China Study Guide Answers
World History
Skills:
• There will be timeline questions!
• There will be a DBQ on the test!
• There will be a section of statements that are
fact vs. opinion!
Fact vs. Opinion Practice
• Shi Huangdi was the worst leader in Chinese
history.
• Shi Huangdi means “first emperor.”
• The ideas of Confucius are called
Confucianism.
• Legalism is dumb.
• Daoists don’t want to interfere with nature or
each other.
Huang He (Yellow River
• The main river that the Chinese settled on.
Floods left fertile silt, but also caused death.
It is sometimes called, “China’s sorrow.”
Oracle Bones
• They were used by the Shang Dynasty to
predict the future.
• They would write questions on the bones and
heat them, when heated they would crack.
Priests used the crack to predict the future.
Daoism
• The ideas that the world is a series of
opposites. (light and dark, black and white,
hot and cold)
• Daoists are peaceful and do not seek fame or
fortune.
• They don’t want to interfere with nature or
other people.
Confucianism
• A philosophy based ethics or morals.
• The parents must teach the children (Family)
• The government must model proper behavior
(Social Harmony)
Legalism
• The idea that all people are born bad and
need strict laws to control them.
• Punishments were harsh.
• They were all about war and expansion to gain
more control and power.
People to know:
• Shi Huangdi- China’s most famous legalist ruler of
the Qin Dynasty. The was the first ruler to unite
all of China (one writing style, one type of money,
built the Great Wall). He killed anyone who
opposed him.
• Confucius- a teacher who wanted to improve the
actions of people in China by using ethics.
• Laozi- The most important teacher in Daoism. He
taught that people should not want to gain
wealth or power.
Short Answers
• 1. Gobi Desert
• 2. Huang He or Yellow River
• 3. There were stories that were passed down
about Yu the Great. We have not found any
artifacts to back them up.
• 4. First Emperor
• 5. To defend China’s northern border from the
Nomads to the north.
Short Answer Continued
• 6. He had very strict policies. He demanded that
everyone followed him. He burned writings that
didn’t deal with legalism. He killed those who
opposed him. He also used his armies to expand
the power of his empire.
• 7. Confucianism
• 8. Daoism
• 9. Legalism
• 10. Buddhism (spread by monks into China and
from the Silk Road)