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77 pages

English

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This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, describes what life was like for people living in ancient China during the periods known as the Mythological, Historical and First Dynasty period of the Imperial era. It covers the Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty, Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty with information about the emperors who ruled as well as inventions and achievements in science, technology, engineering, literature, trade and much more. An in-depth account is given of everyday life in each dynasty, including the doctrines of the time and the way they influenced the people of the time and their art.The 'All About' series is an educational collection of books by P S Quick, and is targeted to interest ages 9 to 12+ but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

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Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	24 septembre 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781785382918
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0150€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Title Page
ALL ABOUT
Formidable First Chinese Dynasties
P S Quick

Publisher Information
Published in 2015 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
The right of P S Quick to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
Copyright © 2015 P S Quick
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Introduction
This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, describes what life was like for people living in ancient China during the periods known as the Mythological, Historical and First Dynasty period of the Imperial era.
It covers the Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty, Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty with information about the emperors who ruled as well as inventions and achievements in science, technology, engineering, literature, trade and much more.
An in-depth account is given of everyday life in each dynasty, including the doctrines of the time and the way they influenced the people of the time and their art.
The ‘All About’ series is an educational collection of books by P S Quick, and is targeted to interest ages 9 to 12+ but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

Ancient China
The Chinese Civilization was one of the four earliest world civilizations but was very different from the other three. While the other civilizations declined and disappeared, only to be overtaken by new races of people, the culture in China developed into the nation we know as China today. Because this civilization developed differently to the others it is often known as the oldest continuous civilization.
Although other areas of the world, such as the ‘fertile crescent’ in Mesopotamia, have been given the same name many people also refer to the Yellow River valley area as being the ‘Cradle of Civilization’. This is where the earliest Chinese dynasties were located before the civilization expanded along the Yangtze River and eventually into other vast areas.
As early as 8000 BC settlers were building small villages and farming the land along the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. The first dynasty to be described in the written texts and historical documents was the Xia Dynasty which was established in the Yellow River area about 2070 BC. However, although controversial, the latest research is suggesting that the origins of the Chinese Civilization could have been two thousand and four hundred years earlier than this in north-eastern China.
Ancient tribes were living in this area and with the changes in climate the Hongshan tribe began to spread into the wetter areas along the rivers. If this is true they would have brought their traditions and culture with them, influencing the way the Chinese civilization developed. Most people still believe that these northern tribes would only have played a small part in influencing culture.
During its history China has seen both golden and dark times. There have been periods when it was fragmented into many parts with each ruled by a different king yet also periods when it has been united under one ruler.
Sometimes these rulers were referred to as kings or Sons of Heaven. To give himself a higher status than these rulers of the Shang and Zhou dynasties Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, gave himself the title of emperor when he united all the states to form the Qin dynasty. This title was then used by every dynasty that followed until the end of China’s last dynasty, the Qing dynasty, in 1912 when the Republic of China was founded.
Sometimes it is confusing to find that the kings and emperors were known by different names. Each had a family name and a personal name but when he became a ruler the emperor was given a name to represent his position and era he ruled. Sometimes there might be more than one of these but by the Ming dynasty each emperor had only one. An era name or reign name became a way to mark the time when events happened.
Emperors were also given a temple name and a posthumous name when they died. The temple name was given by the imperial family and was used to describe the good things he had done. This name was made up from only two characters. The posthumous name was often given by a court or historians who came after and used to describe his achievements, be they good or bad.

The Geography of China
China is the world’s third largest country after Russia and Canada. It is located in south-east Asia on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. China’s geographical features influenced the way in which its civilization and culture developed.

Modern Relief map of China
Surrounded by oceans, harsh deserts and rugged mountains China was isolated from the rest of the world making the country almost inaccessible to invaders. The Chinese regarded China as being the centre of the world and thought of themselves as the Middle Kingdom believing it to be the greatest civilization of all time. Their civilization developed independently from other civilizations with a great sense of patriotism.
China was surrounded not only by the Pacific Ocean but also the East China Sea, South China Sea and the Yellow Sea. To the north and west were the Gobi Desert and the Taklimakan Desert while to the south were the virtually impassable Himalaya Mountains; the highest mountains in the world.
More than two thirds of China is covered by mountains or deserts. The Gobi Desert is the coldest in the world and fifth largest. However, the Mongols did live here and often raided the cities of northern China. The Taklimakan Desert also had very little water and crossing it was so dangerous that it was often known as ‘the sea of death’.
The rivers of China were both long and large and the major ones, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, played an important part in providing a place to live for the early Chinese Civilization. They provided a source of fresh water, a method of transportation, food and also the fertile soil on which to grow crops.

The Hukou Waterfall on the Yangtze River
The Yangtze River is the largest river in China and the third largest river in the world after the Nile and Amazon. It is 6,300 kilometres long and rises in the Tanggula mountain range in Qinghai Province in western China and flows into the East China Sea at Shanghai.
The Yellow River is 5,464 kilometres long, rising in the Kunlun Mountains and eventually flowing into the Bohai Sea, a gulf on the Yellow Sea. It is the second largest river in China and the sixth largest river in the world. This river, named the Yellow River because of the yellow silt it picks up as it travels its course, has also been known as ‘China’s Sorrow’ due to the effects of its frequent devastating floods.
China has a humid subtropical climate. In summer the monsoon brings heavy rain but the winter monsoon is very dry.

The Mythical Period
The earliest part of Chinese history is shrouded in legend. Much of what we know about early China is from Chinese mythology but we have no evidence to show that it is true. The first part of this period was ruled by the ‘Three Sovereigns’, the second by the ‘Five Emperors’ and the third by the Xia Dynasty.
The Bamboo Annals was a chronicle of ancient China beginning in the earliest legendary times which told its history up to 299 BC. Sima Qian was a historian who lived much later in the Han Dynasty. His texts called ‘Records of the Grand Historian’ cover more than two thousand years of history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until the time he died. Much of our knowledge of the mythical period comes from these two sources.
Pangu
Chinese legend tells how the universe was created by Pangu, the first living person. He is usually shown as a hairy giant with horns. With his giant axe he made the Earth, known as Yin, and the sky, known as Yan. He stood between them for 18,000 years pushing them apart until he died.
When Pangu died his breath became the clouds, the mist and the wind. His voice became the thunder, his right eye the moon and his left eye the sun. His hair became the stars and the Milky Way while his muscles became the fertile land. Pangu’s head became the mountains and his blood the rivers.
The Three Sovereigns
China was then ruled by the ‘Three Sovereigns’ who were half-animal and half-human god-kings. They were known as Fuxi, Nuwa and Shennong. This was a long and peaceful time for China.
Fuxi and Nuwa are sometimes described as husband and wife but also as brother and sister. Together they created the human race by moulding clay into figures then used their special powers to bring them to life. Fuxi ruled over these people, teaching them to hunt, fish and write.
Shennong is still known today as the god of farmers. Many temples and palaces have been built to honour him. He taught humans how to farm the land and was believed to have invented the hoe, the axe and the plough. He taught people how to dig wells and irrigate their crops and also how to collect and preserve seeds. Shennong also taught people about acupuncture and how to make medicine from plants.

Fuxi and Nuwa
The Five Emperors
After the ‘Three Sovereigns’ China was rule