China

Ancient China to modern day China important vocabulary

Buddah

Also known as Siddhartha Gautama he was the founder of Buddhism.

Chiang Kai-shek

Leader of the Kuomintang, united China while it was in a state of disarray after the with warlords after the fall of the Manchu Dynasty

collective

Large farm owned by the government and operated by peasants as a group.

Confucius

(551-479 BCE) A Chinese philosopher known also as Kong Fuzi and created one of the most influential philosophies in Chinese history.

Cultural Revolution

Campaign in China ordered by Mao Zedong to purge the Communist Party of his opponents and instill revolutionary values in the younger generation.

Deng Xiaoping

Communist Party leader who forced Chinese economic reforms after the death of Mao Zedong.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen

Chinese physician and political leader who aimed to transform China with patriotic

Dynasties

A line of hereditary rulers of a country.

Empress Cixi

The dowager empress who encouraged and promoted the Boxer rebellion

Extraterritoriality

Diplomatic immunity in a foreign country. Governed by one countries laws while inside another separate country.

Filial Piety

Respect shown by children for their parents and elders

Five Relationships

An idea that was made by Confucianism to tell each person their place in five key relationships.


1. husband and wife
2. parent and child
3. elder sibling and younger sibling
4. ruler and subject
5. friend and friend

Five Year Plan

It was a plan created in 1928 to try and improve the Chinese economy. The government would focus on one area of the economy for five years and then focus on a different part for five years. The plan was inspired by the U.S.S.R 10 year plan.

Formosa/Taiwan

An offshore island from China where Chiang fled with his Nationalist government when they were attacked by the Communists. The mainland of China was taken by Communists.

Four Modernizations

Deng Xiaoping's plan to change China after the disaster of Cultural Revolution. Improve- science, industry, technology, and defense.

Four Olds

Targeted for purging the cultural revolution, they include old ideas, old customs, old traditions, and old habits.

Gang of Four

Jiang Qing and four political allies who attempted to seize control of Communist government in China from the pragmatists; arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1976 following Mao Zedong's death.

Genghis Khan

The title of Temujin when he ruled the Mongols (1206-1227). It means the 'universal' leader. He was the founder of the Mongol Empire.

Great Leap Forward

A program Mao Zedong began in 1958 to speed up economic development

Kuomintang

Political party that ruled China from 1911 to 1949; enemy of the Communists. Often abbreviated at KMD.

Han

Chinese Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) ruled a centralized and growing empire for 400 years. Complex centralized bureaucracy with Civil service system based on Confucianism. Traded on Silk Road.

Hong Kong

A British colony in China

kowtow

a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission

Loess

A wind-formed deposit made of fine particles of clay and silt

Long March

The march made by the communists in order to escape the Kuomintang which had surrounded them. 90,000 started the march and by the end 6,000 remained.

Manchus

People of Northeast Asian (from Manchuria) the people who would found the Qing Empire.

Mandate of Heaven/Dynastic Cycle

Believed that if you were the ruler you were supposed to rule. However, if you were overthrown you clearly weren’t supposed to be ruler anymore and the current ruler was supposed to be the ruler.

Mao Zedong

Chinese Communist leader from 1949 to 1976. Helped bring the Communist party to power. Made a lot of policies that would impact China greatly for better or worse such as the Great Leap Forward, or the Five Year Plan.

Marco Polo

Italian explorer who wrote about his travels to Central Asia and China.

Ming

Chinese dynasty between 1368-1644. Economy flourished and the government even explored the Indian Ocean through many expeditions led by Zheng He. Ultimately they were taken over by the Manchurians from the North in 1644.

Mongol Horde

Was led by the Khans. Took over large areas of Asia from the 1200's to 1700's

Opium Wars

Industrial countries sought new places to sell their goods. This is seen around the world. This military conflict in Between China and Britain illustrates this.

People's Communes

The regional unit that comprised the collectivization system. It is an intentionally assembled community of people living together

People's Liberation Army

Chinese Communist army; administered much of country under People's Republic of China.

Qin

1st unified imperial Chinese dynasty founded by Qin Shi Huangdi. Was the dynasty that made the Great Wall of China.

Qing (Manchu dynasty)

The last imperial dynasty of China (from 1644 to 1912) which was overthrown by revolutionaries. The Qing dynasty was one of two dynasties that was made by foreigners rather than Han Chinese.

Red Guards

The youths who led Mao's Cultural Revolution. Wore red arm bands and carried his book. Terrorized Chinese citizens and decided who went to camps.

role of women

They were supposed to be obedient, first to their father, then their husband, and if he died, her sons. Not supposed to do much in society.

Shang

An early Chinese dynasty. Not a unified Chinese state. Instead rulers and their relatives gave orders through a network of cities. Earliest evidence of Chinese writing comes from this period.

Special Economic Zones

specific area within a country in which tax incentives and less stringent environmental regulations are implemented to attract foreign business and investment

Gentry

Wealthy landowners in Chinese society. Owned the land that peasants would work. Received taxes from peasants and anybody lower than peasants.

Sphere of Influence

A foreign region in which a nation has control over trade and other economic activities.

Steppe

A large area of flat unforested grassland in southeastern Europe or Siberia.

T'ang

Dynasty that succeeded the Sui in 618 C.E.; more stable than previous dynasty.

Tiananmen Square

Symbolic heart of Chinese politics; site in Beijing of protests and a massacre in 1989.

Responsibility system

A system of farming made by Deng Xiaopeng that allowed workers to keep extra earnings they made from farming.

Warlord

A local leader of an armed group

Xia

The first dynasty to have reportedly existed, however, their existence has been debated.

Yuan

Founded the Mongols more specifically by Kublai Khan (Genghis Khan’s grandson). One of two dynasties and the first to be founded that were made by foreigners. Lasted from 1279 to 1368.