{ "source": "https://peabody.kids/flashcards/world-ancient-china", "id": "world-ancient-china", "title": "Ancient and Imperial China", "category": "history", "subject": "World History", "levels": [ "3-5", "6-8", "9-12" ], "description": "Dynasties, philosophers, inventions and the Silk Road, from the Shang to the Qing.", "tags": [ "china", "dynasty", "silk road", "great wall" ], "frontLabel": "Term", "backLabel": "Meaning", "cards": [ [ "Yellow River (Huang He)", "River where early Chinese civilization began" ], [ "Yangtze River", "China's longest river" ], [ "Dynasty", "A line of rulers from one family" ], [ "Shang Dynasty", "Early dynasty known for bronze and oracle bones, about 1600-1046 BCE" ], [ "Oracle bones", "Animal bones with the earliest Chinese writing, used to ask the gods questions" ], [ "Zhou Dynasty", "Long dynasty that introduced the idea of the Mandate of Heaven" ], [ "Mandate of Heaven", "Belief that Heaven gave a just ruler the right to rule and could take it away" ], [ "Confucius", "Teacher (551-479 BCE) who stressed respect, learning and good government" ], [ "Confucianism", "Philosophy of proper behavior, family loyalty and education" ], [ "Filial piety", "Respect and care for parents and elders" ], [ "Daoism (Taoism)", "Philosophy of living in harmony with nature, linked to Laozi" ], [ "Laozi", "Traditional author of the Daodejing" ], [ "Yin and yang", "Opposite forces that balance each other" ], [ "Legalism", "Philosophy that strong laws and harsh punishment keep order" ], [ "Warring States Period", "Time of war among rival Chinese states, ending in 221 BCE" ], [ "Qin Dynasty", "First dynasty to unite China, 221-206 BCE" ], [ "Qin Shi Huang", "First emperor of a unified China" ], [ "Great Wall of China", "Long defensive walls begun by Qin and rebuilt by later dynasties" ], [ "Terra-cotta Army", "Thousands of clay soldiers buried with Qin Shi Huang" ], [ "Standardization", "Qin made weights, measures, money and writing the same across China" ], [ "Han Dynasty", "Long dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) that expanded China and grew trade" ], [ "Han Wudi", "Han emperor who expanded the empire and started the Silk Road trade" ], [ "Silk Road", "Network of trade routes linking China with the Mediterranean" ], [ "Zhang Qian", "Han envoy whose travels helped open the Silk Road" ], [ "Silk", "Fine cloth made by silkworms; China kept the method secret for centuries" ], [ "Paper", "Invented in China, improved by Cai Lun around 105 CE" ], [ "Printing", "Woodblock printing began in China by the Tang era; movable type came later" ], [ "Gunpowder", "Developed in China, first used for fireworks and later for weapons" ], [ "Compass", "Magnetic tool invented in China for finding direction" ], [ "Four Great Inventions", "Paper, printing, gunpowder and the compass" ], [ "Seismograph", "Zhang Heng's device (132 CE) for detecting earthquakes" ], [ "Civil service exam", "Test used to choose government officials by merit" ], [ "Tang Dynasty", "618-907; a golden age of poetry, art and trade" ], [ "Li Bai", "Famous Tang poet" ], [ "Du Fu", "Tang poet known for poems about people's hardships" ], [ "Wu Zetian", "Only woman to rule China as emperor, in the Tang era" ], [ "Chang'an", "Tang capital, one of the world's biggest cities" ], [ "Song Dynasty", "960-1279; saw paper money, movable type and great cities" ], [ "Paper money", "First widely used in Song China" ], [ "Grand Canal", "Long waterway linking northern and southern China, begun in the Sui era" ], [ "Sui Dynasty", "Short dynasty that reunified China in 589 and built the Grand Canal" ], [ "Mongols", "Nomadic people who conquered China under Kublai Khan" ], [ "Genghis Khan", "Founder of the Mongol Empire" ], [ "Kublai Khan", "Mongol ruler who founded the Yuan Dynasty in 1271" ], [ "Yuan Dynasty", "Mongol-led dynasty in China, 1271-1368" ], [ "Marco Polo", "Italian merchant who wrote about his travels in Asia" ], [ "Ming Dynasty", "1368-1644; Chinese rule restored; built the Forbidden City" ], [ "Zheng He", "Admiral who led huge treasure fleets across the Indian Ocean in the early 1400s" ], [ "Forbidden City", "Imperial palace complex in Beijing" ], [ "Beijing", "Capital of China from the Ming era onward" ], [ "Qing Dynasty", "Last dynasty, 1644-1912, ruled by Manchus" ], [ "Manchus", "People from northeast China who founded the Qing" ], [ "Queue", "Braided hairstyle men were required to wear under the Qing" ], [ "Opium Wars", "Conflicts with Britain in the 1800s over trade that weakened Qing China" ], [ "Taiping Rebellion", "Massive 1850-1864 uprising during the Qing era" ], [ "Boxer Rebellion", "1899-1901 uprising against foreign influence" ], [ "Puyi", "Last emperor of China, who gave up the throne in 1912" ], [ "Sun Yat-sen", "Leader of the 1911 revolution that ended imperial rule" ], [ "Republic of China", "Government that began in 1912" ], [ "Chinese characters", "Writing system in which each symbol stands for a word or idea" ], [ "Calligraphy", "Art of beautiful brush writing" ], [ "Abacus", "Counting frame with beads" ], [ "Acupuncture", "Medicine practice using thin needles in the body" ], [ "Porcelain", "Fine ceramic called 'china' in English" ], [ "Terraced rice paddies", "Stepped fields for growing rice on hills" ], [ "Rice", "Main food in southern China" ], [ "Millet", "Main grain in early northern China" ], [ "Tea", "Drink used in China for thousands of years" ], [ "Chinese New Year", "Major holiday based on the lunar calendar" ], [ "Lunar calendar", "Calendar following the Moon's phases" ], [ "Chinese zodiac", "Twelve-year cycle of animals" ], [ "Dragon", "Symbol of imperial power and good fortune" ], [ "Great Wall length", "All its sections together measure thousands of miles" ], [ "Shi Huangdi's tomb", "Large burial complex near Xi'an" ], [ "Xi'an", "City near where the Terra-cotta Army was found in 1974" ], [ "Han Chinese", "Largest ethnic group in China" ], [ "Peasant", "Farmer; most people were peasants" ], [ "Scholar-official", "Educated person who served the government" ], [ "Cultural Revolution", "1966-1976 political campaign in China that caused great disruption" ] ] }