04 Ancient Chinese Civilization

Question 1

sagacious

Answer 1

having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment; shrewd

Question 2

remonstrance

Answer 2

a forcefully reproachful protest

Question 3

hereditary

Answer 3

conferred by or based on inheritance

Question 4

anachronism

Answer 4

a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists

Question 5

jaundiced

Answer 5

affected by bitterness, resentment, or envy

Question 6

decadence

Answer 6

moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury

Question 7

licentious

Answer 7

promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters

Question 8

en masse

Answer 8

in a group; all together

Question 9

chronicler

Answer 9

a person who writes accounts of important or historical events

Question 10

loess

Answer 10

fertile yellow soil of the Huang He valley

Question 11

accession

Answer 11

the act of attaining or gaining access to a new office or right or position (especially the throne)

Question 12

silt

Answer 12

fine sand, clay, or other material carried by running water and deposited as a sediment

Question 13

Huang He

Answer 13

northernmost major river in China

Question 14

Xi Jiang

Answer 14

southernmost major river in China

Question 15

Chang Jiang

Answer 15

major river in central China

Question 16

Gobi Desert

Answer 16

desert in northern China and southern Mongolia

Question 17

China’s Sorrow

Answer 17

what the Huang He was called because of frequently destructive flooding

Question 18

China’s isolation

Answer 18

caused by vast distances, deserts, mountain ranges, and China’s feelings of cultural superiority

Question 19

dynastic cycle

Answer 19

founding, expansion, regression, collapse

Question 20

Middle Kingdom

Answer 20

what the Chinese called China because it was the center of the world, based on feelings of superiority

Question 21

Xia Dynasty

Answer 21

prehistoric line of Chinese kings

Question 22

Shang Dynasty

Answer 22

China’s first historic dynasty (1750 BC to 1122 BC)

Question 23

Zhou Dynasty

Answer 23

China’s most enduring dynasty (1122 BC to 221 BC)

Question 24

Qin Dynasty

Answer 24

dynasty that ruled a larger area than preceding dynasties and controlled it more firmly, however for a short time (221 BC to 206 BC)

Question 25

Han Dynasty

Answer 25

perhaps the most influential dynasty of China (202 BC to AD 220)

Question 26

Mandate of Heaven

Answer 26

belief that the gods determined who should rule China

Question 27

autocracy

Answer 27

government in which the ruler holds total power

Question 28

civil service

Answer 28

system in which workers administer day-to-day business of government

Question 29

Shi Huangdi

Answer 29

founded Qin dynasty and first unified China under a strong central government

Question 30

Liu Bang

Answer 30

general who overthrew the previous dynasty and founded the Han dynasty

Question 31

Wu Di

Answer 31

longest-ruling Han emperor who brought peace and political and economic reform to China

Question 32

Chang-an

Answer 32

capital city of the Qin dynasty; later called Xi'an

Question 33

iron

Answer 33

the use of this material under the Zhou transformed Chinese agriculture by making it possible to cultivate more land and produce more grain

Question 34

accomplishments of the Han

Answer 34

central civil service system; economic policy of leveling; Pax Sinica, which allowed trade to prosper; invention of paper

Question 35

accomplishments of the Qin

Answer 35

standardized weights, measures, and coinage; established a uniform system of writing; started building what would become the Great Wall

Question 36

accomplishments of the Shang

Answer 36

the discovery of silk cloth; bronze castings; the use of solar and lunar calendars; writing, including calligraphy

Question 37

calligraphy

Answer 37

artistic form of writing

Question 38

oracle bones

Answer 38

cattle bones and tortoise shells used by priests to foretell the future

Question 39

The Analects

Answer 39

collection of teachings and ideas of Confucius as written by his followers, which formed the basis of Confucianism

Question 40

Confucius

Answer 40

teacher whose ideas became the most powerful philosophy influencing later Chinese beliefs and lifestyles

Question 41

Laozi (Lao-tzu)

Answer 41

founder of Daoism

Question 42

yin and yang

Answer 42

idea of two sides that contrast and complement each other but not oppose each other

Question 43

Daoism

Answer 43

philosophy that emphasizes contemplation and harmony with nature

Question 44

Confucianism

Answer 44

philosophy that emphasizes right relationships involving family, elders, rulers, and ancestors

Question 45

Legalism

Answer 45

philosophy that emphasizes the maintenance of power through harsh laws aimed controlling naturally selfish and untrustworthy people

Question 46

Mahayana

Answer 46

a branch of Buddhism that became dominant in China, Japan, and Korea; emphasized the worship of Buddha as a savior

Question 47

Five Classics

Answer 47

books that became the most important works of Chinese literature and the basis for education of Chinese scholars

Question 48

acupuncture

Answer 48

medical treatment in which needles are inserted into the body at certain points

Question 49

seismograph

Answer 49

an instrument that measures earthquakes

Question 50

paper

Answer 50

first produced in AD 105 from hemp, old rags, fishing nets, and the bark of mulberry trees

Question 51

sundial

Answer 51

an instrument showing the time by the shadow of a pointer cast by the sun onto a plate marked with the hours of the day

Question 52

agriculture

Answer 52

primary occupation of the vast majority of Chinese people

Question 53

Pax Sinica

Answer 53

Chinese Peace

Question 54

leveling

Answer 54

a government policy that helped keep prices of farm products stable, which greatly helped the condition of peasants