East Asia from 200 to 1250 Flashcards
The history of East Asia from 200 to 1250 is the focus of this deck, including the histories of China, India, and Japan.
Which dynasty emerged from the chaos surrounding the collapse of the Han Dynasty in China?
From the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220, no dynasty managed to rule all of China until the rise of the Sui Dynasty in 586. Although the Sui ruled for less than 50 years, they did establish central control of China as well as expand China’s borders.
What internal improvement marked the high point of engineering during the Sui and Tang Dynasties?
In the late 500s, the Sui Dynasty began construction on the Grand Canal, which linked China’s two major rivers, the Huang He and the Yangzi. The later Tang Dynasty expanded on the project.
The completion of the Grand Canal highlights the Tang Dynasty’s emphasis on commerce. Under the Tang, silk production increased, the Silk Road continued to be a prominent highway for trade, and China’s fleet of trading junks (some of the world’s best ships) participated in the Indian Ocean trade network.
Which Chinese dynasty followed the Sui Dynasty, leading to a 300-year period of internal Chinese stability?
The Tang Dynasty, which ruled China from 618 to 907, followed the Sui.
During the Tang Dynasty, China’s borders expanded to include much of Central Asia, Manchuria, Tibet, and the Pacific coast.
The military might of China’s Tang Dynasty forced many of its neighbors to acquiesce in becoming tributary states. What are tributary states?
Tributary states are nations that retain their independence, but make payments to a more dominant state, either in the form of money or goods. During the Tang Dynasty, Annam (Vietnam), Korea, and Japan paid tribute to the Chinese Emperor.
What prominent inventions highlighted the innovations of China during the Tang Dynasty?
China invented paper money, in the form of letters of credit to be used by merchants, and also gunpowder, which was originally used in fireworks.
Although China’s prominent trade good remained silk, China began large-scale tea cultivation during the Tang Dynasty, and the practice of drinking tea soon spread to Korea and Japan.
In 907, internal dissension and external invasion doomed the Tang Dynasty. The _____ Empire emerged as the most powerful of the separate states that arose in the wake of the Tang’s collapse.
Song
The Song Empire emerged in east central China and governed most of the land between the Huang He and Annam (Vietnam). The Song began losing land in the 1000s, and by the 1100s had become a tributary state to the Liao Empire to the north. The Song maintained some independence until the Mongol invasions of the 1270s.
Which Chinese state had the most urban population by the 1000s?
The state with the world’s largest urban population was the Song Empire; several cities in the Song had more than a million residents.
With the Song Dynasty’s emphasis on trade, Canton (now Guangzhou), a port city on the Chinese coast, was one of the world’s largest cities and trading ports.
Much like the Tang Dynasty, the Song Empire was characterized by invention. What were some of the most prominent innovations?
During the Song Empire, the Chinese developed block printing long before Gutenberg invented the printing press, although they may have adapted it from the Koreans.
The Chinese also proved adept at adapting techonology to new uses. For instance, in 1090 Chinese traders began widespread use of the compass, which revolutionized naval travel and trade. Previously, the compass had been used for fortune-telling.
Define:
Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism refers to the revival of Confucianism from 1000 to 1200. Although China was politically divided, Neo-Confucianism proved to be an important unifying factor.
What is foot-binding?
Foot-binding was a Chinese practice that became firmly established by the 1200s. A tiny foot was considered attractive by Chinese, and the feet of young Chinese girls were broken and confined to confer to this ideal.
Foot-binding was symptomatic of the large-scale subjugation of women in Chinese culture; women were treated as second-class individuals.
What type of Buddhism emerged in 6th-century China, and emphasized meditation as a means of achieving enlightenment?
Chan Buddhism (also known as Zen Buddhism) emphasized meditation as a means of gaining enlightenment, as opposed to the mere knowledge and rote memorization of Buddhist teachings.
Why was the capital of Japan shifted from Nara to Heian in the late 700s?
The Japanese capital was shifted from Nara to Heian to escape the influence of Nara’s Buddhist priesthood. The move inaugurated what is known as the Heian Period and marked the high point of pre-modern Japanese history that lasted from 794 to 1185.
During the Heian Period, how was Japan governed?
During the Heian Period, the Japanese Emperor became more of a figurehead, while political power rested in the office of chancellor. By 858, the powerful Fujiwara clan had gained permanent control of the chancellorship, which they held into the 1100s.
What was the primary influence on Japanese culture during the Heian Period?
During the Heian Period, most of Japanese culture was heavily influenced by Tang China and was blended with native Japanese culture. Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism coexisted with Japan’s native religion, Shinto. Beginning in the 1000s, the Fujiwara began emphasizing a more independent cultural tradition and became preoccupied with Japanese court life.
The weakness of the Fujiwara brought about what war in the mid-1100s?
As the Fujiwara focused on cultural achievements, they delegated military affairs to clans of warriors. Two of these clans ousted the Fujiwara and fought amongst themselves in the Taira-Minamoto War (named after the two clans), which lasted from 1156 to 1185.
The Minamoto were eventually successful and moved the capital to Kamakura. The capital was later moved back to Heian, which was renamed Kyoto.