APWHY Unit 1.1 China

Grand Canal

Built in 7th century during Sui dynasty; designed to link the original centers of Chinese civilization on the north China plain with the Yangtze river basin to the south; nearly 1200 miles long.

Champa Rice

Quick-maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season. Originally introduced into Champa from India, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift by the Champa state (as part of the tributary system.)

kowtow

a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission

Confucianism

The system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct.

Daoism/Taoism

A Chinese philosophy where people practice humility, lead a simple life and have harmony with nature

Mahayana Buddhism

"Great Vehicle" branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence for Buddha, enlightened persons who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment.

Neo-Confucianism

The Confucian response to Buddhism by taking Confucian and Buddhist beliefs and combining them into this. However, it is still very much Confucian in belief.

Buddhism in China

Spread by the Silk Roads. During Han rule, the message of escape from suffering offered more hope to the people than Daoism/Confucianism. Buddhism really spread during the Tang Dynasty, became known as the Age of Buddhism

Scholar-gentry

The Chinese class of well-educated men from whom many bureaucrats were chosen

Civil Service Exam

In Imperial China starting in the Han dynasty, it was an exam based on Confucian teachings that was used to select people for various government service jobs in the nationwide administrative bureaucracy.

Zen Buddhism

Known as Chan Buddhism in China; stressed meditation and the appreciation of natural and artistic beauty

Foot Binding

Practice in Chinese society to mutilate women's feet in order to make them smaller; produced pain and restricted women's movement; made it easier to confine women to the household.

Foot binding is probably the best example of the

increasingly patriarchal nature of Chinese society

Qin Dynasty

the Chinese dynasty (from 246 BC to 206 BC) that established the first centralized imperial government and built much of the Great Wall

Shang Dynasty

(1766-1122 BCE) The Chinese dynasty that rose to power due to bronze metalurgy, war chariots, and a vast network of walled towns whose recognized this dynasty as the superior.

Mandate from Heaven

The belief that an emperor has an allowance from heaven to rule; this is revoked during times of disaster

Dynastic Cycle

rise and fall of Chinese dynasties according to the Mandate of Heaven

Zhou Dynasty

A decentralized Chinese dynasty in China because of the massive size, and whose emperor was the first to claim to be a link between heaven and earth. Iron metallurgy increased in this dynasty.

Great Wall of China

world's longest man made structure built to keep invaders from the north out of China, started by the Qin Dynasty, expanded by the Han Dynasty,

tributary state

A country that pays tribute in money or goods to a more powerful nation

Legalism

Chinese philosophy developed by Hanfeizi; taught that humans are naturally evil and therefore need to be ruled by harsh laws

Song Dynasty

(960-1279 CE) The Chinese dynasty that placed much more emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and arts other than military.

Meritocracy

a system in which promotion is based on individual ability or achievement

Gunpowder

Invented within China during the 9th century, this substance was used in fireworks and became the dominate military technology used to expand European and Asian empires by the 15th century.

Sui Dynasty

The short dynasty between the Han and the Tang; built the Grand Canal, strengthened the government, and introduced Buddhism to China

Han Dynasty

(202 BCE-220 CE) This dynasty continued the centralization of the Qin Dynasty, but focused on Confucianism and education instead of Legalim.

Tang Dynasty (618-907)

is considered another golden age of Chinese culture: during the Tang period moveable type was invented.

Filial Piety

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