Developments in East Asia, Dar al-Islam, and South/Southeast Asia Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, entities, and concepts from the lecture notes on East Asia, Dar al-Islam, and South/Southeast Asia.

Confucianism

A social philosophy in Song dynasty China that viewed society as composed of unequal relationships and emphasized filial piety, while relegating women to a subordinate position.

Filial Piety

The Confucian principle of honoring one's ancestors and parents.

Neo-Confucianism

A reinterpretation of Confucianism during the Song dynasty that incorporated Buddhist and Daoist ideas, adapting them to suit governmental and societal purposes.

Foot Binding

A practice in Song dynasty China that restricted women's legal rights and caused difficulty in walking, emphasizing their subordinate position in society.

Imperial Bureaucracy

A governmental entity made up of tens of thousands of government officials that carries out the will of the emperor, expanding in scope during the Song dynasty to help maintain imperial rule.

Civil Service Exams

Examinations used by Song rulers to ensure the bureaucracy was staffed only with the most qualified men, increasing government competency and efficiency.

Korean Court (Koryo)

A court system in Korea that adopted civil service examinations, adopted Confucian principles to organize family structures, and further marginalized the role of women.

Japanese Bureaucratic Overhaul (7th-9th Century CE)

A period during which Japan voluntarily adopted cultural traits from China, reorganizing its power structure based on China's bureaucracy and adopting Buddhism and writing systems.

Vietnam (State Characteristics)

A politically independent region whose elites adopted Confucianism, Buddhism, literary techniques, and civil service exams, but where women were viewed highly and foot binding was not practiced.

Four Noble Truths

The core Buddhist teachings originating in South Asia stating that: 1. Life is suffering, 2. We suffer because we crave, 3. We cease suffering when we cease craving, and 4. The Eightfold Path leads to the cessation of suffering and craving.

Eightfold Path

A set of principles and practices outlined in Buddhism that followers must adhere to, including a moral lifestyle and meditation.

Mahayana Buddhism

A branch of Buddhism where teachings were available to all rather than a select few, emphasizing compassion and treating Buddha as an object of devotion (god).

Tibetan Mystical Practices

Buddhist practices that include lying prostrate and elaborate imaginings of deities.

Commercialization of Economy

A Song dynasty economic development where excess goods were produced to sell on the world market, facilitated by paper money, credit, and promissory notes.

Champa Rice

A drought-resistant agricultural innovation harvested twice a year that doubled Song China's agricultural output.

Junks

New shipbuilding technology developed in China that improved water navigation and enhanced sea-based trade.

Dar al-Islam

Meaning 'House of Islam', referring to all regions where Islam was a major religion.

Islam

A monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century on the Arabian Peninsula, teaching that salvation is found through righteous acts, almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.

Abbasid Caliphate

An ethnically Arab Islamic empire in power during the Golden Age that began fragmenting in the 1200s, giving rise to new Turkic-led Islamic empires.

Umayyad Caliphate

An Islamic empire ruling from 661-750 CE that was responsible for significant expansion of Dar al-Islam before being overthrown by the Abbasids.

Islamic Golden Age

A period lasting from 750 to 1258 CE (noted as 150-1258 CE in lecture notes) characterized by major artistic, commercial, and technological innovations.

Seljuk Empire

A Turkic Muslim empire in Central Asia initially brought in as a military force to expand territory, which eventually held the majority of political power.

Mamluk Sultanate

An Islamic state created in Egypt by Turkic military forces who seized political power.

Delhi Sultanate

A Turkic Muslim empire in South Asia that ruled over a predominantly Indian population.

Sufism

A mystical form of Islam emphasizing personal, mystical experiences that were accessible to anyone.

House of Wisdom

A library established in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age where scholars studied natural sciences and translated Greek moral and natural philosophy into Arabic.

Hinduism

A polytheistic, ethnic religion originating in South Asia that established a unified cultural structure in India through the caste system, teaching karma, reincarnation, and reuniting individual souls with Brahman.

Brahman

In Hinduism, the all-pervasive universal soul into which individual souls seek to dissolve or reunite.