Ancient China Flashcards
Two rivers
Huang He, Yangtze
Loess
Yellow, fertile silt
Geographic features
Pacific ocean (E), Gobi Desert (N), Himalayan Mountains (SW)
What social class was in China
Chinese feudal system
Religion in ancient China
Ancestral beliefs, oracle bones
How did the Zhou justify the overthrowing of the Shang
Mandate of Heaven
Who founded the Mauryan
Chandragupta maurya
Arthasastra
Mauryan empire, advise a ruler hoe to rule, written by chandragupta maurya
Who was asoka
Grandson of chandragupta maurya
Manusmriti
Famous early legal codes
What did the ancient Chinese call themselves?
Middle Kingdom
What was the dynastic cycle?
A dynasty brings stability to the people as long as the royalty stays moral. Once the royalty becomes corrupt, the mandate of heaven is revoked, leading to chaos in the lands. The people are now obliged to rebel and overthrow the dynasty to bring a new, moral dynasty.
What is feudalism in ancient China?
The emperor granted land to noble families in exchange for their loyalty to military service. These nobles were considered lords of the land and commoners made up the vast majority of the population.
Who was Confucius. What did his philosophy stand for?
A Chinese philosopher who founded Confucianism. Respect the 5 crucial relationships, women are inferior and passive, moral education and inspiration.
Who founded legalism?
Not Laozi
When/What was the warring states period?
When: Fall of Zhou Dynasty - Founding of the Qin Dynasty
What: The Zhou dynasty’s central authority weakened, and China fragmented into several enemy states. Lots of conflict/chaos.
Who founded the Qin Dynasty?
Shi Huangdi
Which dynasties built the Great Wall
The Qin Dynasty built the earliest version, and the Ming Dynasty built and fortified it into the wall we know today.
Who built the terracotta army and why?
Built under Qin Shi Huangdi to protect him in the next world.
Who founded the Han dynasty, the ______ dynasty in Chinese history.
Liu Bang, longest
Who was Wudi? 5 achievements
Great Grandson of Liu bang
1. Defeated the Xiongnu nomadic mountain tribes
2. Colonizes places like Korea and Vietnam
3. Ordered a wall to be built, an extension of the Great Wall
4. Strongly promoted Confucianism
5. Established the silk road
Instances of assimilation in ancient China
Buddhism, acquirng non-chinese places like vietnam, gradual assimilation of the xiongnu
Order of the Chinese dynasties
- Shang
- Zhou
- Qin
- Han
- Sui
- Tang
- Song
- Yuan
- Ming
- Qing
Approxmiate time of confucius
500 BCE (zhou dynasty)
Describe the chinese writing system
Started as pictographs, evolved into more abstract ideographs, symbols that represent words or morphemes (known as iogograms)
5 Key relationships in confucianism
Ruler-subject
father-son
husband-wife
older brother-younger brother
friend-friend
Daoism believed in what?
Following the natural way (the Dao) and embracing simplicity
4 Ways Shi Huangdi made a unified empire?
- centralized power
- standardized currency
- building infrastructure (ie. huge roads, Great Wall, canals)
- Oppressing opposition (string legalist philosophy), killed local uprisings
Why did the Han dynasty decline? 4 main reasons
Emperor’s after Wudy were weak and ineffective, many government officials became corrupt. There were issues with land distribution/taxation of wealthy landowners was nonexistent
4 Technological advances of China
- Paper
- Compass
- Gunpowder
- Waterwheel
What was the silk road?
Network of trade routes that connected China to Cenral Asia, India, The Middle East, and the Mediterranean
What things were traded along the Silk Road? How was trade conducted along the Silk Road?
Silk, spices, tea, porcelain, paper, ideas/Buddhism, and precious metals would travel in caravans across deserts and mountains
Duration of the Shang Dynasty
1500 BCE - 1027 BCE
Duration of the Han Dynasty
202 - 220 CE
