Ancient China Essay

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Ancient China
Early settlements appear in the Yellow River Valley of northern China
Evidence of the first stages of simple farming
Start of the Xia Dynasty, a time of transition from stone-age to bronze-age tools and weapons
Ancient china had many dynasty
Work begins on construction of the Great Wall
Start of the Warring States period during the Zhou Dynasty
Start of the Western Han Dynasty, development of paper and porcelain; and trade established on the Silk Road
Siddhartha Gautama (later known as Buddha) born in India
Start of the Tang Dynasty; growth of cities and trade, Buddhism became an important religion
Start of the Qing Dynasty, China’s last Imperial dynasty under Manchu rule, which ended in 1911
Modern China has an area of 9.6 million square kilometres, making it the world’s third-largest country after Russia and Canada – with Australia being the sixth largest. Despite its immense size today, China began as a small settlement in the Yellow River Valley. In this section we will explore how China’s geographical features influenced the development of Chinese society and culture.
Ancient China developed along the banks of major rivers, including the Yellow River in
the north of China and the Yangtze River further south. These rivers, like the Nile River in Egypt, would regularly flood. As floodwaters receded, the thick layer of rich soil left behind was ideal for growing crops. Ancient China is another example supporting the hydraulic theory, which tries to explain the settlement patterns of ancient societies in terms of their closeness to sources of water. According to the theory, rivers provided early settlements with a reliable supply of water and a means of transport at a time when it was quicker and easier to travel by boat.
Floodwaters in ancient China were both a blessing and a curse. A Chinese nickname for river is ‘Great Sorrow’, which reflects the many times that homes and lives were destroyed during flood seasons. During the floods, river levels had to be monitored and controlled by the building of canals and levees (raised areas along the banks). This was particularly vital in the case of the Yellow River floods, and the result was greater cooperation among the settlements along the river, leading to the development of centralised control and government.
China’s greatest resource has always been its agricultural land, even though much of its land is mountainous and only 70 per cent is useful for farming. Reliable harvests ensured that surpluses of food were often possible. This meant that less time and fewer people were needed to grow and harvest food. Instead, these people could spend their time providing labour for China’s armies and large building projects, and develop ideas and skills in manufacturing, the arts and sciences.
China is located entirely on the continent of Asia. Its geographical setting and natural features provided natural defences, and were also the reason why ancient societies to the west knew very little about China. Surrounding ancient China were: the South China Sea, East China Sea and Yellow Sea to the east dense tropical forests, in places that are now in Laos, Vietnam and Burma (Myanmar), 
to the south the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau and the mountainous country in parts of modern-day 
Pakistan and Afghanistan to the west vast deserts to the north-west. 
It was only China’s northern border that was less protected by natural geographical barriers. In order to secure this border against invaders, around 2000 years ago work began on a huge protective wall, known today as the Great Wall of China.
Because of China’s isolation from the West, and its dominance across East Asia, for centuries the Chinese viewed themselves as being at the centre of the world. The Chinese name for their country is Zhong Guo, which translates as ‘centre (or middle) kingdom’. This view influenced the way China saw itself and other societies. The Chinese believed, for example,
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