Download Chapter 6 Reading Guide: Section 1 Geography and Early China 1

Chapter 6 Reading Guide:
Section 1 Geography and Early China
1. Define the vocabulary words for 6.1:
*Jade- a hard gemstone.
*Oracle- Priests read cracks in oracle bones to predict the future.
2. Name the borders of China that separate it from the rest of the world.
North – Gobi Desert
West – Plateau of Tibet & Himalayan Mtns.
East – Yellow Sea & East China Sea (empty into Pacific Ocean)
South - Plateau of Tibet & Himalayan Mtns.
3. Name the two rivers we will be studying about in China AND where in China they are
located.
1) Huang He/Yellow River located in Northern China.
2) Chang Jiang/Yangzi River located in middle of China.
4. Describe China’s weather pattern. Be sure to list some interesting things about it. They
vary. In the NE, it is cold & dry; winter is below 0 & rivers frozen for ½ year. NWdeserts are dry; E has heavy rains & SE even has monsoons.
5. What about China’s weather pattern is similar to India’s weather pattern? They both
have monsoons and their rivers flood to bring rich silt.
6. Where did civilizations form? River valleys (Chang Jiang & Huang He). Why did
people choose to settle there (Relate to CH 3, 4 & 5)? The rivers flooded and left fertile
silt that made it good for farming.
7. Look at the picture on p. 162. How do these 3 pictures show that China has a
DIVERSE geography? The 3 areas shown have very different geographical features.
8. What do Chinese artifacts reveal about China’s early civilizations? They hunted,
fished & used pottery for food & water, made cloth & believed in afterlife
9. How do historians know about the Xia dynasty? They only know about it through
ancient stories. There is no evidence yet to prove its existence.
10. Complete the chart below on Shang dynasty’s social order by describing each class:
1st- KING
He was the center of Shang political & religious life.
2ND-NOBLES
3RD-WARRIORS
Served the king as advisors & helped him rule. Some performed
other government and/or religious duties.
Owned land
Lived in large homes & had high rank in society
4TH-ARTISANS
Settled outside city walls, lived in groups based on what they made
5TH-FARMERS
Worked long hours & had little money
6TH-SLAVES
Importance source of labor
11. The Shang created China’s 1st writing system. What did this writing system use?
Pictographs
12. List the other Shang achievements: Oracle bones, bronze containers, axes & knives
from jade, chariots, bows, bronze body armor, calendar based on cycles of the moon.
Section 2 Zhou Dynasty
1. Define the vocabulary words for 6.2:
*Lords- People of high rank.
*Peasants- Farmers with small farms
*Confucius- The most famous Chinese teacher in history of China.
*Ethics- moral values
*Confucianism- The ideas as to how people should behave; taught by Confucius
*Daoism- Stressed living in harmony with the Dao. It developed as a reaction to Conf.
*Laozi- The most famous Daoist teacher; people shouldn’t gain wealth/power or seek it.
*Legalism- Belief that people are bad by nature & need to be controlled.
2. When did the Zhou dynasty come to power & how did they do this? 1100 BC; They
joined with other nearby tribes & attacked & overthrew the Shang Dynasty.
3. The Zhou used “the mandate of heaven” to justify their rebellion against the Shang.
What is does this mean? Heaven gave power to the king or leader & no one ruled without
heaven’s permission. If a king was “bad”, heaven would support another leader.
4. How was the Zhou dynasty’s political system different from the Shang? They granted
land to people in exchange for their loyalty, military support & various other services.
5. How did the Zhou’s political order help the Zhou king rule distant lands? Ruling
through lords helped control distant lands & ensure loyalty to the king.
6. What happened to make the Zhou power decline? (Be sure to include an explanation of
the “Warring States Period.” The lords’ loyalty to the Zhou king lessened & they began
to refuse to fight for him. The king kept “crying wolf” w/ warning fires & no one came to
help when it was the real invasion. The Zhou lost a lot of power at this battle. By 481 BC,
China entered the Warring States Period in which there was just chaos – no 1 ruler.
7. Complete the chart below on the 3 major belief systems of the ZHOU period.
CONFUCIANISM
DAOISM
LEGALISM
Most important
Confucius
Laozi
Shi Huangdi (6.3)
person
Was it based on
Yes
Yes
No
moral concerns?
What was the
Display high moral
Live in harmony w/ Unlike the othersoverall teaching?
values (morality,
the Dao, who is the believe people need
family, society,
guiding force of all
to be controlled both
government, etc…) reality. (p.170)
socially & in gov’t.
Want gov’t to stay
out of lives.
What is an
The Analects
The Way & Its
NONE LISTED
important book?
Power
8. What are some disadvantages of Legalism? Their laws were too strict. They needlessly
punished some groups of people. They also displayed too much control over lives.
ENRICHMENT QUESTIONS FOR 6.1-6.2:
9. Considering the evidence, do you think the Xia dynasty was really China’s 1st dynasty
or a myth? Answers will vary.
10. How would Confucianism benefit Chinese emperors? Confucius said that lower
classes should follow the example of their superior (king)
11. Would you be happier under a Daoist or Legalist government? Answers vary. Why?
Section 3, The Qin Dynasty
1. Define the vocabulary for 6.3:
*Shi Huangdi- Name means “first emperor”; Followed Legalist political beliefs
*Great Wall- A barrier linking earlier walls across China’s northern frontier.
1. What dynasty ended up the “winner” from the Warring States Period? Qin
2. Who was the first emperor of the Qin? Shi Huangdi
Which philosophy did he follow? Legalist
What does this philosophy practice? Strict laws & harsh punishments
3. List some of the things Shi Huangdi did once he came to power. burned all books not
related to Legalism, expanded the empire, claimed all the power & didn’t share it w/ the
lords, took the lords’ land away, forced commoners to work on government building
projects, strict commands, tax system
4. Describe life in China during Shi Huangdi’s rule. People did not have freedom to
express their viewpoints or study any belief system other than Legalism. You could face
death if you went against Shi Huangdi.
5. Look at the picture at the bottom of p. 174-175. What do you notice about it? That Shi
Huangdi was buried in a tomb with 6,000 life size terracotta soldiers to protect him
during the afterlife. His tomb was not found until 1974.
6. Why did Shi Huangdi divide the country into military districts? It helped him enforce
the tax system & a strict chain of command.
7. Analyze the policies Shi Huangdi used to unify China. Uniform system of laws,
standardized written language, new money system, standardized weights & measures,
standardized everything- even down the axles on the carts!
8. List and describe any 3 achievements of the Qin Dynasty:
1) Network of roads
2) Canals
3) Irrigation system 4) Great Wall
9. Rank the items below from most important to least important:
__1___ Creating a road system to link all parts of the empire to the capital
__3___ Building the Great Wall to keep out invaders
__2___ Building canals to make trading easier
__4___ Burning books of the Confucius scholars
10. Why did the Qin government fall apart? Most people hated his harsh ways. He held
China together, but when he died the government quickly fell apart. Many claimed to
possess the mandate of heaven and tried to invade. China fell into civil war w/ no 1 ruler.
11. Do you think Shi Huangdi was a good ruler? Varies Why or why not? ________
ENRICHMENT:
1. Read p. 177 & answer the question at the bottom. He was a very strict ruler & was very
unpopular with the people.
2. Why did Shi Huangdi’s armies destroy city walls and take weapons from people they
conquered? To make sure that they did not rise up and revolt against him.
Section 4: The Han Dynasty
1. Define the vocabulary for 6.4:
*Sundial- _______________________________________________________________
*Seismograph- ___________________________________________________________
*Acupuncture- ___________________________________________________________
2. Liu Bang was a peasant emperor. He gained the people’s loyalty and trust. How did
he gain his power? because of the Chinese belief in the mandate of heaven; he was the 1st
common person to become emperor
3. How was the Liu Bang different that Shi Huangdi? He wanted to free people from
harsh Qin policies; lowered taxes; made punishments less severe; gave land to supporters
4. What philosophy did the Han dynasty follow under Wudi? Confucianism
5. Do you think that an exam system is the best way to make sure that people are fairly
chosen for government jobs? Varies Why or why not? Varies
6. List the 4 social classes of the Han Dynasty:
1- Upper class – emperor, his court, scholars w/ government positions
2- Peasants (largest class)
3- Artisans
4- Merchants (did not produce anything)
7. What is interesting about the way the Han Dynasty’s social classes were set up? Just
because they are in a lower class, doesn’t mean that they are not wealthy.
8. Describe the life of a Chinese peasant. They lived simple lives, more plain clothing,
lived in small villages w/ wood framed houses made of mud
9. What was the son’s role in the family? Obey his parents, carry on family line & take
care of his parents
10. Look at the picture of the Han Achievements on p. 182-183 & answer the Q.
They show advancements in many areas, such as, art, science & medicine
11. Which of the Han inventions/advances do you think is most important? Varies
Why? Varies
ENRICHMENT:
1. Compare the maps of the Shang, Zhou, Qin & Han Dynasties. What do you notice
about them? Their area is larger and larger as more time passes
2. Read The Shiji on p. 184-185. Answer the questions at the bottom of p. 185:
1- generosity, goodness towards others, treat others as you want to be treated
2- Bu Shi feels it is his duty to help his government & others; the emperor
rewards Bu Shi’s loyalty & ethics
3. Write a BRIEF summary of The Shiji. Bu Shi was a selfless man that wanted to turn
over a portion of his worth to the Chinese government because he felt it was his duty. He
had no desire for anything in return. In the end, his selflessness was honored by the
emperor hiring him as his son’s tutor.
Section 5: Han contacts with other cultures
1. Define the vocabulary for 6.5:
*Silk- a soft, light, highly valued fabric
*Silk Road- 4,000 mile network of roads from China all the way to Mediterranean Sea
*Diffusion- spread of ideas from one culture to another
2. Analyze how the wheelbarrow improved production for farmers. They helped farmers
carry larger loads than ever before.
3. Why do you think the Chinese made revealing how to make silk an offense that was
punishable by death? They wanted to be the only ones to know how to make it so they
could continue to make a lot of money from trading it.
4. Consider how silk enabled China’s trade to expand. Write down your thoughts as to
why this occurred. In exchange for silk, traders returned with gold, silver, horses &
precious stones.
5. Look at the map on p. 188 and answer the question:
1) Taklimakan Desert
2) Where did the Silk Road begin? Luoyang, China
End? Antioch & Tyre @ the Mediterranean Sea
6. List some benefits of trading along the Silk Road. They were able to trade many goods
& make a lot of money from the trade.
7. List some dangers of traveling the Silk Road. There were bandits that robbed & killed
people for the goods that they were carrying.
8. What Buddhist beliefs appealed to millions of Chinese peasants? The promise that
Buddhism offered rebirth & a relief from suffering
9. How is Buddhism an example of diffusion? Buddhism spread from one culture to
another in large part because of travel along the Silk Road
ENRICHMENT:
1. Complete the chart below on China’s goods imported & exported along the Silk Road.
IMPORTS INTO CHINA
EXPORTS FROM CHINA
GOLD
SILK
TRADE ALONG THE
SILVER
JADE
SILK
ROAD
PRECIOUS STONES
SPICES
HORSES
BUDDHISM
2. Read p. 191 and answer the questions at the end:
1) The Han Empire in China to the Roman Empire
2) silk, jade, spices, wool, amber, gold