Set #1 Flashcards
Describe the decline of classical knowledge in Europe during the early medieval period.
From 600 CE to around the late 8th century, classical scholarship decline. Greek and Roman education had consisted of studies in grammar, logic, and rhetoric (the “trivium”) followed by astronomy, arithmetic, music, and geometry (the “quadrivium”). The classical approach continued on into the medieval period, but by then knowledge of the Greek language had largely died out in the west. Christianity became dominant, and education increasingly focused on the Bible. Some graments of classical learning survived, but by the late 8th century, education in western Europe was structured almost entirely around the Bible, and scholarship had largely been cut off from Greek science and philosophy.
Describe the literary awakening that occurred in the late 8th and 9th centuries at the Frankish court during the reign of Charlemagne.
Before Charlemagne, much of society lacked many basic educational skills. Most priests were barely literate and the royal court had difficulty finding educated men to act as scribes and copy out manuscripts. To fix these problems, Charlemagne created schools and assembled the greatest scholars of the age at his court. A Northumbrian scholar, Alcuin of York, became the head of the palace school. A standard curriculum was developed, and study of the classical trivium and quadrivium was reestablished. Latin once again became the formal language of communication across Europe.
Describe the influence and preservation of Greek philosophy and science in Arab civilizations during the early medieval period.
Although works of classical Greek science remained largely unavailable in Christian Europe, in Arab Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East, society had inherited many aspects of Greek culture. Aristotle was well known as “the Philosopher” to Arab scholars and his works were standard texts. In the 9th - 10th centuries, numerous classical Greek works were translated into Arabic, and a flurry of commentaries were composed. The Persian scholar Avicenna produced a huge range of material covering almost every area of knowledge. His “Book of Knowledge” was the largest encyclopedia composed by one person in the period. Averroes, a renowned philosopher, scientist, and lawyer, composed a series of commentaries on Aristotle that for centuries formed the key source for Aristotle’s philosophy in the West.
Describe the 12th-century renaissance of classical Greek learning that occurred in Europe and why it occurred.
A diffusion of knowledge from East to West accelerated during the 12th century. In Spain, the Christian reconquest of the lands previously held by Muslim rulers encouraged the spread of Islamic learning. In the 13th century, the Spanish king Alfonso X established a program of translation of Greek and Arab texts in Toledo, previously capital of the Muslim caliphate of Cordoba. Other important hubs for the exchange of ideas included the Christian crusader kingdoms established in the 12th to 13th centuries and the Greek empire of Byzantium, which fell into the hands of the Crusaders in 1204. By the 13th century, Latin translations of the most important classical texts were available to European scholars.
Describe scholasticism.
The rediscovery of ancient philosophical works combined with the ongoing development of Christian theology led to the scholastic movement of the later Medieval period. Scholasticism was not a philosophy in itself, but rather a tool for learning that placed emphasis on logic and reasoning. The works of Plato and Aristotle were important for the followers of the movement, as they provided the basic tools for constructing arguments. But so were Christian authorities such as St. Augustine and, above all, the Bible. The scholastic method sought to apply the learning of these authorities to the problems of Christian theology. Thomas Aquinas’ “Summa Theologica”, for example, is a masterful synthesis of Aristotle’s philosophy and Christian tradition.
Describe the foundation of the first universities in the 12 to 13th centuries.
A better understanding of the classical art of debate, combined with a growing demand for education, led to the foundation of the first universities in the 12th to 13th centuries. Medieval universities evolved from earlier cathedral schools and monasteries and were created to study theology, law, medicine, and the arts. By the 14th century, universities had become central to intellectual life. Theology remained the most prestigious area of study, and all students were at least in the minor orders (the lowest ranks of the clergy). However, the first six years of study now focused on the seven liberal arts: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, grammar, logic, and rhetoric – the classical “trivium” and “quadrivium”. In this way, the universities signaled a move away from an intellectual world entirely dominated by the Church.
Describe the events between the fall of the Han dynasty of China and the rise of the Tang dynasty.
After the collapse of the Han dynasty, China was divided into several kingdoms. During this period, Buddhism, which had brought from the Indian subcontinent in the 2nd century CE, Buddhism spread quickly, despite attempts to suppress it by Confucian officials. However, it was not until the Tang dynasty that Buddhism reached the height of its influence in China. China was reunited in 589 CE under the Sui dynasty. The first Sui emperor, Wendi, built Chang’an (modern Xi’an), a new capital city, and enforced a clear legal code. His son, Yangdi, carried out a costly program of canal building and launched ill-fated attacks on Korea. Yangdi also comissioned a Grand Canal to run from Hangzhou to Beijing. The total length of the canal was 1,490 miles (2,400 km), and it remains the longest canal in the world. The Sui dynasty fell to the Tang in 618 CE.
Describe the rise of the Tang dynasty in China.
The Tang dynasty was founded by Li Yuan, a frontier general, who in 617 rebelled against the Sui dynasty. He took the capital Chang’an the following year, though it would be a further six years before the whole of China fell under his control. Under the title of Emperor Gaozu, Li Yuan inaugurated a new dynasty, which ruled over China for the next three centuries.
Describe the establishment of a official bureaucracy, state schools, and colleges under the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang China.
The first Tang emperor, Gaozu, was succeeded by his son, Taizong, an intelligent and hard-working ruler whose reign (629 - 649) became synonymous with a period of prosperity. Taizong improved the system of government that his father had established, and reformed the administrative system. State schools and colleges were established, and government examinations were administered to ensure that the most talented individuals were placed in the highest official positions. For Taizong, this not only had the advantage of delivering an effective civil service, but also strengthened his own security; unlike those drawn from China’s aristocracy, career officials had no power base of their own to challenge the Tang dynasty.
Describe the rise of Buddhism under Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty of China?
Although he promoted Confucianism and Daoism within the bureaucracy, Taizong personally embraced the Buddhist religion imported from India. In 629 CE, the monk Xuan Zang journeyed to India to collect Buddhist texts. His travels were the inspiration for the famous Chinese novel “Record of a Journey to the West”, known in the West as “Monkey”. Buddhism continued to have a great influence on Chinese society until its suppression in the late Tang period.
Describe the expansion of China during the Tang dynasty.
In 657, Taizong’s armies defeated the Turks at the battle of Issyk-Kul in modern-day Kyrgyzstan, and advanced China’s influence as far west as the borders of Persia. Taizong also launched expeditions against the kingdom of Koguryo in north Korea, though he died before he had established Chinese control over the area. As its greatest extent, in around the year 750 CE, Tang China claimed more land than the preceding Han dynasty, its borders reaching even further west, south, and east than those of modern China.
Describe the reign of Wu Zetian.
The Tang dynasty was briefly interrupted by the short-lived Zhou dynasty. One of the Zhou emperors, Ruizong, was usurped by his mother, Empress Wu Zetian, in 690 CE. Also known as Empress Wu, she was the only Chinese empress to rule in her own right. Although regarded as a shrewd and ruthless leader, she gave extravagant support to Buddhism and other foreign religions, and engaged in costly frontier campaigns. From 697 CE, she became enamored of the Zhang brothers. In 705 CE, her senior ministers had the brothers killed, and forced the empress to abdicate. She died later that year.
Describe the reign of emperor Xuanzhong and the Chinese golden age that occurred under his rule.
After the reign of the ruthless Wu Zetian and several other short-lived rulers, the succession of the Tang dynasty fell to the Emperor Xuanzhong in 712 CE. Xuanzong was a clever and diligent ruler, and in the first part of his reign the fortunes of the Tang dynasty were restored. Sweeping reforms were made to the bureaucracy; large granaries were built to stockpile rice; military campaigns were fought against the Turkish, Tibetan, and Khitan peoples; a new network of frontier defenses was introduced, with permanent forces of professional soldiers; and contact was made with ambassadors from as far west as the Middle East. All of these measures led to a rich, powerful, and cosmopolitan state; China had reached a golden age. Chang’an (which lay at the terminus of the Silk Road) became a major cosmopolitan center for culture and trade and also the world’s largest city.
Describe the flourishing of the arts under emperor Xuanzong of China.
Xuanzong was a great patron of the arts, and under his reign Chinese painting and literature reached new levels of sophistication. Two of China’s greatest poets flourished in this period: Li Bai and Du Fu, known respectively as the Poet Immortal and the Sage Poet. Li Bai cultivated a reputation for eccentricity, and many of his poems celebrate the joys of wine and women. The poems of Du Fu, in contrast, dealt with serious moral and historical issues. Landscape painting evolved under the poet artists Wang Wei, who painted evocative winter scenes, and Wu Daozi developed a Chinese style of Buddhist sculpture. The court painter Han Gan was known for his depictions of horses, a subject that continued to inspire artists in later periods.
Describe the decline of the Tang dynasty of China.
In the 730s CE, Xuanzong’s control over his government began to slip. A number of aristocrats began to displace the career officials. The most notorious of these was Li Linfu, who by 752 CE had made himself virtually a dictator. The emperor, 72 years old by now, no longer played an active role in government. He had become infatuated with Yang Guifei, who was his son’s concubine and a famous beauty. After Xuanzong made her imperial consort, she persuaded him to promote her cousin Yang Guozhang to a senior position at court; when Li linfu died, Yang took his place. Among the professional soldiers who had been given commands along the frontier was an officer named An Lushan. He became a favorite (and possibly lover) of Yang Guifei. The rivalry between An Lushan and Yang Guozhang led the former to raise a rebellion in 755 CE. The emperor was forced to flee from Chang’an. His military escort demanded the execution of Yang Guifei, blaming her for the troubles, and Xuanzong had no choice but to accept. Though An Lushan was eventually defeated and the rebellion brought to an end, the Tang dynasty never recovered its former strength and glory.
