Geography & Environment
This river was nicknamed “China’s Sorrow” due to devastating floods.
What is the Huang (Yellow) River?
This crop was mainly grown in northern China.
What is wheat?
This dynasty is considered China’s first historically verified dynasty.
What is the Shang Dynasty?
This belief holds that spirits exist in all things.
What is animism?
This concept justified the overthrow of bad rulers.
What is the Mandate of Heaven?
This former peasant founded the Han Dynasty.
Who is Liu Bang?
This hard stone symbolized power and was used in Neolithic and Shang art.
What is jade?
This fertile yellow soil helped farming but contributed to flooding.
What is loess?
This crop dominated farming in southern China.
What is rice?
These objects were used to communicate with ancestors through cracks.
What are oracle bones?
This supreme deity controlled nature and human destiny in Shang belief.
Who is Shangdi?
This ruler unified China and became the first emperor.
Who is Qin Shihhuangdi (Cheng)?
This trade route connected China to the Mediterranean world.
What is the Silk Road?
These circular and square jade objects had unknown ritual meanings.
What are bi and cong?
This mountain range separates northern and southern China.
What is the Qinling Mountains?
This major shift from nomadic life to settled farming occurred around 7000 BCE.
What is the Neolithic Revolution?
This belief system centered on honoring deceased family members.
What is ancestor worship?
This dual concept represents balance between opposite forces.
What is yin and yang?
This massive structure was expanded to defend against northern invaders.
What is the Great Wall of China?
This system used exams to select government officials.
What is the civil service system?
This type of Shang art was used for ancestor rituals and ceremonies.
What are bronze vessels?
This desert helped isolate China from other civilizations.
What is the Gobi Desert?
Permanent settlements led to this social development.
What is social stratification (or organized society)?
This sacred metal was used for ritual vessels, not everyday tools.
What is bronze?
This philosophy focused on harmony with nature and “The Way.”
What is Daoism?
This type of government gave total power to the emperor.
What is an autocracy?
This invention made writing cheaper and more accessible.
What is paper?
This art form developed from writing and became highly valued.
What is calligraphy?
The Chinese called their land this, meaning “center of the world.”
What is Zhongguo (Middle Kingdom)?
Early Chinese settlements formed near these major features.
What are river valleys?
This writing system used pictographs and ideographs.
What is early Chinese writing (characters)?
This philosophy emphasized strict laws and harsh punishment.
What is Legalism?
This period was marked by constant warfare before Qin unification.
What is the Warring States Period?
This emperor greatly expanded Han territory and power.
Who is Emperor Wu (Liu Ch’e)?
This Han artwork showed the journey of the soul in the afterlife.
What is the Lady of Dai silk banner?