2. • BC – Before Christ: used in dating years prior to the
estimated birth of Jesus (Christ)
• AD – Anno Domini: Christian term = years after the birth
of Jesus (Christ)
• BCE – Before Common Era:
• CE – Common Era:
• Primary Source = texts that have first-hand and direct
relationships to the specific historical event
• Secondary Source = texts which have an indirect and
not first-hand relationship to the specific historical
event.

5. Geography of China
• Larger than the United States
• Climate varies
– North
• Temperate and cold
– South
• Subtropical
• Erosion
• Floods and droughts
• Important rivers
– Hwang ho (Yellow River) – north
– Yangtze River – central China
• Enclosed by high mountains, hot deserts, wide oceans

6. Mapping Activity
Task: Using the map
displayed on the white board.
Identify the following features
on the map.
1. In green colour China.
2. In red mark The Great Wall of
China.
3. In pen mark Beijing on the map.
4. In blue pencil draw
approximately where the Yellow
River and Yangtze River.
5. Give your map a title
6. Create a key for your map
7. Ensure you have included an
orientation.

7. Read: What did the Ancient Chinese do
for me?

8. Looked Like:
Sounded like:
Felt like:

9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W7pzj0Kaos Finish @ 10:18

11. Geography of China
Physical features
Lesson 2

12. What are the physical characteristics of China and how did these
characteristics affect the development of ancient Chinese society?
People’s lives are inevitably affected by their environment and often the
way they organise their society can be indirectly or directly linked to
their environment. The map below shows China as it exists today,
although in ancient times it was not as large.

13. China covers the greatest
land mass in Asia
True/False
China shares a border with
a large number of countries
True/False
China has an extensive
coast line
True/False
China is situated south east
of Australia
True/False
China would most likely
have a variety of climate
types
True/False

14. Himalayas
Gobi Desert
Tibetan Plateau
North China
Plain
1. Use the satellite image above to determine the two largest rivers in China.
2. China has several natural frontiers (physical features that might help to prevent others
from attacking China). Examine the satellite image and name two of these natural
frontiers.

15. We Do Activity:
Copy this table into your history books.
Examine the photographs of China’s landscapes.
1 Veryhighmountainpeakscoveredinsnow,withbarrenplateauinforeground.
2
3
4
5

16. Rich fertile
soil of rice
terraces

17. Loess landscape
along the Yellow
River

18. Himalayan
mountains

19. Gobi Desert

20. River systems,
Yellow River

21. Question:
Which one of these phrases best sums up China’s landscape?
a) It all looks the same.
b) It is all covered in deserts.
c) There are many different types of landscape.
d) It is very flat.

22. What was the impact of the rivers on Chinese society?
A distinctive Chinese culture based on the rivers was able
to develop in the eastern river valleys of the Yellow and
Yangtze Rivers and eventually in the vast North China Plain
between the two rivers.
The role of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers can be seen in
Chinese mythology, especially the story of the Great Flood.
In Chinese tradition, Yu the Great, who ruled towards the
end of the third millennium BCE, is credited with
developing ways of dealing with such devastating floods.

24. How did irrigation help to develop ancient China?
In all the civilisations that have developed along river valleys, including Egypt, India,
Mesopotamia and China, irrigation has been the key to progress. Irrigation is the
distribution of water to the land by artificial means such as channels, ditches or pipes.
China developed some of the most sophisticated irrigation systems in the ancient world.
Dams, channels and even large canals were developed to manage the rivers. Dams stored
water, which was diverted through channels to bring a constant water supply to the fields.
Canals not only linked the rivers but also opened up the rivers to safer transport so that
goods could be sent to markets beyond the local area.
The photograph in Source 4 shows one of the major irrigation structures from ancient
China. It is the Dujiang Weir, which is part of the Dujiang Irrigation System in south eastern
China. It was one of several major engineering accomplishments of the Qin Dynasty in the
third century BC (BCE). It is now a World Heritage site. A remarkable feature of the project
is the fact that the system cuts through the mountain. This was accomplished without using
explosives to remove the mountain rock.

26. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W7pzj0Kaos
Start @ 10: 18
Finish @ 17:19

29. Early developments in China

30. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W7pzj0Kaos
Start @ 17:19
Finish @ 24:51

31. China in Place and Time
What were the major continuities and changes in Chinese history?
Geography has had a significant influence on the development of China. Throughout the
history of China, the focus of power was largely in the eastern regions of the country
where the main river valleys of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River are situated. The
earliest settled communities emerged in the Yellow River Valley and successive
generations of rulers generally sought control of these rich agricultural lands, in particular
the Northern Plain between the two rivers.
While the size of the area that successive Chinese rulers controlled, changed over time,
the eastern regions of China continued as key centres of Chinese power.

32. The following maps illustrate the extent of Chinese territory at different times in its
history.
Map 1 shows China during prehistoric times (Neolithic Age = New Stone Age)
Maps 2 to 11 show China’s major dynasties. A dynasty is a succession of rulers from
the same family. This meant that the same family maintained power for several
generations until they lost power.

38. 1. What evidence is there from these maps that the Yellow
River and Yangtze River remained a focal point of early
Chinese history? (Use your knowledge about the location of
these rivers to help you answer this question.)
2. How do the maps illustrate the dominance of the eastern
parts of the country in China’s history?
3. Note one benefit Chinese rulers might get from expansion
beyond the eastern part of the continent?
4. Note one disadvantage Chinese rulers might face by
expanding the areas under Chinese control?
5. Name two periods where the Chinese Empire lost territory.
6. Which dynasty controlled the largest amount of territory?
7. Which dynasty covered the least amount of territory?
Task: Map Interpretation

39. How long have humans lived in China?
Humans have lived in China for more than 100 000 years and there is evidence of
settled communities based on agriculture dating to at least 10 000 years ago.
These earliest communities settled in the Yellow River Valley and cultivated grain
crops and domesticated animals.
When did ‘ancient’ China exist?
It is difficult to identify exactly what period of Chinese history can be called
‘ancient’ because there is no specific date when ‘ancient’ China began or ended.
Many of the customs and characteristics of Chinese life, established in the earlier
dynasties, continued right up to the 20th Century. However, many historians see
the term ‘ancient’ as more appropriate for the period from the establishment of
the Xia Dynasty in the third millennium up to the end of the Han Dynasty in 220
AD (CE). A more appropriate name for pre-modern (i.e. pre-20th century) China is
traditional China but it is also referred to as Imperial China.

41. How did the Chinese explain the rise and fall of dynasties and the changing nature of rule in
China?
Chinese dynasties often ruled for long periods of time but eventually a dynasty would find itself
being challenged and eventually overthrown. The Chinese believed that there were certain
patterns which characterised government in China and influenced how events unfolded. This
was called the ‘dynastic cycle’.
Central to understanding the dynastic cycle and how it explained Chinese history is the concept
‘Mandate of Heaven’. Heaven represented divine authority and a ruler was expected to rule
justly with the interests of his people at heart. If he did this then Heaven would continue to
bless his reign and those of his sons, as long as they continued to be just rulers. Failure to rule
justly could result in the dynasty being overthrown and a new ruler taking power.
The emperor was all powerful and to rebel against the Son of Heaven (Emperor) was to
challenge divine authority. When a new ruler seized power from another ruler, he needed to
justify what he was doing by ensuring that Heaven approved of his actions. He had to show that
he had a mandate or permission to rule. He did this by highlighting the inadequacies of the
former ruler or pointing to natural disasters or other problems to show that Heaven had
withdrawn its mandate.
A new dynasty or family of rulers would be established and the process (cycle) would begin
again.

44. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W7pzj0Kaos
Start @ 24:51
Finish @ 30:38

45. The structure of Chinese Society