China Test Gold Sheets Flashcards

Shang Dynasty Geography

Located in the North China plains along the Yellow River valley ("China's Sorrow").

Isolated by natural barriers (mountains, deserts), leading to the belief that they were the "Middle Kingdom" (only civilization).

Yellow River deposits fertile loess (silt); flooding required government levy maintenance.

Shang Dynasty Political Structure & Government

Controlled a central Heartland ("yolk") directly ruled by the Shang king.

Surrounded by independent regional rulers and allied chieftains ("egg-whites" / -fang states).

King held supreme political, military, and religious authority; hereditary male rule through the Zi clan.

No standing army; warrior nobles served as professional soldiers, supplemented by conscripted workers.

Estate holders appointed in the Heartland to manage land and supply armies.

Shang Dynasty Religion & Beliefs

Ancestor Worship: Deceased royal family members became increasingly powerful spirits; kept happy through extravagant animal and human sacrifices led by the king.

Divination using Oracle Bones (ox shoulder bones/turtle shells) pressed with metal/hot pokers to interpret answers from gods and ancestors regarding weather, war, and health.

Practiced mass human sacrifice (over 13,000 victims excavated) using captured prisoners from surrounding areas.

Shang Dynasty Intellectual, Art & Technology

Early Chinese character writing (ideographs representing complete words/ideas).

Piece-mold method for advanced bronze casting (urns, vessels, dagger-axes).

Jade carving using sand-coated string, silk production from silkworms, and abstract/stylized lacquerware.

Walled cities (e.g., 4-mile long city wall taking 200,000 man-years to build).

Shang Dynasty Military

No standing army; noble warrior elites served as professional soldiers, supplemented by conscripted workers.

Weapons: Bronze axes, spears, long dagger-axes, composite bows (no swords).

3-person light chariots (driver, archer, dagger-axe warrior); affordable only by wealthy nobles.

Shang Dynasty Economy & Industry

Cowry shells imported from coastal oceans used as currency.

Agriculture (millet, wheat) and specialized artisan industries (bronze, silk, jade).

Barter system and gift-giving between estate holders and the king.

Shang Dynasty Society & Class Structure

Hierarchy: King → Warrior Nobles (Zi clan) → Skilled Artisans/Craftsmen/Priests → Farmers/Herders.

No separate large slave class because war prisoners were used for human sacrifice rather than labor.

Patriarchal system where male births were deemed "fortunate" or "lucky".

Elites buried with lavish grave goods (bronze, jade, sacrificed servants).

Shang Dynasty Key Figures

King Wuding: Powerful Shang king.

Lady Fu Hao (Lady Hao): Wife of King Wuding; military commander who led soldiers into battle against the X-fang; tomb unlooted with rich goods.

Di Xin: Last tyrannical king of Shang; executed his uncle, built a wine lake, and lost popular support due to cruelty.

Western Zhou Dynasty Geography

Expanded south from the Yellow River valley to the Yangzi River.

Capital located in the west (near Xi'an).

Territory integrated into a single managed realm ("scrambled egg").

Western Zhou Dynasty Political Structure & Government

Zhou Feudalism: Kings assigned land estates to family members and loyal lords, who kept tax profits and provided troops when called upon.

Decentralized control as estate-holding became hereditary.

Heartland and outer states were directly under the king's central administration.

Abolished mass human sacrifice practices.

Western Zhou Dynasty Legitimacy, Religion & Philosophy

Developed the Mandate of Heaven (Tianming): Claimed Heaven grants the right to rule based on virtue. Natural disasters or bad behavior signified loss of the mandate, justifying dynasty overthrow (Dynastic Cycle).

Shifted focus from exclusive royal ancestors to Heaven (Tian)—the sky, ancestral realm, or high deity.

King held the title "Son of Heaven".

Belief that gods cared about normal people, not just elites.

Western Zhou Dynasty Intellectual, Culture & Technology

Bamboo Books: Vertical ink writing on bound bamboo slats.

Bronze bells: Sets of tuned bronze bells collected by lords to demonstrate wealth and musical precision.

Western Zhou Dynasty Military

Feudal military model: Lords maintained local troops and sent them to support the king during wars.

Chariot forces and foot soldiers.

Military signal lights/beacons used for defense calls.

Western Zhou Dynasty Economy & Industry

Agricultural economy based on feudal grain collection.

Barter system; lords collected wealth from bronze, land, and crop yields.

Western Zhou Dynasty Society & Agricultural System

Hierarchy: King → Estate Holders / Lords & Warriors → Skilled Artisans → Peasant Farmers → Few Slaves.

Well-Field System: 9-square grid where 8 peasant families farmed outer plots for themselves and collectively farmed the center plot for the lord/government.

Value placed on family lineage and filial loyalty to the king/lord.

Western Zhou Dynasty Key Figures

King Wen: Cultured Zhou advisor who protested Shang cruelty and was imprisoned by Di Xin.

King Wu: Son of Wen; allied with outer tribes and overthrew the Shang at the Battle of Muye.

Duke of Zhou: Brother of Wu; served as loyal regent for young King Cheng and quashed rebellions.

King You & Bao Si: King You set aside his first wife for Bao Si and repeatedly lit military signal lights to make her smile. When enemy tribes attacked, lords ignored the signals, leading to King You's death.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty Geography

Capital shifted east to Luoyang following King You's defeat.

China fragmented into numerous competing regional states, consolidating into 7 major states during the Warring States period (e.g., Qin, Qi, Jin, Yan, Chu).

Eastern Zhou Dynasty Spring and Autumn Period Political Dynamics

Independent states competed; regional lords elected a temporary military Hegemon (Ba) to lead during invasions and settle disputes.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty Spring and Autumn Intellectual

Continued ancestor veneration and divination rituals by kings and hegemon lords.

Confucius (Kongfuzi): Teacher who advocated for social order, filial piety, traditional rites, Ren (humanity), and governance by moral example (Junzi). Teachings recorded in the Analects.

Laozi: Author of the Daodejing and founder of Daoism; emphasized harmony with the Dao (The Way), nonaction (wuwei), simplicity, and the power of Yin over Yang.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty Spring and Autumn Art

Lost-wax method for intricate hollow bronze casting.

Production of silk, lacquerware, and leather armor.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty Key Figures

Duke Huan of Qi: Prominent hegemon who expanded Qi's power and state wealth.

Guan Zhong: Former enemy official appointed by Duke Huan as chief advisor; successfully managed Qi's administration.

Shensheng: Crown prince of Jin who committed suicide to preserve his father Duke Xian's honor after being framed with poisoned sacrificial meat by stepmother Lady Li.

Confucius: Philosopher and teacher of moral governance.

Laozi: Philosopher of Daoism and nonaction.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty Warring States Period Political & Military Shifts

Consolidation into 7 major competing states.

Warfare shifted from chivalrous chariot battles to massive armies of peasant infantry (10,000+ soldiers), long daggers, and crossbows.

Defensive earth walls constructed across countryside borders.

Military commanders selected by skill rather than birth rank.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty Warring States Period Philosophies

Sun Wu (Sunzi): Author of The Art of War; advocated strategy focused on deception, efficiency, flexibility, and defeating enemies with minimal conflict.

Legalism (Shang Yang & Han Feizi): Governance system relying on strict written laws, harsh punishments, absolute state authority, and reward systems to enforce obedience without favoritism.

Mozi: Founder of Mohism; taught universal equal love and pacifism, opposing costly traditional rituals.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty Warring States Period Economy, Industry & Technology

Lords monopolized lucrative salt and iron mines using slave labor.

Heavy iron plows (allowing farming in dense soil), iron weapons, collar harness for draft horses, state-issued cast iron coins with central string holes, and advanced water control projects (Li Bing's irrigation).

Fallow field rotation and expanded rice cultivation.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty Warring States Period Social Structure & Values

Rigid noble class structure broke down; social mobility opened for scholars and skilled strategists.

Peasant infantry bore the burden of prolonged war.

Confucian values emphasized respect for parents, elders, and proper social roles.

Qin Dynasty Geography

State of Qin (western China, with river valleys) conquered all rival Warring States to form China's first centralized empire.

Built extensive network of uniform roads and connected northern border walls.

Qin Dynasty Political System & Government

Unified central empire governed through strict Legalism.

Dismantled feudalism; divided China into administrative districts (commanderies) governed by non-hereditary appointed bureaucrats loyal to the emperor.

Transplanted defeated state lords to the capital to prevent rebellions.

Qin Dynasty Religious Practices & Beliefs

State-controlled rituals; suppressed traditional ancestral and Confucian religious criticisms.

Emperor obsessed with immortality, booby-trapped tombs, and spiritual longevity.

Qin Dynasty Centralization, Intellectual Reforms & Infrastructure

State ideology: Absolute Legalism.

Standardized Chinese written script, legal codes, currency, weights/measures (jin), and cart axle widths.

Enforced strict censorship by burning non-technical books (keeping only agriculture, medicine, divination) and burying 400+ Confucian scholars alive.

Forced peasant labor during winter farming off-seasons.

The Great Wall: Connected and fortified existing northern defensive walls built during the Warring States period.

Mausoleum of Shi Huangdi: Underground tomb complex featuring over 1,000 unique Terracotta Soldiers, clay horses, chariots, and simulated rivers of mercury.

Qin Dynasty Military System & Technology

Massive conscripted imperial peasant army.

Military promotion strictly based on merit (number of enemy left ears/heads taken in battle).

Equipped with standardized iron weapons and crossbows.

Qin Dynasty Economy & Currency

Uniform gold and copper round coins with square center holes across the empire.

Standardized weights and measures to facilitate national taxation.

Heavy taxation and forced labor burdens on peasants.

Qin Dynasty Social Structure & Legal System

Class Order: Emperor → Appointed Officials → Farmers & Commoners → Convicts/Laborers.

Strict legal system: Neighbors rewarded for reporting criminals; collective family responsibility and harsh physical punishments for crimes.

Qin Dynasty Key Figures

Shi Huangdi (Ying Zheng): First Emperor of China; conquered rival states, survived an assassination attempt by Jing Ke (sent by Prince Dan of Yan), and unified the realm.

Shang Yang: Legalist reformer who established merit-based military ranks and standardized weights and measures.

Huhai: Second Qin emperor; controlled by chief minister Zhao Gao, who tested court loyalty by presenting a deer and calling it a horse.

Han Dynasty Geography

Capital at Chang'an ("Everlasting Peace").

Territorial expansion into Southern China, Vietnam, and Korea; pushed back northern nomadic tribes.

Han Dynasty Political System & Government

Retained Qin's centralized bureaucracy while adopting Confucian political principles and easing harsh Legalist punishments.

Established Civil Service Examinations under Emperor Wudi to test state candidates on Confucian texts, history, and literature.

Brief interruption by Wang Mang (Xin Dynasty, 9-23 CE) who seized power before Han restoration by Liu Xiu.

Han Dynasty Religion & Beliefs

Confucian state cult; emperor performed imperial sacrifices for state harmony.

Ancestor veneration; belief that pious sons become gods in the afterlife.

Divination using magnetic compasses.

Introduced Buddhism

Han Dynasty Intellectual, Science & Technological Innovations

Dominant Philosophy: Confucianism (taught at Imperial Academies).

Historical literature: Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian.

Papermaking: Process developed by Ts'ai Lun using mulberry bark, hemp, old rags, and fishnets.

Nautical Tools: Ship rudders and fore-and-aft rigging (sailing against wind currents).

Agricultural Tools: Multi-tube iron seed drill, single-wheel wheelbarrows, iron tools (hoes, sickles, plows).

Science & Medicine: Seismograph for direction of tremors (Chang Heng), armillary sphere, acupuncture, moxibustion, and peony anesthetics (Hua Tao).

Military Innovations: Signal/communication kites and paper armor.

Han Dynasty Military System

Conscript peasant military supplemented by professional standing forces.

Use of signaling kites for battle messages, paper armor, and iron weapons.

Han Dynasty Economy, Trade & Industry

State national bank with fair interest rates and standardized currency (under Wang Mang).

Agricultural efficiency boosted by seed drills, iron plows, wheelbarrows, and extensive canal/irrigation networks.

Merchant restrictions: Low social standing despite wealth; taxes imposed to prevent hoarding.

Han Dynasty Social Order, Gender Roles & Daily Life

Social Order: Emperor → Scholar-Gentry Officials → Peasant Farmers (valued food producers) → Artisans → Merchants.

Daily Life Split: Rich lived in multi-courtyard mansions with carved furniture, fine silk, and rich diets; Poor lived in thatch-roofed mud huts with rush mats and basic millet/vegetable diets.

Status of Women: Ban Zhao's Precepts for Women outlined virtues of humility, submission, hard work (weaving, food prep), and ritual duties, though letters and royal empress dowagers show women held domestic and political influence. Coming of age: Girls at 15 (hair pinned), Boys at 20 (capping ceremony).

Han Dynasty Key Figures

Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu): Peasant ting leader and bandit who defeated rival Xiang Yu to found the Han Dynasty; reduced taxes and simplified laws.

Emperor Wudi: Expanded territorial boundaries into Vietnam and Korea, founded the imperial academy, and promoted historical record-keeping.

Sima Qian: Imperial Grand Historian who compiled the history of early Chinese dynasties.

Ban Zhao: Female scholar who wrote Precepts for Women.

Wang Mang: Confucian official who usurped the throne (Xin Dynasty), abolished slavery, and redistributed land before being killed during the Red Eyebrow rebellion.