Empires of East Asia

Chinese, Mongolian, and Japanese Empires

Tang Taizong

Chinese emperor (r. 627-649) who founded the Tang dynasty (618-907).

Civil Service Exam

In China, it was an exam based on Confucian teachings that was used to select people for various government service jobs in the bureaucracy.

Grand Canal

A canal linking northern and southern China

Li Bo

Most famous poet of the Tang era; blended images of the mundane world with philosophical musings.

Song Dynasty Achievements & Inventions

Growing urban areas, gunpowder & guns, Chinese exports of porcelain, tea and silk, paper money, magnetic compass, rudder

Foot Binding

Chinese practice of tightly wrapping girls' feet to keep them small, begun in the Tang dynasty; an emphasis on small size and delicacy was central to views of female beauty.

Lotus Shoes

Embroidered silk shoes that held the bound feet

Ghengis Khan (Chinggis Khan)

Also known as Temujin; he united the Mongol tribes into an unstoppable fighting force; created largest single land empire in history.

Khan

A Mongol ruler

Khanate

One of several separate territories into which Genghis Khan's empire was split, each under the rule of one of his sons

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.

The Travels of Marco Polo

Marco Polo's book explaining his travels to Asia. This book inspired people to travel to Asia, which led to the discovery of America

Pax Mongolica

The period of approximately 150 years of relative peace and stability created by the Mongol Empire.

Kublai Khan

Mongolian emperor of China and grandson of Genghis Khan who completed his grandfather's conquest of China

Yuan Dynasty

Dynasty in China set up by the Mongols under the leadership of Kublai Khan, replaced the Song (1279-1368)

Pastoralists

Nomads who kept herds of livestock on which they depended for most of their food

Yurt

A tent used by nomadic people in Mongolia

Kamikaze Winds

Winds which kept Japan from being invaded by the Mongols

Yamato Clan

Only family to hold the title of emperor in Japanese history

Rising sun

Symbol of the Yamato Clan

Samurai

Class of warriors in feudal Japan who pledged loyalty to a noble in return for land.

Daimyo

A Japanese feudal lord who commanded a private army of samurai

Bushido

The Feudal Japanese code of honor among the warrior class.

Zen Buddhism

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

Tokugawa Shogunate

Japanese ruling dynasty that strove to isolate it from foreign influences

Feudalism in Japan

System in Japan in which land is given to Daimyo and Samurai in exchange for military service

Heian Period

The era in Japanese history from A.D. 794-1185, arts and writing flourished during this time

Kabuki Theater

A form of Japanese theater developed in the seventeenth century that features colorful scenery and costumes and an exaggerated style of acting

Haiku

A Japanese form of poetry, consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables

Shogunate

The Japanese system of centralized government under a shogun, who exercised actual power while the emperor was reduced to a figurehead.

Torii

The gateway of a Shinto shrine

Shogun

A general who ruled Japan in the emperor's name

Sepukku

Ritual suicide in Japan; commonly known in West as harakiri; demonstrated courage and a means to restore family honor.

Kami

A divine being in the Shinto religion.

Selective Cultural Borrowing (Japan)

Choose specific elements of Chinese culture to adopt (ex. Zen/ Chan Buddhism and students were sent to schools in China)

Geography of Japan

Archipelago, lots of natural harbors, mountainous, lacks natural resources