Stable Food Supply

Millet is the Northern China's primary staple food while rice was for the south.

There were animal bones that were discovered giving the idea of the Chinese also eating meat though there are also some speculations that hunting was only for the noble's leisure.

This is a mortar that is used for taking the outer skin of the millet. It is still used in China today.

In order to keep up their crops, the ancient Chinese used wood and stone tools. In the fifth century BC, iron plows were developed. On the Northern grasslands, oxen pulled plows. But in the South, water bison pulled the plows but regardless of this, men did most of the agricultural work. They would cut wheat with sickles, carried crops by a pole hung across their shoulders with bags at the endto hold the grain, and they would loosen wheat by beating it with sticks. But the most complex tool was their irragation system. 

Some common foods of the Ancient Chinese include steamed buns, noodles or pancakes with vegtables soybean products, pickles, and some times meat, eggs, or fish on the side.

Food Supply

Shang Dynasty

Millet is the dynasty's primary staple food, but rice and wheat were also eaten.

There were animal bones that were discovered though there are also some speculations that hunting was only for the noble's leisure.

This is a mortar that is used for taking the outer skin of the millet. It is still used in china today.

System of Government

Despotic leadership

The king would be the leader during the ancient period. He has invincible power in all in the economy, governance and agriculture which was the livelihood of the mojority of people.


Enlightened Leadership


During the Xia dynasty, the Chinese government or the emperor employed labourers to work under four groups: military, farming, construction workers and textile labor.

Meet Confucius

Nobles and kings grew very independent and fought over land regardless of whom it belonged according to the law. This resulted in the suffering of many people of China during the Zhou Dynasty.

The educated people tried to improve the situation and Confucius' teachings lasted the longest. 

Confucius' teachings became honoured as the greatest teacher that had ever lived.

The Chinese law was then developed from his teachings later on.

Yellow River

• The Yellow River (Huang Ho)

The first Chinese lived in North China Plain, along Yellow River valley, Longer than half a million years ago. The Xia ruled an area north of the Yellow River. Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty to unite a large area of China. It was called Yellow River because it frequently floods its banks with loess (a thick yellow soil) and winds blowing from the Gobi Desert have dropped even more loess onto this area. The early people found that crops grew easily on the loess soil and so they settled on the plain. Loess is very fertile when wet but without rain or the river flooding, it soon turns to dust. It brought a lot of unexpected floods and drought that the Chinese had then learned to build dikes, dams, canals, and irrigation systems.

Ancient China - Dynasties

Xia Dynasty

• Ruled north of the Yellow River
• Not much is known about this dynasty
• A few debates on its existence

Shang Dynasty

• Earliest and most complete record of Chinese writing
• Highly skilled at working in bronze
• Lay largely in the valley of the Yellow River, but it touched the yangtze River at its southeastern corner
• Historical time was between 1st and 2nd thousand years BC, a time during which Moses lived
• Shang Ti - the head god (of this Dynasty)
• in charge of all vegetation, birth and growth

Zhou Dynasty

• Introduced a golden age of new ideas and philosophies.
• Legalism, Confucianism and Taoism (sometimes called Daoism) gave people philosophical rules to live by.
• The Chinese philosopher Confucius was born in this Dynasty.
• Use of iron was introduced to China
• All farming lands are owned by the nobles