1. China: Prehistoric through the Zhou Dynasty
Geography
The geography of China, like all the early societies we have examined so far, played a big role in shaping early
China (and still shapes it today). Mountains and deserts in the interior helped to keep it isolated while major
rivers led to the spreading of ideas and unification.
China has two major geographical areas: the steppe (grasslands), desert, and high plateau are in the west and
northwest while the eastern region, which borders on the Pacific Ocean, has some smaller mountains but is
much more suitable for farming. This eastern region can be broken down into northern and southern areas with
a major river defining both zones. (We will see later in the semester that a north-south canal system helped to
further connect the eastern region.)
The northern area with a dry (some places with only 20 inches of rain a year), cold climate contains the Yellow
River Valley The Yellow River takes its name from the crumbly yellow soil (called “loess”, less or luess) that
is blown into the water from the northern Mongolian Gobi Desert. The river itself can be unpredictable and
requires much careful management. In some ways through human management (building dikes) led to more
flooding. The southern area has much rainfall and for the most part temperatures remain warm year round with
the southernmost portion being subtropical (think present-day Hong Kong). This area includes the Yangzi
River Valley. Both areas provided food resources that for thousands of years have made East Asia one of the
most densely populated areas in the world.
Language and Migration
Using linguistics, scholars can trace the migrations of peoples from northern China and see the influence the
Chinese family of eight languages (the predominant one today is Mandarin) and culture had on Asia. As these
people spread into southern China, Chinese (and other Sino-Tibetan languages) replaced the Miao-Yao, Tai-
Kadal and Austroasiatic families of languages. In Southeast Asia, Chinese has had some influence, but Tai-
Kadal (Laos and Thailand) and Austroasiatic (Vietnamese and Cambodian) are the main families spoken
today. We will see in the coming weeks how Austroasiatic groups spread to Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia
and the various Pacific Islands. (It is believed that many of the Austroasiatic groups started from Taiwan, an
island, which is mostly Chinese speakers today. China was unified much earlier than most other present-day
nations as the idea of being Chinese dates back about 4,000 years. Helping to unify China was language.
While Chinese is not the oldest written language in the world, it is the oldest still being used today. This
common written language unified people who spoke different dialects of Chinese whether it was thousands of
years ago or today. (Contrast this with India which not only has many spoken languages, but each has its own
written one, too. The Indian constitution today recognizes 22 languages.)
Prehistoric
The first Chinese societies in the Neolithic period developed near the Yellow River. In 1953 Banpo Village
was uncovered and this society has been classified as Yangshao culture. (Banpo, the most intact neolithic
village in China, is near present-day Xian, a site that served as a capital of China for several dynasties. Banpo
Museum houses the layout of a Neolithic village of the Yangshao culture.) The Yangshao communities
domesticated pigs and chickens and grew millet. A little bit later, Yangshao cultures developed in the south
with rice as the staple crop. Agriculture in both the north and south required the coordinated effort of large
numbers of people. Yangshao pottery focused on geometric designs that sometimes formed into animals such
as birds, frogs and fish. Although Chinese legend puts silk production around 2700 B.C.E., however, silk
sericulture and textiles (which involved silkworm rearing and the loom for weaving) probably developed earlier
and maybe as early as 4900 B.C.E. (We will see later in the semester how Chinese silk became a valuable
commodity for people in the Middle East, Europe and Asia and how Chinese rulers wanted to keep the process
of making silk a secret.)

2. Early Dynasties
For thousands of years, legend had the Xia (2200-1766 B.C.E.) as the first Chinese dynasty. In recent times
archaeological digs at Erlitou in northern China (present-day Henan province) has convinced Chinese
archaeologists that this site was part of the Xia Dynasty, making it more fact than fiction. Some archaeologists
from the West are not convinced that this site is connected to the Xia. (On page 111-112, the Bentley and
Ziegler text leans toward the Chinese archaeologist findings.)
There is much more evidence to support the actual existence of the Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 B.C.E.), with its
origins in the Yellow River Valley. The Shang eventually included territory from present-day Outer Mongolia to
Gansu Province and south to the Yangzi Valley. The Shang kings ruled directly over the central area of their
kingdom, but only had indirect rule over peripheral areas of the kingdom. Some of these kings waged war
against nomadic tribes and engaged in commerce throughout East Asia with some possible indirect trade with
Mesopotamia. Under the king's guidance cities were built and he also oversaw the distribution of food and
management of water resources. Seeing themselves as a go-between between for the gods and their subjects,
kings worshiped the spirits of male ancestors. They also practiced divination (see Oracle bones below) and
sacrifices. Like their contemporary civilizations in the Middle East and India, the Shang used bronze for
weapons and ceremonial vessels and employed the horse-drawn chariot. The Shang (and the Xia) also
expanded on the engineering feats of the Yangshao culture, such as building large walls from rammed earth.
Logs were used as a frame and then dirt with some water was pounded into place. After the dirt dried the
frame was removed, producing a wall almost as hard as concrete. At present-day Zhengzhou, a rammed earth
wall from the Shang period has been excavated. It is 1,800 meters long on each side and about 9 meters tall.
In some places it is 20 meters thick.
Chinese writing and Oracle Bones
As mentioned above, the Chinese dialects spread from northern China into southern China and some of
Southeast Asia. But crucial to solidifying Chinese culture and bringing about (formal and sometimes partial)
unification for much of the past 4,000 years was the development of the Chinese writing system (Chinese
characters). The roots of the written characters occurred during the Shang period as symbols on oracle bones.
The writing that has survived from the Shang was on cattle or sheep scapula and turtle plastrons, which
provided flat surfaces for writing. (Writing was probably done on other surfaces such as silk or bamboo, but
withered away with time.) These "bones" were used to tell the fortunes and forecast future events for the royal
family. The diviner (fortune teller) would pose a question or make a prediction and then heat the shell or bone.
Sometimes holes were drilled before applying the heat. Cracks would result on the bone/shell and from this the
diviner would determine answers to the questions posed. Some of the bones found have the answers to
whether the prediction or question came true. (Go here to see an example of an oracle translated.) These bones
give valuable insights into royal life and religious practice during the Shang Dynasty. Of concern for the Shang
rulers were issues with enemies, descriptions of royal ailments and problems with crops and weather. Some of
the bones/shells contain the name of the diviner. The longest oracle bone statement was less than 200
characters. Over the several centuries that the oracle bones were created, it appears that later inscriptions are
shorter and simpler so the writing gets more compact. In the years to come, archaeologists and linguists might
be able to tell more from the oracle bones because only about 40 percent of the 5,000 characters used on the
various bones found have been deciphered. (For the evolution of the Chinese characters, see page 126 in
Bentley and Ziegler.)
Zhou Dynasty
While there was no dramatic population decline or major problems in cities in China, the late rulers of the
Shang Dynasty suffered losses of tribute states and had trouble containing rivals. The biggest rival (and
sometime ally) were the Zhou to the northwest. Originally, the Zhou had been herdsmen, but they became
influenced by Shang ideas and technology and started to imitate the Shang. In 1122 B.C.E, the Zhou killed the
Shang king and thus started their own dynasty, which ruled over a larger geographical area than the Shang. To
help justify their actions, the Zhou created the concept of the “Mandate of Heaven”. (In the Sanders reader,
pages 78-81, their is a version of the "Mandate". Notice, how it does not refer to the Zhou takeover, but to the
Shang deposing the the earlier Xia.) While the Zhou were heavily influenced by the Shang, they did give up the
practice of oracle bone divination. As a result the priestly power of the elite faded, leading to a separation of

3. religion and government. The Zhou period saw the development of a number of important philosophies --
Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism, all of which we will examine in a few weeks and are discussed in
Chapter 8 of Bentley and Ziegler.
The Zhou Dynasty is broken down into two major time periods -- the Western Zhou (1122-771 B.C.E.) with a
capital near modern-day Xian and the Eastern Zhou (771-221 B.C.E), where the capital shifted to the east
near present-day Luoyang. The Eastern Zhou can be further sub-divided: the Spring and Autumn Period
(771–481 B.C.E.) and the Warring States Period (480–221 B.C.E.) Technological achievements of the
Eastern Zhou all had a military component including the building of long stone walls for defense, iron and
steel metallurgy, the crossbow and horseback riding. Warfare shaped the Eastern Zhou as during the first
period rulers tried to gain tribute from the outlying areas with honor seeming to be as important as winning.
Then during the Warring States Period, the fighting became more intense with larger armies and much more
politically motivated. States would draft armies as sometimes all males over 15 were conscripted to fight.
These large armies became effective at defeating smaller chariot-based armies. The crossbow, invented in the
southern state of Chu, allowed the foot soldier to fire from much farther away than a horseman with the bow
and arrow. Soldiers started wearing more armor (mostly leather strips and iron helmets) to defend against the
powerful crossbow. It was during the Warring States period that Sun Tzu's The Art of Warfare was composed
(Sanders reader pages 128-135).
Lasting nearly a thousand years and at times containing much turmoil and violence, the Zhou Dynasty was the
foundation for many of China’s cultural and literary traditions. Writers and philosophers tried to find order in a
chaotic and violent world. Collections such as the Book of Changes, the Book of History, and the Book of Rites
have influenced China for thousands of years. Perhaps the most vital of these Zhou classics is the Book of
Songs (Bentley and Ziegler page 122). It discusses famous kings and heroes, but also key social norms and
political issues that were important to peasants. Also during the Zhou period, the family unit evolved in
Chinese society with a strong sense of solidarity and strong patriarchal head. Thus helping to shape the
family was the veneration of ancestors with the patriarch of the family taking the lead in carrying out the rites in
honoring family ancestors. (We will see later in the semester how Confucianism focuses on the family.)
Material is from Professor O'Brien's lecture notes, Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel and Patricia Buckley
Ebrey's East Asia: A Cultural, Social and Political History.