Confucius
What have modern scholars determined concerning all the works known as the "Confucian Classics" in regard to Confucius himself?
That Confucius neither wrote edited any of them with his own hand - they were all compiled after his death.
Shang Yang, the great reformer upon whose changes Qin roses to greatness, was executed under his own laws by ___________ .
Dismemberment
This period takes its name from ________________ which were maintained in the state of _________
Spring and Autumn Annals
Lu
This geographical feature of China was the center of its earliest civilization and a an vital part of its agricultural heritage, but it has also been the source of millions of deaths over the past few thousand years. It is sometimes known as 'China's Sorrow'
The Yellow River.
Who was Confucius' most beloved discipline and why is his life tragic as depicted in the Analects?
Yan Hui / died very young
The famously strong relationship between this duke and the reformer Shang Yang is arguably the foundation of Qin's rise to greatness. Unlike so often happened, the duke maintained his ironclad confidence up until his own death in 338 BC.
Duke Xiao
Mao Zedong once remarked, "We are not Duke Xiang of Song and have no use for his idiotic virtue and morality." Why was the duke so famous?
He had the dual reputation of consummate chivalry but also naivete. He allowed his enemy's army to cross a river and only engage in battle once they were ready and formed up. He lost the battle and was fatally wounded himself for his efforts.
Human sacrifice in ancient China was pervasive during the Shang and early Zhou dynasties, but decline during the Warring States period. In what aspect of life was this practice most commonly practiced?
The burial of servants and concubines, in particular, with high nobles or rulers
The Confucian movement waned in the decades after Confucius' death for several reasons. Can you name 2?
-The Mohists movement was competing and often considered more practical in their beliefs
-The careers of both Confucian disciples who had achieved relatively high office, Zilu and Zai Wo, ended in failure and death
-Confucian teachings of benevolent rule hardly played well to the increasingly aggressive and amoral rulers of the Warring States
Sun Tzu
Hegemons
These 2 materials were most highly prized in the crafting of ritual objects for royal or religious use in ancient China:
Jade and Bronze
Who did Confucius idealize as the perfect junzi (gentlemen or exemplary person)? At one point in the Analects, he remarked that, sadly, he had not dreamed of him in a long time.
The Duke of Zhou
The policies set forth in the Book of Lord Shang represent the vast and dramatic changes that fueled Qin's rise to ultimate victory in the Warring States. Can you name THREE such policies?
Legalism: extreme punishments for even small crimes
Meritocracy: State-Controlled hierarchy
The Police State: Collective Accountability
A New Military: Promotion by kill-count
Privatization: Manorialism ended
Standardization: Weights & measures
Another interesting method by which Spring & Autumn rulers tried to maintain the interstate balance of power was through the groundbreaking declarations of ___________ at conferences. Both attempts to do this were sponsored by the state of Song.
Universal Peace
During the last days of Jin state, Zhao ________ was the leader of the noble Zhao clan. When he was a boy, his father - trying to choose an heir among his sons - took them high atop a mountain and told them to find a beautiful hidden talisman. Zhao immediately pointed to a beautiful valley that his father wished to conquer; his father, pleased, made him heir. Later, he entered a deadly rivalry with the famous rival of another noble clan leader, Zhi Yao. I the end, Zhao defeated him, exterminated his clan and turned his head into a lacquered drinking cup.
Zhao Wuxu
Marquis Wen of Wei (Wei Si) was the most beloved ruler of the Warring states and was celebrated by the scholars of the later imperial dynasties above all his contemporaries. What critical hiring decision did he make early on that probably gained him so much favor amongst later historians?
He hired the Confucian disciple Zixia, when the movement's reputation was at its lowest ebb in the mid-400s BC
One final speed bump that (nearly) derailed the conquest of all the other warring states by Qin was the assassination attempt against King Ying Zheng (future Emperor Qin Shi Huang) in 227 BC. Can you summarize what happened?
The state of Yan, understanding that Qin would be conquering them soon enough, sent the "gift" of a beautiful ceremonial map to King Ying Zheng of Qin. The messenger who delivered it was Jing Ke, who was not a skilled assassin but known for his courage and poise. As he unrolled the map in the king's presence, he finally came to the dagger hidden in the very middle and lunged at his target. He failed to deliver the killing blow, however, and the king eventually killed him. This contributed not only to an expedite timeline for conquering the other states, but also to the first emperor's famous paranoia.
The Sack of Chu's capital Ying in 500 BC was an exceptionally brutal affair - even by the amoral standards of the emerging Warring States period. Can you name 2 famous atrocities committed by the Wu army led by King Helu and Wu Zixu?
-Burning, looting and random killing throughout the city
-Desecration of temples and royal tombs
-Mass rape of the king's concubines and royal family of Chu
- They possessed the physical symbols of power; most importantly the 9 bronze cauldrons
- They could legitimize upstart rulers by ennobling their clans
- They could intervene in succession disputes
- They could wield cultural influence through scholars and language, which - particular in the case of the Confucians - still recognized their ultimate legitimacy