Transcript Chapter 3 section 3 continued.ppt

Chapter 3 section 3 continued
Religious Beliefs
Shangi Di and a mother goddess brought
plants and animals to earth.
believed Gods such as Shangi Di would not
respond to pleas from mortals
only spirits of the greatest mortals could
speak to Shangi Di
Kings and nobles would pray to their
ancestors to pray to Shangi Di
Ancestors became very important to Chinese
religion (link to the gods)
Yin and Yang
Chinese believed the universe reflected a
delicate balance between two forces, Ying
and Yang
-Ying was linked to Earth, darkness, and
female forces
-Yang stood for heaven light and male forces
**a well balanced universe depended on the
Ying and Yang being in harmony, not
competition**
System of Writing
Used both pictographs and ideographs (signs
that expressed thoughts or ideas)
oldest examples of Chinese writing are found
on oracle bones
on animal bones or turtle shells, Shang
priests wrote questions to the Gods or spirit
of an ancestor.
required a yes or no answer
heated the bone or shell until it cracked, then
studied the crack to determine the answer to
their question.
Calligraphy
fine handwriting turned into an elegant
art form
-Written language promoted unity
(everyone throughout China could
communicate)