Ancient China Vocabulary
1. Confucianism: In China, a system of beliefs and behavior based on the teachings
of Confucius, who said that people should live good lives by studying ancient
traditions; stressed the importance of respecting one’s family and ancestors.
2. Dynasty: A line of rulers who belong to the same family.
3. Emperor: The supreme ruler of an empire.
4. Empire: A group of lands and peoples ruled by one government.
5. Erosion: The gradual wearing away of soil and rock by wind, glaciers, or water.
6. Famine: A widespread lack of food resulting in hunger and starvation.
7. Grand School: A school begun by Confucian scholars in China that trained
students for government jobs.
8. Levee: A wall built along a river bank to prevent flooding.
9. Loess: A fine, yellow soil that is easily carried by wind and rain, found in China.
10. Mandate of Heaven: The belief that the Chinese emperor’s right to rule came
from the gods.
11. Noble: A member of a ruling family or one of high rank.
12. Oracle Bone: In ancient China, a cattle or sheep bone used to predict the future.
13. Province: A division of land within an empire or country.
14. Seismograph: A scientific instrument that could detect earthquakes hundreds of
miles away, invented during the Han dynasty (p.177).
15. Steppe: A dry, grassy, treeless plain found in Asia and Eastern Europe.
16. Summary: A brief statement of main ideas.
17. Topic Sentence: A sentence that contains the main idea of a paragraph, often the
first sentence in a paragraph.
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Places
1. Anyang: The ancient Chinese capital of the Shang dynasty.
2. Great Wall of China: A long defensive wall extending 1,500 miles through
northern China; built between 1300 and 1600.
3. Huang River: (aka The Yellow River) A river that flows from the Tibetan plateau,
across northern China, and into the Yellow Sea.
4. Northern China Plain: A large, lowland region of eastern China that is watered by
the Huang River; birthplace of the Chinese civilization.
5. Qin (chin): An ancient province in northern China that rose to power under
Emperor Shihuangdi in 221 B.C.
6. Qinling Mountains: A mountain range in north–central China.
7. Xianyang: Capital city of the Qin dynasty during the rule of the Emperor
Shihuangdi.
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People
1. Confucius: (551-479B.C.): Chinese philosopher who stressed the need to respect
tradition; his teachings discussed the right and wrong uses of power.
2. Fu Hao: A Chinese king’s wife who led troops to war. Her tomb contained
records of her life and times.
3. Han Gaozu: A farmer-turned-general who, in 206 B.C., overthrew the Qin
dynasty; he founded the Han dynasty.
4. Shihuangdi: Chinese emperor who founded the Qin Dynasty and unified China
with a standardized system of writing and money; his tomb contained the famous
“clay army”.
5. Wudi: Han emperor who ruled China from 140 B.C. to 87 B.C.; he set up a
system of schools that prepared students for government jobs.
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