Ap World 1.1 vocab

Imperial Bureaucracy

system to run centralized gov't, comprised of educated scholar-gentry

Civil Service Examination

An elaborate Chinese system of selecting bureaucrats on merit, first introduced in 165 CE, refined under the Song Dynasty; It contributed to efficient government, upward mobility, and cultural uniformity.

Meritocracy

a system in which promotion is based on individual ability or achievement

Song Dynasty

(960-1279 CE) The Chinese dynasty that placed much more emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and arts other than military.

Grand Canal

The 1,100-mile (1,700-kilometer) waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. Linked Northern and Southern China

Champa Rice

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

Gunpowder

Invented within China during the 9th century, this substance was became the dominate military technology used to expand European and Asian empires by the 15th century.

Scholar-gentry

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

foot binding

Practice in Chinese society to mutilate women's feet in order to make them smaller; produced pain and restricted women's movement; made it easier to confine women to the household.

woodblock printing

originating in China, a type of printing in which text is carved into a block of wood and the block is then coated with ink and pressed on the page

Syncretism

a blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith

Filial Piety

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

Neo-Confucianism

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

Heian period

The era in Japanese history from A.D. 794-1185, arts and writing flourished during this time; Japan emulated (copied) Chinese traditions and politics