How did the geography of ancient China affect the development of its culture?

Answer 1

There are many aspects to the geography of any country, both physical and cultural. So, there are several potential ways to look at this question.

Here is one. Ancient China was one of the world's "hydraulic civilizations," based on river valleys so that water could be controlled for agriculture. For this reason, ancient China was centered mostly on the Hwang Ho. To be able to control water, there must be sufficient social and governmental control over land and people. It requires centralized power. From early times, various kingdoms centralized control over large areas.

Which brings up this. The eastern third of the country is relatively non-mountainous, with sufficient rainfall, and several large rivers for the growth of a large, dense population. Today, it is still the same.

And this. Because of its climate, China is divided north-south between wheat-growing areas in the north and rice-growing lands to the south. This dividing line is roughly situated on the west-east-flowing Yangtze. So, China eats lots of wheat and rice. Chopsticks were developed to eat rice and noodles (of both rice and wheat).

But China is so large in area (just under the size of the U.S.), it has relied on a great deal of authority dispersed to the provinces, while centralizing a great deal of power in a single entity in the capital. In ancient times, it was the emperor. In modern times, the Chinese Communist Party and the national government in Beijing is the ultimate power..