Ancient Chinese Civilization (Unit Test # 2)

Question 1

China Civilization Geography and Climate 2014

Location - relative location

Answer 1

​Location - relative location

1. located in eastern asia, 1/4 of Asia’s land, almost as large as whole of europe.
2. occupies 9.6 million sq kms (3.7 million sq miles)
3. From N to S = 5,500 kms (3,400 miles), from E to W = 5,200miles (3,100 miles)

Question 2

China Civilization Geography and Climate 2014

Place , Region - physical characteristics

Answer 2

Place , Region - physical characteristics

1. **Climate : **
   
   1. ranges from extremely dry desert like conditions in the north and west.
   2. rain and heat of tropical monsoon in the south and southeast
   3. Most of the countery lies in temperate zone and experiences 4 seasons

Question 3

China Civilization Geography and Climate

Location - Absolute Location

Answer 3

Location - Absolute Location

Population

1. More than 50 cities have > or = 1/2 million or more.
2. About 25 cities = 1 million or more.
3. Coastal Shanghai (central china) - largest city in the country, with a population around 15 million within the city.

Absolute Location

1. China - 35ºN, 103ºE
2. Capital city (Beijing) - 40ºN, 116ºE

Question 4

China Civilization Geography and Climate 2014

Movement

Answer 4

Movement

1. _Yangtze River(“Changjiang” in chinese means the “long river”) _- is longest river in China running 6,300 km (3915 miles). It is also the third longest river in the world. The Yangtze is open to navigation all year around.
2. Yellow River - second longest river in china. It runs 5,464 kms (3395 miles) and is often called the cradle of Chinese civilization. The yellow river has changed its course several times over the centuries, causing great hazards.

Question 5

Outer China

Location

Answer 5

Outer China - Location

1. ​huge area to the N and W of china proper.
2. ranges from 1,000m to 5,000m above sea level.
3. The Outer China zone
   
   1. includes part of NE China (also known as Manchuria (Bamboo Grove)) Location: 39ºN, 117ºE
   2. Xinjiang
   3. Inner Mongolia
   4. the Yunan- Guizhou Plateau,
   5. part of the Loess Plateau
   6. and a stretch of mountains

Question 6

Outer China

Place: Physical Characteristics

Answer 6

Place: Physical characteristics

1. North of China proper (Inner Mongolian Plateau)
   
   1. ​is a combination of Prairie, mountain and desert
   2. Much of it is suitable for raising sheep.
   3. Among domesticated animals in NE are reindeer
2. The Yili area of Xinjiang
   
   1. is famous for its horses.
   2. in contrast with the mongol ponies, the Yili horses are of Arab stock.
   3. During the Han Dynasty, 206BCE to 220CE, a tale circulated of horses so high spirited that they thought would sweat blood (In reality possibly caused because of parasites).
   4. It was for the possession of these horses that the costliest of military campaign in the entire dynasty was rewarded.
3. Northwestern China
   
   1. ​has extremely dry weather, good for growing fruits like melons and grapes. (Human/ Environment Interaction)
4. **Highest Point along Tibetan Plateau - Mount Everest (Mount Zhumulangma) **is also the highest mountain in the world. It is located on the sino-nepalese border and rises 8,848m (29,028ft) above sea level. Location: 28ºN, 87ºE.

​Interesting facts about Mt Everest

• highest mountain in the world.
• 60 million years old
• location : part of the Himalaya mountain range (straddles border of Nepal/Tibet)
• named after Sir George Everest - surveyor general of India.
• countries visible from summit : Tibet, Nepal, India.

Question 7

China Proper and Agriculture

Region

Answer 7

China Proper and Agriculture

Region

It is helpful to divide China into 2 large zones;

• China Proper
• Outer China

China Proper is the area

• changing constantly over time
• chinese culture was dominant
• broken into northern and southern regions

Question 8

China Proper and Agriculture

Place - Physical Characteristics

Answer 8

Place - Physical characteristics

1. China Proper - was separated from the vast territories of Outer China to the north, by the Great Wall of China, a huge construction project and famous landmark of the Chinese Civilization.
2. 2 great rivers run through China Proper: the Yellow River in the north, and the Yangtze River to the south.
3. In fact, most of China Proper belongs to the drainage-basins of these two rivers.
4. Both these rivers originate to the far west in the Tibetan Plateau.
5. Southern Proper China - see next few cards
6. Northern proper China - see next few cards

Question 9

China Proper and Agriculture

Place - Physical Characteristics (contd)

Southern Proper China

Answer 9

China Proper and Agriculture

Place - Physical Characteristics (contd)

Southern Proper China

1. is covered by a network of rivers and lakes and their valleys.
2. Rivers are an integral part of the daily life of people in Southern China.
3. The much smaller Xi River cuts through Southern China.
4. Look at Map of the 3 rivers in your notes.
5. The Yangtze river empties north of Shandong peninsula today (sometimes it emptied south of this peninsula in the past)

Agriculture

1. _Rice _ - is one of the staple crops of Southern Proper China. When the fields are flooded, farmers allow fish to swim among the stalks. They do this because, aside from providing another source of food, fish are pleasing to the eye and eat mosquito larvae.
2. Tea - is also widely grown in the hilly regions in Southern Proper China. In fact, Tea is so popular in China that it is considered a basic necessity of life.

Question 10

China Proper and Agriculture

Northern Proper China

Answer 10

China Proper and Agriculture

Place - Physical Characteristics

Northern Proper China

1. is dominated by the muddy plain along the Yellow River.
2. This part of China Proper is mostly flat and the soil. It is replenished by the build up carried down by the river and therefore well suited to agriculture.
3. This plays a major role in economics (Human / Environment Interaction)

Agriculture

1. Staple crops of Northern Proper China include wheat, corn, sorghum (a grass crop related to sugar-cane), millet and soybeans.
2. Rice has become more widely grown recently. (Human/Environment Interaction)

Question 11

_Ancient China _

Daily Life

Answer 11

_Ancient China _

Daily Life

1. China is one of the oldest continuous civilizations of the world.
2. It has been considered to be an advanced one.
3. In ancient China, everyday life consisted of pottery, baking and farming with silk making a little later.
4. As various dynasties changed over the centuries, people’s interest in science and philosophy also changed.
5. Immediately after the 1949 revolution, the Chinese government encouraged its people to have large families in order to increase the work force depleted by years of war.
6. However production, and modernization could not keep up with the growing population, thereby forcing a change in the government policy.
7. An extensive birth control program has been in effect since the late 1970s. Nowadays, city-dwellers are required to adhere to the one-child policy, and even in the countryside families rarely have more than two or three children.

Question 12

_Ancient China _

Role of Women

Answer 12

_Ancient China _

Role of Women

1. Many men followed the Confucian principles and teachings which asserted that women were subservient to men.
2. The birth of a girl child was not treated with happiness as fathers had to give away heavy dowry during their marriages.
3. Women had no voice or right in choosing their husbands.
4. If their husbands died, women were not allowed to remarry, even if they were of tender age.
5. Even if a woman dared to remarry, she was given a death sentence.
6. The prime duty of a woman was to bear male heirs and look after the domestic household.
7. Women were not sent to schools for education. Some women learned to read from their brothers and taught their children. Women even developed the secret “Nushu” language of communication which was privy to just women.
8. However, some notable changes occured in the status of women during the Han, Tang and Song Dynasty. Empress Wu Zeitian is one of the notable empresses of china who brought about considerable change in the plight of women.

Question 13

Ancient China

Shoes and Foot Binding

Answer 13

_Ancient China _

Shoes and Foot Binding

1. Men chose to wear black leather shoes on formal occasions, and beautiful silk and leather ones on special occasions.
2. Many Chinese men who couldnt afford silk and leather, wore cotton shoes.
3. Women in ancient China were subjected to an inhuman practice of binding their feet to make them look smaller. Tiny feet known as “Lotus feet” were a symbol of sensuality and beauty. Having tiny feet was a must for girls of elite classes in order to find rich husbands.
4. Later on, even the working class families started following this fashion in pursuit of a wealthy match.
5. The bones of the toes were broken, bent and bound for years. Silk wrappings were used to cover the feet. The feet were then placed in the beautiful embroidered Lotus shoes. However, this practice disfigured the feet of the ancient Chinese women and often resulted in bacterial infections.

Question 14

_Ancient China _

Religion & Health

Answer 14

Religion & Health

1. The religion practised by the people evolved over the centuries as the emperor and the dynasties kept changing.
2. In the earliest period known, many different gods, including weather and sky god along with a higher god who ruled all other gods known as Shang Ti were worshipped.
3. It was also believed that when the parents and grandparents died they became gods and wanted to be worshipped. Hence, each family worshipped their ancestors.
4. The Chinese people believed that their rulers could rule because they had a mandate from heaven. so long, as they retained their mandate, they could continue to rule the empire. However, if this mandate was lost due to poor crops or losses in battle, then the right to rule could be given to a new dynasty.
5. Ancestors of the ancient chinese nobility were the only ones who were worshipped. However the dead of the poor were not considered worthy of worship.
6. In the ancient Chinese society, worship was not considered as an individual practice, but something that one performed so that it can benefit the entire society as a whole.
7. Religion in ancient china gave the priest the role of an intermediaries. They took upon the role of a medium for the purpose of building a link between the divine god and human being on earth. Their other jobs included conducting sacrifices, funerals, and reading prayers etc.

Question 15

Ancient China

Philosophies

Answer 15

Philosophies

Taoism: encourages everybody to live in harmony.

Confucianism:

Buddhism

These new philosophies however did not change the belief of the people in ancient practices and the people of ancient china continued to worship their godsand ancestors firmly believing in the mandate of heaven.