| A | B |
|---|
| Mandate of Heaven | The Chinese idea that heaven granted a ruler the right to rule and, in turn, the people owed that ruler their complete loyalty and obedience. |
| Middle Kingdom | Chinese belief that China was the center of the universe. (ethnocentric thinking) |
| Dynasty | Ruling family. |
| Analects | The collected teachings of Confucius. |
| Guomindang/Kuomintang | The Nationalist party first organized by Sun Yat-sen to overthrow the last emperor. |
| Commune | Comminity in which all property is held in common, living quarters are shared, jobs and work are assigned and basic physical needs are provided. |
| Boxer Rebellion | Bloody uprising of a secret Chinese organization against foreigners and Chinese Christians. |
| Taiwan | Island off the east coast of China to which the Nationalists had to flee. |
| Great Leap Forward | Mao's plan for modernization that would take a superhuman effort to achieve. |
| The Red Guards | Group organized by Mao (including many students) which attacked government officials and others who did not fully support Chairman Mao. |
| Little Red Book | Collection of Quotations of Chairman Mao which Chinese citizens were supposed to learn. |
| Cultural Revolution | 1966 Movement, launched by Mao to eliminate those who opposed him, western thought, and anything non-communist, which created chaos in China. |
| Confucius | China's best known philosopher whose ideas helped restore order and harmony in Chinese society. |
| Manchu Dynasty | The last Chinese dynasty overthrown by Sun Yat-sen. |
| Sun Yat-Sen | Military leader who overthrew the last emperor and created the Nationalist party known as the Guomindang/Kuomintang. |
| Chian Kai-Shek | Military leader who replaced Sun Yat-sen after his death in 1925 and later fought against Mao's communist forces for control of China. |
| Mao Zedong | Leader of Communist forces in the late 1920's and eventually leader of China from 1949 until his death in 1976. |
| Long March | 6,000 mile retreating march the communist forces endured beginning in 1934; ended by Japanese invasion of China. |
| Open Door Policy | Policy introduced by the U.S. which called for open trade in China without European countries claiming territories in China. |
| Terracing (Terrace farming) | Efficient form of farming which builds steps in to hillsides in order to be used as farmland. |
| Loess | Yellow-brown soil found in the Huang-He River which helps make land fertile. |
| People's Republic of China | Name for mainland (Communist) China. |
| Republic of China | Name for Taiwan (Republic Government). |
| Communism | Form of government in which citizens have few rights and government has complete control, where there are "no classes" and there is "no private property". |
| Tianamen Square Massacre | Result of a Chinese pro-democracy demonstration in 1989. |
| Responsibility System | Farming (and later industrial) system in China where farmers leased land and made some of their own choices and sold their surplus crops to the government for a profit. |
| Imperialism | One country taking over another. |
| Ethnocentrism | Feeling superior to another culture. |
| SEZ | Special Economic Zones created by Deng Xiaoping to attract foreign capital. |
| Taiping Rebellion | Massive peasant revolt in China. |
| Opium War | War between China and Britain over the trade of opium which resulted in British victory and increased foreign influence over China. |
| Kowtow | Chinese practice of bowing low before China's emperor. |
| Exraterritoriality | Where foreigners used their own courts to be tried when in violation of Chinese law. |
| Golden Age | Periods of peace and prosperity, art and trade. Examples the Song and Tang. |
| Civil Service | System of examinations which helped select qualified canidates for jobs. |
| Social Mobility | The ability to change social class. |
| Silk Road | Ancient trade route linking East Asia and the Mediterranean that fostered cultural diffusion between Europe and Asia. |
| Footbinding | Ancient practice of tightly wrapping the feet of Chinese women making them immobile. |
| Filial Piety | According to Confucianism it is the duty and respect that children owe their parents and adults. |
| Dynasic Cycle | The rise and fall of ruling families. |
| Oracle Bones | Sheep or goat bones upon which priests wounld write questions and interpert answers after these bones were heated. |
| Tibet | Plateau region of southwest Cina where buddism is dominant and the people want their independence. |
| Hong Kong | Islands off the east coast of China which was controlled by Britain from 1842-1997 and is used as a center for trade in Asia. |
| Four Modernizations | Deng Xiaopings plan to make China the industrial equal of the U.S. by the year 2000. |
| Totalitarian | Form of government in which the government controls all aspects of a citizens life. |
| Command Economy | Economic system in which the government makes all of the decisions. |
| Capitalist Economy | Free market economy in which the people make all of the important decisons. |
| Collective Farms | Attempt under Mao to bring some farms together to increase output. |
| Spheres of influence | Areas of China under the conrtol of western powers. |
| Ideographs | Symbols that made up China's first written language. |
| Joint Families | Family structure in which multiple generations live together. |
