Chapter 3—China in Antiquity
ESSAY
1.
How did geography and climate influence the early development of Chinese
civilization? Were those influences greater than those of governmental and economic developments?
2.
Why has the Shang Dynasty traditionally been referred to as "China's Mother
Culture"? How is this tied to the diffusion hypothesis? What recent evidence has caused the traditional
position to be questioned?
3.
What supernatural beliefs did people hold in the early stages of Chinese civilization?
How did they compare with those held by the people of Egypt? Support your views with specifics.
4.
What were the major tenets of Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism, and what role
did each play in political and philosophical debates during the Zhou Dynasty? What innovative
contributions to Chinese political, economic, and social development were made by the Zhou
Dynasty? Give specific examples.
5.
Comparing China with India, what were the factors that led to Chinese political
unification for much of its history in contrast to India, where fragmentation was more often the norm?
6.
What is meant by the term "hydraulic societies"? How is it tied to the idea of Oriental
despotism? Why is the term specifically applicable to the Qin Dynasty? What recent arguments have
been put forth challenging this assumption?
7.
Compare and contrast the concepts of Confucianism and Legalism. Why did the latter
become so important in the Qin dynasty? Would the Qin have survived longer if it had followed the
Confucian path? Why or why not?
8.
"The Chinese follow Confucianism in public and Daoism in private." Discuss, pro and
con.
9.
"The Qin Dynasty, although brief, marked a major departure from the ideas, policies,
and condition of China during the last centuries of the previous dynasties." Discuss, pro and con.
10.
Did gender and class significantly influence one's life opportunities in ancient China?
Would you have preferred to be a male or a female? Show why, giving examples.
11.
What was especially notable about ancient Chinese language? How did it retain its
earlier form and still serve to unify the elite in the various parts of China?
12.
"Without Confucius, China would not be China." Discuss critically.
IDENTIFICATIONS
Instructions: Identify the following terms.
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Yellow and Yangtze Rivers
Fu Xi, Shen Nong, and the Yellow Emperor
Gobi Desert and the Tibetan Plateau
Yangshao and Longshan cultures
Xia Dynasty
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50.
Shang Dynasty
Anyang
Xinjiang corpses
veneration of ancestors
oracle bones
Diffusion Hypothesis
"the old hundred names"
Zhou Dynasty
Xian
Mandate of Heaven
silk
the Silk Road
Rites of Zhou
"well field system" and "big rat"
"the Hundred Schools"
Tian or T'ien
yang and yin
Yi Jing/Book of Changes
"human-heartedness"
Confucius
the Analects
Mencius
Legalism
Lao Tzu
Daoism
Dao de Jing
wu wei
Period of Warring States
Qin Dynasty
Qin Shi Huangdi
Xianyang
Sima Qian
Xiongnu
Great Wall
eunuchs
the five relationships
filial piety
the Bao-jia system
Hydraulic Societies
"loess"
Nu Wa
Fu Xuan
Xian's terra-cotta army
blast furnaces and cast iron
Confucian Classics