Early dynasties grew near a northern river whose silt made farming possible and whose floods could devastate villages. Which region best fits this pattern?

What did mountains, deserts and high plateaus on China's western edges do for early Chinese civilization?

A culture that called its land Zhongguo saw itself in what way?

Why could the same northern river support early states and also threaten their stability?

Which dynasty is the earliest Chinese ruling house supported by solid archaeological evidence?

Diviners heated inscribed bones and shells, then read the cracks. What do these finds let historians study directly?

Which materials did Shang diviners mainly use as oracle bones?

What kind of writing did Shang oracle-bone characters help develop?

A Shang tomb contains heavy cups, goblets and cauldrons made by skilled metalworkers. What role did such objects most often serve?

Why is Anyang especially important for studying the late Shang?

Which statement best describes Shang kingship?

Around 1046 BCE, King Wu led a rival ruling house against the old rulers. What was the result?

Before they took power, where was the Zhou homeland in relation to the Shang core?

After conquering the Shang, how did the Zhou treat part of the Shang royal family?

Which practice shows continuity between the Shang and the dynasty that followed?

A large conquered territory could not be run from one court alone. What arrangement did the early Zhou use?

When local chiefs received aristocratic titles under the Zhou, what did they owe in return?

The Western Zhou ended after a sack of Haojing in 771 BCE. What change followed?

Which doctrine said a ruler's authority in early China depended on approval from a higher cosmic power?

How did the Zhou explain why replacing the Shang dynasty was legitimate?

Under the Mandate of Heaven, what did a ruling house need to show in order to keep power?

In the dynastic-cycle pattern, what could floods, famine and rebellion signal?

Which statement correctly describes how the Mandate of Heaven limited the right to inherit the throne?

The Mandate of Heaven could encourage both loyalty to one ruler and rebellion against a ruler. Why?

A later conqueror claimed that restoring order proved its right to rule China. Which earlier idea was that conqueror using?

Which comparison of the Shang and Zhou dynasties is accurate?

How did Zhou ritual policy differ from late Shang practice?

Before they led the conquest of the Shang, what role did the Zhou people play in the Shang world?

Which contrast best fits the political systems of the Shang and Zhou dynasties?

What major political idea separated Zhou claims from Shang religious rule?