Book 1, Chapter 4, Set 6 Flashcards
Describe the early campaigns of Genghis Khan. (page 164)
With his family’s status secured and the patronage of Toghrul, Temujin harrassed the Chinese empire north and west of the Great Wall. Sometimes he would join forces against other tribes at the behest of the northern Chinese Jin dynasty. One of his most crucial allies at this time was his “sworn brother” Jamuka of the Tangut tribe based in Xi Xia in northeast China. Through a series of brilliant campaigns and maneuvers (including the killing of his former allies Toghrul and Jamuka), Temujin made himself the lord of all the Mongol tribes. In 1206, at a mass rally, Temujin was named “Genghis Khan”, universal ruler. Genghis would the Mongols to a string of campaigns that ravaged large areas of Asia and brought millions under his rule. In 1227, Genghis fell from his horse and became feverish. He would die soon thereafter.
Describe the childhood and origins of Genghis Khan. (page 164)
Born in 1162 with the name Temujin, his father was murdered when he was five and his family disinherited by their clan. Much of his childhood was spent eking out a nomadic existence under his formidable mother, Hoelun. After proving himself as a warrior by retrieving some stolen horses, Temujin married a woman name Borte from a neighboring tribe. Supposedly he used his dowry of sable furs to win the favor of Toghrul (also known as Ong Khan or “prince king”), an old ally of his father’s and leader of the Turkish-speaking Kerait people. Borte was kidnapped, but Temujin rescued her with the help of Toghrul. Borte had a baby soon afterward, Jochi, who was acknowledged as Temujin’s son and heir despite the possibility that he was conceived during Borte’s captivity.
What was the Yuan imperial dynasty of China? (page 165)
The grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan was a famous emperor in his own right. He expanded the empire to its greatest extent to include southern China. He is celebrated as the unifier of China and the founder of the Yuan imperial dynasty, as well as the “Great Khan” of Marco Polo’s travels.
Describe the collapse of the Yuan imperial dynasty in China. (page 166)
According to Mongol law, the indigenous people of China, the Han Chinese, were the lowest class within Chinese society. In the 1340s, there was a disastrous flood of the Yellow River, and there was a conscription of thousands of Han for forced labor. This led to widespread rebellion, and the Yuan dynasty was overthrown in 1368 CE.
Describe the rise of the Ming dynasty and some of its early achievements and characteristics. (page 166)
The Ming dynasty began when the Yuan dynasty was overthrown by peasant rebellion in 1368 CE. The first emperor, Hongwu, began life as a peasant. Under his reign, he reorganized the army and attempted to reform the land and tax system. In 1380, Hongwu abolished the post of chief minister, revised the legal code, and ensured that imperial power could not be challenged in court. He would support this control through a surveillance system of spies, secret agents, and the “Brocade Guards”, who carried out purges of corrupt officials. Imperial power under the Ming would grow unchecked and their rule would become increasingly tyrannical.
Who was Emperor Yongle of China? (page 166)
Emperor Hongwu’s son and the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Describe Emperor Yongle’s rise to power and his most notable achievements. (page 166)
Yongele usurped the throne from his father, Hongwu, in 1403 CE. He transferred the capital to Beijing and began work on the Forbidden City there. Under his reign, China experienced urban growth in many cities as well as in Beijing. The spread of printing and the demands of a more literate public also fueled a publishing fervor.
Describe the Ming dynasty and its military strategy after Emperor Yongle’s death. (page 166 and 167)
After Yongle died, the Ming were threatened by the Mongol-speaking Oirat peoples, who began a massive invasion in 1449. Emperor Zhengtong launched a rash counterattack, but was ambushed at Tumu and taken hostage. Zhengtong was eventually released, but the Ming dynasty’s expansion ended. From this point on, their strategy would focus mostly on defense. A barrier was built to control the Mongol threat, and brick and stone were laid over the earthen mounds erected by the Han dynasty. This would become the Great Wall of China.
Describe the beginnings of Chinese trade with the West. (page 167)
Portuguese merchants first reached China in 1514, and they established a trading station in the 1550s at Macao on the southeast coast. In 1604, two Portuguese ships carrying 200,000 pieces of porcelain were captured by the Dutch. The porcelain was put up for auction in Europe, and the result was a craze for porcelain. For the next 300 years, China’s fortunes would be tied to trade with the West.
Describe the fall of the Ming dynasty. (page 167)
Although they had the most effective central bureaucracy in the world at the time, heavy-handed imperial control, court intrigues, and factional fighting among groups of officials weakened the dynasty. By the late 16th century, the Ming were in decline. Weak emperors were dominated by their advisors. In the north, the nomadic Jurchen posed a threat, as Nurachi organized the tribes in the Manchu nation. Economic problems provoked peasant rebellions, and in 1644, rebel forces under Li Zicheng took Beijing only to be ousted in turn by invading Manchus.
Who was Zheng He? Describe his famous acts. (page 167)
A Muslim eunuch serving under the Ming, Zheng He commanded seven ambitious maritime expeditions between 1405 and 1433 CE. By the time his voyages had finished, he had traveled to India at several locations, Hormuz on the Gulf of Oman, and Jidda in Saudi Arabia, as well as a total of 37 countries. His voyages resulted not only in more trade for China, but also in the defeat of many pirates that had plagued Chinese waters.
Describe Japan before the rise of the samurai. (page 168)
The first inhabitants of Japan arrived from mainland Asia around 30,000 BCE. By 8,000 BCE they were creating their distinctive “jomon” (rope-patterned) pottery, possibly the first pottery ever made in the world. These were early Japanese hunter-gatherers. Around 300 BCE, the arrival of rice from East Asia revolutionized Japanese society. Rice cultivation required a peasant workforce living in settled communities. Large landowners became regional rulers fighting over water and fertile land. in the 6th to 7th centuries CE, contact with Asia brought Buddhism and Chinese high culture, including writing in Chinese characters. Japan’s first line of sacred emperors is historically attested after the 3rd century CE. During the Heian Period (794 - 1185 CE), power devolved from the emperor to the Fujiwara clan, who dominated Japan until the samurai.
Describe Japan from the reign of the samurai clans in the 12th century CE to the rule of the shoguns. (page 168)
During the twelfth century, Japan was divided into various provinces ruled by samurai warrior clans. Two long-established families, the Minamoto and Taira, were the descendants of imperial princes sent to rule their respective provinces by the emperor in Kyoto. From their provincial bases, the Minamoto and Taira began fighting to control the imperial capital at Kyoto in the 12th century CE. The Taira began as the dominant clan at the imperial court at Kyoto, but during a conflict known as the Gempeii Wars from 1180 to 1185 CE, the Minamoto defeated them. At two crucial battles in 1184 and 1185 CE, the Taira were slaughtered in combat by the Minamoto, forced to commit mass suicide, or executed. Yoritomo, head of the Minamoto clan, was established as the first military dictator, or “shogun”. Yoritomo based his court at Kamakura, far to the east of the old capital at Kyoto. The old emperor was left in Kyoto as a powerless figurehead.
Who was Minamoto Yoritomo? (page 169)
(1147 - 1199 CE) A member of the Minamoto clan who was involved from early in life in the feud between the Minamoto and Taira clans. In 1160, his father was executed by the Taira and he was exiled from the capital, Kyoto. Twenty years later, he led an uprising against the Taira. Although he lost his first battle at Ishibahiyama in 1180, he eventually defeated both the Taira and his rivals in his own clan and became Japan’s first shogun in 1192. He would die in a riding accident.
Describe the two invasions of Japan by China and their results. (page 169)
In 1274 and again in 1281, the Mongols under Kublai Khan attempted to invade China from Korea. The Japanese united to defeat the invaders, although they were helped greatly by bad weather. The notion of the “kamikaze” (“sacred wind”) came from these invasions as the blessed wind that thwarted the innaders and saved Japan.
Describe the Japanese civil war against the first shoguns. (page 169)
In 1333, a major civil war was began by the emperor Go Daigo, who wanted to found a new imperial age and restore power to the emperors. Many samurai clans rose to help the emperor against the shogunate, but only to seize more powerful themselves. The most ruthless samurai, Ashikaga Takauji, expelled Go Daigo and installed a new emperor at Kyoto, who promptly anointed Takauji the first Ashikaga shogun of Japan. Go Daigo established his own capital at Yoshino and called upon samurai across Japan to fight against Takauji. The clans united against one emperor or another based on which one seemed to offer the most personal advantage. The resulting civil war lasted for 60 years until the third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu, restored peace to Japan in 1392 CE.
Describe the Golden Age of Japan under Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and his son, Yoshimara. (page 169)
During the reign of the Ashikaga shogunate, their capital at Kyoto became a center for a cultural renaissance under their patronage. “Noh” drama was further cultivated, ink splash paintings came into fashion, and Zen, a distinctive Japanese version of Buddhism, was advanced. Additionally, Yoshimitsu spent lavishly on new construction, building a new pavilion coated in gold and surrounded by lavish gardens. In 1402 CE, he negotiated trade with China, allowing Chinese goods to be imported to Japan.
Describe the fall of the Ashikaga shogunate and the history of Japan from that point until Japan was unified again. (page 169)
The Ashikaga shogunate presided over an unstable Japan. Local warlords called the “daimyo” had little loyalty to the shogunate, and controlled vast areas in the provinces. From 1467, Japan descended into permanent civil war between the private armies of rival daimyo. In the 16th century, the arrival of Europeans brought both guns and Christianity to Japan. Firearms would transform warfare in Japan. Christianity, for its part, flourished until the 17th century, when its practice was banned and its converts persecuted. In the 16th century, ambitious daimyo sought to end the constant civil strife in Japan by unifying the country under one ruler. Oda Nobunaga and his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi took control of much of Japan in the 1560s to 1590s. The unification was completed by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who became shogun in 1603. This new dynasty would rule Japan for 250 years.
Describe Korea before the rise of the Choson dynasty. (page 170)
In 668 CE, Korea was united under the Silla kingdom, which imported and adapted institutions, ideas, and technology from neighboring China. Buddhism became central to political and spiritual life during this period. During the Koryo dynasty (952 - 1392 CE) Buddhist art and scholarship flourished under state sponsorship. Among the ruling elite of scholar-officials, Neo-Confucianism from Song-dynasty China began to gain ground. In 1392, a Koryo general named Yi Songgye seized power, declaring himself king of the first Choson dynasty. This provided Neo-Confucianists to sweep aside the economic power and “corrupting” political and moral influences of Buddhism.
Who was Sejong? (pages 170 and 171)
The fourth king of the relatively young Choson dynasty in Korea. Sejong came to the throne at age 22 and was the grandson of the founder of the Choson, Yi Songgye. Sejong was the first Choson ruler to be deeply schooled in Neo-Confucian philosophy and ethics. Today, Sejong the Great is a national icon and seen as the symbol as Korea’s first “golden age”.
Describe the influence of Neo-Confucianism over the early Choson dynasty. (page 170)
Yi Songgye established Neo-Confucianism as the official ideology of the Choson dynasty when he founded the dynasty. Neo-Confucianism posited that human society was a key part of a universe that should be governed by a pattern called “li”, or “principle”. The role of the emperor should be to bring order to heaven and earth according to the requirements of li, and to harmonize all aspects of human behavior with this underlying universal order. King Sejong strongly advanced this ideology and become a paragon of its enforcement during the Choson dynasty. Sejong would personally improve the lives of his subjects through many innovations.
Describe the change in the aristocracy of Korea beginning in the Choson period. (page 170)
The previously powerful aristocracy now had to seek power through a revitalized civil service examination system, based on similar Chinese systems. This new ruling class, combining features of a hereditary aristocracy and a scholarly bureaucracy, became the most powerful class in Choson society until the 20th century. They were known as the yangbang.
Describe King Sejong’s most important accomplishment and also the other ways he advanced learning and culture in Korea. (pages 170 and 171)
King Sejong was the inventor and advocate of his own Korean phonetic alphabet, han’gul. This script is more easily learned than the previously used Chinese characters and more easily conveys the sounds of Korean speech. Han’gul brought literacy to a much greater number of Koreans and also advanced King Sejong’s ideology of Neo-Confucian harmony. It is Sejong’s greatest achievement and today a symbol of Korean national pride. Sejong also encouraged the advancement of the sciences, particularly astronomy and meteorology. He also attempted to reform court music and furthered both refined painting that depicted the natural world and new agricultural techniques to the country’s farmers.
Describe the decline, resurgence, and eventual fall of the Choson dynasty in Korea. (page 171)
During the 16th century, vicious rivalry between state officials vying for positions in the state bureaucracy and at court. When Japan invaded in the 1590s, the Choson dynasty’s civil rather than military bureaucracy was ill-prepared. After two invasions in six years that devastated the Korean land and people, the invaders were finally repelled with help from Ming China and naval victories by the famous admiral Yi Sunsin. Choson recovered during the 17th century, but the fall of China’s Ming dynasty weakened Korea. Two kings, Yongjo and Chongjo, ruled for much of the 18th century and the country prospered. Afterwards, though, there was a shif away from Neo-Confucianism and toward the solution of practical problems and new ideas from China and Europe.
