Geography
This region is located in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres and is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean.
East Asia?
This high, table-like landform in southwestern China is often called "the roof of the world."
The Plateau of Tibet
What is the name of the major trade network connecting China with Europe and other regions, often made up of many routes?
The Silk Road
This early Chinese dynasty (around 206 BCE to 220 CE) enforced standard measurements and adopted copper coins widely.
The Han Dynasty
What name did Temujin take when he became leader and built a large Mongol confederation?
Genghis Khan
Many geographers combine Europe and Asia into one continent because they form one continuous landmass.
Eurasia
This is Asia’s largest desert, stretching across southern Mongolia and northern China.
The Gobi Desert?
Besides silk, name two types of goods that traveled along the Silk Road.
Gold/precious metals, ivory, ornamental weapons, utensils, textiles.
Name one communication or information technology invented or improved by the Han.
Paper-making
Kublai Khan established a dynasty that united all of China and Korea under Mongol rule. What is the name of that dynasty?
Yuan Dynasty
This peninsula juts out between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan and borders northeast China.
The Korean Peninsula
Four-fifths of this country's land is mountainous and volcanic; Mount Fuji is its highest mountain.
Japan
Identify one technology or cultural practice that spread from China to other regions via the Silk Road and one that traveled from the West to China.
From China outward: paper-making, magnetic compass, gunpowder; From West inward: glass-making
This dynasty ruled from about 960 to 1279 CE and saw movable type (for printing), more portable compasses, and the development of gunpowder.
The Song Dynasty
List two actions the Mongols took to improve trade along the Silk Road.
Improved and expanded the Silk Road, lowered tolls/taxes, guarded travelers from bandits, improved roads between China and Russia
Name the massive mountain range that forms a natural barrier between modern-day India and China.
The Himalayan Mountains
Describe two ways that the Yangtze River and Yellow River affected the people who lived near them.
Rivers provided water for agriculture, supported early civilizations, enabled transport and trade; but Yellow River flooding could cause destruction
Explain one cause-and-effect example from the book showing how trade routes fostered the spread of a world religion.
Traders brought Buddhist ideas from India to China via trade routes; because merchants and monks traveled, Buddhism spread across Asia.
How did the Han invention of paper-making and woodblock printing contribute to cultural diffusion? Give one specific effect.
Paper and woodblock printing allowed texts to be copied and shared more widely, spreading ideas, news, and religions
Explain why Kublai Khan often used Chinese advisors instead of only Mongol advisors.
He valued Chinese knowledge for governing the Chinese population and needed experienced administrators; Chinese advisors helped bridge government and people
Name two regions or bodies of water that lie to the south and southwest of East Asia.
South: Pacific Ocean; Southwest: Indian subcontinent (or Indian Ocean)
Explain how the Plateau of Tibet's elevation could both limit and encourage cultural contact with neighboring regions
Limiting: high elevation and mountains isolate regions, making travel difficult; Encouraging: plateau can be a homeland for nomadic peoples who might trade or migrate, and passes can allow cultural exchange
Imagine you are a merchant on the Silk Road. List three things you might carry, one type of news or idea you might hear, and one technology you might learn about.
Carry silk, porcelain, spices; hear news about political changes or new religious teachings (Buddhism); learn of paper-making or compass use
Compare one political or cultural policy of Kublai Khan (Yuan) that helped him rule China with one policy or practice used by earlier Chinese dynasties (Han, Tang, or Song).
Kublai used Chinese advisors and respected local culture to govern effectively; earlier dynasties used civil service exams and Confucian principles to create bureaucratic governance
Marco Polo's account told Europeans about many aspects of Kublai Khan's court and China. Give two examples of Chinese technologies or customs Europeans learned about from Marco Polo.
Europeans learned about papermaking, burning coal for heat, salt production, and other inventions; also descriptions of palaces, customs, and the wealth of the empire.