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?

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