WHAP - Unit 1 Vocab (Part One)

Song Dynasty

Song Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (960 - 1279 CE) that could be considered their "golden age" when China saw many important inventions. There was a magnetic compass; had a navy; traded with India and Persia; paper money, gun powder

Neo-Confucianism

The Confucian response to Buddhism by taking Confucian and Buddhist beliefs and combining them into this. However, it is still very much Confucian in belief.

Theravada Buddhism

The oldest of the two major branches of Buddhism. Practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia, its beliefs are relatively conservative, holding close to the original teachings of the Buddha

Mahayana Buddhism

"Great Vehicle" branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence for Buddha and for Bodhisattva, enlightened persons who have postponed Nirvana to help others attain enlightenment.

Champa Rice

Quick-maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season; led to increased populations in Song Dynasty China. Originally introduced into Vietnam from India, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift by the Champa state (as part of the tributary system.)

Tibetan Buddhism

A Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are not Buddhist and elements of preexisting shamanism, a tradition of Buddhism that teaches that people can use special techniques to harness spiritual energy and can achieve nirvana in a single lifetime

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 Dynasty.

Flying Money

Chinese credit instrument that provided credit vouchers to merchants to be redeemed at the end of the voyage; reduced danger of robbery; early form of currency

Seljuk Empire

Turkic empire ruled by sultans in Persia and modern-day
Iraq (11th and 12th centuries); Demonstrated weakness of Abbasid caliphate in its later years; sultans held real power in the empire

Delhi Sultanate

The first Islamic government established within India from 1206-1520. Controlled a small area of northern India and was centered in Delhi.

Abbasid Caliphate

(750-1258 CE) The caliphate, after the Umayyads, who focused more on administration than conquering. Had a bureaucracy that any Muslim could be a part of.

House of Wisdom

Large Islamic-based Library and learning center. Focus of conversion of Greek and Roman classics and Indian learning into Arabic. Preserved knowledge.

Bhakti Movement

An immensely popular development in Hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity.

Sufism

An Islamic mystical tradition that desired a personal union with God--divine love through intuition rather than through rational deduction and study of the Shari'a. Followed an ascetic routine (denial of physical desire to gain a spiritual goal), dedicating themselves to fasting, prayer, meditation on the Qur'an, and the avoidance of sin.

Syncretism

The unification or blending of opposing people, ideas, or practices, frequently in the realm of religion. For example, when Christianity or Buddhism was adopted by people in a new land, they often incorporate it into their existing culture and traditions.

Zen Buddhism

(Also called Chan) A Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition; illustrates the adaptations Buddhism made as it spread to new areas and interacted with different cultures

Al-Andalus

A Muslim-ruled region in what is now Spain, established in the eighth century C.E.

Caliphate

Islamic empire ruled by those believed to be the successors to the Prophet Muhammad. (Two such empires are the Abbasid and Umayyad.)

Coercive labor

Any labor system that involves force (slavery, chattel slavery, serfdom, encomienda, and indentured labor)

Daimyo

A Japanese feudal lord who commanded a private army of samurai

Dar al-Islam

An Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule

Dhimmi

Literally "people of the book"; applied as inclusive term to Jews and Christians in Islamic territories; later extended to Zoroastrians and even Hindus & Buddhists

Hajj

A pilgrimage to Mecca, performed as a duty by Muslims

Jizya

Tax that non-Muslims had to pay when living within a Muslim empire

Khmer Empire

A powerful empire that lasted roughly from the 9th to the 15th centuries in what is now Cambodia. Built Angkor Wat.

Mamluks

Turkic military slaves who formed an important part of the armed forces of the Abbasid Caliphate of the ninth and tenth centuries. Eventually founded their own state, ruling Egypt and Syria (1250-1517)

Scholar Gentry

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

Sharia

Islamic law

Shiite

A member of the branch of Islam that regards Ali as the legitimate successor to Mohammed and rejects the first three caliphs

Sinification

Extensive adoption of Chinese culture in other regions; typical of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

Sunni

A branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Umma

The community of all Muslims