How Geography Impacted Ancient China

This can be seen when looking at the geography of where these civilizations originated. Just like the other three societies, Chinese civilization grew among the Huang He River, or the Yellow River. The river supplied water for the Chinese to be able to practice agriculture. The river also gave them a mode of transportation to move goods from place to place, just like the Harappans. Another characteristic of the Chinese that is similar to the Harappans was the fact that we do not know much about them because they did not leave any records behind. Life along the Yellow River was also similar to life along the Nile. The people of both civilizations built ditches and canals in the rivers in order to use them for transportation and irrigation. They both used water to feed their people, and cattle as they raised them along the river, and to use for their crops, as both rivers were fertile. Unlike the Nile, the Yellow River brought both positive and negative consequences. The Yellow River was also given another name by its people, the River of Sorrows. This was because the Yellow River did not flood regularly like the Nile, it was irregular. Some years the Yellow River would not flood at all, and in other cases it would flood and bring devastation to its people. The Egyptians luckily did not experience this with the Nile River, instead they celebrated it and called it their giver of

“Floodwater dashed up against the skies... God issued a command allowing Yu to spread out the self-replacing soil so as to quell the foods in the Nine Provinces.” This myth from China’s remote past may reflect stories about the efforts of early rulers to control the flood waters of the Huang River- the mighty river that has been central to Chinese civilization since the earliest of times.” (Holt, World History textbook, 76). China is located in the far east side of Asia. They have very rugged mountains in the west, some of the tallest in the world. In the south there are many plateaus, moving north; there are semi-deserts. The heart of China, the China Proper, has been significant though it’s early years. China has three major rivers that they used for transportation, crops, and ect. they are

The Himalayan Mountains as well as the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts isolated the Chinese civilization. This seclusion slowed cultural advancements from taking place in the region. Travelers did eventually arrive in China and brought with them new technologies and goods from outside the region. 1, 3

Some ancient civilization depend on rivers for their agriculture like Mesopotamian, Egypt, India, and China. Neolithic Mesopotamian and Chinese civilization learned to adjust to climate by using a systematic agriculture of farming and herding, living sedentary and developing a pottery, allowing the preparation and storing food and water. Over time other civilization such Indus Valley from India learned to predict a flooding of the river and use it to their benefit. Unlike the Canaanites society from Egypt in which believed to sacrifice an infant and child in the name of the earth god(Baalim)and goddess(Baalot) to ensure a prosperous harvest.

China is located in Eastern Asia. Some of these natural land barriers included India, The South China Sea, The Yellow Sea, The Huang He Desert, The East China Sea, and The Gobi Desert. Although these natural land barriers had positive impacts, they also had negative impacts. The positive impacts were it kept out enemies from trying to invade China. It stopped the enemies from trying to take over China.

During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent

All river valley civilizations relied on the river that was near them. The snow from the mountains in the west of China created the two most important rivers in ancient China. In ancient China, people relied

The classical civilizations of the 600 BCE-600 CE period were characterized by large empires rising out of the earlier city states. Rulers/military officials extended their influence through conquered new and nearby lands, expanding of land and increasing availability and variability of resources as they added more people and wealth; China, under the Han dynasty, was no exception to this trend. To illustrate, the Silk Road, a trading route interconnecting Europe, Asia, and North Africa/Middle East was named after China’s main cash crop, silk, which was prized for its soft smoothness and durability, in Rome, the Middle East, and other civilizations. This meant that merchants had a large impact in and outside China. The big silk trade also led

Based on document six, China is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean (to the west), the Himalayan Mountains (to the southwest), and the Gobi Desert (up north). These natural barriers helped stop foreigners from invading China, thus helping the civilization develop. Furthermore,

The geography of China has affected its people for thousands of years. Rivers such as the Huang He and the Yangtze have benefited its people because they were able to trade, get food and water and settle down in this area. These rivers were beneficial because they helped to facilitate trade. (“The Study Of History”). The Chinese traded goods such as silk, salt, teas, sugar, porcelain and other luxurious goods (“Ancient China”). While this was beneficial to the Chinese there were also many negatives effects that the geography had in China. The Himalayan mountains had some negative effects on the Chinese. The Himalayas kept them isolated for a long time. This then meant that there was a lack of cultural diffusion which was occurring (“Himalayan Mountains Documentary…”). The Chinese weren’t able to trade goods and ideas because it was hard for them and other civilizations

The Yellow River is located in Qinghai, China. In the present day it is not very dense in population. It is a very high-altitude called the Tibetan Plateau. It is place of strong Tibetan and Mongol cultural traditions in present day China. The Yellow River is known by all Chinese people as the “mother river” (Wu). It is also agreed upon by almost all Chinese people that it is the cradle of Chinese civilization and the spiritual home of the Chinese people (Zhou). The Yellow River is the symbol of the Chinese nation, the spirt of the Chinese people, but most importantly civilization itself.

Ancient Egypt was affected by its geography. The Nile flows through Egypt, making it easier for the Egyptians to trade. The Nile served as a trade route, Egyptians could use rafts and boats to float to carry their goods they want to trade. Historymuseum.com stated “The Nile was surrounded by deserts, some of the desserts it was surrounded by is the Arabian Desert and the Libyan Desert.” This caused problems for the people who lived in the desert. The wind could carry the sand and could cause health problems and decrease visibility, “Egyptian civilization developed along the Nile River in large part because the river’s annual flooding ensured reliable, rich soil for growing crops, “If they could grow enough crops they would end up having a stable

One historical river valley that was affected by geography was, ancient china. Ancient china land of the silk road home of the terracotta warriors makers of the most deadliest component to weapons,gunpowder. Ancient china was surrounded with geological features such as mountains,rivers,deserts and oceans.with all of those challenges surrounding them they were the most isolated civilization but the most clever. Ancient china had two rivers the yangtze and the yellow river also known as the river of sorrows because when it flooded it killed people and washed away people's farm,but the flood brought fresh water and silt for farming,king shun hired someone to redirect the river so it would not flood, his name was Gun.he had a son named yu,after many attempts by Gun king shun dismissed him and yu Guns son took over. After 13 years yu had finally made dredges to bring the water out two sea.mountains were also a negative and positive geological feature. For example the

For thousands of years, Chinese culture thrived and grew to become it’s own superpower, and for many years this was unknown to the rest of the world. Great geographic influences included the treacherous mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas, and the prosperous river valleys, such as the Yangtze and the Huang he. Lack of cultural diffusion is primarily due to the fact that China, for hundreds of years, had little to no outside contact or cultural diffusion with other civilizations of that time. The culprit behind this lack of interaction is primarily China’s many mountain ranges. These massive mountains, such as the Himalayas, provided for a dangerous and unkind terrain, and therefore trade and most contact with others was inhibited (“Himalayas”). Despite the lack of outside influence, China and it’s people were actually quite prosperous. One aid in their economic prosperity was their agricultural produce and domestic trade. China’s agricultural society was actually a thriving one mainly due to their fertile land, which is do to their river valleys. These rivers, such as the Yangtze and the Huang he rivers, deposited silt known as loess, onto the soil that was full of nutrients, and the land then became fertile (Perkins 4). These rivers not only expanded upon the agricultural output, but they also created an easy route for transportation and trade throughout the empire (“Yangtze River”). These simple aspects of the Chinese culture in retrospect, played some of the most

China has many geographic factors that affected their early development. These geographic factors although hindered and both promoted cultural development within their region. They had two major river systems; the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. They also had deserts that kept them isolated from other regions.