Chapter 10: Inner and East Asia, 600-1200

Question 1

How did the early Tang rulers view themselves in light of Buddhist doctrine?

Answer 1

They viewed themselves as bodhisattvas/ enlightened, and they wanted to create harmonious Buddhist societies.

Question 2

Why was Chang’an cosmopolitan?

Answer 2

It was a hub of communication where trade routes met and cultural influences spread, thus allowing for the spread of diverse goods and culture.

Question 3

Who was Li Shimin and what did he do?

Answer 3

He was a Tang emperor who extended power westward into Inner Asia.

Question 4

The Tang Empire retained many Sui governing practices but avoided overcentralization by?

Answer 4

by allowing local nobles, gentry, officials, and religious establishments to exercise power.

Question 5

What internal improvement marked the high point of engineering during the Sui and Tang dynasties?

Answer 5

The Grand Canal, which linked China;s two major rivers, the Huang He and Yangzi.

Question 6

What type of Buddhism was prevalent in the Tang Empire and what did this lead to?

Answer 6

Mahayana Buddhism. It led to:

- invigorated trade, language learning, and cultural exchange since it was adaptable

Question 7

What were the two largest exports from Chang’an?

Answer 7

Silk and porcelain.

Question 8

The military strength of the Tang Dynasty forced many of its neighbors to become tributary states. What are tributary states?

Answer 8

Nations that retain their independence, but make payments to a more dominant state.

Question 9

What were the two rival states to Tang China?

Answer 9

The Uighur and Tibetan Empires.

Question 10

What characterizes the Uighur Empire? Why were they considered “cosmopolitan?”

Answer 10

literate culture, strong ties to the Islamic world and China, merchants and scribes, cosmopolitan influence for Buddhist teachings, religious art from n. India, Islamic dress- MULTICULTURAL- cosmopolitan because they had strong cultural influence, caravan cities

Question 11

How did Tibet create its own distinctive form of Buddhism?

Answer 11

Tang princess Kongjo married a Tibetan king to cement an alliance. She brought Mahayana Buddhism, which combined with the native relition to create a distinctive form of Buddhism.

Question 12

What did Tibet excel at?

Answer 12

War. They rivaled with the Tang emperor for religious leadership and political dominance in Inner Asia.

Question 13

What happened to Tibet in the 800s?

Answer 13

The Tibetan king wanted to follow Tang lead and eliminate the influence of monasteries. He was assassinated by Buddhist monks, and control of Tibet was passed to religious leaders.

Question 14

Who was Wu Zhao and what did she cause?

Answer 14

She was a woman who married into the imperial family and declared herself emperor. She claimed to be a bodhisattva and favored Buddhists and Daoists. This lead to the suppression of Buddhism in the Tang Empire.

Question 15

What did Tang leaders do in 840?

Answer 15

They tried to suppress Buddhism. They were worried about “barbarians ruining society,” and saw Buddhism as evidence of foreign evil. They claimed that ending Buddhist influence would restore hierarchy and social harmony. They moved to crush monasteries.

Question 16

What overall led to the end of the Tang?

Answer 16

Military and political decay, and rebellions.

Campaigns of expansion left the empire dependent on military commanders and a complex tax collection system
An Lushan led a rebellion that forced the emperor to flee Chang’an
There was political disintegration and elite cultural decay.

Question 17

What three empires emerged after the fall of the Tang?

Answer 17

The Liao Empire, Tangguts, and Song Empire.

Question 18

What characterized the Liao Empire?

Answer 18

pastoral traditions, military, and no single elite culture.
Rulers depended on their roles as bodhisattvas or Buddhist kings to legitimize power
They were superb horsemen and archers

Question 19

What happened between the Liao, Song, and Jurchens?

Answer 19

The Song got tired of paying Liao to not attack them, so they made a secret alliance with the Jurchens. They destroyed the Liao capital and made the Jin Empire. They seized the Song capital, and the Song withdrew and made annual payments to the Jin Empire to avoid warfare.

Question 20

What were Song industries/ inventions?

Answer 20

Block printing, the compass, gunpowder, the clock, and steel

Question 21

Who was Zhu Xi and what did he believe?

Answer 21

Zhu Xi was a Neo-Confucianist in Song China. He believed that people were naturally good, and a sage was the human ideal.

Question 22

How did the Song refine the compass?

Answer 22

They added a glass cover, made it smaller, and used a fixed needle. It could be used at sea.

Question 23

What was Chan Buddhism?

Answer 23

Buddhism during the Song era that elaborated on Tang-era practices. It asserted that mental discipline could win salvation. Meditation was emphasized as a means of gaining enlightenment, as opposed to the mere knowledge and memorization of Buddhist teachings.

Question 24

How did civil service exams help build the state?

Answer 24

The people in the government were the smartest, not just born into it.

Question 25

What impact did movable type have in China?

Answer 25

It allowed for the mass production of prep books, so some unprivileged people could pass and enter bureaucracy.
It changed country life and provided access to expert advice on planting and irrigation, harvesting, etc. The allowed for the development of new agricultural lands south of the Yangzi River.

Question 26

What was “flying money?”

Answer 26

Paper that could be redeemed for coins in the Song Empire.

Question 27

A backlash vs. Buddhism and the revival of Confucianism caused what?

Answer 27

It caused women to have cultural subordination and restriction.

Question 28

What was foot-binding?

Answer 28

A practice in the Song Empire in which the feet of young Chinese girls were broken and confined. It is reflective of the subjugation of women.

Question 29

How did Confucian ideas spread to kingdoms in East Asia?

Answer 29

Chinese writing.

Question 30

What family united the Korean peninsula after the Tang fell?

Answer 30

The Koryo family. They supported Buddhism and printed Buddhist texts. They developed their own advances in printing, and their movable type experiments reached China, which led to porcelain and metal type.

Question 31

How did the Japanese imitate China and how did they not?

Answer 31

They adopted Chinese building styles but

• built without walls
• didn’t have constant warfare
• no Confucian Mandate of Heaven
• dynasty never changed because the emperors had no political power

Question 32

What did the Fujiwara family in Japan favor?

Answer 32

men of Confucian learning. They read Chinese classics, and appreciated poetry and painting.

Question 33

Military values were important in Japan, which led to the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate. What did they appreciate?

Answer 33

They appreciated Buddhist doctrine on impermanence of worldly things, which was common in the new warrior class, called the samurai.

Question 34

Who was Murasaki Shikibu and what did she write?

Answer 34

She was a Japanese writer who wrote the Tale of Genji.

Question 35

What were the rivers in Vietnam?

Answer 35

The Red River and Mekong.

Question 36

What was the importance of Champa rice?

Answer 36

It was a fast- maturing rice from India that Champa emissaries (Vietnam) brought to the Song court as tribute.

Question 37

Vietnam shared Confucian interest in what?

Answer 37

Hierarchy. However, their attitude towards women, like in Korea and Japan, differed from the Chinese. They did not have foot-binding.

Question 38

Who did the Jin destroy and who did they attack?

Answer 38

They destroyed the Liao Empire and attacked the Song.

Question 39

What spread from China to Korea and vice versa?

Answer 39

Confucianism spread to Korea, and movable type/woodblocks spread to China.

Question 40

What spread from China to Japan and vice versa?

Answer 40

Architecture and Confucianism spread to Japan.

Question 41

What spread from China to Vietnam and vice versa?

Answer 41

Buddhism spread to Vietnam and Vietnam gave tribute to China.

Question 42

Why was the SOng capital moved from Kaifeng to Hung Zhou?

Answer 42

They had less territory because of the Jin