Comparing Empires
This dynasty came up with the idea of the Mandate of Heaven to justify taking over, stating that all of China's problems were because the previous dynasty had lost Heaven's favor.
What is the Zhou Dynasty?
This kingdom became an empire due to its geographic advantages of Western mountain protection, fertile land for food, and Wei River for transportation/trade.
What is the Qin Kingdom?
The first emperor's tomb was guarded by this, in order to wage war even in the afterlife. Their creation shows the influence of Greek statues WAY before we previously thought China and Europe communicated.
What is the terracotta army?
This is a line of rulers from the same family.
What is a dynasty?
It's the idea that each emperor was supernaturally chosen to rule (which could be lost if bad things happened to the empire).
What is the Mandate of Heaven?
Legalism says that people need strict rules, and big punishments and rewards to do the right thing, because they are naturally THIS.
What is "bad"?
This period spelled the end of the Zhou Dynasty, when several kingdoms were in conflict with one another and China had yet to be united.
What is the Warring States Period?
During the reign of this dynasty, China saw the invention of paper (helpful for organization, art, trade, etc) and the wheelbarrow (helpful for building projects and farming).
What is the Han Dynasty?
While it existed in the form of small, spread out chunks before the Qin Dynasty, they connected it to protect the new empire from nomadic raiders in the North.
What is the Great Wall of China?
In the Qin Dynasty, you could EARN your position in government with skills and hard work, meaning it was this type of system (unless you were a teacher or scholar...and God help you if you were a book).
What is a meritocracy?
A plateau is an area of high, flat land with steep sides; this kind of physical feature would be the INVERSE of a plateau.
What is a basin?
This is when you specifically earn a GOVERNMENT position based on tests on your talents/smarts.
What is civil service?
Legalism is mainly set up to protect this individual and the empire as a whole, rather than protect the rights of individuals.
Who is the emperor?
This period was during the late Zhou Dynasty, when things were getting more chaotic, and people like Confucius and Laozi were trying to figure out ways to make society more peaceful.
What is the Hundred Schools of Thought?
This possibly mythical dynasty developed around the Huang He (Yellow) River, forming to deal with flooding.
What is the Xia Dynasty?
This guy developed Qin culture around the concept of Legalism, and was later executed by horses pulling apart his body.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY: Make a bet anywhere from $1 to $1000, then be ready for the question. You will LOSE this amount if you get it wrong!
What is mercury?
This is a term for when everything is the same, like the Qin Dynasty made writing, weights, and measurements when it united China.
What is "uniform?"
This term describes something godly, or from the heavens.
What is "divine?"
Shang Yang helped establish Legalism during this dynasty.
What is the Qin Dynasty?
This is about how long the Shang Dynasty lasted for, til that pesky Mandate of Heaven ruined things for them!
What is 600 years?
This dynasty was the first historically recorded, and its emperor was considered a sort of priest-king (known as the Son of Heaven).
What is the Shang Dynasty?
The Qin Dynasty was brief, only lasting for around 15 years before it ended with THIS type of rebellion.
What is a peasant rebellion?
This was the name of the first emperor of China, who was previously just a Qin king named Zheng.
Who is Qin Shi Huangdi?
This body of water is where the first kingdoms of China developed, which is why it's known as the Mother River. But it has a big problem with flooding, which is why it's also known as China's Sorrow.
What is the Huang He River?
This word describes the kind of leader who cares about their peoples' well-being.
What is "benevolent"?
One benefit of this system is that justice was more equally applied than ever before.
What is Legalism?
This is the year the Qin Kingdom took over the other Warring States to create China's first empire.
What is 221 BCE?
This dynasty gave out government positions based on skill and talent like the Qin Dynasty, but also required Confucianism-based reading as a part of these civil service exams.
What is the Han Dynasty?
The Qin Dynasty was on this side of China, which gave it protection from the mountains.
What is west?
This is the term for a government takeover from the inside (like the first emperor's youngest son did, killing all of his siblings in the process).
What is a coup?
It's very fertile, fine sand or clay carried and deposited by running water that is SPECIFICALLY YELLOW, like the Huang He River
What is loess?
The Zhou Dynasty was problematic because it scaled back women's rights, and also because it had a bad habit of giving out government positions based personal connections, meaning it was THIS type of system.
What is nepotism?
One downside of Legalism was that it forced people to spy on one another, making society more paranoid; it also resulted in innocent people being punished at times in order to have SOMEONE to blame, even in this most ridiculous circumstance.
What is suicide?
These are 5 dynasties we've studied in Ancient China in order from oldest to most recent.
What are the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han?