China Vocabulary

5. a power or law believed to be granted by the heavens
7. each dynasty rises to a political, cultural, and economic peak and then, because of moral corruption, declines, loses the Mandate of Heaven, and falls, only to be replaced by a new dynasty
8. a Chinese philosophy that emphasizes strict obedience to laws
9. to set apart from other people or things
11. the differences between people or things, when they are compared
14. light, fertile soil that yields bountiful grain crops
16. to improve the quality of something
17. a region in the Huang He River valley, where Chinese civilization began
20. a part or section of a country
21. a Chinese philosophy that emphasizes living in harmony with nature
23. a stream or river that feeds into a larger stream, river, or lake
25. a person who works for a government

1. a stone-and-earth wall about 1,500 miles long, first built during the Qin dynasty to defend China’s northern boundary
2. to exchange or share thoughts, feelings, or information with people, using words, writings, or other methods
3. a large group of family members and friends
4. a strong metal alloy made from copper
6. worship honoring of ancestors through rituals, such as offering food and wine to the spirits of the dead
10. a piece of bone or shell heated and cracked by holy men to seek advice from a king’s ancestors
12. a network of trade routes that stretched for more than four thousand miles across Asia
13. the religion which teaches that life brings suffering that one can escape through happiness and peace
15. a Chinese philosophy that emphasizes proper behavior
18. the Daoist concept of opposing forces of nature
19. able to live forever
22. places, usually in a desert, where water can be found
24. the average weather conditions at a particular place