Set 3: China, the Silk Road, the Chinese Tributary System, the Mongol Empire

Daoism/Toaism

Religion based on finding harmony with the universe

Confucianism

A philosophy that adheres to the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct.

Five Key Relationships

taught by Confucianists; father to son, ruler to subject, husband to wife, older brother to younger brother, friend to friend

Ancestor Worship

honoring ancestors through rituals, such as offering food and wine to the dead

Venerate

to regard with reverence, look up to with great respect

Filial Piety

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

Foot Binding

Practice in Chinese society - produced pain and restricted women's movement; made it easier to confine women to the household - was a beauty standard - men found it attractive

Women in Confucian Society

expected to be submissive to men, viewed as lesser and given limited rights, foot binding

Mandate of Heaven

the belief that the Chinese king's right to rule came from the gods

Dynastic Cycle

the historical pattern of the rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties

Codify

to systemize/organize

Song Dynasty

During this Chinese dynasty (960 - 1279 AD) China saw many important inventions. There was a magnetic compass; had a navy; traded with india and persia (brought pepper and cotton); paper money, gun powder; landscape black and white paintings

Chinese Golden Age

Major advances in technology like paper money, ships, made trade much easier along the silk road.

Commercialized

designed principally for financial gain; profit-orientated

Bureaucracy

a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

Scholar Gentry

in China, a group of people who controlled much of the land and produced most of the candidates for civil service

Mandarins

Chinese scholar-officials who had been trained in Confucian principles and possessed great class solidarity.

Civil Service Exam

a test given to qualify candidates for positions in the government

Paper

the material that is used in the form of thin sheets for writing - China

Moveable Type

individual letters and marks that can be arranged and rearranged quickly and printed

Magnetic Compass

Chinese invention that aided navigation by showing which direction was north

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

Grand Canal

The 1,100-mile (1,700-kilometer) waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. It was begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Empire.

Corvee Labor

unpaid forced labor usually by lower classes, forced upon them by the government

Coerced Labor

a system where the workers were forced to work based on threats, pressure, or intimidation.

Artisans

a worker in a skilled trade, especially one that involves making things by hand.

Merchants in China

Placed at the bottom of the social pyramid in China because they were viewed as greedy and selfish

Tea

Came from China - Europe got addicted to it and the sales spread

Silk

a valuable cloth, originally made only in China from threads spun by caterpillars called silkworms

Porcelain

a thin, beautiful pottery invented in China

Gunpowder

Biggest and most significant Chinese invention

Flying Cash

system of credit where merchants deposit money at one location and withdrawal at another.

Bills of Exchange

a written order to a person requiring the person to make a specified payment to the signatory or to a named payee; a promissory note.

Banking Houses 600 CE to 1450 CE

Places to store money or exchange foreign currencies, borrow money; help to increase trade

Sakk

Letters of credit that were common in the medieval Islamic banking world.

Chinese Junk

A very large flat-bottom sailing ship produced in the Tang and Song Empires, specially designed for long-distance commercial travel.

Silk Road

Connected China, India, and the Middle East. Traded goods and helped to spread culture.

Chang'an

Capital of Tang dynasty; population of 2 million, larger than any other city in the world at that time.

Kashgar and Samarkand

Major trade cities along the silk road which began as caravanserai.

Uyghurs

Muslim minority group in China that live close to the borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Neo-Confucianism

A philosophy that emerged in Song-dynasty China; it revived Confucian thinking while adding in Buddhist and Daoist elements.

Chinese Tributary System

form of conducting diplomatic and political relations with China before the fall of the Qin Dynasty.

Sinification/Sinicization

spread of Chinese culture

Goryeo

The dynasty that started the middle ages of Korea and closed the ancient times

Shinto

A Japanese religion whose followers believe that all things in the natural world are filled with divine spirits

Champa Rice

a quick-maturing, drought resistant rice that can allow two harvests, of sixty days each in one growing season. - Vietnam's gift to China which allowed Population to increase

Bananas (into Africa)

plantains brought to the east coast of Africa across the Indian Ocean by 1000 BC

Citrus in the Mediterranean

Citrus fruits originated in Southeast Asia. They arrived in the Mediterranean Region around the 4th or 5th century BCE.

Little Ice Age

A period of cooling temperatures and harsh winters that lasted for much of the early modern era.

Genghis (Chinggis) Khan

Founder and supreme leader of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death, consisting of several Eurasian societies. He used battle tactics, psychological warfare, and foreign weapons to conquer land easily. He ruled his territory fairly, protecting the Silk Roads.

Steppe

sparse, dry, treeless grassland

Mongol Empire

Largest land empire in the history of the world, spanning from Eastern Europe across Asia - founded by Genghis Khan

Golden Horde

Mongol khanate founded by Genghis Khan's grandson Batu. It was based in southern Russia and quickly adopted both the Turkic language and Islam. Also known as the Kipchak Horde.

Psychological Warfare

The use of propaganda, threats and other psychological techniques to mislead, intimidate, demoralize, or otherwise influence the thinking or behavior of an opponent

Composite Bow

a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together

Khanate

regional Mongol empires that arose following the death of Chinggis Khan

Tatars

Mongols; captured Russian cities and largely destroyed Kievan state in 1236; left Russian Orthodoxy and aristocracy intact

Pax Mongolica

Era of relative peace and stability created by the Mongol Empire

Yam (Postal System)

stations positioned at intervals of 20-30 miles. At each station, an "arrow messenger" would mount a fresh horse and ride to the next station at a full gallop.

Adoption of Uyghur script

Arabic alphabet that makes it way to China (Mongols adopted it)

Mongol Religious Tolerance

Although Genghis Khan was shanmanistic he accepted all kinds of religious in his empire

Mongol Women

Played a more significant role in society than most women in other cultures

Kublai Khan

Mongolian emperor of China and grandson of Genghis Khan who completed his grandfather's conquest of China - Yuan Dynasty

Yuan Dynasty

Chinese dynasty ruled by the Mongols from 1279 to 1368; best known ruler was Kublai Khan

Mongolize

Mongols invaded and took control of their land, but allowed them to keep their culture, beliefs, way of life, etc.

Timur (Tamerlane)

Turkish descendent of Genghis Khan who rose to power in the Khanate of Jagadai and conquered a large area of central Asia between Northern India and Moscow

Siege of Baghdad

Mongols had invaded from Central Asia, surrounded the Seljuk ruled yet still Abbasid held city. Mongols eventually kill the Abbasid Caliph and burn Baghdad to the ground ,marking the end of the Islamic Golden Age

Mamluk Sultanate

A political unit in Egypt. Did not set up a consistent, hereditary line of succession. Failed to adapt to new warfare and were eventually defeated by the Ottomans.

Mongol Invasion of Japan

Typhoon destroyed Mongol fleet, some in Japan thought they had been saved by gods of the wind (Kami kazi).

The Mongols converted to Islam

Was one long-term result of the Mongol conquest of Muslim lands