HIST 135 Eastern Civilization
Exam II Review
Historical Periods:
Shang Dynasty (1765-1120 BCE)
Chou Dynasty (1100-221 BCE)
Western Chou (1100-771 BCE)
Eastern Chou (722-221 BCE)Spring-Autumn Period (722-481 BCE)
Warring States Period (403-221 BCE)
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE)
Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE)
Six Dynasties Period (220-589 CE)
Sui Dynasty (589-618 CE)
Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE)
Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 CE)
Southern Song (1128-1279 CE)
Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368 CE)
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE)
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 CE)
Vocabulary and Concepts
Comparisons of "Greek/Western" and
traditional Chinese
worldviews
Yin-Yahng
Shen (spirits, gods)
Guei (ghosts)
Oracle Bones
Shang Ti
Tien (heaven)
Tien Ming (son of heaven)
Ch'i (Qi) (breath, life force, spirit)
Dao (way)
Philosophical Daoism- basic characteristics
Religious Daoism- basic characteristics
Lao Tze
De (power-as-virtue)
Dao De Jing
Chuang Tze
Alchemy / Inner Alchemy
Way of the Celestial Masters
Wu Wei (actionless action)
Qin Shi Huang Di (first emperor-Qin Dynasty)
Silk Road
Confucius
Analects
Ren (human heartedness)
Chun Tze (the noble person)
Li (ritual propriety)
Cheng Ming (rectification of names)
Five Constant Relationships
Xiao (filial piety)
Mencius
Mohism
Legalism
The Sutra in Forty-Two Sections
Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhism
Amiddha Buddha
Guan Yin
Ch'an Buddhism
The Ox-Herding Pictures
The Great Persecution (842-845 CE)
Civil Service Examinations
Song Dynasty Landscape Painting (spatial perception: Chinese and European)
Neo-Confucianism (interpretations of qi and li)
Confucianist/Daoist reactions to and appropriations of Buddhism
The Jesuit Mission (Ming Period)
The Forbidden City and "Cosmic" Architecture
Discussion Questions
1. Explain the fundamental characteristics of traditional Chinese religion and its accompanying worldview(s). How do these compare and contrast with those that have grown out of the Near Eastern and/or Mediterranean civilizations?
2. Explain and discuss how both Daoism and Confucianism responded to the entry of Buddhism into Chinese culture during the Han-to-Tang Periods. How and why was Buddhism embraced by some and not by others?
3. In spite of all of the upheavals and changes in Chinese social, political, and religious history, how and why has Confucianism continued to serves as the basis of Chinese education and social structure? What are some of the specific elements of Confucian thought that have supported this influence?
4. Explain the development and importance of the Civil Service Examination System. What was its intent? What did it emphasize in terms of professional competency? What Western comparisons can be made to this tradition?
5. Discuss the aesthetic and spatial principles that define and inform the landscape painting traditions of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. Compare and contrast them with traditional Western spatial conventions in painting.
6. Define and explain the principles of Neo-Confucianism. How is it "Confucianist" and how did it evolve beyond the Confucian framework? How did it synthesize with other traditional Chinese religious ideas?