Notes
Geography
Vocabulary
100

The Shang Dynasty was able to get very wealthy but they heavily relied on _____ labor (much like Sparta)

slave

100

What is the most famous river in China? 

Yellow River / Huang He

100

What is a dynasty?

When a country's leaders are all from the same family 

200

Writing allowed rulers to keep track of _____ & ________

taxes & laws

200

1/3 of China's landscape is made up of what? 

Mountains

200
What is a plateau?

A steeply raised area of land with flat terrain above

300

The notes state that 3 signs of a civilization include: 

written language, specialized art, large architecture projects (ex. monuments)

300

Like many river valley civilizations, early people developed ______ in order to control the seasonal flooding

irrigation systems (ex. canals, dams)
300

What is a bureaucracy?

A system of government - usually containing unelected civil servants

400
Why might a person lose the Mandate of Heaven?

When a person becomes too corrupt or fails to protect their people from disaster

400

What tool was invented in China to help people navigate trade routes?

A Compass

400

What is the Mandate of Heaven?

The belief that God/Gods/Heavens has provided a king/queen the right to rule over others

500

After the Zhou dynasty defeated the Shang dynasty, it would rule China for how long?

~800 years

500
China has always had hundreds of different dialects but used a consistent language for official governmental documents. Name two countries that would follow this same pattern

India & Egypt

500

What is the dynastic cycle?

Describes the rise and fall of a dynastic government and their replacement by another dynasty