Early Civilizations of China

Chinese civilization began along two rivers:

• Chang Jiang (Yangzi River) and Huang He (Yellow River)
• Ganges and Indus
• Nu and Brahmaputra
• Tigris and Euphrates

The first dynasty for which we have clear evidence is the ______________, which was established by the 1500s BC. Strongest in the Huang He valley, the ______________ ruled a broad area of northern China. ______________ emperors ruled until the 1100s BC.

• Shang
• Zhou
• Qin
• Han

The _____________ made many advances, including China’s first writing system. This system used more than 2,000 symbols to express words or ideas. Although the system has gone through changes over the years, the Chinese symbols used today are based on those of the _____________ period.

• Shang
• Zhou
• Qin
• Han

____________ dynasty rulers used ___________________ to predict problems they might face.

• Shang, oracle bones
• Zhou, silk stones
• Qin, oracle bones
• Han, silk stones

The ___________ claimed that they had been chosen by heaven to rule China. They believed that no one could rule without heaven’s permission. This idea that heaven chose China’s ruler was called the ____________________.

• Shang, miracle of heaven
• Zhou, mandate of heaven
• Qin, miracle of heaven
• Han, mandate of heaven

A ruling dynasty could keep power as long as it maintained heaven‘s favor. However, if a dynasty lost that favor, it could be overthrown and replaced.

• True
• False

During the ___________ dynasty, ____________ teaches that a person should try to find his or her place in the universe in order to achieve harmony with nature. It embraced the ancient Chinese concept of yin and yang.

• Shang, Confucianism
• Zhou, Daoism
• Qin, Confucianism
• Han, Daoism

A great teacher of the ___________ dynasty was _________________. His teachings were collected in a book called The Analects.

• Shang, Laozi
• Zhou, Confucius
• Qin, Laozi
• Han, Confucius

The time between the Zhou and Qin dynasties was called China’s _______________ period.

• Shang Dynasty
• Daoism
• Warring States
• Han Dynasty

The ______________ period ended and the Qin dynasty began when the Qin leader _________________ defeated his rivals and united China. His name means “first emperor.”

• Shang Dynasty, Chang Jiang
• Zhou Dynasty, Confucius
• Warring States, Shi Huangdi
• Han, Liu Bang