World History Southern & Eastern China Vocabulary

Indo-Gangetic plain

Connector, fertile land connects Pakistan, India, and Nepal. Where most people in India live.

Indus River

Connector. Creates conflicts over water resources, meaning good resources, yet creating conflicts.

Ganges River

Connector. Connects India and Bangladesh. Helps with trade, travel, and is a big part of the culture.

Brahmaputra River

Connector. Large body of water. Helpful in some areas, narrow and treacherous in others.

Himalayas

Connector and barrier. Protects from the enemy, hard to cross and progress.

Karokaram

Connector and barrier. Spans China, India, and Pakistan.

Eastern and Western Ghats

Mountain ranges. Define the edges of the Deccan Plateau.Western Ghats are older and higher, run along the western coast, known for many rivers. Eastern Ghats are lower, more like hills, parallel to the east coast, intersected by rivers.

Hindu Kush

Mountain range west of the Himalayas.Central and South Asia.

Deccan Plateau

Southern part of the Indian peninsula.

Khyber Pass

Connects Afghanistan and Pakistan

Huang He (Yellow River)

Second longest river in China. Called “mother river” because the first civilizations were in the area.

Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)

The longest river in China. Known for transportation and hydroelectric power.

Gobi Desert

Northern China, Southern Mongolia. Known for having rare animals.

Taklamakan Desert

Northwestern China, Shifting sand dunes, harsh dry climate

Tibetan Plateau

Located at the intersection of central, eastern, and southern Asia.

Qinling Mountains

East-west mountain range

Confucius’ Analects

Students collected Confucius’ teachings and made them into a book, the Analects. Philosophers and scholars looked at this book and adopted the ideas which Confucius had introduced. Most of the Analects are brief thoughts organized by theme.

Social respect/obedience

If inferiors or lesser status people are treated with respect from their superiors, they are more willing to comply, creating harmony.

What is the goal of Confucianism?

Order

What does Confucius believe about people?

He believes they are naturally awful, but can be controlled by education and teaching.

Civil service examinations

There was an exam that students took to assess them on their capabilities of holding a position in office.

Filial Piety

Honoring someones family members and ancestors.

Gods and Spirits (Confucianism)

Not directly acknowledged, but Confucius believed if “the spirits were present”, you can honor them.

What was the goal of Confucianism?

Order, setting good examples, education.

What are some central teachings of Confucianism?

Family is the foundation of all civilization. You can teach a human to be civilized. Parents are responsible for teaching you how to behave, you are responsible to listen. Constant effort is important for success.

Ren

Do not do to others what you would not want done to you. Humanity. Be moral for Te.

Te

Moral power. Being a good role model. The moral influence you have over people is so positive they don’t want to see anything bad happen to you.

Wen

The arts of peace. Sooner or later, someone is going to conquer the state, and it doesn’t matter how big of an army someone has, protect what is most valuable, promote education, art, music, and all of the things that make your culture unique and admirable.

Mandate of Heaven

Belief that emperors are chosen by gods, they get their authority from the Mandate of Heaven, they can lose that authority. A natural disaster shows when a ruler has lost the authority. The natural disaster is then blamed on the leader, and people can kill them. To prevent losing the authority, there are preventatives such as dams and food storages, and practicing wen helps.

The 5 key relationships

parent-child, elder sibling-younger sibling, husband-wife, ruler-subject, friend-friend.

Leader of Confucianism

Master Kong (Confucius) - Founder

Rewards and Punishments

To comply with the strict laws. “If the rules are high, then what the ruler wants will be quickly effected; if punishments are heavy, what he does not want will be swiftly prevented.” - Han Feizi. 

Role of the Government (Legalism)

Only people with high importance and status were considered valuable, others were useless. Enforce the laws which contain the people and maintain the order.

What is a central text in Legalism?

6 Examples of Having It Backward - Han Feizi

Who were some major figures in Legalism?

Han Feizi - Philosopher

Qin Shi Huang Di - Founder/Emperor

Who were some major figures in Daoism?

Laozi Zhuangzi, Cook Ding- butcher, Libo - poet

What were some major texts in Daoism?

Daodejing - The Way/The Classic of Life

Nature (Daoism)

Simple living through nature; end of striving

Dao

Principle which states the way of nature. Nature is the answer, anknowledging and choosing to be in the natural state.

Yin and Yang

unity of the opposites

nirvana

Supreme peace. State of Enlightenment

Theravada

Way of the Elders

Chan

Combination of Mahayana and Daoism

atman

soul

moksha

ultimate goal + liberation from the cycle of reincarnation

Samsara

cycle of reincarnation

dharma

natural law, duty as a Hindu