East Meets West Exam 1 - Study Guide Questions

What philosophy shaped social hierarchy in East Asia?

Confucianism; emphasizes hierarchy, filial piety, loyalty, and moral cultivation.

What are the two major types of traditional East Asian painting?

Literati painting (scholar-artists, expressive) and Court/Professional painting (formal, decorative)

What do cardinal animals and colors represent?

Cosmic order and protection tied to directions (e.g., Azure Dragon–East, Vermilion Bird–South)

Who created literati painting?

Scholar-officials and educated elites

Who created court (professional) painting?

Trained artists employed by the imperial court.

What is the main purpose of literati painting?

Personal expression and moral/intellectual cultivation.

What is the main purpose of court painting?

To serve the emperor and display imperial power and order.

What style characterizes literati painting?

Loose, expressive brushwork; emphasis on ink and calligraphy.

What style characterizes court painting?

Precise, detailed, colorful, and polished technique.

What subjects are common in literati painting?

Landscapes, nature, poetry-related themes.

What subjects are common in court painting?

Court life, portraits, ceremonies, auspicious symbols.

What does literati painting value most?

Spirit, idea, and personal expression over realism.

What does court painting value most?

Technical skill, realism, and visual splendor.

Who was the intended audience for literati painting?

 The artist and fellow scholars.

Who was the intended audience for court painting?

The emperor and the imperial court.

What animals represent the four cardinal directions in East Asian cosmology?

• East: Blue Dragon
  
  

• South: Red Phoenix
  
  

• West: White Tiger
  
  

• North: Black Tortoise and Snake
  

• Center: Yellow/Gold Dragon

What are the three main types of pottery?

Earthenware, stoneware, porcelain.

What material is essential for porcelain?

Kaolin clay

Name key ceramic forms and styles

Haniwa, Tang Sancai, celadon, Buncheong ware, Blue-and-White porcelain, Moon jar.

What do porcelain symbols often represent?

Fertility, longevity, high rank.

What is earthenware and its firing temperature?

Low-fired pottery; approx. 700–900°C. Porous, reddish or buff color.
Examples: Haniwa.

What is stoneware and its firing temperature?

High-fired pottery; approx. 1,000–1,200°C. Dense, durable, usually gray or brown.
Examples: Buncheong ware, celadon.

What is porcelain and its firing temperature?

Very high-fired pottery made with kaolin; approx. 1,200–1,400°C. White, translucent, vitrified.
Examples: Blue-and-White porcelain, Moon jar, Jingdezhen wares.

What conflict led to the spread of Korean ceramic knowledge to Japan?

Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598).

Who led the Japanese invasion of Korea?

Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Which Korean admiral defended Korea using turtle ships?

Admiral Yi Sunsin (1545–1598)

Who is associated with Joseon Korea’s cultural flourishing?

King Sejong the Great (r. 1418–1450).

Which Korean potter helped establish Japanese porcelain?

Yi Sam-pyong.

What Japanese aesthetic values imperfection and simplicity?

Wabi-Sabi; associated with Sen no Rikyu.

Name Japanese porcelain styles influenced by Korea.

Karatsu, Arita, Kakiemon, Nabeshima ware.

 What events intensified East–West trade?

The Crusades and the Age of Discovery (15th–17th c.).

Who were key European explorers?

Prince Henry the Navigator, Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Columbus, Magellan.

What divided colonial territories between Spain and Portugal?

Line of Demarcation (Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494).

What were early European collection spaces called?

Wunderkammern / Cabinets of Curiosities.

What company dominated Asian trade for the Dutch?

VOC (Dutch East India Company).

What is the difference between soft-paste and hard-paste porcelain?

Hard-paste uses kaolin; soft-paste does not.

Where was Europe’s first true porcelain made?

Meissen, Germany (early 18th c.).

Who discovered the Meissen porcelain formula?

Johann Friedrich Böttger.

What was “Chinamania”?

European obsession with Chinese aesthetics (16th–17th c.).

What were the Silk Roads?

Trade networks linking East Asia, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean.

Who opened Silk Road diplomacy during the Han dynasty?

Zhang Qian (2nd century BCE).

Name major goods exchanged.

Silk, tea, horses, spices, Roman glass, Indian cotton.

What disease spread along Silk Road routes?

Black Death (14th century).

Name major Silk Road cities.

Xi’an, Dunhuang, Samarkand, Kashgar, Petra, Palmyra, Rome.

Which nomadic groups interacted with China?

Xiongnu, Yuezhi, Mongols.

Who unified the Mongol Empire?

Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227).

Which Mongol rulers governed after him?

Ogedei Khan, Kublai Khan.

Who was a famous European traveler to Yuan China?

Marco Polo.

Who founded Buddhism?

Shakyamuni (Siddhartha Gautama), 563–483 BCE.

What are the Four Sights?

Old age, sickness, death, ascetic.

What are the Four Noble Truths?

Life is suffering; desire causes suffering; suffering can end; Eightfold Path leads to liberation.

 What is Parinirvana?

Final liberation after death.

What is a stupa?

Buddhist reliquary monument.

What artistic style blended Greek and Buddhist elements?

Gandhara style.

Who is Avalokiteshvara known as in East Asia?

Guanyin (China), Gwaneum (Korea), Kanon (Japan).

What Buddhist sites are in Dunhuang?

Mogao Caves and Library Cave.

What are the two main branches of Buddhism?

Mahayana and Theravada (Hinayana).