Chinese History Vocabulary

Flashcards of key vocabulary terms from Chinese history lectures.

Yangshao Culture

A Neolithic culture in ancient China (5000-3000 BCE) known for painted pottery and early farming villages, demonstrating early agriculture, pottery-making, and social organization.

Oracle Bones

Pieces of turtle shell or animal bone used during the Shang Dynasty (1200–1050 BCE) for divination, representing the earliest known form of Chinese writing and providing historical evidence of early Chinese life.

Western Zhou Dynasty

The first half of the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046–771 BCE) that introduced the Mandate of Heaven and established feudalism in China, laying important cultural and philosophical foundations.

Mandate of Heaven

A philosophical concept during the Western Zhou Period that grants rulers the right to rule based on virtue, allowing rebellion if a ruler becomes cruel or fails to govern properly.

Filial Piety

A core value in Confucianism that emphasizes respect for parents and elders, strengthening families and supporting social order with long-lasting influence.

Confucianism

A major political and philosophical school that shaped Chinese government, education, and culture for over 2,000 years by promoting respect, order, and civil service exams based on Confucian books.

Emperor Wu (Han Wudi)

Emperor of the Han Dynasty (reigned 141-86 BCE) who centralized state authority, institutionalized Confucianism, expanded Han boundaries, and instituted monopolies on salt, iron, and alcohol.

Five Classics

The Analects, Book of Documents, Spring and Autumn Annals, Book of Changes, and Book of Ceremonials, which formed the foundation of the civil service exam system and shaped Chinese thought for over 2,000 years.

Equal Field System

A land distribution system during the Northern Wei (386-534 AD) where the state owned land and granted it to the farming population to stabilize society and prevent land concentration by elite families.

Xiongnu

A powerful nomadic confederation from the steppes north of China, especially active during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), posing a major threat and influencing China's conception of the "barbarian other".

Wang Mang

A Han official who usurped the throne and founded the short-lived Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE), attempting radical Confucian-style reforms that failed due to lack of elite support.

Li Si

A key legalist minister under Qin Shi Huang who advocated harsh Legalist policies, unified China, and suppressed intellectual diversity through the burning of books and burying of scholars.

Warring States Period

A time of intense warfare, political turmoil, and philosophical development in ancient China (475 BCE – 221 BCE) marked by the struggle for dominance among rival states after the decline of the Zhou Dynasty.

Junzi (gentleman)

A "noble person" in Confucian thought who practices virtue, respect, honesty, and self-discipline, serving as a moral leader by example, with status based on character, not birth.

Daoism

A Chinese philosophy focused on living in harmony with the Dao, emphasizing simplicity, nature, non-action (Wu wei), balance, and inner peace, with key figures like Laozi and Zhuangzi.

Northern Wei Dynasty

A non-Han Chinese dynasty established by the Xianbei (386-534 CE) that blended Chinese cultures with Xianbei traditions, transitioned from nomadic herders to agriculture, and supported Buddhism.

Qin Dynasty

A state during the Warring States Period (221-206 BCE) that unified China under one emperor, abolished the noble-based system, controlled information, and unified written language and measures based on the Legal System.

Qin Shi Huangdi

China’s First Emperor (221-210 BCE) who unified China, created a strong government run by state-appointed officials, and implemented a strict Legalist system with harsh punishments.

Liu Bang (Gaodi Emperor)

The first emperor of the Han dynasty who rose from a commoner background, maintained Qin administrative reforms but softened Legalist policies, and promoted Confucian ideals alongside Legalism.

The Great Wall

A massive fortification system built to defend northern China, particularly against the Xiongnu, symbolizing centralized authority, military strength, and the boundary of Chinese civilization.

Shang Yang

A legalist reformer who strengthened Qin by reorganizing it into a centralized, merit-based state, abolishing hereditary privileges and promoting agriculture and military service, executed durng the Warring States Period.

Bronze Casting

Production of Ritual bronze vessels, tools, and weapons in Erlitou and Erligang cultures between 1900-1400 BCE, reflecting increasing social hierarchy, central political control, and powerful Shang state.

Legalism

A chinese political philosophy during the Warring States period with the use of reward and punishment to build strong, stable kingdoms and to restore peace and stability to their world.

Xianbei

Nomadic people originally from the northeastern steppes of China and Mongolia, they played a crucial role in shaping medieval Chinese history by blending steppe and Chinese cultures, strengthening Buddhism, and influencing later dynasties.