East Asian history

What does Zhongguo mean

“Middle Kingdom” - China’s self -identity as the center of civilization

What was the age of Division (220-589 CE)

After Han collapse, North Ruled by nomads, South by Chinese dynasties; Buddhism spread

What were the Three kingdoms of Korea?

Goguryeo( North , Military) Baekje( Southwest, ties to Japan), Silla ( Southeast , allied with Tang).

Who unified Korea in 668 and with whose help ?

Korean dynasty founded by Wang Geon; supported Buddhism and Confucianism; invaded by Mongols (1258); had slavery (nobi) and concubinage

What was the Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

Restored Confucian order, rebuilt Great Wall to Beijing, Canceled Zheng He’s voyage

What was the Qing dynasty (1644-1911)?

Manchu dynasty ; used Banner System; expanded empire under Kangxi and Qianlong; rejected Macartney Mission(1793)

What was the Banner system

Manchu military- administrative system dividing people into Eight Banners; basis of Qing power.

What was the Tribute system

Diplomatic/ economic system where states like Korea recognized Chinese supremacy in return for trade rights

What was Choson Korea (1392-1910) ?

Dynasty founded by Yi Songgye; capital moved to seoul; tributary to Ming/ Qing , Neo-Confucian state dominated by Yangban Elite

Who were the Yangban

Hereditary aristocratic elite in Korea; owned land/ slaves, dominated exams, often in tension with kings

Who created Hangul, and why was it significant?

King Sejong (1440s) ; Korean alphabet that made literacy more accessible, shifted away from Chinese characters

Who founded the Tokugawa shogunate and when?

Tokugawa leyasu, in 1600 after the Battle of Sekigahara

What was the Tokugawa social hierarchy?

Shogun>Daimyo> Samurai> peasants > Artisans> Merchants

What was the Bakufu?

“Tent government,” the military government of the Tokugawa shogun

Who were the Daimyo

Regional lords; fudai(allies) vs Tozama( the outsiders); controlled domains; required to do sankin-kotai

What was the Sankin-Kotai

Alternate attendance policy: daimyo spent every other year in Edo, ensured loyalty, drained resources

What was sakoku

Tokugawa “closed country” policy; restricted foreign contact to Dutch at Dejima, Satsuma controlled Ryuku, Tsushima handled Korea

Who were the Samurai

Warrior elite; lived by Bushido; became bureacrats in Tokugawa era; lost status after Meiji conscription reforms

What were kabuki and Haiku

Kabuki= popular theatre ; Haiku = 17 syllable poetry form

What was the Canton system (1757-1842)

Qing system restricting foreign trade to Canton; merchants had to go through Cohong guilds

What caused the Opium War ( 1839-42/ “1840”)

Britain sold opium to china to fix silver deficit; Lin Zexu cracked down in Canton; Britain retaliated

Who was Lin Zexu

Qing official who destroyed opium at Canton in 1839, symbol of resistance

What was the Treaty of Nanjang(1842)?

Ended Opium War; ceded Hong Kong, opened 5 treaty ports, granted extraterritoriality; first unequal treaty

What is extraterritoriality

Legal privilege where foreigners weren’t subject to Chinese law but their own courts.

What was the significance of 1840 in East Asian History ?

The Opium war marked the start of Western imperialism and China’s “century of humiliation “

What is the difference between treaty ports and concessions?

Treaty ports= cities opened to trade ; concessions = foreign-controlled districts inside them

Who was Hong Xiuquan?

Hakka( “guest family”), failed exam candidate; claimed to be Jesus’s brother; led Taiping Rebellion

What was the Self-Strengthening Movement(1850-64)?

Christian-inspired rebellion; Heavenly kingdom at Nanjing; social reforms; 20 million dead; suppressed with Qing+ Western help

What was the Self-Strengthening Movement(1860’s-90s)

Qing reform effort: “Chinese essence, Western Utility”; built arsenals, schools, industries; limited success

What was the Nina Rebellion(1851-68)

Northern peasant/ militia uprising; coincided with Taiping; strained Qing resources

Who were the Miao?

Ethnic minority in Southern china; rebelled (1854-73) against Qing over land/taxes

What were the Muslim Rebellions?

Panthay( Yunnan, 1856-73) and Duncan/Hui( NW, 1862-77); revolts by Chinese Muslims against Qing oppression

Why were the mid 19th century significant?

Qing faced Taiping + Nina + Miao + Muslim revolts simultaneously, exposing fragility; survived only with western help

what was the Meiji Restoration (1868)?

Overthrow of Tokugawa by Satsuma and Chosu samurai; restored Emperor Meiji; launched modernization

What reforms did Meiji leaders make?

Abolished samurai class, created conscription army, industrialized economy (zaibatsu), introduced education system , 1889 Constitution with Diet

Who was Fukuzawa Yukichi ?

Intellectual who promoted Western Learning; wrote Encouragement of Learning; urged Japan to modernize( “leave asia”

Who was Ito Hirobumi?

Meiji statesman; studied in Europe; drafted 1889 Meiji Constitution; Japan’s first Prime Minister

What were Zaibatsu?

Family-Controlled conglomerates( e.g, Mitsubishi) ; linked state + industry; drove Japan’s modernization

What was Tonghak (“Eastern Learning”)?

Syncretic religion mixing Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, Christian elements; anti-foreign, anti-elite

Who was Ch’oe Che-u

Founder of Tonghak; executed 1864 for challenging order

What was the Tonghak Rebellion( 1894)

Peasant uprising in Korea; triggered Qing intervention→ Japan intervened too→ led to Sino-Japanese war

What was the First Sino-Japanese War(1894-95)

War between Qing and Japan over Korea; Japan’s modern military defeated Qing

What was the Treaty of Shimonoseki(1895)?

Ended War; Korea declared independent; Taiwan and Liaodong ceded to Japan; indemnity paid

Why was the Sino-Japanese war significant?

Proved Meiji reforms worked ; Japan became imperial power; Qing decline accelerated