LOCATION AND ORIGIN
China was the cradle of one of the world's earliest civilizations. This vast country is bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the east, the Himalayas in the south broad deserts nd mountains in the west and the Great Wall of China in the north. Within the boundaries lie the valleys of two rivers the Huang He (Hwang Ho) and the Yangtze Kiang.This civilization about 4,500 years ago. The river Huang He was also known as the 'Sorrow China' because it often changed its Course after the floods and caused destruction of crops and canals dug for irrigation.
The first known dynasty in China was the Shang dynasty. The early Chinese civilization belonged to the Bronze Age and later made a transition to the Iron Age
Town Planning
City planning in ancient China began with the urbanization of the Huang He valley in the later part of the Neolithic Age. Urban planning in ancient China followed strict traditional rules.
The city of Chengzhou, built during the rule of the Zhou dynasty, represents an ideal city layout. The city was laid out in the form of a square, further subdivided into nine squares. Broad, parallel roads, running north to south,
Places, houses, temples, markets etc. were built within these blocks, each reserved for a specific group of buildings,
e.g., the Inner City with the central palace and government buildings was built in the centre (square 5 in Pillers the diagram).
The Outer City was built around it. The audience hall (square 1), the temples (squares 3 and 7) and the market buildings (square 9) were built within the Inner City.
In large cities, rectangular defensive walls with gates were built around the Inner City as well as the Outer City. Some of the larger cities were surrounded by moats.
HOUSES
Generally the houses were build around an interior central courtyard. Poor people were small, simple ome-room houses built with bamboo and sun-dried bricks. Rich people lived in large,fancy houses with many rooms.
ARCHITECTURE
The Great Wall of China, the world's longest wall, is an example of the brilliance of Chinese architecture. It Was initially built as several independent walls for the protection of different states. The first Chinese emperor, Shi Huangdi of the Qin dynasty (221-206 BCE),
The Great Wall is about 2,400 km long and varies in height from 4.5 m to 9 m. This wall forms the northern boundary of China. There are around 10,000 watchtowers at regular intervals along the wall.Another important feature of style temples known as pagodas.
Social structure
The emperor occupied the highest rung of the social ladder followed by the nobles, the merchants, the craftspeople, the farmers and the slaves. The soldiers occupied a special place in society. The family was a close-knit unit.
DID YOU KNOW?
The individual sections of the Great Wall of China were not connected until the Qin dynasty. Each dynasty added to the height, length and breadth of the wall and also elaborated the design
Occupation
The chief occupation of the Chinese was agriculture. They grew rice, wheat, Millet, barley and soya bean. The Chinese were the
first to cultivate tea. At first, tea was cultivated for medicinal purposes and later as a popular drink.
Sericulture
The Chinese were the first to make silk cloth. Silkworms were reared on mulberry trees. Chinese silk was world-famous and was the chief item of export during the ancient and medieval ages.
Domestication of Animals
They used horses and horse drawn carts as means of transport.
Pottery
The Chinese developed the art of making exquisite porcelain (pottery from a special type of clay). They were the first to make vases jars, cups, saucers and bowls. Some of these had superfine glossy surfaces, richly decorated with colourful designs.
TRADE
The Chinese carried on trade with Japan,India ,Egypt ,Mesopotamia, and regions as far as the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Their chief exports were silk, chinaware,tea and paper
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