Download Ancient China: Chapter 4

Ancient China
Chapter 4
Lesson 1: The Geography of China
Land of Differences:
1. How does China compare in size to other counties in the world?
2. Did civilization emerge in China before or after it did in Egypt?
The North China Plain:
1. Why do many people live on the North China Plain?
2. Which river flows through the North China Plain?
3. Why is the North China Plain a good place to grow crops?
China’s Sorrow:
1. Compare and contrast the Nile River and the Huang River.
2. What facts are important to know for people who live by the Huang River?
Guangxi Zhungzu:
1. What positive effect might double cropping have on the economy in the Guangxi
Zhungzu?
2. How can you summarize the characteristics of the Guangxi Zhungzu that make it
different from other areas in China?
To the Roof of the World:
1. What would your life be like if you lived on the Tibetan Plateau?
2. What challenges do nomadic people face on the Tibetan Plateau?
Lesson 2: China’s Past
Picturing Chinese History:
1. What is unique about eh culture of China?
2. Compare and contrast the cultures of China and Egypt.
3. What evidence do archaeologists have about China’s history?
Ancient Voices:
1. Why do you think people tell takes such as the one about Pangu?
2. What was the Xia period and how d we know about it?
The Shang Dynasty:
1. What do you think daily life was like during the Shang dynasty?
2. What kinds of gods may have been an important part of the economy?
3. Do you think that oracle bones allowed people to foretell the future? Why do you
think people believed that they could?
4. How do we know about the Shang dynasty?
The Longest Dynasty:
1. On what was the economy based in Western Zhou?
2. Explain how silk was made.
3. What was the role of women in Zhou society?
Eastern Zhou Dynasties:
1. Why was Eastern Zhou known as the “golden age” in China?
2. What are some differences and similarities between life in the earlier and later
periods of the Zhou dynasty?
The First Emperor:
1. How did Shi Huangdi unify China?
2. Why was the Great Wall of China built?
3. Summarize the positive and negative aspects of the reign of Shi Huangdi.
4. What do you think may happen in a society where a ruler wants to control what
people do and think?
Han Dynasty:
1. What change did the first Han ruler, Gaozu, make that affected life in China?
2. Compare and contrast Wu Di and Shi Huangdi.
3. Paraphrase Ban Zhao’s quotation. What did she mean?
4. What is civil service? What civil service jobs do people currently hold in your
community?
5. What were Wu Di’s contributions to Han society?
Inventions:
1. What was the Silk Road?
2. What are some important inventions that were made during the Han dynasty?
Lesson 3: Legacy of Thought:
Master Kung:
1. Why was Confucius educated as a scholar?
2. How do you think historical events set the stage for the acceptance of Confucius
and his philosophies?
3. What does the photograph of the Great Temple reveal about Confucius’s place in
the history of China?
4. What are some of the morals that Confucius valued?
The Master’s Work:
1. What saying des this remind you of? Why do you think this rule may have been
so important to Confucius?
2. Explain what is meant by “the middle way.” Give an example.
3. What des Confucianism teach about roles in society? How does this teaching
compare to the social order in the early Zhou dynasty?
4. What do you thin Confucius meant by shame?
5. Name three important Confucian principles.
Beyond Confucianism:
1. Why was the period during which Confucius lived called the “hundred schools of
thought”
2. What are some similarities among Confucianism and other ways of thinking in
China?
3. What is the difference between Daoism and Confucianism?