China

Bronze Age civilizations arose out of Neolithic cultures in China in the Yangtze and Yellow river valleys. The three sovereigns and five emperors were the founders of civilization in the Yangtze Valley in China. Yu the Great formed the Xia Dynasty on the Yellow River after controlling the flooding from the Yellow River. The Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty followed the Xia Dynasty.

Figure 15‑10. Yu the Great.

The Liangzhu culture arose along the Yangtze River between 3400 and 2250 BC. By its end, it had a class system with ruling elites and great wealth. Jade was a valued gem in Liangzhu. It had a large wall, but it was destroyed in 2250 by a flood. This corresponded with a period of high rainfall.

The Yellow River has major flooding problems. According to the legend, Yu’s father Gun tried to build dikes along the Yellow River by failed to control the floods. Yu studied the hydrology of the river and controlled the flooding by building dikes and directing flood waters through irrigation canals to agricultural fields. He also opened a channel to the sea next to Mt Longmen. This channel is still known as Yu’s Gateway. This protected cities and gave water to agriculture. According to legend, Yu worked alongside laborers workers to build the dikes, irrigation systems, and channel.

Because of his work in controlling the river and also the leadership of a battle against an enemy tribe, Yu (Figure 16-20) was given the throne of the Xia Dynasty (Figure 15‑21). The Xia Dynasty lasted from 2070 to 1600 BC.

Archaeologists recently found evidence of the Xia Dynasty in the Erlitou culture, which was discovered at Yanshi (Figure 15‑22); however, some archaeologists do not think Erlitou culture was during the Xia period.

Figure 15‑21. Region of Xia Dynasty during reign of Yu the Great. Credit: Gurdjieff. Used here per CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 15‑22. Erlitou culture sites from Xia Dynasty. Public domain.

Early symbols are found on ceramics at Yanshi (Figure 15‑23). The Yanshi site grew in population during the Xia dynasty. Erlitou had several thousand people in its first phase and grew to 24,000 people during its greatest phase.

The palaces at Yanshi have the same form (Figure 15‑24) as all subsequent palaces during the dynasties of China. The palace complex was surrounded by a 2 m thick wall. Palace 1 (Figure 15‑24) had an area of 100,000 m².

The Erlitou culture formed bronze weapons and other bronze artifacts.

Figure 15‑23. Erlitou ceramics from Xia Dynasty with symbols. Credit: Shibo77. Public domain.

Figure 15‑24. Palace 1 from Yanshi Erlitou culture. Credit: Shibo77. Public domain.

According to Shang records, the Shang Dynasty conquered the Xia Dynasty in 1600 BC due to the fact that the leader of the Xia at the time, King Jie, was violent and abusive. The Shang dynasty ruled until 1056. The Shang Dynasty invented writing and was the first dynasty in China with written records. They had a class system with priests, warriors, farmers, and slaves. The Shang Dynasty was powerful due to their bronze weapons and horse-drawn chariots. The Shang Dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou, ostensibly because of the cruelty of the Shang leader Di Xin, who set his palace on fire and killed himself when he was conquered by the Zhou.

The Zhou Dynasty, in its various forms, ruled China from 1046-256 BC. The Zhou had a feudal system of royalty, nobles and serfs similar to Europe in the Middle Ages. Confucius lived during this period, and he emphasized the interdependence of nobles and serfs (Han Dynasty); however, others from the Zhou empire (Qin state) emphasized stricts laws and punishments for serfs. The Qin Dynasty consolidated power in 221 BC and conquered the Zhou Dynasty. At the time of it was conquered, the Zhou Dynasty had a population of 30 million people. After the Zhou Dynasty, many different dynasties had relatively brief reigns in China.

Figure 15‑25. Zhou Dynasty bronze pot. Credit: Editor at Large. Used here per CC BY-SA 2.5.

Bronzeware became ornate during the Zhou Dynasty (Figure 15‑25).

Nobles owned farms and employed intensive agricultural practices with serfs as workers. Agricultural tools made from bronze aided in agricultural management. The empire had a system of dividing fields into squares, with the government taking the produce from the central square.

There were great hydraulic engineering projects during the Zhou Dynasty. Sunshu created an enormous reservoir by damming a river. They also diverted water from rivers into irrigation canal systems.

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Yellow River. China. Credit: fading. Used here per CC BY-SA 3.0

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