600 BCE-600 CE Vocab

Question 1

Classic,classical

Answer 1

Traditional, relating to a form or system felt to be of first significance before modern times.

Question 2

Scholar-gentry

Answer 2

In China, the class of prosperous families next in wealth below the rural aristocrats from which the rulers drew their administrative personnel. Respected for their education and expertise, these individuals became a privileged group and made the government more efficient and responsive than in the past.

Question 3

Civil service

Answer 3

The administrative departments of the government, especially those in which employees are hired based on examinations

Question 4

Meritocracy

Answer 4

Government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability

Question 5

Mandate of Heaven

Answer 5

In Chinese history, the divine approval thought to be the basis of royal authority.

Question 6

Dynastic Cycle

Answer 6

The historical pattern of the rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties

Question 7

Filial piety

Answer 7

Respect for parents and elders

Question 8

Aristocracy

Answer 8

Land-owning families who make up a small portion of the population.

Question 9

Ancestor veneration

Answer 9

A ritual practice that is based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living.

Question 10

Empire

Answer 10

A political unit in which a number of peoples or countries are controlled by a single ruler.

Question 11

Direct democracy

Answer 11

A government where all citizens rule directly rather than through elected or appointed representatives.

Question 12

Citizen

Answer 12

A member of a state; especially one entitled to the rights and privileges of a freeman.

Question 13

Rational thought

Answer 13

To base one’s opinion on evidence and reason rather than superstition or commonly accepted beliefs.

Question 14

Philosopher

Answer 14

Thinkers who use logic and reason to investigate the nature of the universe, human society, and morality.

Question 15

Oligarchy

Answer 15

Form of government in which ruling power is in the hands of a few leaders.

Question 16

Tyranny

Answer 16

Form of government in which ruling power is in the hands of a person who has seized control through force or the manipulation of social groups.

Question 17

Paterfamilias

Answer 17

The legal head of the extended family in Rome and the only person who could own property. Made all the decisions affecting his wife, children, and son’s wives

Question 18

Latifundia

Answer 18

A large landed estate in Ancient Rome typically worked by slaves.

Question 19

Autocracy

Answer 19

A government in which the ruler has unlimited power and uses it any manner he chooses

Question 20

Dictator

Answer 20

A political leader given absolute power to make laws and command the army for a limited time ( in theory )

Question 21

Republic

Answer 21

A form of government in which power is in the hands of representatives and leaders elected by the people.

Question 22

Caste

Answer 22

Each of the hereditary classes in Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity and of social status.

Question 23

Divinity

Answer 23

The state or quality of being divine.