The Global Tapestry from c.1200 to c.1450

Vocabulary flashcards about the global tapestry from c.1200 to c.1450.

Imperial Bureaucracy

The vast organization in which appointed officials carried out the empire's policies.

Meritocracy

A system in which officials obtained their positions by demonstrating their merit on civil service exams.

Grand Canal

An inexpensive and efficient internal waterway transportation system that extended over 30,000 miles.

Champa rice

A fast-ripening and drought-resistant strain of rice from the Champa Kingdom in present-day Vietnam.

Proto-industrialization

A set of economic changes in which people in rural areas made more goods than they could sell.

Artisans

Skilled craftspeople who produced steel and other products.

Tributary system

An arrangement in which other states had to pay money or provide goods to honor the Chinese emperor.

Kowtow

A ritual in which anyone greeting the Chinese emperor must bow his or her head until it reached the floor.

Scholar gentry

The new social class created through bureaucratic expansion, educated in Confucian philosophy and becoming the most influential social class in China.

Filial piety

The duty of family members to subordinate their needs and desires to those of the male head of the family or its ruler.

Foot binding

A distinctive constraint on women's activities in China where girls had their feet wrapped so tightly that the bones did not grow naturally.

Woodblock printing

The first culture to use woodblock printing.

Chan (Zen) Buddhism

The fusion of Buddhist doctrines with elements of Daoist traditions.

Neo-Confucianism

A syncretic faith that evolved in China, focusing on social and ethical philosophy, combining rational thought with the more abstract ideas of Taoism and Buddhism.

Sinification

The assimilation of Chinese traditions and practices.

Shogun

The military ruler installed by the Minamoto clan to reign over Japan.

Polygyny

The practice of having more than one wife at the same time.

Hijab

A term that can refer either to the practice of dressing modestly or to a specific type of covering.

Harem

A dwelling set aside for wives, concubines, and the children of these women.

Proselytize

Actively seek converts

Animism

The belief that elements of the physical world could have supernatural powers.

Matrilineal Society

Society where social standing was determined by the woman's side of the family.

Mita System

A system of mandatory public service in the Incan Empire.

Chiefs (Africa)

Chiefs of kin-based networks that mediated conflicts and dealt with neighboring groups.

Trans-Saharan Trade

A network of trading routes across the Sahara Desert.

Zanj

Enslaved East Africans

Griots

Storytellers who were the conduits of history for a community.

Code of Chivalry

Unwritten set of rules for conduct focusing on honor, courtesy, and bravery as a way to resolve disputes

Manors

Large fiefs or estates

Manorial System

System that provided both economic self-sufficiency and defense

Serfs

Serfs, while not slaves, were tied to the land. This meant they could not travel without permission from their lords. Nor could they marry without their lord's approval.

English Parliament

Legislative bodies in England

Renaissance

A revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman literature, art, culture, and civic virtue.

Humanism

The focus on individuals rather than God.