Around 221 BCE the Qin state conquered all of its rival Chinese states, ending the long Warring States period. What kind of government did this create in China?

Qin rulers governed with strict written laws, close control of the people, and harsh punishments for anyone who broke the rules. Which early Chinese belief system is this?

Qin officials set one standard for weights, measures, coins, and writing across all the lands the dynasty had conquered. What problem was this meant to solve?

The first Qin emperor ordered older walls in the north to be joined and extended into one long barrier. What was the main purpose of that barrier?

What were the Qin dynasty's walls along China's dry northern frontier mostly built from?

Building and joining the Qin dynasty's northern walls took enormous numbers of workers over many years. Who did most of that work?

Most of the brick and stone Great Wall that visitors see in northern China today was built many centuries after the Qin. Which dynasty built it?

The Qin dynasty joined and extended walls that earlier northern states had already built.

The Qin dynasty held power for only about fifteen years before revolts brought it down. Roughly how long did the Han dynasty that followed it rule?

Han rulers kept the strong central government the Qin had built, but replaced Legalism as the guide for law and for training officials. Which belief system did they turn to instead?

One early Chinese belief system taught people to live simply, avoid struggle, and stay in harmony with the natural order rather than with busy public duty. What is it called?

Han government depended on a large body of trained officials who collected taxes, kept records, and carried out the emperor's orders in every province. What is such a system of officials called?

The Silk Roads were not one paved highway running from China to Europe. What were they instead?

In the 100s BCE the envoy Zhang Qian, sent far west by his emperor, returned with reports of Central Asian peoples, horses, and goods, and regular long-distance trade followed. Which dynasty sent him?

Which Chinese product was prized so highly in markets far to the west that the whole trade network came to be named after it?

Traders and travelers moving along the Silk Roads carried beliefs as well as goods. Which belief system spread from India into China along these routes?

Most Silk Roads merchants traveled only one stretch of the route and sold their loads to other traders. What does that tell you about a bolt of silk that reached the Mediterranean?

Caravans heading west from China crossed dry basins and deserts, stopping at small towns watered by springs and streams from nearby mountains. Why were those oasis towns essential?

During the Han period Chinese workers developed a light writing material made from pounded plant fibers pressed into thin sheets. What was it?

The Silk Roads carried diseases between distant regions along with trade goods.