Download China Enduring Traditions Pd2

Big Ideas for East Asia Unit
Ideas from the past can shape the way people
think in later ages.
People often feel strongly about how their government is working.
Read pages 327-330 in the textbook to answer the questions below. In order to get credit,
you need to be working on the assignment and you need to share an answer to part of one
question.
1. For how long did the Chinese dynastic system last?
The Chinese dynastic system lasted for 3,500 years. It ended in 1911.
2. What was China’s earliest civilization?
China's earliest civilization was the Shang Dynasty.
3. What type of religion did the early Chinese civilization have? What were its beliefs?
4.
The early Chinese had a polytheistic religion. They believed that many gods lived in heaven.
If the gods were pleased there would be good harvests. If the gods were dissatisfied they
would send floods or famines. Shang di was believed to be the chief god. The king consulted
the spirits of the ancestors, the king served as a link between heaven and earth. Priests used
What were some of that civilization’s achievements? oracle bones to consult ancestors.
The Chinese developed their own form of writing, based on pictographs that stood for different
words or objects. Recorded observations and created a calendar. Made advanced weapons out
of bronze. The Chinese used ideographs to express words. They also made fine pottery known
as "fine China" or porcelain.
5. Explain what is meant by “The Mandate of Heaven” and what it meant for the people.
The Mandate of Heaven means the power or authority of heaven. The Chinese believed that
heaven gave them the ruler and that heaven gave the ruler the right to rule. The people had to
be loyal and obedient to the rulers. If there were problems for the people (floods, famines) the
ruler might lose the mandate of heaven, and the people could rebel.
6. Explain how the dynastic cycle works.
A new dynasty claims the mandate of heaven and establishes peace, and builds things, and
helps the Chinese people. After a few generations the dynasty becomes and ageing dynasty.
Then it loses the mandate of heaven, and another new dynasty arrives, claiming the mandate of
heaven.