Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Chinese History - Middle School and High School

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. assimilation
    the process of absorbing one cultural group into another
  6. autocracy
    a political system governed by a single individual
  7. bamboo
    woody tropical grass having hollow woody stems
  8. barbarian
    a member of an uncivilized people
  9. Beijing
    capital of the People's Republic of China in the Hebei province in northeastern China; 2nd largest Chinese city
  10. bourgeoisie
    a socioeconomic group that is neither wealthy nor poor
  11. Buddhism
    a religion represented by the many groups (especially in Asia) that profess various forms of the Buddhist doctrine and that venerate Buddha
  12. bureaucracy
    a government administered primarily by nonelective officials
  13. calligraphy
    beautiful handwriting
  14. canal
    long and narrow strip of water for boats or for irrigation
  15. Cantonese
    the dialect of Chinese spoken in Canton and neighboring provinces and in Hong Kong and elsewhere outside China
  16. cavalry
    troops trained to fight on horseback
  17. censorship
    deleting parts of publications or theatrical performances
  18. census
    a periodic count of the population
  19. centralization
    the act of consolidating power under a single authority
  20. centralized
    located in one place or under control of a single authority
  21. Chang Jiang
    the longest river of Asia
  22. character
    a written symbol that is used to represent speech
  23. Chiang Kai-shek
    Chinese military and political figure
  24. chopstick
    one of a pair of slender sticks used as oriental tableware to eat food with
  25. civilization
    a society in an advanced state of social development
  26. civil service
    the government workforce exclusive of military service
  27. civil war
    a war between factions in the same country
  28. clan
    group of people related by blood or marriage
  29. collective farm
    a farm operated collectively
  30. commerce
    transactions supplying goods and services
  31. commune
    a body of people living together and sharing everything
  32. communism
    a form of socialism that abolishes private ownership
  33. Communist Party
    a political party that actively advocates a communist form of government; in Communist countries it is the sole political party of the state
  34. Confucianism
    the teachings of Confucius emphasizing love for humanity
  35. 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)
  36. conqueror
    someone who is victorious by force of arms
  37. Cultural Revolution
    a radical reform in China initiated by Mao Zedong in 1965 and carried out largely by the Red Guard; intended to eliminate counterrevolutionary elements in the government it resulted in purges of the intellectuals and socioeconomic chaos
  38. Dalai Lama
    chief lama and once ruler of Tibet
  39. democracy
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
  40. Deng Xiaoping
    Chinese communist statesman (1904-1997)
  41. dowager
    a widow holding property received from her deceased husband
  42. dragon
    a mythological creature with a reptile body and wings
  43. dynasty
    a sequence of powerful leaders in the same family
  44. emperor
    the male ruler of an empire
  45. empire
    the domain ruled by a single authoritative sovereign
  46. empress
    a woman emperor or the wife of an emperor
  47. feudalism
    the social system in which vassals were protected by lords
  48. Forbidden City
    a walled section of Beijing that encloses the palace that was formerly the residence of the emperor of China
  49. Genghis Khan
    Mongolian emperor whose empire stretched from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean (1162-1227)
  50. gentry
    the most powerful members of a society
  51. Golden Horde
    a Mongolian army that swept over eastern Europe in the 13th century
  52. governor
    the head of a state authority
  53. Grand Canal
    an inland waterway 1000 miles long in eastern China
  54. grassland
    land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life
  55. 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
  56. Guangzhou
    a city on the Zhu Jiang delta in southern China
  57. gunpowder
    a mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur in a 75:15:10 ratio which is used in gunnery, time fuses, and fireworks
  58. Han dynasty
    imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time from 206 BC to AD 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of Chinese civilization
  59. Hangzhou
    a city of eastern China on Hangzhou Bay
  60. 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
  61. Huang He
    a major river of Asia in northern China
  62. ideograph
    a written or drawn character that represents a concept
  63. imperial
    relating to or associated with an empire
  64. innovation
    the act of starting something for the first time
  65. invasion
    the act of marching aggressively into another's territory
  66. irrigation
    the act of supplying dry land with water by artificial means
  67. isolation
    a country's withdrawal from international politics
  68. jade
    a semiprecious gemstone that is usually green
  69. junk
    any of various Chinese boats with a high poop and lugsails
  70. khan
    a ruler or important person in some Asian countries
  71. khanate
    the realm of a khan
  72. kowtow
    a Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead
  73. 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)
  74. kung fu
    a Chinese martial art
  75. Kuomintang
    the political party founded in 1911 by Sun Yat-sen
  76. lacquer
    a black resinous substance that is used as a natural varnish
  77. landlord
    a property owner who leases property or housing to others
  78. Lao-zi
    Chinese philosopher regarded as the founder of Taoism
  79. legalism
    strict conformity to the law rather than its spirit
  80. legend
    a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
  81. Lenin
    Russian founder of the Bolsheviks and leader of the Russian Revolution and first head of the USSR (1870-1924)
  82. Liao dynasty
    the dynasty that ruled much of Manchuria and northeastern China from 947 to 1125
  83. literacy
    the ability to read and write
  84. loess
    a fine accumulation of clay and silt deposited by the wind
  85. lotus
    native to eastern Asia
  86. magnetic compass
    compass based on an indicator (as a magnetic needle) that points to the magnetic north
  87. Manchu
    the last imperial dynasty of China (from 1644 to 1912) which was overthrown by revolutionaries; during the Qing dynasty China was ruled by the Manchu
  88. Manchuria
    a region in northeastern China
  89. Manchurian
    of or relating to or characteristic of Manchuria or its people or their culture
  90. Mandarin
    the dialect of Chinese spoken in Beijing and adopted as the official language for all of China
  91. mandate
    a document giving an official instruction or command
  92. Maoism
    a form of communism developed in China by Mao Zedong
  93. Mao Zedong
    Chinese communist leader (1893-1976)
  94. Marco Polo
    Venetian traveler who explored Asia in the 13th century and served Kublai Khan (1254-1324)
  95. market economy
    an economy that relies on market forces to determine prices
  96. martial
    suggesting war or military life
  97. martial art
    any of several East Asian arts of weaponless self-defense
  98. martial law
    military rule over civilian affairs
  99. Marxism
    theory that capitalism will be superseded by communism
  100. merchant
    a businessperson engaged in retail trade
  101. Ming dynasty
    the imperial dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644
  102. modernization
    the act of making up-to-date in appearance or behavior
  103. Mongol
    a member of the nomadic peoples of Mongolia
  104. Mongol dynasty
    the imperial dynasty of China from 1279 to 1368
  105. Mongolia
    a vast region in Asia including the Mongolian People's Republic and China's Inner Mongolia
  106. monopoly
    a market in which there are many buyers but only one seller
  107. nationalism
    the doctrine that your country's interests are superior
  108. nationalization
    changing something from private to state control
  109. natural order
    the physical universe considered as an orderly system subject to natural (not human or supernatural) laws
  110. noble
    of or belonging to hereditary aristocracy
  111. nomad
    a member of a people who have no permanent home
  112. nun
    a woman religious
  113. occupation
    the control of a country by forces of a foreign power
  114. open-door policy
    the policy of granting equal trade opportunities to all countries
  115. opium
    an addictive narcotic extracted from seed capsules of the opium poppy
  116. oracle
    a prophecy revealed by a priest or priestess
  117. pagoda
    an Asian temple
  118. papermaking
    the craft of making paper
  119. paper money
    currency issued by a government or central bank and consisting of printed paper that can circulate as a substitute for specie
  120. peasant
    one of a class of agricultural laborers
  121. Peking man
    fossils found near Beijing, China
  122. People's Republic of China
    a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
  123. population control
    control over the growth of population; a government program
  124. porcelain
    ceramic ware made of a more or less translucent ceramic
  125. printing
    reproduction by applying ink to paper as for publication
  126. production
    manufacturing or mining or growing something for sale
  127. proletariat
    a social class comprising those who do manual labor
  128. propaganda
    information that is spread to promote some cause
  129. prosperity
    a state of growth with rising profits and full employment
  130. Qin dynasty
    the Chinese dynasty (from 246 BC to 206 BC) that established the first centralized imperial government and built much of the Great Wall
  131. Qing dynasty
    the last imperial dynasty of China (from 1644 to 1912) which was overthrown by revolutionaries; during the Qing dynasty China was ruled by the Manchu
  132. raid
    a sudden short attack
  133. raider
    someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war)
  134. rebellion
    organized opposition to authority
  135. Red Guard
    a radical political movement by Chinese youths who espoused Maoist principles
  136. regent
    someone who rules during the absence of the monarch
  137. repression
    a state of forcible subjugation
  138. republic
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
  139. Republic of China
    a government on the island of Taiwan established in 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek after the conquest of mainland China by the Communists led by Mao Zedong
  140. revolution
    the overthrow of a government by those who are governed
  141. revolutionary
    advocating or engaged in overthrow of the government
  142. sampan
    an Asian skiff usually propelled by two oars
  143. scholar
    a learned person
  144. Shang dynasty
    the imperial dynasty ruling China from about the 18th to the 12th centuries BC
  145. Shanghai
    the largest city of China
  146. silk
    a fabric made from the fine threads produced by larvae
  147. Silk Road
    an ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean
  148. silt
    mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
  149. slave
    a person who is forcibly held in servitude
  150. social class
    a group of people sharing similar wealth and status
  151. socialism
    an economic system based on state ownership of capital
  152. Song dynasty
    the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279
  153. sphere of influence
    the area over which a nation has power or control
  154. spirit
    any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible
  155. steppe
    an extensive plain without trees
  156. stirrup
    support consisting of metal loops into which rider's feet go
  157. Sun Yixian
    Chinese statesman who organized the Kuomintang and led the revolution that overthrew the Manchu dynasty in 1911 and 1912 (1866-1925)
  158. Taiwan
    an island in southeastern Asia 100 miles off the coast of mainland China in the South China Sea
  159. Taklimakan Desert
    a desert in western China
  160. Tang dynasty
    the imperial dynasty of China from 618 to 907
  161. Taoism
    philosophical system developed by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events
  162. tea
    the name of tea in various languages
  163. technology
    the practical application of science to commerce or industry
  164. terra cotta
    clay fired for pottery and building material, or the finished object
  165. territory
    a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
  166. Tibet
    an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China
  167. trade
    the commercial exchange of goods and services
  168. tribute
    payment by one nation for protection by another
  169. warlord
    a military leader who controls a region or territory
  170. warrior
    someone engaged in or experienced in warfare
  171. Wei dynasty
    any of several imperial dynasties of China ruling from 220 to 265 and from 386 to 556
  172. wheelbarrow
    a cart for carrying small loads
  173. Xian
    a city of central China
  174. yang
    the bright positive principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology
  175. yin
    the dark, negative principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology
  176. Yuan dynasty
    the imperial dynasty of China from 1279 to 1368
  177. yurt
    a circular domed dwelling that is portable
  178. Zhou dynasty
    the imperial dynasty of China from 1122 to 221 BC
  179. Zhou En-lai
    Chinese revolutionary and communist leader (1898-1976)
Created on Tue Feb 21 16:43:33 EST 2017 (updated Fri Mar 31 11:36:08 EDT 2017)

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