Early China: From Neolithic Communities to the Warring States Period

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering early Chinese history, including geographical factors, Neolithic settlements, the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the Warring States Period, and foundational philosophical systems such as Confucianism and Daoism.

Yangshao and Longshan cultures

Two of the earliest Neolithic societies identified by archaeologists near the Yellow River in northern China.

Fu Xi

A legendary early ruler known as the ox tamer who knotted cords for hunting and fishing and was credited with creating humanity.

Shen Nong

A legendary early ruler known as the divine farmer who bent wood for plows and hewed wood for plowshares.

Huang Di

The legendary Yellow Emperor who strung a piece of wood for the bow and whittled sticks for arrows.

China proper

The historical heartland of ancient China, bounded on the east by the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea, to the south by mountainous jungles, and to the west and north by frontiers of mountains, plateaus, steppe grasslands, and deserts.

Xia Dynasty

The first major kingdom in traditional Chinese history (c. 1900–1600 BCE), which left behind no surviving written documents.

Erlitou

The Yellow River settlement identified by most scholars as the Xia capital, featuring a walled palace complex, bronze and pottery workshops, and elite burials with bronze weapons and jade.

King Yu

The founder of the Xia Dynasty who inaugurated the dynastic era in China roughly a millennium prior to the earliest oracle bone records.

Shang Dynasty

A loosely governed territorial state (1600–1046 BCE) on the North China Plain whose monarchs directly ruled the capital area while managing regional territories through alliances with lineage chieftains.

Anyang

The royal capital of the Shang Dynasty, covering nearly thirty square kilometers at the center of a complex network of settlements.

Oracle bones

Animal bones or shells subjected to heat until cracking to divine the future from deities or ancestral spirits, upon which records were inscribed, representing China's earliest method of writing.

King Wen

The ruler recognized as the founder of what became the Zhou Dynasty.

King Wu

The son of King Wen who overthrew the Shang Dynasty in 1046 BCE leading 300 chariots and 45,000 foot soldiers armed with bronze armor and dagger-axes.

Ceremonial bronze gui

A ritual bronze vessel utilized during the Zhou Dynasty for ceremonial offerings and ancestral rites.

Mandate of Heaven

A political theory formulated by the Zhou stating that Heaven sanctions rulers based on their wisdom and benevolence, but withdraws that sanction when rulers become cruel, incompetent, and negligent toward their subjects.

Feudalism

A political and economic system marked by fragmented authority, mutual obligations between lords and vassals, and land grants distributed by rulers in exchange for specific services.

Zhou kinship feudalism

The Western Zhou system of governance in which kings granted territory and noble titles to kinsmen in return for loyalty, palace visits, tribute payments, and military support.

Eastern Zhou Dynasty

The era (770–256 BCE) initiated after King You was killed in 771 BCE and his son Prince Ping relocated the royal court to Luoyang, characterized by declining central royal authority and escalating inter-state warfare.

Warring States Period

The period from 475 to 221 BCE where fifteen remaining states engaged in continuous conflict until the state of Qin defeated all rivals and unified China.

Confucius

A sage and teacher (551–479 BCE) from the state of Lu who lived prior to the Warring States Period and emphasized social morality, filial duty, and proper conduct.

Analects

The posthumously compiled record of conversations between Confucius and his students, serving as the main source of knowledge regarding his philosophy.

Humanity (Ren)

The highest virtue in Confucian philosophy, characterized by empathy, unselfish regard for the welfare of others, and adherence to the 'golden rule'.

Daoism

A philosophical and religious tradition originating during the Eastern Zhou that rejected Confucian moralism in favor of returning to an untainted, desire-free natural state.

Dao

The mysterious 'Way' in Daoism—transcending sensory perception yet serving as the ultimate source and pervasive truth behind all aspects of the universe.

Qi

The primordial ether from which the natural world originated according to Daoist cosmology.

Yin and yang

The two complementary polar forces into which the primordial ether ($Qi$) separated, governing the dualities of the natural cosmos.