East211 Ch 1 Notes

The Shang period was preceded by the Xia, but scholars cannot verify the reality of

1. China is divided into two major geographical regions: the steppe, desert, and high plateau west and northwest; and the eastern zone, more suitable for settled agriculture.

In the beginning of the Paleolithic Era, bands of humans progressively migrated from East Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and then to the Americas while adapting to their new regions. During the Paleolithic era, hominids used crude tools like clubs and choppers to crack open bones, simple axes, and scrapers to prepare animal hides. As the years went on the Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, and Homo sapiens amended these tools and created new ones. They made these tools so that they can provide shelter, protection, defense from other predators, food, and also clothing. As the Paleolithic era was ending, the hominids were building much more innovative wood and stone structures. They also started

China, definite connection b/c Zhou took over from the Shang about 1000 BCE, ruling a loose coalition of regional lords; recorded history flowed smoothly

People believed their ancestors controlled what went on in life and could guide them on the right paths, provided they kept them happy. Therefore, many people would use oracle bones to communicate with them, divining answers to their questions and foretelling the future using cracks fire made in the bones. This belief in all-powerful ancestors was so deeply held in Chinese society that when the Zhou dynasty began, in order to cement their legitimacy as rulers and prevent any possible revolts, they claimed they had the “Mandate of Heaven” and that the Shang had lost theirs by ruling poorly. The Mandate of Heaven was, essentially, the divine right to rule, but with ancestors in place of a single deity. This was readily accepted, for the Chinese people trusted their ancestors’ decisions (considering their omnisciency) and did not wish to go against their wishes, risking the consequences of displeasing them. The Zhou knew that this aspect of Chinese culture was ingrained and therefore took advantage of the fact that their claim was virtually

Chinese invented iron casting in the fifth century BCE. Tools made were used for decorative purposes in upper class, and also agricultural purposes. Iron weapons were developed for warfare.

The paleolithic civilizations the early period of human history from 2,500,00 through 10,000 B.C. Neolithic civilizations begun to

Many of the oldest recorded paleographical records that are left from China’s ancient history have shown the significance of communication with the spiritual world. The concept of the Chinese spiritual world evolved large from the Chinese focus on filial piety and the harmony that exists between those alive and deceased. A diviner would use his or her interpretation to assist patrons in how to proceed by interpreting events, signs or contact with forces that are supernatural.

Shamanism and ancestor reverence are key religions of the Chinese. Shamans are spiritual healers who call on spirits while they are dreaming to relieve an individual from uncertainty or cure an individual from a disease (Laughlin & Rock, 2014). Shamans are seen as elders of the Chinese community and are respected for the tremendous healing power they have on others. Furthermore, ancestor reverence is the respect many younger generations have for their

The people in the area surrounding the Shang civilization were seen as barbaric savages. Because of this, the emperor, Zhouxin, was waging a war against the tribal people living south east to his empire. The people he had conquered who lived in the Wei River Valley, called the Zhou, took advantage of this and started rebellions and overthrew him at the battle of Mu-ye in 1045 BCE. The Zhou were pastoral people who gained alliences with the other tribes who the Shang thought of as barbarians. When the Zhou came to power, they claimed to be the sons of gods and therefore ruled all the land and its people. They claimed to have taken the Shang rulers out of heaven by the command of the supreme god called “The Lord on High” The Zhou claimed to be representing what the god had planned for the land they ruled and any opposition to their rule was blasphemous and against god. Since the land was so vast, Zhou divided his land into regions and gave each allied tribal chief a region to rule. The region leaders, called lords, had full control over the region and each one had their own army to use. The title of lord was hereditary and was passed down through generations. This caused a hierarchy in families to develop with older sons being ranked higher than younger ones. The Lords also had priest roles and had the power to preform sacrifices to local gods and dictate

The people who lived under the Shang Dynasty strongly believed that whenever their ancestors died, they became similar to gods, and deserved to be worshipped as if they too were gods. Each family in the Shang Dynasty would not only worship the gods, but would also worship their own ancestors. Along with ancestor worship, during the late Shang Dynasty, people in ancient China also began to use written oracle bones to try to predict the future and also to communicate with the gods.

Ancient China is a period in the history of China spanning the nearly two thousand years between 2100 and 221 BC,while the first written records of the Chinese language itself were produced under the Shang Dynasty. Furthermore, some scholars also include cultures from the Neolithic Period onward under this moniker making it refer to over 10,000 years of Chinese history.

According to Shang Religion (n.d.), the Shang’s religion is described as a mixture of animism which is defined as “the belief that spirits inhabit some or all classes of natural objects and that an immaterial force animates the universe believe that spirits inhabit” the next is shamanism which is described as “a person who is seen to have access and influential in the world of spirits and practices divination and healing” and lastly divination which is the practice of pursuing wisdom of the future or the unknown by supernatural means. The people of Shang civilization believed that they should consult ancestors through oracle bones for support for any important choices. Similar to Egyptian culture, the Shang also had a social pyramid starting at the bottom with farmers then merchants, followed by priest’s then military nobility and finally the king could be found on the top but

During the Paleolithic to the Neolithic period, there were some major cultural changes or contributions to the humanities that occurred. The Paleolithic lived a nomadic life in which they were known as nomadic hunters and gatherers. During the Paleolithic period (circa 40,000 – 8,000 B.C.E.) their form of art were wall paintings instituted deep inside the caves. They would stay by the opening of the cave, where there was light and depended on animals to feed on. Other than cave paintings, another form of their art was sculpting. The Paleolithic sculpts human figures, mostly female figures. The materials used were ivory, bone, horn, stone, and clay. Only a few were made of wood. By circa 8,000 B.C.E., hunters became farmers, using plants, seeds,

Shang-Ti also regulated human affairs as well as ruling over the material universe. This dual function would, in the Chou dynasty, be attributed to a more abstract figure, "t'ien," or "Heaven." The Shang also believed that their ancestors dwelled in heaven after their death and continued to show an interest in their familiy and descendants. The obligations within the family included, therefore, the ancestors. Failing in one's duties to the ancestors could bring all sorts of disaster on a family. All of these divine and semi-divine figures, from Shang-Ti to a family's ancestors, were sacrificed to. However, we know little of the nature or the frequency of these sacrifices. We do know, however, that in the Chou dynasty only the king could sacrifice to Shang-Ti; it is highly likely that Shang-Ti was the "local god" of the Shang kings who was subsequently elevated in order to elevate the Shang themselves. The one disturbing fact of Shang sacrifice is that it certainly involved humans; slaves and prisoners of war were often sacrificed by the hundreds when a king died. Lesser numbers were sacrificed at the founding of a palace or temple. F. Major reasons for decline and fall: 2. Chou: dynasty (1122-221 B.C.) that ruled ancient china from almost a thousand years establishing a distinctive political and cultural characteristics which would be identified with China for the next 2,000 years. A. Reason's for Rise: B. Territorial Location & size