P1 East Asia ID Quiz (finished)

Sui Dynasty

A short-lived dynasty which unified China once again after the fall of Han dynasty. (achieved through legalism)

Grand Canal

Greatest achievement by the Sui dynasty; an artificial waterway built to transport goods from south to north, north to south; Started from Hangzhou to Beijing

Confucianism

Biggest continuity in China; a philosophy that talks about social duty (everyone has to keep in lane and perform their role)

Tang dynasty

Dynasty that followed the Sui Dynasty; China experienced prosperity and peace; meritocracy (civil service exam), used equal field system

Middle Kingdom

A nickname of China because of how it dominated its neighboring countries. A society where the whole world revolves around them.

Tributary System

an arrangement in which other states has to pay money or provide goods to honor the Chinese emperor. it cemented China's economic and political power over several foreign countries.

kowtow

a ritual bow where the representatives from tributary states has to bow their head until their forehead touches the floor; Done to implement the Chinese emperor's superior status

Scholar gentry

A new class of well-educated civil servants (government officials) who took the civil service exam; very intelligent group of people who has had a deep study in the teachings of Confucius and Chinese Classics

Equal-field system

True purpose is for the government to weaken the nobles; Since land=wealth during this time, government takes nobles' lands and redistributes the land to everyone based on needs (However, nobles could inherit 1/5 of their original land)

Sinification

Sini-/Sino- means related to China; spread of Chinese culture

Nuclear families

family consisting of husband, wife and their children

polygyny

a custom where men can have multiple wives at the same time (only seen in patriarchal societies)

Gunpowder

Accidentally made by Chinese researchers while trying to find the elixir for eternal life; Later used for weapons (cannons- mongols/first gun-Song)

Champa rice

fast-ripening rice; native to northern Vietnam, allowed Chinese peasants to grow the rice multiple times a year.

Proto-industrialization

period before industrialization; economy shifts from agricultural to industrial; China started this earlier than Europe

Song Dynasty

A dynasty that united China after Tang dynasty's fall; had a too big bureaucracy that the dynasty's wealth dried up; Put bureaucrats responsible for military which made its military weak; Lasted a little more than 300 years until it fell to become Yuan Dynasty by the Mongols

Marco Polo

a traveler from Italy who came to China during Yuan to record how awesome China was compared to Europe (going through Dark Ages)

Flying Cash

Because copper coins were inconvenient to carry in large amount, the Tang dynasty's government made paper cash which people could deposit and withdraw at different locations. (modern day banks copied this system)

Magnetic Compass

Chinese invention that aided naval navigation by pointing to north; helped China to control trade in South China Sea

Junk

a special type of boat invented during Song Dynasty; big boat made to resist Indian ocean's monsoon winds

Foot binding

a practice in Chinese society which began in Song dynasty; Only for wealthy women, this was done to show social status; women had to rely on servants and their husbands to move; By doing this, husbands could brag their wealth and their social status

Woodblock printing

invention that made books greatly more available; people would carve Chinese characters mirrored and could yield significantly more books than hand-writing them

Zen Buddhism

result of cultural syncretism; Chinese daoism and India's buddhism combined to create this religion

Taika Reforms

After Shotoku's death, his successor enforced another reform that had two goals: increase efficiency, and weaken the power of nobility. Similar to equal-field system, all farmland were put under government's ownership which gave the government direct taxes rather than to the nobility

Tale of Genji

written by Murasaki Shikibu during the Heian Japan period, it focuses on the psychological development of the main character, the prince, like many modern stories do (earlier stories did not do this) Because of these reasons, it is often cited at the world's first novel.

Shogun

military leader; separate from emperor (which had no powers, just an authority figure); placed in supreme power by Minamoto clan which had all the power during this period of time

Samurai

decentralized government during Minamoto clan's reign made nobles fight over land; to protect their own land, nobles hired warriors who fought for the nobles for clothing, shelter, and food from the landlords. Without any central political force to stabilize the society, these warriors played a crucial role in the 400-year period

Daimyo

landowning aristocrats of feudal Japan whom battled each other for supreme power over the land

Bushido

a Feudal Japanese code that stressed frugality (don't be wasteful), loyalty, the martial arts, and honor unto death (Kamikaze's motive)

Yuan Dynasty

A dynasty that followed Song Dynasty; made by Mongols who were led by Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan

Guerilla Warfare

As Tang Dynasty started to fall in eighty century, Vietnamese started to rebel and used this strategy of unconventional warfare to achieve massive victory from remaining Chinese forces; this was possible perhaps due to Vietnamese' deep knowledge of their own land