APWH CH 13 - Song China

Yangdi

second Sui ruler; restored Confucian examination system; constructed canal system; assassinated in 618.

Li Yuan

Duke of Tang; minister for Yangdi; took over the empire after the assassination of Yangdi; first Tang ruler.

Chang’an

capital of Tang dynasty; population of 2 million larger than any contemporary world city.

Ministry of Public Rites

administered the examinations for state office during the Tang dynasty.

jinshi

title given students who passed the most difficult examinations; became eligible for high office.

pure land Buddhism

emphasized salvationist aspects of Chinese Buddhism, popular among masses of Chinese society.

Chan Buddhism

called Zen in Japan; stressed meditation and appreciation of natural and artistic beauty; popular among the elite.

Zen Buddhism

called Chan Buddhism in China; stressed meditation and appreciation of natural and artistic beauty; popular among the elite.

Empress Wu

Tang ruler 690–705; supported Buddhist establishment; tried to elevate Buddhism to state religion; had multistory statues of Buddha created.

Wuzong

Tang emperor (841–847); persecuted Buddhist monasteries and reduced influence of Buddhism in favor of Confucianism.

Xuanzong

leading Chinese emperor of the Tang dynasty who reigned from 713 to 755, although he encouraged overexpansion.

Zhao Kuangyin

general who founded Song dynasty; took royal name of Taizu.

Liao dynasty

founded in 907 by nomadic Khitan peoples from Manchuria; maintained independence from Song dynasty in China.

Khitans

founded Liao dynasty of Manchuria in 907; remained a threat to Song; very much influenced by Chinese culture.

Zhu Xi

most prominent Neo-Confucian scholar during the Song dynasty; stressed importance of applying philosophical principles to everyday life.

neo-Confucians

revived ancient Confucian teachings in Song-era China; great impact on the dynasties that followed; their emphasis on tradition and hostility to foreign systems made Chinese rulers and bureaucrats less receptive to outside ideas and influences.

Tangut

rulers of Xi Xia kingdom of northwest China; one of regional kingdoms during period of southern Song; conquered by Mongols in 1226.

Xi Xia

kingdom of Tangut people, north of Song kingdom, in mid-11th century; collected tribute that drained Song resources and burdened Chinese peasantry.

Wang Anshi

Confucian scholar and chief minister of a Song ruler in 1070s; introduced sweeping reforms based on Legalism; advocated greater state intervention in society.

Jurchens

founders of Jin kingdom that succeeded the Liao in northern China; annexed most of Yellow River basin and forced Song to flee south.

Grand Canal

great canal system begun by Yangdi; joined Yellow River region to the Yangtze basin.

footbinding

male-imposed practice to mutilate women’s feet in order to reduce size; produced pain and restricted movement; helped to confine women to the household.