HIST 351: History of China to 1600 Final Exam

Sīmǎ Qiān

A court historian for the Han Dynasty

• dedicated to completing the history of the world to the point of castration

• human centered based on written sources

• raised the question of how to deal with foreign groups

The Xiōngnú

A confederation of nomadic tribes that was an enemy of the Han Dynasty

Hàn Wǔdì

A very powerful Han ruler

• expands Han territory to the furthest extent

• very warfare based, draining the Han funds

Market Equalization Program

introduced the ever-normal granaries

attempt to normalize prices but ultimately leads to government corruption

“Ever Normal Granaries”

used in an attempt to normalize the price of grain, as everyone sells grain at the same time so it is cheap, but when they need to buy it, it’s expensive

government normalizes the prices to that the people have a normal price and the government makes a profit

Wáng Măng

Prime minister who overthrew the government, running the short Xian Dynasty

• replenishes ever-normal granaries

• Well field system (9 grid with middle going to taxes to govt, all land owned by government with periodic redistribution)

• outlaws slavery

• Seen as an overall failure and non-confucian

Yellow river changed course, appears like loss of mandate of heaven

Empress Dowagers

mother of a child emperor

Regents come from the mother’s side

they control the internal palace business/court

necessary in families attempts to ascend to power

Yellow Turbans

peasant daoist rebellion in order to clean up corruption in government

warlords put down the rebellion, leading to personal loyalty over government power

militias rise in power

accelerates the fall of the Han Dynasty

Liú Bèi

character in the romance of three kingdoms

leader of the Shu Han kingdom against the Wei kingdom

friends with Zhang Fei & Guan Yu

does not win

Zhāng Fēi

character in the romance of three kingdoms

friend of Liu Bei and warlord

Guān Yǔ

character in the romance of three kingdoms

friend of liu bei and a warlord

known for his sense of honor (let the enemy go for treating him well)

Zhūgě Liàng

character in the romance of three kingdoms

master strategist used by liu bei

daoist magician

displays the ideal of what a chinese person should be like

Cáo Cāo

character in the romance of three kingdoms

Poet who controls the Han after it’s fall

Enemy of Liu Bei in Romance

leader of the Wei kingdom (wins)

Qīngtán = Pure Talk

anti-political way of learning for learnings sake

used by scholars in the south in the era of division

Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove

notable practicers of pure-talk

represented individualism / non confucian ideals

Siddhartha Gautama

The Buddha

a prince who suffered to discover how to end suffering and then teaches how to end suffering

Shakyamuni

another name for the The Buddha

suffered to discover how to end suffering and then teaches how to end suffering

The Four Noble Truths 

Buddhist philosophy

1. Life is suffering

2. Suffering is caused by attachment

3. End attachment to end suffering

4. Follow the 8 Fold path to end attachment

Nirvana

ultimate extinction of self

end goal of buddhism: once you’ve embodied Buddhism by becoming one with the Buddha nature (cosmic oneness)

End cycle of samsara (reincarnation)

The Eight-Fold Path

how to understand the root of attachment in order to act in order to end it (set ethical principles and a road map)

Theravada Buddhism

Belief in the extinction of the self

encouraged joining a mediatative monastic order

spread over the seas

Mahayana Buddhism

type of buddhism spread over the silk road

goal: join a monastery, engage in asceticism to liberate the soul

worship nirvana and practice what you could (more ammendable to the Chinese People)

Bodhisattvas

someone who unlocked wisdom and use their powers to help others reach nirvana

many local gods are turned into bodhisattvas

Maitreya

Buddha of the future

prepare for life in paradise, encouragement to clean up life

Tiāntái Buddhism

most significant institutional sect of Buddhism

syncretic sect (combined ideals/doctrine with scholarly southern buddhists and ascetism of the north)

home to the Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra

final truth of the Buddha

1. Universe is an illusion

2. Everythign exists temporarily (physicallity)

3. Single Unity of All transcends temporality and illusiveness

Blend of Daoist and Buddhist sects

Explains Mahayana Buddhism

Pure Land Buddhism

things are degenerating as time goes on, leading to more confusing sutras

Pure devotion to the Amitabha Buddha brings you to the Pure Land after death

• Pureland: place to go to get help to get to Nirvana

Chán (Zen) Buddhism

emphasis on meditation to shock ones self out of habitual ways

text cannot express the truth, need a teacher

unlock Buddha nature within ones self

Guānyīn

part of popular buddhism, a Bodhisattva of compassion, medical needs, and stories

male to female

Celestial Masters

Daoist sect, believes the world will end and we must clean up our act and gather followers to get to paradise

strict moral codes

later combined with Taiping Dao

Zhāng Dàolíng

Creator of the Celestial Masters daoist sect

Taiping Dao

milinearian sect, world ends and paradise will come in its place

inspires yellow turban rebellion

Taiping Jing: scripture of great peace

Qi

life force of soul / spirit

can remain after death and needs to be maintained after death

Grand Canal

connects North China to Southern China

lessens cultural differences

more efficient passage of tax grain

economic power moved to the south, so this creates a bridge

rule of avoidance

Rule stating that officials cannot serve in their home province and must move every three years to undermine local aristocrats

Wǔ Zétiān

Empress Wu in Tang Dynasty

only female to rule by the full title of Emperor

Started as a concubine and worked her way to Queen, before overthrowing her sons from power and then later reinstating them as her Dynasty starts to fail

• rules effectively

• widest borders

• made examination system stronger

• pushed out aristocracy

• very corrupt (loyalty over ability)

An Lushan Rebellion

A military province general turns his army against the central government

Central government barely recovers, marks the start of the fall of the Tang Dynasty

occured due to generals anger at the emperor focusing on Yang Guifei

Examination system

exam on confucian classics in order to become an official

provided social mobility for those who could afford to send a son to be educated

Emperor Xuánzōng

illustrious august

ruler of the Tang during their golden age

Ruled during An Lushan rebellion

Yáng Guìfēi

Concubine of Xuanzong

Used by her family to gain power

executed during the An Lushan Rebellion

Neo-Confucianism

a form of confucianism that addressed new concerns that were popular in other doctrines, metaphysical concerns

focused on reality and human concerns

Supreme Ultimate

The Supreme Ultimate

An idea borrowed by the Neo-confucians from the daoists

corresponds/prioritizes humanity as center of the universe

Lĭ & Qì

Li: Principles developed by heaven

Qi: substance / life force

ways of thinking of the cosmos

purposeful creation which worked according to the principles of divine pattern

Zhū Xī

One of the most influential confucians in history

Brings neo-confucianism into the confucian orthodoxy

promotes ritual and engagement

Footbinding

A practice used to keep women’s feet small, part of the beauty standards of the Song

part of the decline of agency/physical separation of women in the song period

perpetrated by women

started at around age 7

Genghis Khan

a very effective leader of the Mongols

Unified the mongol people

utilized tumen groups of 10k to build a new sense of kinship and strengthen his nation

Marco Polo

merchant / adventurer who worked with Khubilai Khan

Khuriltai

meeting of allied tribes to agree to be under one Khan for a purpose (usually military)

needed to form a confederacy

Khans

leader of a confederacy, absolute military power, but no power over other tribes during non-campaigns

Animism

belief that all objects have a soul / spirit

Shamans

keep spirits happy and communicate with spirits, combined with animism

separate from military leaders (with exception of Genghis Khan

Ger (or Yurt)

Living space of Mongols

difficult to move, pointing to the regular pattern of migration of the mongols

each wife got their own

Ogodei

chosen to replace Genghis Khan (his father), after his older brothers could not be agreed upon

continued conquests up to Kiev, almost reached central Europe

Khubilai Khan

Grandson of Genghis Khan who becomes Khan

grows the empire to its largest

conquered south China

made use of existing structures while keeping Mongols in hierarchy top

The Four Khanates

the division of Khubilai Khan’s Mongol Empire

• Khanate of Persia

• Golden Horde

• Khanate of Ili

• the Great Khan (Mongolia & China)

the Silk Road

the trade route connecting the east and west

brought culture, innovation, and other benefits

Utilized by mongols, who encouraged trade and protected Merchants