Main Facts
China is located in eastern Asia. The climate was very much like north America. There were many mountains hill and deserts in ancient China. Like many early civilizations, the Chinese irrigated the land and farmed rice, sorghum, and millet. China traded silk, fireworks, and spices. Since China didn't have much water in their area like Greece had, they traded mostly by land. China's periods of ruling were called dynasties.
Geography
According to most people, it was thought they first settled along the Yangtze and Huang He rivers. Huang means yellow in Chinese, the Huang He river is yellow because the silt from clay dust that blows into the river from the north. Northwest of China is covered in desert; The Taklamakan desert and the Gobi desert. Also in the west is the Tibet Plateau, which was known to be one of the highest places in the world. The south is covered with jungles and rain forests. Because China was surrounded by so many mountains, deserts, and jungles, and other natural barriers, they developed more independently than most civilizations.
Government
The Chinese thought there were 3 ways to rule; Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism. The government ruled by Confucianism which meant to rule by example. The emperor sets an example to his kingdom and his kingdom follows his example; so therefore the emperor must be a good man to rule his kingdom. Some believe in Legalism, which is enforcing strict and harsh laws on people to keep them well behaved. This means there is harsh punishments in disobeying the law and fine rewards for obeying. The last belief is Daoism, which is "don't rule at all". Some people believed that if people would correct themselves if you just let them be. This meant to let the people rule themselves. They also believed in one god, this is called monotheism.
Social Chain
The emperor and his family had the most power in all of China, so therefore he and his family were at the top of the social classes. Next come the nobles, a group of people who the emperors granted a large plot of land to and were rich, they were in the high class section. Artisans were middle classed and were metal workers, artists, potters, and carpenters. They earned more than peasants and farmers did. In the lower class section we find the peasants. They were still considered important because they were china's main food source. Most of the peasants were very poor and worked in the fields daily in order to keep a steady income. And at last, at the bottom were the slaves, like in Greece, slaves work at their master's bidding but was not common at all in China.
Women in China
Back in ancient China, women were not as important as men were. This is normal for most ancient civilizations. It was said that the woman gains more respect if she gives birth to a boy because men were superior to women. The girl's opinion was not important and like in other civilizations, they were not educated.
China is located in eastern Asia. The climate was very much like north America. There were many mountains hill and deserts in ancient China. Like many early civilizations, the Chinese irrigated the land and farmed rice, sorghum, and millet. China traded silk, fireworks, and spices. Since China didn't have much water in their area like Greece had, they traded mostly by land. China's periods of ruling were called dynasties.
Geography
According to most people, it was thought they first settled along the Yangtze and Huang He rivers. Huang means yellow in Chinese, the Huang He river is yellow because the silt from clay dust that blows into the river from the north. Northwest of China is covered in desert; The Taklamakan desert and the Gobi desert. Also in the west is the Tibet Plateau, which was known to be one of the highest places in the world. The south is covered with jungles and rain forests. Because China was surrounded by so many mountains, deserts, and jungles, and other natural barriers, they developed more independently than most civilizations.
Government
The Chinese thought there were 3 ways to rule; Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism. The government ruled by Confucianism which meant to rule by example. The emperor sets an example to his kingdom and his kingdom follows his example; so therefore the emperor must be a good man to rule his kingdom. Some believe in Legalism, which is enforcing strict and harsh laws on people to keep them well behaved. This means there is harsh punishments in disobeying the law and fine rewards for obeying. The last belief is Daoism, which is "don't rule at all". Some people believed that if people would correct themselves if you just let them be. This meant to let the people rule themselves. They also believed in one god, this is called monotheism.
Social Chain
The emperor and his family had the most power in all of China, so therefore he and his family were at the top of the social classes. Next come the nobles, a group of people who the emperors granted a large plot of land to and were rich, they were in the high class section. Artisans were middle classed and were metal workers, artists, potters, and carpenters. They earned more than peasants and farmers did. In the lower class section we find the peasants. They were still considered important because they were china's main food source. Most of the peasants were very poor and worked in the fields daily in order to keep a steady income. And at last, at the bottom were the slaves, like in Greece, slaves work at their master's bidding but was not common at all in China.
Women in China
Back in ancient China, women were not as important as men were. This is normal for most ancient civilizations. It was said that the woman gains more respect if she gives birth to a boy because men were superior to women. The girl's opinion was not important and like in other civilizations, they were not educated.
Language
The language the Chinese used was not like English. Instead, they used symbols. They symbol would look like the object they were describing. The language soon developed over the centuries.
The following pictures below shows the development of a Chinese characters ∨
The language the Chinese used was not like English. Instead, they used symbols. They symbol would look like the object they were describing. The language soon developed over the centuries.
The following pictures below shows the development of a Chinese characters ∨