1.1 Vocab

Imperial bureaucracy

Chinese governmental system, characterized by a strong imperial court and a thorough civil service examination based on Confucian principles.

Meritocracy

A politcal system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead based on the basis of their achievement.

Champa rice

A quick-maturing, drought resistance rice that can allow two harvests per growing season. It was sent to China as a tribute gift from the Champa state during the Song dynasty.

Grand Canal

A vast waterway system connecting north-eastern and central-eastern China. Construction began in the 7th century CE and by the 13th century consisted of over 1100 miles of canals.

Proto-industrialization

A set of economic changes in which people in rural areas made more goods than they could sell, which established the basis if a merchant economy in China for centuries.

Tributary system

Countries that wanted to trade with China would pay money or goods to the Chinese emperor for the privelage of trading with China.

Scholar gentry

Members of China’s landowning families, reflecting their wealth from the land and the privilege that they derived as government officials.

Foot binding

The Chinese practice iof tightly wrapping girl’s feet to keep them small, began in the Tang dynasty; an emphasis on small size and delicacy was central to views of female beauty.

Filial piety

In Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one’s parents and ancestors.

Neo-Confucianism

The revival of Confucian thinking while adding in Buddhist and Daoist elements during the Song Dynasty.

Polygyny

A form of marriage where a man has more than one wife at a time.