CH Module 2:2

Question 1

Traits of Bronze Age Civilization in North China

Answer 1

writing
metalworking
domestication of the horse
class stratification
cult centers

Question 2

Shang dynasty

Answer 2

not as urban as Mesopotamia
kings ruled from large settlements like Anyang (200+ yrs)

Question 2

Anyang

Answer 2

was ruled from for more than 2 centuries
Center had large palaces, temples, and altars built on rammed-earth foundations
Industrial areas: bronzeworkers, potters, stone carvers, etc
Homes built partly below ground level to conserve heat

Deer, bears, tigers, wild boars, elephants, and rhinoceros

Question 2

Shang kings

Answer 2

They were military chieftains who regularly sent men out on campaigns or went hunting for months

War booty was a sizable stream of revenue, war captives were made into slaves or sacrificial victims (which could have been a motive for going into war)

Question 3

Shang Weapons

Answer 3

Bronze-tipped spears and battle axes
Chariots (bronze fittings) (increased view and mobility)

Question 4

High priests (kings)

Answer 4

Best qualified to offer sacrifices to the royal ancestors and high god Di

Divined the ancestor’s wishes by interpreting the cracks made in heated cattle bones/tortoise shells prepared by professional diviners

Question 5

Shang monuments

Answer 5

Shang palaces were constructed of perishable material, giving China none of the ancient stone buildings and monuments characteristic of the West

Question 6

Shang Royal tombs

Answer 6

Lavish underground tombs
Lady Hao’s tomb: filled with 500 bronze vessels and weapons, 700 jade and ivory ornaments, 16 attendants

Question 7

Shang Society

Answer 7

The king and other noble families had patrilineal family and clan names. Kingship too.

Question 8

Shang Farmers

Answer 8

Obligated to their lords, they worked fields with stone tools and lived in compact villages surrounded by fields.

Wheat (from western Asia) and silkworms

Question 9

Shang Bronze metalworking

Answer 9

The development/complexity of society coincided with its mastery (needed coordination of a large labor force and skilled artisans)

Mostly for rituals such as sacrificial ceremonies (goblets, steamers. cauldrons)

Question 10

Bronze decoration

Answer 10

Shang bronzes were decorated with wild animals, contrasting that of ancient Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia with their representations of agriculture and hierarchies

Question 11

Cicadas

Answer 11

Jades found in dead people’s mouths, images on bronzes

Rebirth

Question 12

Birds

Answer 12

Messengers to other realms *sky

Question 13

Taotie

Answer 13

Stylized animal face
monster? protective? ritual mask? animal sacrifices?

Question 14

Sichuan 1986

Answer 14

Pits with statues, bronze heads

elephant tusks, gold, jade, stone….

Question 15

Shang Writing development

Answer 15

A major element by 1200 BCE
Logographic: each word had a symbol, sometimes symbols combined for words and pronunciation

*complexity of language added to the prestige of education

Question 16

Logographs pros+cons

Answer 16

• Allowed them to read old texts without translation and texts from different regions
• Played a large role in holding China together and providing connections with the past
• Also allowed communication between people whose languages were related as neighboring countries adopted the script.

Question 17

Zhou dynasty

Answer 17

Recognized Shang to be occupying the center of the known world + saw history as a major way to legitimate power.

Question 18

Book of Documents

Answer 18

Describes the Zhou conquest as the victory of just and noble warriors
Assumes a close relationship between heaven and king (son of heaven)
The mandate was taken away from the Shang king

Question 19

Mandate of Heaven

Answer 19

Heaven gives the king a mandate as long as he rules with the interests of the people.

Seems to have been propaganda, but became a central feature of Chinese political ideology.

Question 20

Ruling

Answer 20

Set up a decentralized feudal system where people were sent with troops to establish walled garrisons in conquered territories.
These positions were passed down, creating domains.

Question 21

Decentralized rule

Answer 21

Allowed regional lords to get too powerful
In 771 BCE the Zhou king was killed by an alliance of non-Chinese tribesmen and vassals
China soon entered a period of nearly constant conflict

Question 22

Zhou Social classes

Answer 22

King -> rulers of state -> great officials of the states -> shi (men who could serve militarily or civilly) -> normal people (farmers, craftsmen, traders)

Question 23

Book of Songs

Answer 23

Hymns used in court ceremonies
Folk songs (set the pace for rural life, depicted farmers)
Love songs
Complaints to ancestors
Court odes (attitudes of aristocrats)

Question 24

Farming

Answer 24

Millet, hemp (cloth), beans, vegetables
Hunting, gathering grasses

Question 25

Women

Answer 25

Zhou distrusted women in politics due to concubinage, which led to much scheming for favor and the perception that women were incapable of taking a disinterested view of the larger good.

Question 26

Social and Economic change after 500 BCE

Answer 26

Cities, with thick earthen walls, began appearing

Question 27

Iron technology

Answer 27

Allowed some to become very rich.
Widely used for both farm tools and weapons.

Made wealth a basis of social inequality instead of inherited status and political favor.

Question 28

Social mobility

Answer 28

Rulers often sent their officials instead of delegating authority to hereditary lesser lords, leading towards centralized bureaucratic control.

Question 29

Bureaucracy

Answer 29

Created opportunities for social advancement for the shi.
Competition between them guaranteed a supply of subordinates and meant ambitious men could be selective.

Question 30

Southern state of Chu

Answer 30

Incorporated fifty or more smaller barbaric states, extended its reach to Zhou, and took in the old states of Wu and Yue.

Question 31

Songs of Chu

Answer 31

The greatest literary masterpieces of the era
Full of fantastical poems about deities and shamans

Question 32

Warring States Period

Answer 32

Large, well-drilled infantry armies became prominent and were able to defeat chariot-led forces.
Fueled by the development of new weaponry and war tactics, Chinese states destroyed each other until only Qin was left.

Question 33

Crossbow

Answer 33

The intricate bronze trigger allowed a foot soldier to shoot farther than a horseman carrying a light bow.

One text said that a skilled soldier with a crossbow and a sword could match a hundred ordinary men.

Question 34

Cavalry

Answer 34

Further reduced the need for a chariot-riding aristocracy

Was first perfected by people north of China proper. The state of Jin made a cavalry to defend against attacks from these horsemen.

Acquiring and pasturing horses became a key part of military preparedness.

Question 35

War technology developments

Answer 35

Due to the developments, rulers wanted to increase populations to get more foot soldiers and weapons

Question 36

Agriculture with war tech dev

Answer 36

Began surveying and taxing farmers to undermine the power of lords over their subjects to get direct access to the peasants’ labor power.

Question 37

Registering populations

Answer 37

This led to the extension of family names to commoners at an earlier date than anywhere else in the world.

Question 38

The Art of War

Answer 38

• The ideal general is a master of maneuver, illusion, and deception
• Heroism is a useless virtue
• The army has been trained to follow orders without questioning them.
• War is the way of deceit.

Question 39

The Victorious States

Answer 39

States in the periphery of the Zhou realm were able to expand and had access to more resources.

Question 40

By 3rd century BCE

Answer 40

Only seven important states were remaining and were much more centralized than their predecessors.
Before the end of the 3rd century, the state of Qin conquered them all.