SOCIAL STUDIES CHAPTER 5 VOCABULARY: ANCIENT CHINA
Loess: yellow-brown soil
Dike: a protective wall that controls or holds back water
Extended Family: closely related people of several generations
Confucius: (551 – 479 B.C.) a Chinese philosopher and teacher whose
beliefs had a great influence on Chinese life
Philosophy: a system of beliefs and values
Civil Service: the group of people whose job it is to carry out the work
of the government
Shi Huangdi: founder of the Qin dynasty and China’s first emperor
Currency: the type of money used by a group or nation
Liu Bang: the founder of the Han dynasty
Wudi: Chinese emperor who brought the Han dynasty to its greatest
strength
Warlord: a local leader of an armed group
Silk Road: an ancient trade route between China and Europe
Silk: a valuable cloth made only in China from threads spun by
caterpillars called silkworms
SimaQian: a Chinese scholar, astronomer, and historian; author of the
most important history of ancient China, Historical Records