Civilizations, Empires, and Imperialism in Asia Final Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the history, geography, and political developments of civilizations in India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Indian Subcontinent

The landmass that primarily includes the modern countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Monsoons

Seasonal winds that heavily dictate the climate in India, causing either destructive flooding or severe droughts.

Mohenjo-Daro

An early Indus Valley city famous for having nearly every house equipped with a private bathroom and toilet.

Moksha

In Hinduism, the term for the ultimate goal of ending human desires and suffering to achieve perfect understanding between the individual soul and the world soul.

Siddhartha Gautama

The founder of Buddhism who achieved enlightenment and became known as the Buddha after meditating under a fig tree for $49$ days.

Asoka

The Mauryan Emperor who brought the empire to its peak and heavily promoted religious tolerance after being inspired by Buddhism.

Citadel

A strong fortress built to protect the main part of an Indus Valley city.

Brahman

In Hinduism, the term that refers to the world soul, distinct from the individual soul known as Atman.

Vedas

The primary collection of sacred Aryan literature containing prayers, hymns, and ritual instructions.

East India Company

The trade organization that initially established trading posts at Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta in the $1600s$ and eventually grew to govern large parts of India.

Jewel in the Crown

The term the British used for India because it supplied raw materials for the Industrial Revolution and offered a market of $300 \text{ million}$ consumers.

Sepoy Mutiny

The $1857$ uprising among Indian soldiers sparked by a rumor that newly issued Enfield rifle cartridges were greased with beef and pork fat.

Raj

The period of direct British rule over India under the British crown during Queen Victoria's reign.

Rowlatt Acts

Laws passed by the British in $1919$ that allowed the colonial government to jail political protesters without a trial for up to $2$ years.

Amritsar Massacre

The historical turning point that set the stage for Mohandas K. Gandhi to emerge as the prominent leader of the Indian independence movement.

Salt March

A peaceful civil disobedience demonstration in $1930$ where Gandhi and his followers walked $240 \text{ miles}$ to the seacoast to make their own salt.

Civil Disobedience

The deliberate and public refusal to obey an unjust law as a strategy for political change.

Partition of India

The $1947$ process of dividing the Indian subcontinent into separate Hindu and Muslim nations (India and Pakistan).

Archipelago

A geographic term defining a chain or cluster of islands.

Angkor Wat

A massive, world-famous temple complex constructed by the Khmer Empire in present-day Cambodia.

Strait of Malacca

A major body of water critical to the Malay world as a choke point for international trade.

Sukarno

The prominent nationalist leader who led Indonesia to its independence from Dutch rule.

38th Parallel

The location near which the Korean peninsula remained divided following the ceasefire signed in $1953$.

Ho Chi Minh

The legendary communist leader who organized the movement for Vietnamese independence and led North Vietnam.

Viet Cong

Communist guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam who fought against U.S. and South Vietnamese forces.

Loess

A type of fine, yellowish silt found in the Yellow River that is very fertile and vital for Chinese agriculture.

Mandate of Heaven

The belief introduced by the Zhou Dynasty that heaven granted rulers the right to govern as long as they ruled justly.

Filial Piety

A central concept in Confucianism emphasizing respect for one's parents and elders.

Shi Huangdi

The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty who unified China, standardized writing and currency, and built early sections of the Great Wall.

Legalism

The philosophy that heavily influenced Shi Huangdi's rule, based on the belief that people are naturally selfish and require strict laws.

Zheng He

A Chinese admiral during the Ming Dynasty who led seven massive naval expeditions to display China’s power and promote trade.

Extraterritorial Rights

A legal condition where foreigners in China, such as the British after the Opium War, were exempt from Chinese laws.

Great Leap Forward

A major economic campaign launched by Mao Zedong from $1958$ to $1962$ that aimed to rapidly industrialize China but resulted in economic collapse and massive famine.

Shinto

The traditional religion of Japan meaning "the way of the gods," focusing on divine spirits in nature called kami.

Bushido

The samurai code of conduct that stressed loyalty, honor, bravery, and discipline.

Meiji Restoration

A period beginning in $1868$ when power was restored to the emperor and Japan underwent rapid modernization and industrialization.

Battle of Midway

A pivotal turning point in the Pacific Campaign of WWII where the U.S. Navy destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers.