Early China
At what two rivers did Chinese civilization form around?
They Yellow and Yangtze Rivers.
What period did Confucius teach in, and why were his words especially needed during this period?
Warring states
He answered the question of who would lead peacefully (since the period was full of chaos, war, and disagreement)
What dynasty ended the Warring States period and unified China?
The Qin
Due to the actions of the _____ Dynasty, China has pretty much the same writing everywhere, rather than many different writings. Who did this, and why did they make it one language across China?
The Qin did this as part of standardizing China's measurements and language to make taxing more efficient.
____________ wanted to be immortal, so he asked his sorcerers for an elixir of immortality. Unfortunately, the “potion” was actually loaded with cinnabar (a form of mercury), which killed him. (You don't need to say his name, you can be general).
Qin Emperor
According to legend, who solved the problem of the Yellow River flooding, how did he do this, and what was his reward for doing so?
Yu the Engineer addressed the flooding by building canals that took extra water out to sea or to irrigate farmland. His reward was that he became the first ruler of China, in charge of the first dynasty
Confucius: What are each of the types of relationships he outlined? Who is in charge in each relationship? What are the most important relationships, that comes before all the others?
those between ruler and subject, father and son, elder brother and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend
Under the _____ Dynasty, canals, and irrigation were built. Iron and money were invented. Cities became manufacturing centers, and silk was traded with other continents. The upper class grew very rich, and the population reached 15 million.
Zhou
The ____ Dynasty adopted Legalism and banned all other philosophies, including burning their books and killing those who supported rival philosophies.
Qin
What is the most common way that dynasties end? (It mentioned this at the end of the video)
Peasant uprising
_____ was an important metal that was invented before iron was. It is an alloy from three metals (what are the three metals?)
Bronze. Made from copper, tin, and lead.
What is confucius’ golden rule? What is ren?
do unto others as you would want them to treat you
ren: respect and well-intentioned action for people
Why did the Zhou decline?
They increasingly gave out power to local lords, but eventually the lords became more powerful than the Zhou government.
What happened after the Zhou lost power? What is the name of the post-Zhou period? Hint: it is named after seasons.
China was divided into many Warring States, beginning the warring states period, and Spring and Autumn Annals
Before the Qin conquered the warring states and unified China, they first took over _____ (you don’t need to be that specific). According to a story, how did they do it? What did the Qin get from the region?
Ba and Shu.
stone cows
Silk, copper coins, etc.
What were oracle bones? Other than the ceremonies they were used for, what important fact do they tell historians about China?
Oracle bones are bones with questions to the gods written on them. They were heated until they cracked, and the cracks marked the answer to the question. They tell historians that Ancient China independently developed writing.
What was the Civil Service exam? Who could take civil service exam? Who introduced the idea in the first place? What was the first dynasty to have the civil service exam?
all males could take it
confucius introduced it
Qin dynasty
government exam for officials
How did the Qin govern China?
Centralized government, people were grouped into units and the whole group was punished if one person messed up. Strict laws and harsh punishments.
List all the dynasties in chronological order (all the dynasties in this video, not all in Chinese history).
Xia, Zhou, Qin, Han
Although it developed iron much later than the Middle East or Europe, China became more advanced with iron smelting. How was China’s iron production more high-quality? What is the name for the inferior iron that Europe and MI used?
It could heat iron enough (1537 specifically) to be fully melted down, then poured into molds. The others didn't have the high-intensity ovens to melt it. Middle East+Europe made cast iron, which was worse.
What is the Mandate of Heaven, and how did it explain the cycle of dynasties? The transition between which two dynasties lead to the theory of the mandate and how it could be taken away?
The Mandate of Heaven was the idea that the gods gave the dynasty the right to rule over China, but could be taken away if the dynasty became corrupt. The Shang used this to justify why they were allowed to overthrow the Xia.
What were the three groups during the hundred schools of thought? What did they each believe was the best way to live/govern?
Legalists: humans can only be good if they can have strict laws and punishments
Confucius: humans will be good as long as they have good rulers and are part of good relationships/hierarchies.
Taoists: go with the flow, act in harmony with nature
What was the shortest dynasty? What was the longest dynasty?
Qin is shortest, Zhou is longest.
What dynasty first made Confucianism the state ideology?
Han Dynasty
Before they even took over China, why was the Qin military more advanced and effective than their rivals? How did they use horses differently?
They were situated between many dangerous neighbors, and so to survive, they would adopt every piece of tech they came across. They rode horses directly rather than using chariots.