and Yang- nature has two balancing power- opposing forces are
always equal
 Ying- Negative, female, night , passive , moon, intuitive, soft, cold,
 Yang- Positive, male , day, Active, sun logical, hard, hot
 Dragon is important symbol of Yang , it represents power, Sega and saint
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30. Confucianism
 Confucius (Philosopher and thinker) was born on 551 Bc
 He describes the ways of living and behavioure
 Treating other with respect, politeness and fairness
 Honor and morality are very important qualities
 Family is very important institution
 Believe on strong centralized government (Opposite to Taoism)
 Famous saying of Confucius depicts concept of kindness
“Forget injuries never forget kindness”
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31. Buddhism
 Based on teachingof Buddah
 Born in Nepal in 553 Bc
 Budism Spread in India and China
 Belive on rebirth
 Cycle of rebirth. Rebirth is complete once a person lives proper life –then
person soul would enter Nirvana
 Concept of Karma: All Actions have conscequences
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