China Lecture Notes

China - Geology

Where is China located?
Eastern edge of Asia
West coast of North Pacific Ocean


What is the land of China like?
A little larger than mainland USA
Isolated by deserts, mountains, and oceans from rest of world
To north = Gobi desert = grazing, too dry for farming
To northwest = Taklamakan = "go in and you will not come out"
Locally known and "moving sands" just like an ocean flood, not stopping it if it overruns oasis
Waterless, no food, searing heat
To south = mountains
Few routes through, altitude sickness, blizzards, snowbound passes, not fodder for animals
Southwest = high plateau (Tibet)
13,000'-26, 000' elevation
Rimmed by mountains
Many long and wide rivers
Yangtze = 3rd longest (after Nile and Amazon)
Rivers run west to east, not to other countries
Canals dug for north to south transportation (1,000 mile grand canal hand dug)
(dug between 500 BCE to 1300 AD)
Geography made China governing difficult
also made movement of ideas and goods difficult
lots of coal beds, coal their main energy source, lots of air pollution
[half of all their mammal types are rodents (rabbits, mice, rats, squirrels, hares)]


What is the climate of China like?

Warmer than USA
Summers = hot and humid in south
Winter = cold but little snow because of dry winters

North = hard to grow food - too cold and dry
Central = Yangtze valley = low plains, milder climate
South = produces 3/4 of country's food
Rice, wheat, corn, beans, vegetables

In the settlement of the western hemisphere, what were geographic barriers?

With today's technology, how significant are geographic barriers?

What are today's barriers preventing the free flow of goods, people, and ideas?

Chine - Social Structure

What were the social classes?

King and Family = show virtue by doing service to their country and people

Nobles = receive land from king
In return give loyalty and pay tribute of gifts and soldiers

Peasants = lived on land controlled by nobles
Farm, pay taxes with crops and service in army


Compare Chinese peasants with European peasants.

Both given use of land to farm if pay rent to landlords
Rent = crops and labor

Chinese farmers could leave if they were unhappy, not slaves
European peasants couldn't leave,
they were bought and sold with the land
like slaves



China - Religion

How did religious beliefs change over time?

Creation story - creator formed people out of clay

Flood story - flood covered China
Yu the Great spent 13 years digging rivers to remove
("If it weren't for Yu the Great, we'd all be fishes")

polytheistic = gods of north, south, east, west, rain, wind, fire
gods were very powerful

ancestor worship - wise, guide lives of living
ancestors could communicate with gods
souls of kept living so they needed life's necessities within the tomb

What is Confucianism?

Confucius 551-479 BCE
Kong Fuzi /Kong Foo-Suh/
Master Kong
Son of government official
also worked for government
Offended powerful nobles
Exiled
Wandered for 25 years
Developed ideas about government and society
Views on government based on view of family
children expected to treat parents with honor and respect
rulers must love their subjects to gain loyalty
Virtue and kindness required

China - Economics


How did economics of China change over time?

5000 BCE = start of agriculture, dogs and pigs domesticated
2500 BCE Silk Road starts
2,000 BCE = small settlements grew into towns
Silk Road's Golden Age = 600 AD

What was the significance of the Silk Road?
From Xian to Mediterranean
5,000 miles long (twice the distance between San Francisco and New York City)
not just goods traveled
ideas and technology moved in both directions to change the world


What traveled on the Silk Road?
goods had to be high value to weight
from China - silk, spices (cinnamon), bronze weapons, gems, furs, nimals,
China is source of: peach, apricot, ginger, tea, and many citrus
To China - jade, preserved exotic food, nimals, ivory, coral, incense, glass, horses, perfumes
Against the law to smuggle silk works west (sericulture), silk stays a state secret until 500 AD
(Romans thought it grew on trees - tree wool)

goods changed hands many times, each time becoming more expensive
caravans traveled from oasis town to oasis town (which grew to trading posts)
travelers picked up: fresh animals, supplies, traded their goods for products to take on return trip
two- humped camels in caravans, single humped could carry same load but couldn't keep up the pace

ideas = politics, popular styles, artwork, military tactics, technology
from China = printing, gunpowder,
From West = Buddhism from India through Central Asia, into China and Japan

not for people migrating
people didn't travel the entire route, only went from one oasis to the next
series of stages with lots of middlemen
How did it change towns along the route?
several routes, (named by a German archeologist)
travelers balanced, seasons, threat of desert, mountains, wells, bandits,
Small, oasis based towns become trade centers
For protection against bandits, merchants formed large caravans of up to 1,000 camels with armed escorts
Ever since the last ice age, wells have been slowly drying up
major cities were at the start and destination (e.g., Chan' an = Xian by 742 AD had 2,000,000 people)
Including 5,000 foreigners and numerous religions

What were the concerns of Silk Road travelers?
Caravan leader's concerns = weather, terrain, animals, animal attendants, care of customers, care of customer's goods, good, water, fresh animals, medicine, bandits, guards
Merchant's focus = prices, supplies of good, can he find a buyer at desired price, can he find seller at a desired price, safety of his goods, personal safety, taxes, exchange rates of money, language barriers

Chine - Politics

Who were the rulers of Ancient China?

Periods of time divided into dynasties
ruled by one family and sons
600 BCE Cho /Joo/ Dynasty
invented bureaucracy - took land from nobility
gave land to people chosen to govern
535 BCE Zeng Dynasty
earliest written laws in China
226 BCE = Qin /chin/ Dynasty (origin of name for China)
ruler = Shi Huangdi
unification of China = one of China's most important historical events
206 BCE = Han Dynasty
Ruled by Confucian beliefs

What made the Qin Dynasty notable?
appointed government officials to run counties with single federal bureaucracy ruled by legalism, (written laws and bureaucracy)
(obey - reward, disobey - punishment, people obeyed out of fear, not respect)
(felt government based on virtue and respect wouldn't work, not Confucius's way)
forced nobles to move to capital to break peasant loyalty
expanded empire
built road system for communications and control
standardized - coins, weights, writing, axle width, controlled text books, burned Confucianism books
built a great wall (not The Great Wall)
protection from Northern tribes (30' high, 1500 miles long)
built in 7 years, 500,000 died in construction
(current wall build 1300 AD in Ming dynasty, 3,700 miles long)
remembered as cruel and uncaring leader, (killed challengers and their families)
dies - tomb with thousands of terra cotta warriors
favored son too politically weak to hold country together


What made the Han Dynasty notable?

206 BCE - 220 AD
Rule by Confucius beliefs - rulers deserved respect (became official teaching)
restored nobles doms with appointed overseers
set up civil service system - government jobs earned by tests
Supported Daoism = key to long life and happiness is accepting life as it is
Expanded the empire
Traded with other lands
Establishment of Silk Road
Peace
Lowered taxes,
Improvements in writing
Paper developed (first dictionary, first recording of history)
Seismograph - 132 AD (told strength and direction of EQ)


Silk Road

Geographic Setting
Network of trails and trading posts
Branch routes led to different destinations
Eastern end = Chang'an (now Xi'an)
Westward end= Byzantium (Constantinople)
other trade networks distributed goods throughout the Mediterranean world and into Europe, and throughout eastern Asia
there were always competing for alternative routes by land and sea
this broad belt of oasis-punctuated deserts across Central Asia
infrequent water supplies, scarce forge for animals
Bounded on the north and south by mountains
Passable only to highly skilled Silk Road caravaneers with local knowledge
deliver their cargo safely from stage to stage
possible routes were numerous and complex

Concept of Asia
It is important to remember that the nation-state is a modern invention,
Clearly defined countries did not exist before modern times
Prior to200 BCE "China" didn't exist as a nation

China can be divided into North and South China along the Han and Huai Rivers.
North China = dry, grain farming, fertile soil of broad plains,
dominated by heavily eroded hills, land based travel on drawn carts and pack animals
South China has monsoonal climate. Soils leached by heavy seasonal rains require heavy fertization; staple crop is rice, transportation by riverboat.

North Europe
Just a peninsula on the western tip of the great Eurasian continental landmass
Too remote, too sparsely settled, to culturally "backward" to play more than a marginal role in long-distance trade across Eurasia.
In medieval times growing prosperity of Europe led to an increasing appetite for the spices, gems, textiles, and other luxury goods from the east
Europe searched for direct access to India and China led to new maritime routes around Africa and across Atlantic

Historical Background
Carts and wagons can't cross deserts
Horses not strong enough to carry pack cargo through the dryness with such little edible grass
Domestication of camel (about 800 CBA) made trade possible on Silk Road.

For many hundreds of years China's significant problem was how to deal with mounted nomads on its northern frontier.
China really wanted good horsed to use in their army.
Chinese government set up caravans to trade silk for the world's best horses from Afghanistan
Lots of soldiers on the trip to protect the silk and the horses
Private merchants tagged along to trade silk, medicinal herbs, jade carvings, glassware gold, silver

Pattern of trade established:
Caravan drivers and animals traveled back and forth over one particular segment of the route
Goods changed hands at oasis trading centers
Oasis merchants discouraged longer-distance trade by exaggerating the distances and dangers,
Oasis charged taxed and became small kingdoms
Irrigation improved and more goods remained at oasis cities as wealth grew
No known record of Chinese merchant ever visited Rome and no Roman ever visited China
Most important trade was that of ideas
Religion (Buddhism), Technology, Fashions, Recreation (polo), Music,

Trade declined after 1,100 CE.
Mongolian invaders from north (Genghis Khan) let to increased use of ocean routes
Genghis Kahn and his grandson Kublai Khan conquered most of Eurasia in 1200 CE and unified the region.
Overland trade increased
This is when Marco Polo traveled from Italy to China and back by the ocean route.
Genghis Khan inflicted such damage to oasis cities to control them that they were depopulated, fields and orchards dried up, Silk Road trade never recovered.
By 1500 CE long-distance trade between Eastern and Western Eurasia shifted to ocean routes.

Keep in mind the larger picture of how and why the European "Age of Exploration" began and how long-distance trade between Europe and East Asia came to be concentrated in Europe.

What led to the emerging nation-states of Europe to pioneer these new trade routes?

The old ocean trade from East Asia to Europe was handed by intermediares just like the Silk Road
Chinese, Malay, Indian, Arab sailors carried goods for only part of the total journey.
By the time silk, and other goods reached Europe they were extremely expensive because everyone involved in trade added on their costs and profit.
Western European kings (Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal) wanted to find direct sea routes to the east to lower cost of imported goods, profits would stay with ship owners and kings.
By 1400CE Portuguese found sea route around Africa and established direct routes to India .
Portugal hired Columbus to find route to China and India by going west from Portugal.

Belief Systems Travel the Silk Road

At 100 BCE, religion along Silk Road very different
Christianity 100 years in future
Islam 700 years in the future
Buddhism known in Central Asia but not yet spread into China

people worshiped the Greek, Roman, Egyptian god and goddesses
Jews worshipped god of Abraham
Ancestor worship,
animists worshiping Earth, mountains and rivers
Zoroastrianism in Persia since 600 BCE (monotheistic, struggle between good and evil)

As trade began on regular basis, religious beliefs changed radically.
Religious belief is often on of the most important and deeply help aspects of personal identity

Proselytizing religion= actively seek to recruit new members
Ethnicity, language, color, physical and cultural differences taken to be of small importance
More important is common humanity of all believers
Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam
Non-proselytizing religion= do not recruit new members
membership based on ethnic group membership
Conversion often occurs only when a person married into faith or is impossible
Hinduism, Judaism, Shinto

Buddhism was first great missionary faith to travel the Silk Road
Originated in northeastern India
Merchants built temples and shrines
Priests staffed the temples and preached to local people and passing travelers
Buddhism's message = earthly life is temporary and full of suffering,
painful cycle of birth, , and rebirth can be ended through Buddhist faith and practice.
By 500 CE had spread from China to Korea and Japan

Christianity spread eastward and westward.

Islam spread east and wet
now is faith of majority of people in the countries spanned by Silk Road
Muhammad, Prophet of Islam, born 570 CE in Arabia
At age of 40 received revelations from god, recorded in Quran
Changed beliefs from polytheists to One god, unique and compassionate
Muslim = one who submits to God
Five Duties: profession one God,, profession Muhammad was prophet of God,
Prayer, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca is possible
Recognition that God sent prophets and revelations to other groups (Jesus)
1 billion Muslims in world, half live in Asia

Travel of Ideas and Technology

Good ideas travel easily
Paper invented when Silk Road trade began to grow
Paper replaced other materials in most of western Eurasia
Previously, rolls of silk, narrow wooden strips, papyrus rolls

Waterwheel for irrigation
Water lifted up to forty feet with no human or animal energy
Current rotates wheel and lifts pots filled with water to empty into chute at top

Food and plants, orange from China to Mediterranean,
Grapes from west to east

Bad side effect
Black plague the devastated Europe in 1300's came from Central Asia along Silk Road
Probably flea eggs rode on marmot pelts for fur-trimmed clothes
From Central Asia to Middle Eastern port,
Eggs hatched, fleas infested rates that go onto ships, carried to port cities of Italy

Musical tradition
Followed religion
Music traditions portable, durable, take root in new lands
Influenced musicians along route
People attracted to novelty
Can enjoy new music without giving up old music




China - Timeline

35,000 BCE people began to migrate out of Africa into Asia
8,000 BCE people start growing food, agriculture
3,500 BCE earliest cities form
3000 BCE China's Lung Shan people first produce silk, too isolated to trade
Mesopotamians build Ziggurats
2566 BCE Great Pyramids in Giza built
1790 BCE Hammurabi's Code
1225 BCE Moses led Israelites out of Egyptian slavery
500 BCE Buddha born in India
300 BCE China united under Qin Dynasty
200 BCE Han Dynasty sends explorers west to Afghanistan
Exploration results in growth of Silk Road
Buddhism adopted in India
1 AD silk first seen in Rome
100 AD Silk Road stable, Buddhism reaches China
200 AD Han Dynasty weakens, Silk Road disrupted
300 AD China Fragments, secrets of sericulture spread along Silk Road,
400 AD Silkworms smuggled into central Asia
600 AD Golden Age of Silk Road
700 AD Decline in Silk Road
900 AD Persians master sericulture
1100 AD Silk production established in Italy
1400 AD European Renaissance, end of Silk Road for silk
1800 AD term "Silk Road" created by German archeologist
1900 AD Chinese revolution ends dynasties, Europeans travel Silk Road as adventurers, scientists
2004 AD you learn about Silk Road