It was developed in the valley of a

river, the Hoang Ho or Yellow River.

This civilization was very isolated
from the world for a long time and
only until the second century B. C.,
the Chinese people knew that there
were other people on the continent. China is east of Asia between the Pacific Ocean, the river
Yang - tse - Kiang or Blue River, the Tibetan plateau and deserts of Gobi and Mongolia.
China was ruled by dynasties until the early twentieth century.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION:
1. Emperor: Was the highest authority known as 'Son of Heaven' believed that the gods gave
him the privilege of governing the people and intercede for them, to maintain order and
prosperity. The emperor could maintain a rigid and despotic government, as long as
droughts could prevent invasions or otherwise was not worthy of the throne and be changed
by another member of royalty.
2. Nobility: Wise nobles were called 'mandarins' knew astronomy, arithmetic, writing and
were able to predict the cycles of drought and abundance. There were other nobles
responsible for the administration of the empire and the defense of the conquered territories,
owned large tracts and were part of the royal court that decided civil or military council.
3. Traders: Sellers of fur, metals and silk, with rigid fiscal controls, providing great income to
the empire without enjoying more privileges, were not considered vital for subsistence.
4. Peasants: Known as 'Nong' considered as the backbone of the country. Providing products
for the pantry of the empire, built canals, roads and the Great Wall. It was allowed to
communal ownership and lease of land.
5. Slaves: Were prisoners of war or children handed over by their parents to the landowners
as payment for a debt was rarely used in the construction of public works.
ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION
1. Agriculture: The emperor distributed the land among peasant communities and appointed
administrators who must set aside a batch whose harvest was only for the emperor. Frequent
flooding led people to build an efficient network of dykes and irrigation channels, allowing
you to control the flow of rivers and ensure the production of rice, rye, wheat, barley,
sorghum and large tracts of mulberry tree which grows silkworms, were crossed by a
network of roads known as 'the silk road', connecting with diverse peoples of Mediterranean
Europe.
2. Mining: Allowing the use of numerous people in times of winter. Exploitation of iron
supply of arms for the army guarding the country's borders, and the bronze for the
manufacture and ritual objects.
3. Trade: They traded with India and Rome silk fabrics, furs, rugs and porcelain, jade and
bronze.
CULTURAL MANIFESTATIONS
1. Philosophy and religion: Need for codes of conduct to establish the moral crisis arose great
thinkers like Confucius and Lao Tse, who proposed a moral system based on values such as
harmony, prudence and mutual respect, along with the acceptance of life, man could obtain
necessary to achieve the immortality of the soul and rest in paradise inhabited ancestral
wisdom.
1.1 Confucianism: Every action had a few causes and consequences, and the mission was to
understand people. Principles as an orderly and peaceful society, ancestor worship and
absolute submission to the emperor.
1.2 Taoism: The harmony between nature and human beings, as well as the abandonment of
desires to achieve happiness. Belief in two forces representing the male and female principles
of the universe, called the Yang (regulates heat, life and joy) and Yin (regulates the cold,
death and sorrow), governed by the Tao, force majeure.
1.3 Buddhism: The eradication of suffering and abandonment of desire. From the late
second century. B. C., Buddhism was introduced to China by Indian traders and quickly
spread throughout the Chinese Empire.
2. Science: The Chinese developed the printing press, first to understand magnetism, and
invent the compass and use it for navigation. They invented the compass, gunpowder and
manufacture of iron and steel to build ships and bridges. Invention of the handcart,
studying astronomy and manufacturing porcelain.
WORKCLASS
1. Localize the limits of the Chinese empire.
2. What rivers were important for the development of Chinese civilization?
3. What are the name periods in the history of ancient Chinese civilization?
4. What period saw the greatest expansion of the Chinese Empire?
5. How was formed the society in ancient China?
6. What is the authority of the Chinese emperor?
7. What was legal cases dethrone the emperor?
8. Why the 'nong' were considered as the backbone of the Chinese empire?
9. Who made up the lower class in ancient China?
10. What were the main economic activities of ancient China?
11. Why Chinese civilization built dams and irrigation canals?
12. What products elaborated and traded the Chinese?
13. How was important 'The Silk Road' for the ancient world?
14. What tended Confucianism? Who is the founder?
15. What expressed Taoism? Who is the founder?
16. What was the idea of Buddhism? Who introduced in China?
17. What Chinese inventions were decisive for the progress of humanity?
18. How can attain immortality of the soul, according to Confucianism and Taoism?
19. What elements of thought of ancient China can serve to guide the coexistence today?