Student's Book – Dec 2009 (5.9mb) - The Curriculum Project

ChinaKEY WORDSchieftain (n) – leader of a small group or tribedynasty (n) – a line of hereditary rulersmillet (n) – a type of grainplaster (n) – a mixture of lime (calcium oxide), sand and waterpotter’s wheel (n) – a mechanical tool with a round top used for making potteryChinese civilisation started around 10,000 BC, when a group called the Yangshao (yahngshow)settled near the Yellow River. Archaeologists have discovered many Yangshao villages innorthern China. In one village, they found the remains of farmhouses, built partly underground,with plaster floors, and roofs held up by wooden posts.By 5,000 BC there were many agricultural communities in China. There were villages from theWei River Valley to the East, parallel with the great Yellow River. The Wei River flows out of theKunlun Mountains to the forest and the fertile soil region of the North China Plain.About 3,000 BC, another farming group appeared, the Lungshan (luhng shan) people. TheLungshan people harvested silk, and used it to weave fine fabrics. They used the potterswheel. They baked strong bricks in ovens, and used them to build their homes. They grewrice and millet and worked together on flood control and irrigation projects. They had greatengineering skills.exercisecomprehensionA. How did people find out about the earliest Chinese civilisation?B. What are some similarities between the Harrappan and the Lungshan civilisations?Probably around 2200 BC, the first dynasty of kings conquered the North China Plains. Thesewarrior kings belonged to the Xia (hsia) family. This culture probably had the first writing systemin China. However, there is no real record of this dynasty.The first dynasty of which there is historical evidence is the Shang dynasty. The Shangs begantheir rule around 1750 BC. The Shang clan came out of the Wei River Valley. By force, the Shangunified many of the people living on the North China Plain and started to build an empire.The last Shang ruler was overthrown by a chieftain of a frontier tribe called Zhou. The Zhourulers conquered and colonised most of the territory of present day China, spreading Zhou cultureas they went.China, as we knowit today, becameunified under the nextdynasty, the Qin, butmuch of its currentculture came from thenext rulers, the HanDynasty. The largestethnic group in Chinatoday calls itself the“Han people.”Map 8: Origins of Chinese Civilisation29