Flashcards: Ancient Civilizations Eastern
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Created by:
HistoryofCrawford on December 12, 2011
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Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Harappa | Ancient Indian civilization named after a city. We know very little about them. |
| Hinduism | Religion, headquartered in India, that believes that everyone is part of the supreme being (Brahman) and is reincarnated until ready to rejoin that being. |
| Varna/caste system | Hindu system of social status that divides the people into four groups. |
| pariah/untouchable | People who live outside the caste system and are considered too low to associate with in India. |
| monism | The belief in one god with many different parts. |
| nirvana | In Hinduism, achieving a point when one is released from the cycle of rebirth and rejoining Brahman. |
| karma | The idea that our actions, good or bad, come back to us. |
| Buddha | An Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama, who renounced his wealth and social position. After becoming 'enlightened' and then began teaching other people to be enlightened also. |
| Buddhism | Religion that teaches that suffering is the result of worldly desires, and renouncing these desires will lead to enlightenment. |
| Eightfold Path | In Buddhism, the basic rules of behavior and belief leading to an end of suffering |
| Shang | The first known dynasty in China. |
| animism | The belief that a spirit inhabits everyone on the earth. |
| autocracy | When one person has absolute power. |
| Zhou | Chinese dynasty that conquered the Shang and created the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to justify their rule. |
| Mandate of Heaven | The idea that a dynasty rules because the gods wish it so. Any family that loses the Mandate of Heaven can be conquered. |
| Cheng | Usually called Shi Hsuang Ti (the First Emperor). He founded Qin Dynasty and was the first to unite China. |
| Han | Imperial dynasty that ruled China from 206 BC to 221 AD. Expanded China's boundaries and developed its bureaucracy. Also the predominant ethnic group in China. |
| Liu Ch`e | Also known as Wu Ti, Han emperor best known for massive expansion. |
| Silk Road | An ancient overland trade route between China and the Mediterranean (4,000 miles). |
| Confucius | Chinese philosopher whose doctrine of duty and public service had a great influence on subsequent Chinese thought and served as a code of conduct for government officials. |
| Daoism | Chinese philosophy advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events. |