Day 6 Terms - Origins of Civ.

Yellow River (Hang He)

Key river valley of early China, that had lots of silt but was also prone to flooding and could be extremely unpredictable

King Yu

savior in China’s flood story; ordered the people to build irrigation systems to stop flooding

Shang Dynasty

Dynasty that comes to control a key area of the Yellow River valley; had bronze, war chariots, walled cities, silk cultivation, a brutal upper class, and oracle bones.

Oracle Bones

Discovered in Anyang; earliest writing system that is still used.

Zhou Dynasty

Dynasty after the Shang; trade and battle with nomads from the western most edge of China; gradual decentralization over many centuries; MOST KNOWN FOR THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN

Mandate of Heaven

how leaders explained their right to rule beginning in the Zhou Dynasty; justifies an all powerful, authoritarian rule; but also justifies resistance to power if the “mandate” is slipping away; temporary. 

Yang Zi river valley

The Zhou Dynasty migrates here; makes rice production possible

Ancestor veneration

practice of showing devotion and respect to one’s family members and ancestors; made common in the Zhou dynasty

Warring states 

Period after the Zhou dynasty in which China split into many states in conflict with each other; warrior status goes up, Shi status goes down. 

Shi

bureaucrats/scholars during the warring states period.

Confucius

prominent philosopher during the warring states period that believed in harmony and social order, and honoring the past/ancestors; he also believed all answers stem from the past.

Analects

a book of Confucius’s teaching collected by his students, similar format to proverbs

Junzi

“superior individuals”; they model the social order for the rest of society to follow

Mencius

Later Confucian who argues that humans are basically good

Xunzi

Later Confucian that argues that humans are basically evil and lazy, and need to be taught goodness

Daoism

Religion that believes harmony and peace is internal; you get it by “going with the flow”

Daodejing

Book that is foundational to the Daoism religion; Laozi is credited with authoring it

Legalists

Shang Yang and Han Feizi, Qin officials; believed the only thing society needs is agriculture and armed forces; faith in laws, collective responsibility; have the greatest impact on Classical China initially

Qin Dynasty

After the Zhou collapses; originates on western side of China, considered “barbarians” by rest of the world; Peasants are freed from landlords in hope that the dynasty leader will gain their loyalty; these peasants are then trained and given weapons, hoping they kill who you want them to 

Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi 

Considered the founder of China; successfully centralizes all of China; standardizes weights, measures, coinage, and the writing system; builds a lot; also a brutal tyrant who killed Confucianists. 

Han Dynasty

After the Qin dynasty; has emperors Gaezu/Liu Bang and Han Wudi; Chinese trade expands, Confucianism makes a comeback, an examination system is born, and a huge economic boom occurs with rice.

King Wu

founder of Zhou dynasty after overthrowing the Shang

Gaezu (Liu Bang)

peasant who became the founder of the Han dynasty, ending the Qin dynasty.

Han Wudi

Emperor in the Han dynasty who neutralizes Xiongnu nomads and expands the empire’s power and trade.

Xiongnu

horse nomads from the Tarim basin, Vietnam, and Korea who trade with, and are bought off by, the Han dynasty (Han Wudi specifically)

filial piety

principle of Confucianism that teaches a deep respect for one’s parents and elders.

Laozi

credited with producing the Daodejing from which Daoism follows