Essential Learning Goals

The oldest remains of Chinese civilization have been found in the fertile plains of
the Yellow River, so called due to the loess, a yellow silt that is carried by the river
to the sea.

China was ruled by a series of emperors in its early years. The Chinese people
believed that their emperors held a Mandate of Heaven that could be revoked by
the gods, creating a Dynastic Cycle as one dynasty ended and another began.
These emperors strung together on familial lines to create dynasties, which lasted
as little as a decade or as long as a few centuries.

Eventually, Chinese Empires grew to a size that required extensive bureaucracies to

maintain control of the lands, collect taxes, and manage the people.

Despite its size (the Han Dynasty was the largest civilization of its time) China has
traditionally been very limited from contact with the outside world. This lack of
content is partially due to its distance from Europe and the Middle East and partially
due to the Chinese belief that they were the literal center of the universe and above
the will and influence of others.

China did trade on a limited basis with the West. Traders would pass goods along
the Silk Road, a route that stretched from central China to the Middle East.

The culture of China has been highly influenced by a variety of philosophical

beliefs. Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism have had the greatest effect of
these, shaping the belief systems, government practices, and cultural elements of
the country for thousands of years.

Confucious based much of his philosophy and teaching on the idea of filial piety,
believing that the key to a peaceful society rested in respect of one's elders and
ancestors.

Chinese accomplishment in architecture is evident in the Great Wall. It was built by

the Qin Dynasty under the influence of Shi Huangdi. He ruled by a legalist doctrine
that held that a peaceful, lasting society could only be accomplished through strict
adherence to the law.

One of the few times China was influenced by outside forces was when the Mongol
Empire took control of the nation during the Yuan dynasty.

China has contributed many innovations to the world, such as the magnetic compass,
gunpowder, paper, and movable type.