Unit 2,5- Cultural Consequences of Connectivity

Diffusion

Movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.

Syncretism

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

Significance of Diffusion and Syncretism

encouraged new beliefs and cultural creativity within nations/empires

Zen Buddhism

a Buddhist sect that emphasizes enlightenment through meditation and stresses simplicity and discipline

Significance of Zen Buddhism

altered and remained popular under the Song Dynasty despite its unapproval of China's native religions being diminished by a foreign relief system

Neo-Confucianism

term that describes the resurgence of Confucianism and the influence of Confucian scholars during the T'ang Dynasty; a unification of Daoist or Buddhist metaphysics with Confucian pragmatism

Significance of Neo-Confucianism

encouraged Korea's official state ideology and became widespread in Japan and Vietnam

Black Death

the epidemic form of bubonic plague experienced during the Middle Ages when it killed nearly half the people of western Europe

Significance of the Black Death

had a lasting impact on Feudalism and led to severe poverty and struggle

Marco Polo

Venetian merchant and traveler. His accounts of his travels to China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated interest in Asian trade.

Significance of Marco Polo

It Brought Europe's attention to the East and hisis book was printed in several languages and was the most popular book at the time. He inspired other explorers such as Christopher Columbus. He inspired trade between Europe and Asia.

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan.

Margery Kempe

English Christian mystic, known for writing through dictation The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. Her book chronicles her domestic tribulations, her extensive pilgrimages to holy sites in Europe and the Holy Land, as well as her mystical conversations with God.