China & Japan Flashcards
Huang He
Yellow River north
Deposits fertile silt
Yangtze
Other major river
Fertile
South
Mandate of Heaven
Ruler has divine approval
Any natural disasters showed God didn’t like ruler or decision so they could be overthrown
Loess
Fertile silt/silt from the yellow (huang he) River
Dynastic Cycle
Dynasty comes to power
Becomes strong
Becomes corrupt; high taxes => less power
Disasters like floods, famine, revolts, invasions
Dynasty believed to have lost the Mandate of Heaven
Overthrown through rebellion
New dynasty emerges
Great Wall
Built to keep out invaders in the north and west
Protected trade routes
Many people lost their lives building it
Started construction during Qin dynasty
Sui dynasty
Overthrown by peasants who were tired of doing dangerous free labor for the Grand Canal
581-618
Grand canal
Built during Sui
Connects Huang He and Chang Jiang
Helped with trade
Tang Dynasty
618-907 Conquered a lot of land Increased infrastructure trade Built off of foundations set by Sui Expanded pop, advancements in science and technology, improved agriculture Part of the golden age
Tang Taizong
Created Tang Dynasty and powerful empire
Achieved a lot from Sui dynasty
Ch’ang-an
Tang capital that was burned by Rebels
Wu Zhao
Empress of tang
Only empress to assume throne by herself
Civil service exam
Test of knowledge to become an official in the govt
Tests knowledge
Supposed to make things equal but only rich people got an educ.
Song Dynasty
After tang
Small but stable
Good economy
Movable type
New & fast
Easy way to type
Gentry
Scholars/officials
Powerful people
Became stronger from civil service exam
Foot binding
Little girls crushed feet so they could be small
Showed wealth and status
Golden age
Tang and Song Dynasties
More arts
Mongols
Nomadic tribe turned large empire rulers
Once they conquered a city, they kept peace and let the people keep their culture and expand trade
Allowed Chinese to hold low positions of power
Nomads/pastoralists
Traveled with animals
Followed seasonal changes
Clans
Nomadic groups
Genghis Khan
First Mongolian empire ruler
Wanted to unify the Mongols under one ruler and did
Kublai Khan
Last good Mongolian ruler
Started yuan dynasty
Grandson of Genghis Khan
Tried to invade Japan but it didn’t work
Yuan
Ruled by kublai khan
Good trade
Marco Polo
Venetian trader that helped kublai khan
Silk Road
Big trade route that ended in China that extended to far away places
Ming Dynasty
China became powerful under Ming dynasty
Isolated so little trade and little outside influence
Countries paid them to show submission
Hongwu
1st Ming emperor
Commanded rebel army that overthrew Mongols
Encouraged Confucianism but turned tyrannical
Encouraged voyages to show off China’s power and to explore
Feudalism/Japan’s govt
Landowners that controlled large pieces of land began to take control of local territories
Power was held by noble families
Samurai
Warrior class members who protected lords
Later gained power for 700 years
Followed a moral code that dictated everything
Bushido
Moral code of honor and loyalty followed by the samurai
Shogunate
Someone who is a military leader but controls through a puppet emperor
Kamakura shogunate
Pattern of govt where shoguns ruled through puppet emperors
Himalayas
Mountains that act as a barrier for China to other countries
Song Dyansty
after tang
Expanded pop, advancements in science and tech, agriculture increased, trade expanded
Part of the golden age for arts
Qing dynasty
Farming methods were improved and new crops led to pop growth
Made countries offer ritual tribute to trade with them and follow all of their rules
