| A | B |
|---|
| acupuncture: | traditional Chinese medical practice in which thin needles are inserted into the body along "energy paths" in order to equalize the flow of energy and help the body heal itself. |
| Analects: | writings of Chinese philosopher Confucius. |
| ancestor worship: | the practice in Imperial China of revering, respecting, and praying to one's deceased ancestors. |
| ancestors: | the relatives from whom a person is descended, such as parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. |
| arable: | referring to land which can be, or is being, farmed. Much of China's land is not arable due to its mountains and deserts. Only the eastern third of the country can actually be farmed. This eastern third, where the population density is the highest, is referred to as China Proper. |
| astrology: | the belief that heavenly bodies, such as the moon and planets, can influence human life. Astrologists (practitioners of astrology) attempt to determine human behavior and the future by studying these heavenly bodies. |
| Beijing: | the capital of China; formerly transcribed (written) into the English language as Peking. |
| bureaucrat: | a government official. During China's dynastic period it had a very large bureaucracy of officials, most of whom obtained their positions by taking the Civil Service Examination. |
| Chang Jiang (Ch'ang Chiang, Yangzi, or Yangtze): | ("Long River"): a major river in China which supports agricultural and industrial productivity; the longest river in Asia (3,430 miles). Regarded as the dividing line between north and south China, the Yangzi cuts through dangerous gorges in its upper reaches, while its fertile eastern delta supports one of the most prosperous and populous regions of China. |
| child bride: | a young girl in Imperial China who, as part of an arranged marriage, was betrothed to a young boy. It was not unusual for a girl under such an arrangement to live with, and be raised by, the boy's parents. As young adults the couple would then marry. |
| China's Savior: | refers to the Huang He (Yellow River) since the river provides life-giving water to the farmers who live along its banks. (see China's Sorrow) |
| China's Sorrow: | refers to the Huang He (Yellow River), which despite being the lifeline of the Chinese people, also causes much death, destruction, and havoc when it overflows its banks. (see China's Savior) |
| civil service: | government employment. In Imperial China, government jobs were given to those who passed the Civil Service Examination. To ensure impartiality and loyalty to the emperor, no one could serve in the province of their birth or hold a specific job for more than three years. |
| Confucianism: | a religious and ethical system in Imperial China which follows the philosophy of Confucius. Confucianism stresses order in society and filial piety. |
| Daoism (Taoism): | a religious and ethical system in Imperial China which stresses living in harmony with nature. Some Daoists sought immortality through magic and alchemy. |
| dry-rice cultivation: | the growing of rice without the use of irrigation, such as flooded rice paddies. |
| emperor: | hereditary ruler of China during dynastic times. China has had many emperors in its long history. The last emperor was Pu-Yi who was forced to abdicate to be replaced by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and the Republic of China in 1912. |
| ethnocentrism: | the belief or attitude that one's own culture is superior to all others. Anthropologists oppose ethnocentrism, believing that we should respect all cultures and their beliefs. |
| filial piety: | the attitude of respect shown by younger relatives to older ones, especially one's parents. Filial piety also included showing respect to the emperor in Imperial China. |
| Gobi Desert: | large, dry, arid, sparsely populated region in north-central China; derived from the Mongol word "govi" for arid pastureland. |
| Grand Canal: | system of ancient artificial waterways, (built approximately 2,000 years ago) which connected Beijing to the Chang Jiang (Yangzi River) delta (Hangzhou on the lower Huang He or Yellow River). This system of canals and rivers was an important transportation and trade link between southern China and the imperial capital, and also provided a means to send troops to the northern frontier to guard China's borders against attacks from the northern "barbarians." |
| Great Wall: | major structure built by China, beginning in the 8th century B.C., as a defense against invading nomadic tribes to the north. Its construction spanned many centuries with expansion and restoration occurring up through the Ming dynasty. The wall is so large that it is the only man-made structure which can be seen from the moon without a telescope. |
| Huang He (Hwang Ho or Yellow River): | the second longest waterway in China, flowing 2,900 miles from Qinghai, north through Inner Mongolia, and then bending south and east out to the Gulf of Bohai at Shandong province. Heavy silting caused constant floods. (see entries "China's Savior" and "China's Sorrow") |
| ideograph: | a symbol in Chinese picture writing which represents an idea rather than a sound. |
| kowtow: | deep bows practiced by subordinates to show respect for the emperor. It was expected that Westerners who visited China during dynastic times were to perform the ceremony as well. |
| lacquerware: | brightly painted objects finished with a thick, clear varnish. Lacquer was used in ancient China as far back as 2300 BCE |
| Legalism: | political philosophy in ancient China which encouraged strict observation of the law. Minor offenses were seriously punished in the hope that people would be discouraged from committing more serious ones. |
| Legendary period: | earliest dynastic times for which no written records exist. Knowledge of these events is known only from legends and archaeology. |
| loess: | in China, an extremely fertile, fine, yellow-colored soil blown by the wind from the Gobi Desert into the plains area which provides a source of rich farmland. |
| Mandate of Heaven: | the belief in dynastic China that the emperor was given the right to rule by the gods. If he were a just ruler he kept the mandate, but if he were not a good ruler the mandate (the right to rule) could be taken away from him and given to another ruler. The Mandate of Heaven was, therefore, later interpreted as the "Right of Rebellion." |
| Middle Kingdom: | term used by the Chinese during dynastic times to suggest that their country was the center of the world. This attitude is an example of Chinese ethnocentrism. |
| North China Plain: | major agricultural region in northern China; possesses fertile loess soil, deposited by the wind which carries it from the Gobi Desert. |
| paddy (rice paddy): | fields which are flooded with water in order to cultivate rice. |
| Peking Man: | earliest man found in China, dating back to more than 600,000 years ago. Peking Man appears to have been a primitive hunter-gatherer. |
| Shanghai: | major city in China, located below the mouth of the Chang Jiang (Yangzi River). |
| Silk Road: | an overland trade route from the Middle East to China over which traveled not only silks and spices from China, but ideas (such as Buddhism) from India. |
| Taiwan: | island located off the coast of mainland China; home of the Republic of China (ROC) or Nationalist China, which considers itself to be the true government-in-exile of all of China. |
| Taklamakan Desert: | arid region in western China. Although the Taklamakan and the Gobi Deserts are both rich in mineral resources, few people live in these dry, arid, and isolated regions. |
| Tibet (Xizang [Hsi-tsang] in Mandarin): | taken over by the Chinese in 1950 and named an "autonomous region." Capital: Lhasa. Tibetans protested violently against Chinese rule in 1959 and again in 1988. |
| tonal: | referring to a language in which the raising or lowering of the tone of one's voice conveys a different meaning. Chinese is a tonal language. |
| tributery system: | government system in which lesser countries or territories are forced to give payment of money or gifts to more powerful countries. China in dynastic times received tribute from other surrounding countries. |
| Xi Jiang (Hsi or West River): | it is believed that the earliest civilization in China developed around the Xi Jiang. |
| yin and yang: | the balance of opposing forces. In China they are viewed as the major forces of life. Yin and yang complement each other, one being positive and one negative, one male and one female, one light and one dark, etc. |
| Zhong Guo (Chung Kuo): | meaning "Middle Kingdom or Middle Country"; term used by the Chinese during dynastic times to suggest that their country was the center of the world. This attitude is an example of Chinese ethnocentrism. |
