5. Chinese Empires Flashcards
Confucius name meaning
master Kung
what question did confucius seek to answer?
how do we restore order to this society? this was during the fall of the Zhou dynasty/pd of warring states
T or F: A lot of leaders respected confucius during his lifetime
F - he only had later followers or some non-leader followers
Who wrote the Analects?
Confucius’ followers - it’s a book of his teachings
T or F: Confucianism was important to chinese culture after his time
True
T or F: Confucianism involved religion
F - just politics and ethics. He thought spirituality was useless but there’s order in the universe
2 main elements in confucian view of Dao
Duty and Humanity
How many constant relationships were there in confucianism and what were they?
Parent and child, husband and wife, older and younger sibling, older and younger friend, ruler and subject - there were 5. Each had a duty to the other - more powerful is kind and does good things, less powerful is obedient and loyal
T or F: Confucianism valued family
True
T or F: Confucius believed that if everyone fulfilled their duties, all of society would prosper
True (That’s not very original, Confucius. I mean, “if everyone does good things then everyone will do well”? Come on, man.)
T or F: Confucius believed that humans are basically neutral
F - good. Ruler should be goodest to set an example for the people.
What did the humanity portion of confucianism entail?
compassion and empathy for others
T or F: Confucius was mostly looking to go back to the past
Trick question - yes and no. He wanted to go back to the values of the zhou dynasty, but he also had forward thinking ideas (such as meritocracy)
Who created Daoism or Taoism?
Lao zi (old master) who may or may not have existed
What is the Daoism main text?
Tao te ching or way of the dao (lao zi actually wrote it)
T or F: In Daoism, it is believed that working hard can improve the universe.
False. Humans are kinda neutral and the universe is the way it is so we shouldn’t interfere with natural order - be yourself, good or bad. The Dao controls the universe.
T or F: Daoism valued nature
True. Cities were frowned upon.
What did legalism think of humans?
Basically evil and need strict laws to keep them in check
What did legalism think of the other schools of thought?
Super corrupt
Who made legalism?
Han Fei Tzu
What was the Legalism main text?
The Han fei zi (names are similar so be careful)
What did legalists do if you broke or followed laws?
It’s like they’re protecting their child. Break it and you get very very punished, follow it and you get rewards.
T or F: The communists kinda liked legalism
True
T or F: We need to know about mohism
F :’)
Who was the first ruler of the Qin dynasty?
Qin shihuang di - the first qin emperor (he was 13 when he came to the throne)
What good stuff did Qin shihuangdi do?
Single monetary system, systematic roads, reduced aristocracy power, got taxes, expanded land through military conquests (incl. vietnam)
What are the terracotta warriors and who built them?
A lot of ppl (qin shi huang di’s army/imperial guard who would help him journey to the next world)
T or F: All the terracotta warriors have the same head
False. There are 10. It was very expensive
Why was the great wall built?
To keep out the Xiongnu (mongolians) who were good on horses and organized and fighters. It was actually a bunch of existing walls linked together. It was called the wall of 10000 Li
T or F: The Qin dynasty used legalism
True
T or F: Getting rid of the aristocracy meant local rulers got more power in the Qin dynasty
false. More centralized rule
What were the bureaucracy divisions of the Qin dynasty?
Civil, military, censorate (make sure government ppl do their jobs)
T or F: Qin dynasty had local leaders
T - they were merit based and were organized in provinces and counties
Who did Qin Shi Huang Di anger?
Aristocrats, Confucianists, commoners (censorship, taxes, and forced labor - welcome to the trouble with legalism)
How many rulers did the Qin dynasty have?
1 :D
Who was the founder of the Han dynasty?
Liu Pang who became known as Han Gaozu - exalted ancestor
T or F the han dynasty kept legalism
False. Confucianism
What did the han dynasty keep from the Qin dynasty?
Government divisions, local government provinces and counties, merit based leaders
What was the civil service examination?
SAT from hecc - students learn confucianism (and a little about china but be cautious and don’t put that on an FRQ) - train students in confucianism, government keeps confucianism.
T or F big population growth during Han dynasty
T - 20 mil to 60 mil ish
Who was Han Wudi?
Martial emperor of Han - big conquerer who went south, west, and north (east is ocean so makes sense)
T or F the peasants were happy during the Han dynasty
F - taxes were ok but military and forced labor and small farm plots were bad - it got so bad that peasants sold their land and the aristocracy came back
T or F - Han dynasty valued family
True
T or F: The han dynasty was rich
Yes for the most part (just not the downfall) - trade, manufacturing, mining - traded as far away as india and Mediterranean via Silk Road
New Han dynasty tech
Textile manufacturing, water mills for grain grinding, iron casting –> steel, paper making which went west a bunch, fore and aft rigging and rudder
Han dynasty cultural achievements
Confucian school and classics and readings - also lots of history writing and writings of Sima Qian and Ban Gu (philosopher scholar people)
Why did the Han dynasty fall apart?
- Aristocracy exists and corruption does too
- Wars, court intrigues, and peasant uprisings collapsed the dynasty
- Rebel armies sacked the Han capital
- A general seized control and lost it so there was a big civil war (then 3 kingdoms then sui)
