Vocabulary
This baked or hardened reddish-brown clay was the material used to build the army in Shihuangdi's tomb.
What is terracotta?
This was the first dynasty of China, under which Shihuangdi united all of China for the first time.
What was the Qin dynasty?
This person was China's only woman emperor, who forced her son to resign.
Who was Wu Zhao?
He was the leader of the Mongols when they first attacked northern China.
Who was Chinggis Khan?
Name at least two important events and achievements that took place during the Tang dynasty.
Discovery of gunpowder / invention of woodblock prinitng & creation of the world's first books / invention of paper money / Wu Zhao becoming only woman emperor of China / spread of Buddhism throughout China / tea trade made Chinese merchants wealthy
This explosive discovery allowed the Chinese to create fireworks. Unlike what the name suggests, the Chinese did NOT use it to make weapons.
What is gunpowder?
This commonly happened in the city of Hangzhou as a result of the wooden houses being packed too closely together.
What is fire?
This verb means to step down from a job. The last emperor of the Qing dynasty did this in 1912, after which China became a republic.
What is to resign?
This dynasty built a lavish new capital known as the Forbidden City, which still stands today.
What was the Ming dynasty?
This emperor began life as a peasant and endured great hardship before leading a rebellion against the Mongols and founding the Ming dynasty.
Who was Zhu Yuanzhang?
These were the most respected people in Song dynasty China, who earned their status by passing a difficult series of exams.
Who were scholars?
Name at least two important events and achievements that took place during the Qin dynasty.
Shihuangdi unifies China and becomes first emperor / construction of the Great Wall begins / creation of roads and canals / Shihuangdi made everyone use the same written language, currency, and weights & measures / Shihuangdi was a strict ruler who burned books and had 400 monks killed for breaking a promise to him / Shihuangdi is buried with an "army" of 7,000 terracotta warriors in a secret tomb
This was invented in China during the Han dynasty over 1,000 years before it appeared in Europe.
What is paper?
This is the reason why Shihuangdi began construction of the Great Wall of China.
What is to keep out the Xiongnu / the Huns?
This word in Chinese means to kneel and touch your forehead to the ground nine times as a sign of extreme respect for the emperor.
What is kowtow?
During the reign of this dynasty, Britain fought a war to continue selling opium to the Chinese.
What was the Qing dynasty?
This Song dynasty emperor was very interested in the arts, including painting, poetry, and calligraphy - he was more interested in this than he was in running the empire!
Who was Hui Zong?
This famous explorer gathered knowledge about the world and kept detailed log books of his journeys during the Ming dynasty.
Who was Zheng He?
Name at least two important events and achievements that took place during the Ming dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang defeats the Mongols / Forbidden City is built / Zheng He explores the world / construction of the Great Wall as we see it today is completed
This invention in medieval China led to the creation of the world's first books.
What is woodblock printing?
This is a type of fine pottery that the Chinese sold to other countries, including Great Britain.
What is porcelain?
This hard mineral, often green in color, is used widely in China to make jewelry and figurines.
What is jade?
This dynasty's name means "bright" in Chinese.
What is the Ming dynasty?
This emperor established a postal system throughout China.
Who was Kublai Khan?
This group of people turned against the Chinese and conquered northern China during the Song dynasty.
Who were the Jurchen?
Name at least two important events and achievements that took place during the Han dynasty.
Paper is invented / The silk trade makes Chinese merchants wealthy (Silk Road) / Wudi sends an official into the wilderness to find help defending China's northern border
Name at least two important events and achievements that took place during the Yuan/Mongol dynasty.
Chinggis Khan conquers northern China / Mongols create largest land empire in history / Kublai Khan creates a postal system / failed invasions of Japan (kamikaze) and Vietnam
This word describes the hair style the Qing dynasty forced all men in China to wear, a short braid of hair worn on the back of the neck
What is a queue?
These people in medieval times tried to turn different types of metals into gold. Some of them in China discovered gunpowder by accident as a result.
Who were alchemists?
This is the other name for the Mongol dynasty.
What was the Yuan dynasty?
This emperor of the Han dynasty sent an official into the wilderness to find help defending China's northern border.
Who was Wudi?
This traveler from Italy wrote a book about his travels to China.
Who was Marco Polo?
Name at least two important events and achievements that took place during the Qing dynasty.
Qianlong refuses to buy British goods / Opium Wars / men forced to wear hair in queues / last emperor resigns in 1912
Name at least two important events and achievements that took place during the Song dynasty.
Hui Zong creates art academies / mountain-water paintings / Jurchen conquer northern China, splitting China between north and south / scholars are most respected members of society / fires sweep through Hangzhou
Foreigners paid high prices for this Chinese good, made from worms, that only the Chinese knew how to make during the Han dynasty. The Chinese took extreme measures to protect their knowledge of how to make this material.
What is silk?