Unit 1 Flashcards
imperial bureaucracy (China)
a vast organization in which appointed officials carried out the empire’s policies, strengthening the dynasty’s control
civil service exam
In Imperial China starting in the Han dynasty, it was an exam based on Confucian teachings used to select people for various government service jobs in the nationwide administrative bureaucracy
During the Song Dynasty, Emperor Song Taizu expanded educational opportunities for young men -> social mobility, weakened aristocrats, more elaborate because of ability to print books
meritocracy
a system in which promotion is based on individual ability or achievement
Grand Canal
the 1,100-mile waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers; begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Empire
-effective internal waterway transportation system
–enabled huge, populous trading centers
Champa rice
quick-maturing, drought-resistant rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season; sent from Vietnam to China as a tribute gift (tributary system)
Proto-Industrialization
a set of economic changes in which people in rural areas made more goods than they could sell; relied more on home-based or community-based production using simple equipment; led to rise of artisans
artisans (China)
skilled craftworkers; produced steel and other products in widely dispersed smelting facilities, manufactured porcelain and silk
How did the Song Dynasty promote the growth of a commercial economy?
changing how they built public projects, such as roads and irrigation canals
by paying people to work for the government (increasing the amount of money in circulation)
growth of artisans who manufactured steel, porcelain, and silk (lucrative products)
tributary system
tributary system
set of practices that required non-Chinese authorities to acknowledge Chinese superiority and their own subordinate place in a Chinese-centered world order; some “tributes” were actually protection money from the Chinese to the nomadic empires
kowtow
a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission; ritual for anyone greeting the emperor
scholar gentry
Chinese class of well-educated men from whom many bureaucrats were chosen; most influential; Confucian-educated
foot binding
practice in Chinese society to mutilate women’s feet in order to make them smaller; produced pain and restricted movement; made it easier to confine women to the household; signified social status, something suitors particularly desired
woodblock printing
a type of printing in which text is carved into a block of wood and the block is then coated with ink and pressed on the page
Theravada Buddhism
sect of Buddhism, focusing on personal spiritual growth through silent meditation and self-discipline; strongest in Southeast Asia
Mahayana Buddhism
sect of Buddhism, focused on spiritual growth for all beings and service; strongest in China and Korea
Tibetan Buddhism
sect of Buddhism, focusing on chanting; strongest in Tibet
syncretism
a blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith; the unification or blending of opposing people, ideas, or practices, frequently in the realm of religion
Chan Buddhism
Buddhist doctrines combined with the elements of Daoist traditions; emphasized direct experience and meditation as opposed to formal learning based on studying scripture; became popular in China and many monasteries appeared in most major cities
filial piety
The duty of family members to subordinate their desires to those of the male head of the family and to the ruler; helped the Song maintain their rule in China
Neo-Confucianism
syncretic system, combining rational thought with more abstract ideas of Daoism and Buddhism; emphasized ethics rather than the mysteries of God and nature; popular in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam
Heian period
Japan emulated Chinese traditions in politics, art, and literature; however, Japanese writers also moved in new directions
Japanese feudalism
Four class system laid down with marriage restrictions and to members of the same class. 1-emporer and shogun. 2- dayimo. 3- samurai 4- artisans, commoners 5- merchants; without a centralized government; built upon hereditary hierarchies; very little social mobility
daimyo
Japan’s large landowners/ aristocrats; vassals of the shogun or emperor
How is Japanese feudalism similar to European feudalism?
both have a system of mutual obligations, a code of conduct for warriors(European chivalry and Japanese bushido), and have a class hierarchy based on it; little social mobility
how is Japanese feudalism different from European feudalism?
The daimyo enjoyed much more power than the nobility in Europe did, ruling over vast stretches of land and, in reality, were more powerful than either the emperor or the shogun. moreover, in Europe the ideal knight held to the code of chivalry, but the Japanese samurais followed bushido.
bushido
The Feudal Japanese code of honor among the warrior class; stressed frugality, loyalty, the martial arts, and honor unto death
how was the Japanese system of government different from the Chinese?
Chinese- emperor who oversaw a large civilian bureaucracy, central government strong enough to promote trade and peace
Japanese- Minamoto clan installed a shogun, emperor had little power, suffering from regional rivalries among aristocrats
How was Korea similar to China?
centralized its government in the style of the Chinese; adopted both Confucian and Buddhist beliefs; adopted Chinese writing system temporarily
How was Korea different from China?
landed aristocracy were more powerful in Korea than in China; Korean elite were able to prevent certain Chinese reforms from ever being implemented (e.g. civil service exam was not open to peasants)
nuclear families
Social groups consisting of one or two parents and their biological, dependent children, living in a household with no other kin
how was Vietnamese culture different from Chinese culture?
-Vietnamese women enjoyed greater independence in their married lives.
-Chinese lived in extended families, but the Vietnamese preferred nuclear families.
-Political centralization was nonexistent in Vietnam.
-Vietnamese merit-based bureaucracy owed more allegiance to the village peasants, even leading revolts against the government.
-no polygyny and no foot binding
Sinification
Extensive adoption of Chinese culture in other regions; typical of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
polygyny
a form of marriage in which men have more than one wife
guerilla warfare
A hit-and-run technique used in fighting a war; fighting by small bands of warriors using tactics such as sudden ambushes; used by Vietnamese against the Tang Dynasty
House of Wisdom
An academic center for research and translation of foreign texts that was established in Baghdad in 830 C.E. by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun.; helped transfer knowledge throughout Afro-Eurasia, significantly contributing the Golden Age of Civilizations
Egyptian Mamluks
Arabs often purchased enslaved peoples, or Mamluks, who served as soldiers and later bureaucrats. In 1250 Mamluks seized control in Egypt establishing the Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517) They facilitated trade in cotton and sugar between the Islamic world and Europe
Seljuk Turks
nomadic Turks from Asia who conquered Baghdad in 1055 and allowed the caliph to remain only as a religious leader; extending their power almost as Far East as Western China; leader called himself sultan
Mongols
attacked the Abbasid Empire; came from Central Asia; conquered the remaining Abbasid Empire and ended the Seljuk rule
Baghdad
Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon; as trade patterns slowly shifted to routes farther north, Baghdad lost its traditional place at the center of trade, losing its wealth and population
Abbasid Calliphate
(750-1258 CE) The caliphate, after the Umayyads, who focused more on administration than conquering. Had a bureaucracy that any Muslim could be a part of.
Golden Age of Baghdad
-translated Greek literary classics into Arabic, saving Greek works from oblivion
-studied mathematics texts from India and transferred knowledge of Europeans
-adopted techniques for paper-making from China, Europeans learned to make paper
-other innovations and inventions (e.g. medical advances and observatory)
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
One of the most celebrated Islamic scholars. He contributed to astronomy, law, logic, ethics, mathematics, philosophy, and medicine; his observatory was the most advanced in the world and produced the most accurate astronomical charts; studied relationship between sides of triangle and angles (basis of trigonometry)
Ibn Khaldun
well-known for his historical accounts and is widely acknowledged as the founder of the fields of historiography and sociology
‘A’ishah al-Ba’uniyyah
prolific female Muslim writer; wrote a long poem honoring Muhammad called “Clear Inspiration, on Praise with the Trusted One”; her poems reflected contrast between most Muslims and Sufis
Sufis
unlike Muslims who focused on intellectual pursuits, such as the study of the Quran, Sufis emphasized introspection to grasp truths that they believed could not be understood through learning; missionaries tended to adapt to local cultures and traditions
Why were merchants viewed as more prestigious than did other societies in Europe and Asia at the time?
Muhammad himself had been a merchant, as had his first wife. Merchants could grow rich from their dealings across the Indian Ocean and Central Asia. They were esteemed as long as they maintained fair dealings and gave to charity in accord with the pillars of the Islamic faith.
slavery in Islam
Islamic law prohibited slavery of other Muslims and people of ‘the Book’, Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians; slaves were often imported from Africa, Kievan Rus, and Central Asia; institution of hereditary slavery had not been developed
How did slave women have more independence than legal Muslim wives?
might find themselves serving as concubines; able to go to markets and to run errands; permitted to dance or perform musically before unrelated men
hijab
a term that can refer either to the practice of dressing modestly or to a specific type of covering
Muhammad’s policies towards women
treated his wives with love and devotion; insisted that dowries be paid to the future wife rather than to her father; forbade female infanticide; first wife was educated and owned her own business, which set a pattern for the recognition of women’s abilities
How did Islamic women enjoy a higher status than Christian or Jewish women?
Islamic women were allowed to inherit property and retain ownership after marriage, could remarry if widowed or receive a cash settlement if divorced, initiate divorce, practice birth control, be protected from retaliation after testifying in a court under shariah
Battle of Tours
Islamic advance in Western Europe was stopped here after defeat against Frankish forces
Al-Andalus
A Muslim-ruled region in what is now Spain, established by the Berbers in the eighth century A.D.; Cordoba had the largest library in the world at the time
Chola Dynasty
one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of southern India; extended its rule to Ceylon, known as Sri Lanka
Vijayanagara Empire
independent empire proclaimed by Harihara and Bukka; “city of victory”. Dominate state in southern India until 1565
brought order to Southern India, Second State that dominated much of Southern India, based in North Deccan. Origins to Sultans of Dehli.
Rajput Kingdoms
Gradually formed in northern India and present day Pakistan. These were Hindu kingdoms led by the leaders of numerous clans, no centralized government arose, once again demonstrating the diversity & the regionalism of South Asia. The lack of a centralized power left the kingdoms vulnerable to Muslim attacks
Delhi Sultanate
The first Islamic government established within India from 1206-1520. Controlled a small area of northern India and was centered in Delhi.
Why did some Hindus convert to Islam during the Delhi Sultanate’s rule?
they converted because the Hindus were born into a low system of the caste system that they could not get out of.
Why did many Hindus in the Delhi Sultanate resent the government?
the Delhi Sultanate imposed jizya (tax) on all non-Muslim subjects of the empire and never organized an efficient bureaucracy in the style of the Chinese.
differences between Hinduism and Islam
Hindus pray to many gods, while Islam is strictly monotheistic. Hindu temples and artwork are replete with pictures of deities, while Muslims disapprove of any visual representation of Allah. Hinduism was associated with a hierarchical caste system, while Islam has always called for the equality of all believers. Hindus recognize several sacred texts, while Muslims look to only Quran for spiritual guidance.
Srivijaya Empire
A maritime Hindu empire that controlled the strait of Malacca between India and China.built up navy and prospered by charging fees for ships traveling between India and China; modern-day Sumatra
proselytize
to convert someone to a faith, belief, or cause
Why were the largest numbers of converts to Islam in India Buddhist?
corruption among the monks and raids on monasteries by early Muslim conquerors left the Buddhist religion disorganized
Why did the arrival of Islam do little to alter the basic structure of society in South Asia?
India’s caste system is its strongest historical continuity. While obviously inequitable, it lent stability to a politically decentralized land.
Qutub Minar
world’s tallest brick minaret. built during the Delhi Sultanate, it is a famous example of the melding of Hindu art with the geometric patterns preferred by Islamic architecture. It is an example syncretism in architecture
Urdu
A Persian-influenced literary form of Hindi written in Arabic characters and used as a literary language since the 1300s