GEOGRAPHY and ANCIENT CHINA



GEOGRAPHY AND ANCIENT CHINA

The land and people of China created one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations. The unique features of this civilization were shaped by both its access to arable land along two river valleys and its isolation from its neighbors. China is an ideal place to study when trying to understand how geography influenced the creation of a civilization.

As we start our exploration of ancient China we will be using the 5 themes of geography. These are as follows:

1. Location ~ the relative and absolute location place

2. Place ~ the human and physical characteristics of a location

3. Human-Environmental Interactions ~ how humans adapted to or changed the environment

4. Movement ~ the movement (migration) of people within, and in/out of the environment

5. Region ~ the regions around or within the location that have similar characteristics

By applying the five themes of geography to this part of the world, the movement of people and their interactions with their environment are shown to be key factors in influencing their culture.

China’s location is a significant factor on its history. China has been historically cut off from its neighbors to the west by natural features. As a result, China developed a distinct civilization from South and Southwest Asia. In due course, its neighbors to the east were strongly influenced by China. China’s land today can be divided into several distinctive regions. For the sake of narrowing our focus to ancient China, we will look at China in terms of four zones: north and south, east and west. It is imperative that we understand the geographic features of each zone in order to understand the interaction of people in China’s early history.

arable: land that is suitable for farming

Definitions

Absolute location: ________________________________________

Relative location: _________________________________________

Notes - Relative Location

Describe China’s relative position on the globe

_______________________________________________________

Shade in the Canada and China below [pic]

Describe China’s relative position to the Canada using this map _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shade in the Canada and China below

[pic]

Describe China’s relative position to the Canada using this map _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Absolute Location

Using the atlas, identify the farthest absolute location points of China

North N E East N E

South N E West N E

What are the absolute locations for each of the following cities in China?

Beijing N E

Shanghai N E

Hong Kong N E

[pic]

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KEY

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