S.S. Ch.11 Lesson 1

Mighty RiversChina’s rivers, the Huang He in the north and the Chang Jiang in the south,
helped develop civilizations
Yellow silt called loess give the Huang He it’s color and name, “Yellow River”
Chang Jiang, “Long River”, is also known as the Yangtze
Both of these rivers provide fertile lands for farming and also cause flooding
China can be divided into three different steps:
1. Western China is the highest
Himalayas and Plateau of f Tibet
Farther up, there are steppes (tall mountains, dry, treeless grasslands)
2. Central China is the middle step
Mountains and desert (Gobi desert)
3. Eastern China is the bottom step.

Varied climateNorthern part- cold, dry winter
Southern part- warm, rainy summers
As you travel from western China to eastern China, the climate gets wetter
Mountains, Plateaus, Deserts, and Plains

natural barriers made travel to and from China difficult
Mountains, rivers, and seas
Gobi and the Himalayas
Spread of ideas and goods were difficult
Because China was so big, they called it Tian Xia, “All Under Heaven”
Geography made ruling and governing difficult

A World Apart
Due to the size of China, each region had their own dialect but still shared same heritage
Legends or stories passed down

Pan Gu, the creator slept in an egg
When he came out, the upper halg became the heavens and the bottom
half of the shell became earth

The early Chinese believed
they were the world’s
only civilization.

Legendary Rulers

Shen Nong
Brought agriculture
Studied poisonous and medicinal herbs
Huang DiOrdered the creation of Chinese writing
Created carts, bows, houses, and arrows
Xilingshi
Huang Di’s wife
Invented silk
Yu the Great and the Great Flood
A flood endangered the people and to save the people, Yu the Great dug canals and controlled the floods for 13 years

Xia DynastyBegun by Yu’s son

Legends tell us what the people did, how they lived, and what they believed.