Ancient China Vocab

Question 1

Climate

Answer 1

The weather

Question 2

loess

Answer 2

light fertile soil that is good for crops

Question 3

North China Plain

Answer 3

a region in the Huang He river valley also where the firsts Chinese civilization began

Question 4

Oasis

Answer 4

places in usually a desert where water can be found

Question 5

region

Answer 5

A part or section of a country

Question 6

Tributary

Answer 6

A stream or river that flows into a bigger stream, river, or lake

Question 7

Ancestor Worship

Answer 7

honoring of ancestors by rituals, such as offering food and wine to the spirits of the dead

Question 8

Anyang

Answer 8

A location where ruins were found from the Shang Dynasty the first civilization

Question 9

Bronze

Answer 9

A strong metal that is made of copper

Question 10

Clan

Answer 10

A large group of family and friends

Question 11

Oracle Bones

Answer 11

a piece of bone or shell heated and cracked by holy men to seek advice from a king’s ancestors

Question 12

Shang Dynasty

Answer 12

one of the first Chinese dynasties, ruled from 1750 to 1040 B.C.E.

Question 13

Civil Servant

Answer 13

a person who works for a government

Question 14

Confucianism

Answer 14

a Chinese philosophy that emphasizes proper behavior

Question 15

Daoism

Answer 15

a Chinese philosophy that emphasizes living in harmony with nature

Question 16

Zhou Dyansty

Answer 16

a line of rulers in China that ruled after the Shang dynasty

Question 17

Feudalism

Answer 17

a system of government based on landowners and tenants

Question 18

Legalism

Answer 18

a Chinese philosophy that emphasizes strict obedience to laws

Question 19

Mandate of Heaven

Answer 19

a power or law believed to be granted by the heavens

Question 20

Yin and Yang

Answer 20

the Daoist concept of opposing forces of nature

Question 21

Censor

Answer 21

to remove or suppress ideas considered harmful or dangerous

Question 22

Great Wall of China

Answer 22

a stone-and-earth wall about 1,500 miles long, first built during the Qin dynasty to defend China’s northern boundary

Question 23

Immortal

Answer 23

live forever

Question 24

Qin Shi Huangdi

Answer 24

the first emperor to rule a united China, from 221 to 210 B.C.E.

Question 25

Standardize

Answer 25

to make the same

Question 26

Han Dynasty

Answer 26

the dynasty that ruled China from about 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E., the period following the Qin dynasty

Question 27

Bureaucracy

Answer 27

a large, complex organization that functions under a given set of rules and conditions

Question 28

industry

Answer 28

a business that manufactures a particular product, such as silk

Question 29

Silk Road

Answer 29

a network of trade routes that stretched for more than four thousand miles across Asia