Early History and Culture of China Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes covering the early history, major dynasties, and cultural achievements of China from 1750 BC to 1911.

Yellow river valley

The area in Eastern China where rich Chinese civilization began around $1750 \text{ B.C.E.}$

Shan

The dynasty period from $1750 \text{ B.C.E.}$ to $1027 \text{ B.C.E.}$ that provided the 1st written records.

Bing or Manchu

The dynasty that ruled China from $1644$ until $1911$, marking the end of dynastic rule.

Middle Kingdom

The name the Chinese gave their land because isolation by natural physical barriers led them to believe they were the center of the universe.

Qin

The dynasty from $221 \text{ B.C.E.}$ to $206 \text{ B.C.E.}$ which was the first to unite various groups and make China a strong unified empire.

Tin Shi Huangdi

The harsh ruler of the Qin dynasty who named himself the 1st emperor of China and began building the Great Wall using forced labor.

Great Wall

A defensive structure extending over $2600 \text{ miles}$ across much of Northern China to define the country from foreign invaders.

Mandate of Heaven

The belief that the emperor was descended from heaven and granted the right to rule, demanding complete loyalty and obedience from the people.

The Silk Road

A vast interconnected network of trade stretching over $4000 \text{ miles}$ that connected China with Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean world.

Cultural diffusion

The extensive spread of goods and ideas resulting from trade between China and other civilizations along the Silk Road.

Wood block printing

One of the technologies first developed by the Chinese, along with gunpowder, the wheel, character writing, and paper.

Civil service system

A system implemented during periods of stability and growth to ensure the best and brightest scholars served as advisors to the imperial family.

Confucian Philosophy

One of the subjects, along with Chinese history, tested during the rigorous multi-day exams for scholars in the civil service system.

Tana

The dynasty ruling from $618$ to $907$ that experienced a period of significant political stability and economic prosperity.

Song

The dynasty ruling from $960$ to $1279$ that, along with the Han and Tana, was considered one of the most advanced civilizations in the world.