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13 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What two rivers formed the basis for Chinese civilizations?
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Huang He (Yellow River) and the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)
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What percentage of land is suitable for farming? What part of the country is arable (able to grow crops)?
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12% is used (in southeastern and eastern China), 20% is available.
over 70% of all food is grown in the southeast corner of China (known as the rice bowl). More rice is grown there than any other place in Asia - it's there primary food source. |
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What areas of China are arid?
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northwestern and northern China (which are mostly mountains and desert and takes about 80% of China)
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What was the first dynasty of China and how long ago did it start?
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Xia dynasty - 4000 years ago (not much is known about them because not much is left).
*China is not dry (has lots of rainfall) which means a lot of artifacts are destroyed and lost. |
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What was the second dynasty in China? When did it rule?
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Shang dynasty (1750-1122 BC)
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How did the Shang advance the use of metals?
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They were masters of bronze casting. For example, they made statues by creating molds of people, pouring wax in it, and the pouring bronze in it to make perfect bronze statues of people.
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Why did the Shang fail?
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The last Shang ruler was a wicked tyrant who had pools of wine, ordered lustful music to be made, and binged on food (he partied all the time). His actions led to the aggressive ruler of the State, Zhou, to revolt against the Shang and set-up a new dynasty.
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What was the longest lasting Dynasty in Chinese history?
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The Zhou dynasty - it lasted 800 years (1045 - 256 BC).
The lasted so long because of three things - they reformed Chinese society, increased the education level, and crated a bureaucracy to enforce strict laws. |
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What was the Mandate of Heaven?
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It was the belief that the Zhou leader ruled over China because of a mandate (authority to command) from Heaven.
*You rule as long as your moral. |
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What is the Dao?
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The proper "Way" to rule - how the king was supposed to act. The king's duty was to keep the gods pleased in order to protect the people from natural disasters and a bad harvest.
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What did the Mandate of Heaven and the Dao help do?
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It made sure that the Zhou rulers didn't become corrupt, like the Shang.
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What dynasty is China named for?
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Qin (pronounced chin)
It was the first dynasty to unify all of China and they helped build the Great Wall of China. |
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What was the purpose of the Great Wall of China?
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It was a big fortification system (had 6 fortifications/parts) that ran across northern China. It starts north of Beijing and branches off up north. It was used to keep the Mongolians out.
*It was built over the course of 3 centuries. |
