Define the following: Loess-

Oracle Bone-

Mandate of Heaven-

Dynastic Cycle-

Feudalism-

Loess- a loosely compacted yellowish-gray deposit of windblown sediment of which extensive deposits occur, e.g., in eastern China and the American Midwest
Oracle Bone- are pieces of ox scapula or turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy – a form of divination – in ancient China, mainly during the late Shang dynasty. Scapulimancy is the correct term if ox scapulae were used for the divination, plastromancy if turtle plastrons were used.
Mandate of Heaven- The Mandate of Heaven is a Chinese political and religious teaching that was used in ancient and imperial China to justify the rule of the King or Emperor of China. According to this belief, Heaven embodies the natural order and the will of the just ruler of China, the "Son of Heaven" of the "Celestial Empire".
Dynastic cycle- is an important political theory in the Chinese history. According to this theory, each dynasty in Chinese history, rises to a political, cultural, and economic peak and then, because of moral corruption, declines, loses the Mandate of Heaven, and falls, only to be replaced by a new dynasty.
Feudalism- the dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection.