The Huang Ho Valley

SECTION 2

About 2000 B. C., or 500 years after the Harappans settled in the Indus River valley, a civilization developed in the Huang Ho valley of northern China. There are no records of its beginnings, and no remains have been found. For this reason, much of what happened comes from legend.

According to Chinese legend, a man-god named Yu the Great drove out the serpents and dragons that lived along the Huang Ho. He drained the land so that people could live there and grow crops. Yu founded a kingdom called Xia (she?' ah) and united most of northern China under his rule.

Many experts believe that the early settlers of China chose the Huang Ho valley for their home because it was fertile. The river flooded every year, bringing rich soil with it.

The valley was cut off from other civilizations. The people there developed their culture without borrowing from other civilizations. By 1800 B. C., there were villages and farms all along the river. The people farmed the land and used the river for travel and trade. They made clay ovens, cupboards, benches, and pottery. They built small round clay houses with thatched roofs.

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What is a dynasty?

Cities of the Shang The first records of Chinese civilization come from a dynasty (d:i' nuh ste), or ruling family, called Shang. The Shang came to power in 1766 B. C. They built the first Chinese

THE WISE MAN FU HSI Chinese legends tell the stories of Yu and another man-god, Fu Hsi. Here, Fu Hsi points to eight geometric designs used to tell the future. Why are legends important to historians studying early China?

Cities. Most were designed in the same way. At the center stood a palace and a temple. Public buildings and the homes of high government officials were built around the palace. Within an outer district were workshops, burial grounds, and the homes of the workers.

Most of the Shang people, however, did not live in the city. The city was the home of the rich, the educated, and the skilled. Poorer people lived in the countryside. They were farmers who grew such grains as millet, wheat, and rice and raised cattle, sheep, and chickens. The farmers also produced silk, which was used to make clothes for the very rich. The Chinese produced silk hundreds of years before anyone else.

Spirits, Ancestors, and Kings The Shang worshiped spirits, or supernatural beings, which they believed lived in mountains, rivers, and seas. The people believed they had to please the spirits. If the spirits became angry or unhappy, the people might suffer a poor harvest or lose a battle.

The Shang believed that ancestors, or those from whom one is descended, also influenced people's fortunes. So, they offered their ancestors food, wine, and special prayers. They hoped their ancestors would help them in time of need and bring them good fortune. Because of this respect for ancestors, family ties were very important to the Shang. They had rules about how family members should act toward one another. Children were taught to

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K ll Whaf role did spirits play in Shang religion?

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K Why did the Shang respect their ancestors?

Shang China

PLACES AND REGIONS The land-forms of China contributed to the early isolation of the Chinese. What geographical features would have discouraged the Shang people from movement to other lands or their contact with other people?

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What were oracle bones?

Who were the nobles, and what role did they play in the Shang dynasty?

Wu

C. 1000 B. c.

Zhou King

Wu, the ruler of a former Shang territory, led the attack against the last Shang emperor. The emperor was so cruel that many soldiers gave up without a fight. Wu, known as "the Military King," believed the gods wanted the Zhou dynasty to rule China, and he became the first Zhou ruler.

Obey their parents and to honor older people. Wives were trained to obey their husbands.

The Shang believed that their kings received their power from the spirits of nature and their wisdom from their ancestors. For this reason, religion and government were tied closely together. An important duty of kings was to contact the spirits of nature to make sure they provided enough water for farming.

Kings also asked the advice of their ancestors before making important decisions. To do this, kings had questions scratched on a flat, polished piece of bone. The bone had a hole drilled in it, and a hot bar was put in the hole. Heat from the bar produced a pattern of cracks on the bone. The cracks were believed to be the ancestors' replies to a king's questions. A special interpreter gave the king the meaning of the ancestors' replies. These bones are known as oracle (c3r' uh kuhl) bones. The writing on them is the oldest known form of Chinese writing.

Under the king was a large class of nobles, or people of high rank in a kingdom. They spent much of their time hunting, both for pleasure and as preparation for war. Nobles often fought with each other about land. They joined together only when they had to fight other people who refused to accept Shang rule.

Nobles rode into battle in horse-drawn bronze chariots. They wore bronze helmets and armor made of buffalo or rhinoceros hide. They were skilled in the use of the bow and arrow. Their

ORACLE BONES Shang rulers tried to learn the future by using oracle bones. Here, a turtle shell used for this purpose shows an early form of Chinese writing. When did Shang rulers use oracle bones?

Arrows had sharp points of bone or bronze. Soldiers marched on foot behind nobles' chariots. These soldiers generally were poor peasants whom the nobles had forced to leave their farms and join the army.

Decline of the Shang There was a great gap between rich and poor during the rule of the Shang. Rich Shang lived in the cities in wooden houses. They owned bronze weapons and ornaments and wore linen, wool, fur, and silk clothes. Poor Shang lived in the countryside and worked with wooden or stone tools. Their houses were thatched or mud huts or caves scooped out of the ground. Neither group felt any loyalty toward the other.

Many experts believe that this gap between rich and poor weakened the Shang civilization. In 1122 B. C., a people known as Zhou (jc)) invaded the Shang kingdom. The Shang were not united enough to hold off the invaders, and their civilization came to an end.

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