Ancient China Identifications

1. Yellow and Yangtze Rivers
   1. Two great river valleys
   2. Considered the core regions in development of Chinese civilization
2. Fu Xi, Shen Nong, and the Yellow Emperor
   1. Fu Xi- Ox tamer who “knotted cords for hunting and fishing,” domesticated animals, and introduced the beginnings of family life
   2. Shen Nong- Divine farmer who “ben wood for plows and hewed wood for plowshares” and taught agriculture
   3. Yellow Emperor- Huang Di who “strung a piece of wood for the bow, and whittled little sticks of wood for arrows,” created Chinese system of writing, and invented the bow and arrow
3. Gobi Desert and the Tibetan Plateau
   1. Frontier regions that were sparsely inhabited by peoples of Mongolian, Indo-European, or Turkish extraction
   2. People were pastoral societies and were full of distrust and conflict
4. Yangshao and Longshan Cultures
   1. Early agricultural settlements in neighborhood of Yellow River
   2. Neolithic societies identified in terms of pottery as the painted and black pottery cultures
5. Xia Dynasty
   1. Beginning of Chinese civilization 4,000 years ago
   2. Founder was ruler named Yu credited with introducing irrigation and draining floodwaters
6. Shang Dynasty
   1. The second dynasty replaced Xia in 16^th century B.C.E.
   2. It was an agricultural society ruled by aristocratic class and villages were organized by clans
7. Anyang
   1. Shang capital near great bend of Yellow River
   2. Excavated by archaeologists and oracle bones were found
8. Xinjiang Corpses
   1. Corpses dating back to 2^nd millennium B.C.E. with physical characteristics that were clearly European
   2. Clothed in textiles similar to those worn in Europe
9. Veneration of Ancestors
   1. “Ancestor worship” that continues today in Chinese communities
   2. The burning replicas of physical objects to accompany the departed on their journey to the next world
10. Oracle Bones
    1. Used by Shang rulers for divination and to communicate with the gods
    2. Earliest known form of Chinese writing
11. Shang Bronzes
    1. Shang best known for mastery of art of bronze casting; bronze vessels produced for use in preparing and serving food, drink in the ancestral rites, and for decoration or dining at court
    2. Utensils, weapons, and ritual objects made of bronze have been found in royal tombs in urban centers throughout the Shang area
12. “Well Field System” and the “Big Rat”
    1. Peasants worked on lands owned by their lord but also had land of their own that they cultivated for their own use
    2. The “big rat” referred to the high taxes imposed on the peasants by the government or lord
13. Zhou Dynasty
    1. Survived for about 800 years and the longest-lived dynasty in Chinese history
    2. Located capital near present-day city of Xian and then a second capital at modern Luoyang
14. Silk
    1. One of the most important items of trade in ancient China
    2. Produced from silkworms; remains of silk material have been found on Shang bronzes, clothing, quilts, and in tombs
15. The Silk Road
    1. Stretched from central China westward to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea
    2. In operation as early as the 5^th century B.C.E.
16. Mandate of Heaven
    1. Heaven maintained order in the universe through the Zhou king
    2. Viewed the Zhou king as a representative of Heaven but not as a divine being; the mandate became a fundamental principle of Chinese statecraft
17. Rites of Zhou
    1. One of the oldest surviving documents on statecraft
    2. Introduced the concept of the “mandate of Heaven”
18. Yang and Yin
    1. Universe was divided into two primary forces of good and evil
    2. Represented symbolically by sun (yang) and the moon (yin)
19. Yi Jing/Book of Changes
    1. One of the most famous manuals used for the interpretation of the will of nature
    2. The Yi Jing is known as the Book of Changes in English
20. Confucius
    1. Latin form of his honorific title, Kung Fuci meaning Master Kung
    2. He was born in the state of Lu (in modern province of Shandong) in 551 B.C.E.
    3. Hoped to be employed as a political adviser, but became an independent political and social philosopher
21. the Analects
    1. Body of writing containing conversation between Confucius and his disciples
    2. It preserves his worldly wisdom and pragmatic philosophies
22. Mencius
    1. Stressed the humanistic side of Confucian idea and that the ruler had a duty to govern with compassion
    2. Argued that human beings were by nature good and hence could be taught their civic responsibility by example
23. Legalism
    1. Chinese philosophy that argued that human beings were by nature evil and would follow the correct path if and only if coerced by harsh laws and stiff punishments
    2. Adopted as official ideology by the Qin dynasty, it was later rejected but remained influential
24. Way of the Great Learning
    1. Written two centuries after Confucius’ death
    2. Illustrates his view that good government begins with the cultivation of individual morality and proper human relationships

     

25. Lao Tzu
    1. “Old Master” that was a contemporary of Confucius
    2. Modern scholars are skeptical that he existed
26. Daoism
    1. Like Confucianism, it doesn’t anguish over the underlying meaning of the cosmos
    2. Sets forth proper forms of behavior for humans like it’s impossible to define the nature of the universe and “inaction” is the key to ordering the affairs of human beings
27. Dao De Jing
    1. The Way of the Dao that is the great classic of philosophical Daoism
    2. Written during the era of Confucius and is an enigmatic book whose interpretation has baffled scholars for centuries
28. Wu Wei
    1. Daoist belief that the true way to interpret the will of Heaven is not action but inaction
    2. The best way to act in harmony with the universal order is to act spontaneously and let nature take its course
29. Period of Warring States
    1. Powerful principalities vied with each other for preeminence and largely ignored the authority of the Zhou court
    2.  Chronic conflict that eventually led to the state of Qin gaining power
30. Sun Tzu
    1. Famous and respected writer on the art of war that was an ancient Chinese thinker
    2. Little is known about him and it is suggested he lived sometime in the 5^th century B.C.E. and was an early member of an illustrious family of military strategists that advised Zhou rulers
31. Qin Dynasty
    1. Qin ruler named Qin Shi Huangdi and the Qin gradually subdued their main rivals through conquest or diplomatic maneuvering
    2. The dynasty was the first truly unified government in Chinese history and transformed Chinese politics
32. Qin Shi Huangdi
    1. The First Emperor of Qin who was a man of forceful personality and immense ambition that ascended the throne at the age of thirteen
    2. Described by Sima Qian as having “the chest of a bird of prey, the voice of a jackal, and the heart of a tiger”
33. Xianyang
    1. Capital city of Qin Empire just north of modern Xian
    2. Members of aristocratic clans were required to live there
34. Sima Qian
    1. Famous historian of Han dynasty who lived during 2^nd and 1^st centuries B.C.E.
    2. Most famous work was titled Historical Records
35. Xiongnu
    1. Nomadic people in the north who were possibly related to the Huns
    2. They lived by hunting and fishing, practicing limited forms of agriculture, or herding animals such as cattle or sheep
    3. They mastered the art of horseback riding
36. Great Wall
    1. Qin Shi Huangdi’s project that extends nearly 4,000 miles from sandy wastes of Central Asia to the sea in order to keep marauders out
    2. Constructed of massive granite blocks and wide enough for roadway for horse-drawn chariots
37. Han Dynasty
    1. One of the greatest and most durable dynasties that became closely identified with the advance of Chinese civilization
    2. Founder called Liu Bang and the dynasty consolidated control over the empire and promoted the welfare of its subjects
38. Eunuchs
    1. Males whose testicles have been removed
    2. They served as personal attendants for Qin Shi Huangdi and female members of the royal family
39. Liu Bang/Han Gaozu
    1. Liu Bang was a commoner of peasant origin who would be known historically by his title of Han Gaozu (Exalted Emperor of Han)
    2. He was efficient and benevolent while maintaining the centralized political institutions of the Qin but abandoned their harsh Leglistic approach to law enforcement with State Confucianism
40. Han Wudi
    1. Martial Emperor of Han who successfully completed the assimilation into the empire of the regions south of the Yangtze river including the Red River delta in northern Vietnam
    2. Han armies also marched westward as far as the Caspian Sea pacifying nomadic tribal peoples and extending China’s boundary
41. Wang Mang and the Xin Dynasty
    1. Reformist official who was troubled by the plight of the peasants and seized power from the Han court
    2. He declared the foundation of a new Xin dynasty and tried to confiscate the great estates, restore the ancient well field system, and abolish slavery
    3. He was killed in a coup d’état
42. Chang’an
    1. Nomadic raids almost reached the gates of the imperial capital city located at Chang’an (Eternal Peace)
    2. It is on the site of modern Xian and covered a total area of nearly 40 square km and enclosed by a 12-foot earthen wall surrounded by a moat
43. Filial Piety
    1. Called on members of the family to subordinate their needs and desires to the patriarchal head of the family
    2. It created a hierarchical system in which every family had his or her place with the “five relationships”
44. the Bao-jia system
    1. Chinese practice reportedly originated by the Qin dynasty in the 3^rd century B.C.E.
    2. Organized families into groups of five or ten to exercise mutual control and surveillance and reduce loyalty to the family
45. Fu Xuan and Ban Zhao
    1. Fu Xuan was the 3^rd century C.E. woman poet
    2. Ban Zhao was a prominent female historian of the Han dynasty
46. Xian’s Terra-Cotta Army
    1. It was a recreation of Qin Shi Huangdi’s imperial guard that accompanied him on his journey to the next world
    2. The army is great in size, the detail on the uniforms is realistic and sophisticated, and the facial features of the soldiers is individual
    3. Showed the Chinese had come a long way from the hman sacrifices that had taken place at the death of Shang sovereigns
47. Calligraphy
    1. Art of fine handwriting of Chinese characters and one of the most prized forms of painting in China
48. Book of Songs and Song of the South
    1. Book of Songs was a classic written during the early Zhou dynasty that was an anthology of about three hundred poems selected by Confucius and given political interpretations later
49. Cast-Iron, the Lac, and Celadon
    1. Cast-Iron: Iron making developed in China around 9^th or 8^th century B.C.E. and the invention of the blast furnace powered by a person operating a bellows enabled the Chinese to manufacture cast-iron ritual vessels and agricultural tools
    2. Lac: An insect that produced lacquer, obtained from the resinous substance deposited on trees
    3. Celadon: High quality form of pottery covered with a gray-green glaze
50. Cao Cao and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms
    1. Cao Cao- A general known to later generations as one of the main characters in the famous Chinese epic The Romane of the Three Kingdoms
    2. Cao cao was unable to consolidate his power and China entered a period of almost constant anarchy and internal division