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| 5903173950 | loess | Fine grained soil deposited in Ordos region in China bent by winds from central Asia; created fertile soil for sedentary agricultural communities. | 0 | |
| 5903173951 | Zhou | 1029-258 BCE; Originally a vassal family of the Shang China; possibly Turkic in origin; overthrew Shang and established second historical Chinese dynasty. | 1 | |
| 5903173952 | Mandate of Heaven | The divine source for political legitimacy of Chinese rulers; established by Zhou to justify overthrow of Shang. | 2 | |
| 5903173953 | Shang | First Chinese dynasty for which archeological evidence exists; capital located in Ordos bend. | 3 | |
| 5903173954 | feudalism | The social organization created by exchanging grants of land or fiefs in return for formal oaths of allegiance and promises of loyal service; typical of Zhou dynasty and European Middle Ages; greater lords provided protection and aid to lesser lords in return for military service. | 4 | |
| 5903173955 | Wang Mang | Member of one of the powerful families related to the Han emperors through marriage; temporarily overthrew the Han between 9 and 23 CE. | 5 | |
| 5903173956 | Xia | China's first—possibly mythical—kingdom; no archeological sites have been connected to it; ruled by Yu. | 6 | |
| 5903173957 | Liu Bang | Founder of the Han dynasty in 202 BCE. | 7 | |
| 5903173958 | Wu Ti | First of the Zhou to be recognized as king, 1122 BCE. | 8 | |
| 5903173959 | nuclear families | Consisted of husband and wife, their children, and perhaps a grandmother or orphaned cousin; typical of Chinese peasantry. | 9 | |
| 5903173960 | Han dynasty | 202 BCE-220; Chinese dynasty that succeeded the Qin in 202 BCE; ruled for the next 400 years. | 10 | |
| 5903173961 | Ordos bulge | Located on the Huanghe River; region of fertile soil; site of Yangshao and Longshan cultures. | 11 | |
| 5903173962 | Yu | A possibly mythical Chinese ruler revered for the construction of an effective system of flood control along the Huanghe River valley; founder of Xia kingdom. | 12 | |
| 5903173963 | scholar-gentry | Chinese class created by the marital linkage of the local land-holding aristocracy with the office-holding shi; superseded shi as governors of China. | 13 | |
| 5903173964 | Xian | Along with the Loyang, capital of the Zhou dynasty. | 14 | |
| 5903173965 | Confucius | Also known as Kung Fuzi; major Chinese philosopher; born in 6th century BCE; author of Analects; philosophy based on need for restoration of order through advice of superior men to be found among the shi. | 15 | |
| 5903173966 | Mencius | Also known as Meng Ko; follower of Confucius; stressed consent of the common people. | 16 | |
| 5903173967 | Tian | Heaven; an abstract conception in early Chinese religion; possibly the combined spirits of all male ancestors; first appeared during Zhou dynasty. | 17 | |
| 5903173968 | Sunzi | A 4th century BCE advisor to Chinese monarch, who wrote the classic treatise The Art of War. | 18 | |
| 5903173969 | ideographic writing | Pictographic characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing. | 19 | |
| 5903173970 | patrilineal | Family descent and inheritance traced through the male line. | 20 | |
| 5903173971 | Shi Huangdi | Founder of the brief Qin dynasty in 221 BCE. | 21 | |
| 5903173972 | Qin dynasty | 221-202 BCE; Established in 221 BCE by Shi Huangdi at the end of the Warring States period following the decline of the Zhou dynasty; fell in 207 BCE. | 22 | |
| 5903173973 | Loyang | Along with Xian, capital of the Zhou dynasty. | 23 | |
| 5903173974 | oracles | Shamans or priests in Chinese society who foretold the future through interpretations of animal bones cracked by heat; inscriptions on bone led to Chinese writing. | 24 | |
| 5903173975 | Hsiung-nu | Also known as the Huns; horse nomads responsible for the disruption of Chinese, Gupta, and Roman civilizations. | 25 | |
| 5903173976 | secret societies | Chinese peasant organizations; provided financial support in hard times and physical protection in case of disputes with local aristocracy. | 26 | |
| 5903173977 | forbidden city | Imperial precinct within the capital cities of China; only imperial family, advisors, and household were permitted to enter. | 27 | |
| 5903173978 | Yellow River | Also known as the Huanghe; site of development of sedentary agriculture in China. | 28 | |
| 5903173979 | Laozi | Also known as Lao Tsu; major Chinese philosopher; recommended retreat from society into nature; individual should seek to become attuned with Dao. | 29 | |
| 5903173980 | Daoism | Philosophy associated with Laozi; stressed need for alignment with Dao or cosmic force. | 30 | |
| 5903173981 | extended families | Consisted of several generations, including the patriach's sons and grandsons with their wives and children; typical of Shang China elites. | 31 | |
| 5903173982 | vassal retainers | Members of former ruling families granted control over peasant and artisan populations of areas throughout Shang kingdom; indirectly exploited wealth of their territories. | 32 | |
| 5903173983 | Great Wall | Chinese defensive fortification intended to keep out the nomadic invaders from the north; initiated during Qin dynasty and reign of Shi Huangdi. | 33 | |
| 5903173984 | eunuchs | Castrated males used within households of Chinese emperors, usually to guard his concubines; became a political counterbalance to powerful marital relatives during Later Han. | 34 |
