China Test Flashcards
Cycle of Chinese History
First kings of a dynasty earned right to rule by wisdom and virtue, then they passed rule to sons, who over time became lazy and decadent, last a new man wise and powerful rises
1045-221 BCE
Zhou Dynasty in China
479 BCE
Death of Confucius
476-221 BCE
Warring States Period
400 BCE
Earliest versions of Tao Te Ching
221-206 BCE
Qin dynasty in China
202 BCE - 221 CE
Han Dynasty in China
Oracle Bones
tell the future and only kings and rulers could use
2205 - 1766 BCE
Xia
1766 - 1122
Shang
What happened during the Xia Dynasty
considered first dynasty and started the cycle of dynasties.
What happened during the Shang
the invention of writing; the development of a stratified government; the advancement of bronze technology; and the use of the chariot and bronze weapons in warfare.
dynasties
political authority, held by family groups, over a long period of time (2000 BCE - 1911)
feudalism
economic and political system
chinas two great river valleys
yellow and yangzi rivers
environmental limits on agriculture
agriculture and other elements may have developed spontaneously in several areas of china rather than radiating outward from one central region
geographic reasons for isolation
the forbidden landscape severed to isolate the Chinese from advanced agrarian societies in other parts of asia
frontier regions inhabited by peoples of Mongolian, into-european, or turkic extraction
Gobi Desert, Central Asia, and Tibetan plateau
mandate of heaven
granted right to rule because of virtue, could be lost
(permission)
How would they justify overthrowing one
if they lost the mandate
tian
heaven but not connected to god and not a person/anthropomorphic
well-field system
the peasants worked on lands owned by their lord but also had land of their own to cultivate for their own use
improvements in technology for farming
irrigation, field rotation, terrace farming/wet rice cultivation, natural fertilizers and iron plows
rice =
wheat =
- multiple harvest
- one harvest a year
bureaucracy
government run by officials and divided power into ministries
what bureaucracy/ministries was the Zhou dynasty served by
rites (traditions), education, law, and public works (infrastructures)
what does dao mean
the way, proper way of living
filial piety
extreme respect to father/parents. parents should be served in a respectful manner
6 examples of filial piety
- parent and child
- husband and wife
- older and younger sibling
- older and younger friend
- ruler and subject
- teacher and student
2 elements in Confucianism interpretation
duty and humanity