Ancient Japan and China

Question 1

Ming Dynasty

Answer 1

the ruling dynasty of China—then known as the Empire of the Great Ming—for 276 years following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.

Question 2

Qing Dynasty

Answer 2

the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917.

Question 3

Examination System

Answer 3

the basic support for the ongoing study of the Confucian classics during late-imperial times and could be said to have been the impetus behind the school curriculum that was followed all over China, even at the level of the village school for young boys.

Question 4

Opium

Answer 4

dried latex obtained from the opium poppy.

Question 5

Taiping Rebellion

Answer 5

a massive rebellion or civil war in China that lasted from 1850 to 1864, which was fought between the established Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the millenarian movement of the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace.

Question 6

Beijing

Answer 6

Capital of China

Question 7

Treaty of Nanjing

Answer 7

a peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–42) between the United Kingdom and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842.

Question 8

Taiwan

Answer 8

a state in East Asia.

Question 9

Empress

Answer 9

a female emperor.

Question 10

Ci Xi

Answer 10

a Chinese empress dowager and regent who effectively controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty for 47 years from 1861 until her death in 1908.

Question 11

Self-Strengthening Movement

Answer 11

a period of institutional reforms initiated in China during the late Qing dynasty following a series of military defeats and concessions to foreign powers

Question 12

Imperial City

Answer 12

section of the city of Beijing in the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the Forbidden City at its center.

Question 13

Porcelain

Answer 13

a white vitrified translucent ceramic; china.

Question 14

Boxer Rebellion

Answer 14

a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty.

Question 15

Tokugawa Shogunate

Answer 15

the last feudal Japanese military government, which existed between 1603 and 1867.

Question 16

Commodore Matthew Perry

Answer 16

a Commodore of the United States Navy and commanded a number of ships.

Question 17

Meiji Restoration

Answer 17

also known as the Meiji Ishin, Renovation, Revolution, Reform, or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji.

Question 18

Consulate

Answer 18

the place or building in which a consul’s duties are carried out.

Question 19

Eta

Answer 19

the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet ( Η, η), transliterated as ‘e’ or ‘ē.’

Question 20

Edo

Answer 20

also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.

Question 21

The Hermit Kingdom

Answer 21

a term applied to any country, organization or society which willfully walls itself off, either metaphorically or physically, from the rest of the world.

Question 22

Isolation

Answer 22

the process or fact of isolating or being isolated.

Question 23

Rangaku (Dutch Learning)

Answer 23

a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641–1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of national isolation (sakoku).