Early Modern East Asia: Chinese and Japanese Dynasties and Civilizations

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing key concepts, figures, dynasties, and terminology from lecture notes on Chinese and Japanese history during the Early Modern Period.

Yangshao and Longshan Societies

Early Chinese societies (2500-1800 BCE) based around the Yellow River, recognized for distinct pottery that implied social stability.

Oracle Bone Method

A Shang Dynasty method of communicating with a higher power by throwing bones into fire to crack for answers, representing the first instance of Chinese characters.

Tian

The Chinese concept representing heaven, weather, and the cosmos, involved in the interaction between heaven and the earthly ruler.

Mandate of Heaven

The cornerstone of dynastic legitimacy in China (1122 BCE to 1911 CE) establishing that rulers must be benevolent, with natural disasters serving as a sign for rebellion.

Banner System

The Manchus' organizational system for military taxation, consisting of 8 banners divided into blocks of families required to give 300 soldiers to the Manchu government.

Factories

Locations during the Canton / Guangzhou period where various factors, such as merchants and agents, gathered to conduct business.

Single-Whip Tax System

A Chinese taxation system that combined several taxes into staggered installments.

Filial Piety

A core Confucian concept where the oldest son must respect and obey his father, while the father provides for and supports the son.

Mencius

A follower of Confucius who contributed to the 5 Classics and refined Confucianism by asserting that human nature is inherently good but subject to corruption.

Legalism

A philosophy associated with Shang Yang (390-338 BCE) focused on state-building, strict legal codes, severe punishments, and a negative view of human nature.

Sinicization

A type of assimilation within Chinese society under foreign leadership where non-Chinese groups like the Mongols adopt Chinese customs.

Zhu Yuanzhang

The peasant founder of the Ming Dynasty (Hongwu Emperor / Ming Taizu, r. 1368-1398) who established a new capital at Nanjing and led numerous military victories.

Jinshi

The title awarded to candidates who passed imperial civil service exams based on Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism to serve in the imperial government.

Zhu Xi

A 12th-century scholar who added a mystical element (chi) to Neo-Confucianism to make it more accessible and nurture its appeal.

Yongle Emperor

The 3rd emperor of the Ming Dynasty (r. 1403-1425) who took power by force from his nephew, sent troops to North Vietnam, established a tribute system, and promoted maritime expeditions.

Eunuchs

Young boys castrated around age 10 to serve the imperial court in Ming China, growing in number from 12,000 in the 1470s to 70,000 by 1650.

Zheng He

A Muslim eunuch admiral who commanded Ming maritime expeditions (1405-1433) throughout Southeast Asia, Arabia, and East Africa to establish diplomatic connections.

Ming Gentry

Educated members of Ming society who served as intermediaries between the government and common people, offering political links and stability.

Matteo Ricci

A Jesuit missionary in East Asia who learned Chinese, adapted Catholic Christianity to Chinese traditions, and was accepted by scholar-elites in the imperial court.

Sinology

European appreciation and knowledge of Chinese culture.

Li Zicheng

A rebel leader whose forces controlled much of North Central China by 1635 and captured Beijing in April 1644, leading the last Ming emperor to hang himself.

General Wu Sangui

A Ming military leader whose response to Li Zicheng's rebellion facilitated the Manchu occupation of Beijing by June 1644.

Queue

A hair style mandated during the Qing Dynasty featuring a shaved front with braids or a ponytail at the back.

Nurhaci

The Manchu leader (1559-1626) who united the tribes in the early modern period, laying the foundation for the Qing Dynasty.

Qianlong Emperor

A Qing Emperor (r. 1736-1795) who expanded borders, wrote and read Chinese, managed massive trade wealth, and rejected Lord Macartney's 1793 trade request.

Lord Macartney

A British representative who met with the Qianlong Emperor in September 1793 to request special trading privileges and a permanent mission in Beijing, which was refused.

Kangxi Emperor

A Qing Emperor (r. 1661-1732) known for cultural achievements, inspection tours, and holding special exams for scholars to record the history of the Ming Dynasty.

Treaty of Nerchinsk

A 1689 treaty between Qing China and Russia that settled conflict along the Amur River, fixing trade, solidifying borders, and creating stability.

Cohong System

A trade framework in Canton (Guangzhou) featuring one single market point for each foreign sector where all foreigners were subject to Chinese law.

Century of Shame

A period (1839-1949) of foreign intervention, military defeats, and loss of sovereignty in China starting around the First Opium War.

Amaterasu

The Shinto Sun Goddess from whom the Yamato Emperors of Japan claimed direct divine descent.

Taika Reforms

A series of Japanese tax reforms in 646 CE aimed at expanding centralized imperial rule following the Chinese model.

Uji

Regional lords in early Japan who maintained private armies, held local administrative independence, and managed local taxation.

Bakufu

The military government system used in feudal Japan, notably under Minamoto Yoritomo during the Kamakura Shogunate.

Fujiwara Family

An influential noble family during the Heian period (794-1185) that exercised power by marrying their daughters to emperors and governing through their imperial grandchildren.

Daimyo

Feudal warlords in Japan who commanded Samurai and ruled local territories during the Warring States Period (1467-1600).

Oda Nobunaga

A Japanese warlord (1534-1582) who captured Kyoto in 1568, utilized Ronin to build a centralized state, constructed castles, and promoted trade.