Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Chinese History - Introductory

Review these words and take a tour of China from the imperial dynasties to the present day. You'll learn about the silk trade, pagodas, calligraphy, communism, and more.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acupuncture
    treatment of illness by inserting thin needles in the skin
  2. agriculture
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  3. ancestor
    someone from whom you are descended
  4. artisan
    a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
  5. bamboo
    woody tropical grass having hollow woody stems
  6. Beijing
    capital of the People's Republic of China in the Hebei province in northeastern China; 2nd largest Chinese city
  7. Buddhism
    a religion represented by the many groups (especially in Asia) that profess various forms of the Buddhist doctrine and that venerate Buddha
  8. bureaucracy
    a government administered primarily by nonelective officials
  9. calligraphy
    beautiful handwriting
  10. canal
    long and narrow strip of water for boats or for irrigation
  11. Cantonese
    the dialect of Chinese spoken in Canton and neighboring provinces and in Hong Kong and elsewhere outside China
  12. cavalry
    troops trained to fight on horseback
  13. census
    a periodic count of the population
  14. character
    a written symbol that is used to represent speech
  15. Chiang Kai-shek
    Chinese military and political figure
  16. chopstick
    one of a pair of slender sticks used as oriental tableware to eat food with
  17. civilization
    a society in an advanced state of social development
  18. civil service
    the government workforce exclusive of military service
  19. civil war
    a war between factions in the same country
  20. clan
    group of people related by blood or marriage
  21. communism
    a form of socialism that abolishes private ownership
  22. Confucius
    Chinese philosopher whose ideas and sayings were collected after his death and became the basis of a philosophical doctrine known a Confucianism (circa 551-478 BC)
  23. conqueror
    someone who is victorious by force of arms
  24. Deng Xiaoping
    Chinese communist statesman (1904-1997)
  25. dragon
    a mythological creature with a reptile body and wings
  26. dynasty
    a sequence of powerful leaders in the same family
  27. emperor
    the male ruler of an empire
  28. empire
    the domain ruled by a single authoritative sovereign
  29. empress
    a woman emperor or the wife of an emperor
  30. feudalism
    the social system in which vassals were protected by lords
  31. Forbidden City
    a walled section of Beijing that encloses the palace that was formerly the residence of the emperor of China
  32. Genghis Khan
    Mongolian emperor whose empire stretched from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean (1162-1227)
  33. gentry
    the most powerful members of a society
  34. governor
    the head of a state authority
  35. Grand Canal
    an inland waterway 1000 miles long in eastern China
  36. grassland
    land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life
  37. Great Wall of China
    a fortification 1,500 miles long built across northern China in the 3rd century BC; it averages 6 meters in width
  38. gunpowder
    a mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur in a 75:15:10 ratio which is used in gunnery, time fuses, and fireworks
  39. Hong Kong
    formerly a Crown Colony on the coast of southern China in Guangdong province; leased by China to Britain in 1842 and returned in 1997; one of the world's leading commercial centers
  40. ideograph
    a written or drawn character that represents a concept
  41. imperial
    relating to or associated with an empire
  42. invasion
    the act of marching aggressively into another's territory
  43. irrigation
    the act of supplying dry land with water by artificial means
  44. jade
    a semiprecious gemstone that is usually green
  45. junk
    any of various Chinese boats with a high poop and lugsails
  46. khan
    a ruler or important person in some Asian countries
  47. kowtow
    a Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead
  48. Kublai Khan
    Mongolian emperor of China and grandson of Genghis Khan who completed his grandfather's conquest of China; he establish the Yuan dynasty and built a great capital on the site of modern Beijing where he received Marco Polo (1216-1294)
  49. lacquer
    a black resinous substance that is used as a natural varnish
  50. landlord
    a property owner who leases property or housing to others
  51. legalism
    strict conformity to the law rather than its spirit
  52. legend
    a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
  53. literacy
    the ability to read and write
  54. magnetic compass
    compass based on an indicator (as a magnetic needle) that points to the magnetic north
  55. Mandarin
    the dialect of Chinese spoken in Beijing and adopted as the official language for all of China
  56. Mao Zedong
    Chinese communist leader (1893-1976)
  57. Marco Polo
    Venetian traveler who explored Asia in the 13th century and served Kublai Khan (1254-1324)
  58. martial art
    any of several East Asian arts of weaponless self-defense
  59. merchant
    a businessperson engaged in retail trade
  60. modernization
    the act of making up-to-date in appearance or behavior
  61. Mongol
    a member of the nomadic peoples of Mongolia
  62. noble
    of or belonging to hereditary aristocracy
  63. nomad
    a member of a people who have no permanent home
  64. oracle
    a prophecy revealed by a priest or priestess
  65. pagoda
    an Asian temple
  66. papermaking
    the craft of making paper
  67. paper money
    currency issued by a government or central bank and consisting of printed paper that can circulate as a substitute for specie
  68. peasant
    one of a class of agricultural laborers
  69. People's Republic of China
    a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
  70. porcelain
    ceramic ware made of a more or less translucent ceramic
  71. printing
    reproduction by applying ink to paper as for publication
  72. prosperity
    a state of growth with rising profits and full employment
  73. raid
    a sudden short attack
  74. raider
    someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war)
  75. rebellion
    organized opposition to authority
  76. revolution
    the overthrow of a government by those who are governed
  77. scholar
    a learned person
  78. Shanghai
    the largest city of China
  79. silk
    a fabric made from the fine threads produced by larvae
  80. Silk Road
    an ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean
  81. silt
    mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
  82. slave
    a person who is forcibly held in servitude
  83. spirit
    any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible
  84. steppe
    an extensive plain without trees
  85. stirrup
    support consisting of metal loops into which rider's feet go
  86. Taiwan
    an island in southeastern Asia 100 miles off the coast of mainland China in the South China Sea
  87. Taoism
    philosophical system developed by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events
  88. tea
    the name of tea in various languages
  89. technology
    the practical application of science to commerce or industry
  90. terra cotta
    clay fired for pottery and building material, or the finished object
  91. territory
    a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
  92. trade
    the commercial exchange of goods and services
  93. tribute
    payment by one nation for protection by another
  94. warlord
    a military leader who controls a region or territory
  95. warrior
    someone engaged in or experienced in warfare
  96. wheelbarrow
    a cart for carrying small loads
  97. yang
    the bright positive principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology
  98. yin
    the dark, negative principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology
  99. yurt
    a circular domed dwelling that is portable
Created on Wed Feb 22 10:49:46 EST 2017 (updated Fri Mar 31 11:35:55 EDT 2017)

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