Ancient China

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing major Chinese dynasties, religious concepts, technological achievements, and rulers from ancient China.

Dynasty

A series of rulers from a single family.

Shang Dynasty

An ancient Chinese dynasty that ruled from 1532 BCE to 1027 BCE, characterized by rule from Anyang, king-led warriors, and large palaces and tombs.

Anyang

The capital city of the Shang Dynasty.

Shang Di

The major god of the Shang Dynasty; the king was believed to serve as the link between Shang Di and the people.

Veneration of Ancestors

A Shang religious practice honoring deceased royal ancestors (and later practiced by other classes) by offering sacrifices of food and other essentials.

Yin & Yang

A belief that the universe reflects a balance between two forces: Yin (earth, darkness, female forces) and Yang (Heaven, light, male forces).

Ideographs

Written signs or symbols that express thoughts or ideas.

Oracle Bones

Animal bones or shells upon which priests wrote questions to gods or ancestral spirits, heated until they cracked, and interpreted the cracks for answers.

Calligraphy

An art form of fine handwriting that was performed exclusively by scholars.

Zhou Dynasty

An ancient Chinese dynasty ruling from 1027 BCE to 256 BCE that justified its overthrow of the Shang through the Mandate of Heaven.

Mandate of Heaven

The divine right to rule granted by the gods, used to justify overthrowing a corrupt or cruel dynasty whose divine favor had been lost.

Dynastic Cycle

The historical pattern of the rise, decline, and replacement of Chinese dynasties based on gaining or losing the Mandate of Heaven.

Feudalism

A system of government established during the Zhou Dynasty where local lords were given control over lands in exchange for military service and loyalty to the ruler.

Silk Making

The cultivation and harvesting of silk from the cocoons of silkworms, kept as a strictly protected secret in ancient China.

Qin Dynasty

A dynasty lasting from 221 BCE to 202 BCE that unified China under centralized imperial control and abolished feudalism.

Shi Huangdi

The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty who abolished feudalism, established military districts, standardized coins, weights, measures, and writing, and banned non-medical books.

Terra Cotta Soldiers

An extensive army of sculpted clay figures created during the Qin Dynasty to accompany Shi Huangdi in death.

Great Wall of China

Shi Huangdi's most remarkable and costly achievement, built by connecting several preexisting border walls using thousands of laborers working in all weather conditions.

Liu Bang

A rebel leader who claimed the Mandate of Heaven after Shi Huangdi's death in 210 BC and founded the Han Dynasty.

Wu Di

A Han emperor who expanded Chinese territory and influence by fighting nomadic tribes, setting up outposts, and arranging diplomatic marriages between nomad chiefs and noble women.

Silk Road

A network of trade routes connecting China with the West and the Middle East, operated through a relay system to exchange Chinese silk for new goods and foods.

Civil Service Exams

System of examinations implemented under the Han Dynasty based on Confucian teachings to ensure government officials earned their positions through merit.