TERMS Flashcards
Loess
Deposited by Huang He, yellow silt that was good for farming
Mandate of Heaven
Made by the first Zhou Dynasty rulers to say that they had the blessing of Shangdi to rule
a. used by rulers to justify overthrowing previous dynasties
b. used by people to rebel against power and blame natural disasters on them
Dynastic cycle
The cycle every dynasty goes through; birth, strength, weakening, death
Beauracracy
government where decisions are made by state officials rather than elected representatives
Autocracy
absolute power of a state is in one person’s hands
oracle bones
used to predict the future of people by putting them in fire and then reading the cracks (chicken bones)
Feudalism
A large state being split into smaller states that report to their larger power
Middle Kingdom
The heartland of China’s kingdom that is filled with the “civilized” people surrounded by foreign barbarians
Sanxingdui
Shows bronze age culture, archaeological sites with many statues and artifacts
Confucius
Chinese philosopher and physician who invented confucianism with the main goal to treat others the way you want to be treated
filial piety
be good to one’s parents, treat them well in life, support them in elderhood, and worship them spiritually in death
Daoism
nature, not people, ultimately controls how things change. Therefore, humans and their rules are less important. They also see the Confucianist emphasis on culture and civilized society as unnecessary and rather unnatural.
- founder: Lao Tzu
Yin and Yang
- how obviously opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world
- Everything is balanced and even, their is good in evil and evil in good
Legalism
Strict rules, government is supreme and powerful, harsh punishments/reward
Centralization
the concentration of control of an activity or organization under a single authority.
