Socials 8 China Unit 2 Zhou to Siddhartha Flashcards
What is the mandate of Heaven?
That the Gods think you should rule
What is a despot?
A person who is in authority who is a tyrant (a bad guy)
What did the Zhou believe would happen if the leader became a despot?
That the Gods would take away your power
Throughout Chinese history, what did new leaders always say they had?
The Mandate of Heaven
Did the defeat of the Shang dynasty mean that Chinese civilization was over?
No the Zhou picked up where the previous dynasty left off.
What did the Zhou borrow from the Shang
Anything they admired they took on as their own
What was the warring states period of time in China?
A time after the Zhou dynasty fell and warlords were fighting for power
Why is the Warring time important?
Because new ‘schools of thought” or ways of thinking emerged
What are the three most influential ways of thinking that emerged from the Warring period?
Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism
Why did these three new schools of thought emerge?
People were sick and tired of all the fighting and wanted to figure out how to live in harmony
Name the philosopher who had the most influence on Chinese society
Confucius
What did Confucius hate?
The political turmoil (fighting), that people were not living good lives, and he felt their bad behavior was creating chaos
What did Confucius believe about people?
That they were basically good, but needed to be trained by their families and society to behave well
To build a harmonious society, what are the five virtues people should have
honest, upright, conscientious, charitable, loving in all relationships
What is harmony?
peaceful co-existence
What is a philosopher?
someone who seeks wisdom about existence and reality
What is Confucianism?
The system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his followers
What does it mean to be moral?
Abiding by a set of rules about right and wrong conduct
What does it mean to be ethical?
Making right choices
What are the five important relationships in Confusianism
Father/son, ruler/subject, older brother/younger brother, husband/wife, friend and friend
What did all but one of Confucianism’s relationships have in common?
Power: only friend/friend did not have one person with more power
What did Confucius believe was the responsibility in relationships?
That the person with more power had to act with love and kindness to their inferiors
How were women considered during Confucius’ time?
Inferior and with few rights
Is Confucianism a religion?
No, it offers guidelines for moral and ethical behavior.
How were Han Feizi’s beliefs different than Confucius?
Han Feizi felt that people were basically bad, but Confucius thought people were basically good
Han Feizi the lead writer of which group?
The Legalists
What did Legalists believe
That all people were selfish and greedy. They believed that rulers should be ruthless and strong to make society work.
What did Legalists think of Confucius’ ideas?
They thought he was totally wrong
How did Confucius and Legalists differ in their belief of leadership?
Confucius: people will follow a good leader. Legalists: people will follow because of strong laws and harsh punishment
How is Legalist thinking seen today in China?
Very harsh laws and severe punishments for crime even today
How is Confucianism seen in China today?
People tend to use Confucius’s ideas in government
What are the four basic penalties in Chinese law code that still have not changed even though they were made over 2000 years ago?
Beatings, imprisonment, exile, death
How were court proceedings different in China?
the person was considered guilty and had to prove their innocence rather than today, in Canada, where people are presumed innocent and have to be proven guilty
What was a collective punishment?
Whole towns, families, villages could be punished for one person’s crime.
How did this collective punishment keep the peace?
Families would put severe pressure on each other to be well behaved.
The teachings of Laozi are called
Daoism
What was the goal of Daoists?
To live in harmony with nature by following ‘Dao’ or the way
Daoists believed people should study what?
Nature to learn its’ ways
What did Daoists believe would happen if you did not understand nature?
You would disturb it and that would harm well being of people
What did Daoists think about rules and customs?
They did not like rules/customs as they prevented people from acting naturally
What is exile?
being forced to live far away from one’s community or country
What is treason?
Betrayal of one’s country or ruler
What is an alchemist?
an early chemist whose methods would not be considered scientifically unsound
What is immortality?
Endless life
What is mercury?
a silver white metal that is liquid at room temperature
What is metallurgy
the science of producing and purifying metals
What is enlightenment?
being awake to a great reality, which most people never achieve.
What did Daoists try to strengthen in people?
Their natural energy ‘Qu’
What did Daoists try to learn how do do?
Live forever: Be immortal
What did Daostists believe about money?
That wealth makes people feel too superior, makes them greedy and leads to disharmony and conflict
What was Daoists favorite substance to work with?
Mercury
Which approach came to China from India?
Buddhism created by a man called Siddhartha
Who was Siddhartha?
The creator of Buddhism, he was an Indian prince
What did Siddhartha seek to find out about?
He gave up a wealthy life to find out about the suffering of the world.
What did Siddhartha find?
He found “enlightenment”
What was Siddhartha’s new name
Buddha
What did Buddha believe caused suffering
People are too concerned with themselves and their own desires and needs
What is meditation?
the act of calming and emptying the mind
What is a monastery?
A community of people devoted to religious life.
What is nirvana?
In Buddhism, being completely free from suffering and worldly concerns
What do Buddhists believe might happen after you die?
They believe in reincarnation – your soul can be reborn again and live another life to help you find enlightenment
Why did Buddhism spread and become so popular?
Because many wealthy and influential people promoted it
