Unit 1 - The Global Tapestry Flashcards
song dynasty
- Chinese dynasty
- (960 - 1279 CE)
- “golden age”
- China saw many important inventions
- magnetic compass, had a navy, paper money, gun powder
- traded with India and Persia
Confucianism
A philosophy that adheres to the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct.
filial piety
- confucian virtue: a love and respect for one’s parents and ancestors
neo-confucianism
The Confucian response to Buddhism by taking Confucian and Buddhist beliefs and combining them into this. However, it is still very much Confucian in belief.
theravada buddhism
- the oldest of the two major branches of Buddhism
- practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia
- conservative beliefs, holding close to the original teachings of the Buddha
mahayana buddhism
- “Great Vehicle” branch of Buddhism
- followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia.
- focus is on reverence for Buddha and for Bodhisattva, enlightened persons who have postponed Nirvana to help others attain enlightenment
- It was a more “user friendly” Buddhism that developed as Buddhism spread into East and Southeast Asia
tibetan buddhism
a Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are not Buddhist and elements of preexisting shamanism, a tradition of Buddhism that teaches that people can use special techniques to harness spiritual energy and can achieve nirvana in a single lifetime
champa rice
- quick maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season
- led to increased populations in Song Dynasty
- og introduced into vietnam from india, later sent to china as a tribute gift by the champa state
grand canal
The 1,100-mile (1,700-kilometer) waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. It was begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Dynasty.
flying money
Chinese credit instrument that provided credit vouchers to merchants to be redeemed at the end of the voyage; reduced danger of robbery; early form of currency
Seljuk Empire
- Turkic empire ruled by sultans in Persia and modern-day Iraq
- 11th and 12th centuries
- Established Turks as major ethnic group carrying Islam across Eurasia, along with Arabs and Persians
- Demonstrated weakness of Abbasid caliphate in its later years
- sultans held real power in the empire
- Helped to spread the influence of Islam throughout the region
mamluk sultanate
- A political unit in Egypt established by Mamluks
- Defeated the Mongols and the Ayyubid Sultanate
- Did not set up a consistent, hereditary line of succession, which hurt them greatly
- Failed to adapt to new warfare and were eventually defeated by the Ottomans, who brought guns
- Disinterest in trade also contributed to their downfall
delhi sultanate
- the first islamic government est. within india from 1206-1520
- controlled a small area of northern india and was centered in delhi
abbasid caliphate
- 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
house of wisdom in baghdad
- large islamic based library and learning center
- focused on converting greek and roman classics and indian learning into arabic
- preserved knowledge
bhakti movement
an immensely popular development in hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity
sufism
An Islamic mystical tradition that desired a personal union with God–divine love through intuition rather than through rational deduction and study of the Shari’a. Followed an ascetic routine (denial of physical desire to gain a spiritual goal), dedicating themselves to fasting, prayer, meditation on the Qur’an, and the avoidance of sin
feudalism
A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land
vassal
a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiance
serf
an agricultural laborer bound under the feudal system to work on their lord’s estate
manorialism
economic system during the Middle Ages that revolved around self-sufficient farming estates where lords and peasants shared the land; the economic side of feudalism
great zimbabwe
- A powerful state in the African interior that apparently emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast
- flourished between 1250 and 1350 C.E.
cahokia
The dominant center of an important Mississippi valley mound-building culture, located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri; flourished from about 900 to 1250 C.E.
mayan city states
- Classical culture in Southern Mexico and Central America
- contemporary with Teotihuacan
- extended over broad region
- featured monumental architecture, written language, calendar system, mathematical system
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
- invented during the Song Dynasty period of China and allowed to the quick creation and distribution of texts
- would later spread to Europe via trade and Mongol expansion allowing Europeans to develop the printing press c. 1440 CE
meritocracy
government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability; used in china via the civil service exam
syncretism
The unification or blending of opposing people, ideas, or practices, frequently in the realm of religion. For example, when Christianity or Buddhism was adopted by people in a new land, they often incorporate it into their existing culture and traditions.
zen buddhism
- also called Chen
- a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition
- illustrates the adaptations Buddhism made as it spread to new areas and interacted with different cultures
aishah al-ba’uniyyah
A Sufi master and poet. She is one of few medieval female Islamic mystics to have recorded their own views in writing, and she “probably composed more works in Arabic than any other woman prior to the twentieth century”. She was born and died in Damascus in the 16th century.
nasir al-din tusi
(1201-1274) Persian mathematician and cosmologist whose academy near Tabriz provided the model for the movement of the planets that helped to inspire the Copernican model of the solar system.
mita system
economic system in Inca society where people paid taxes with their labor and what they produced; men and women were expected to contribute this labor to the state yearly
greek philosophy
the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics; distinguished by the ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; preserved by the Arabs after the Roman Empire collapsed
buddhist monks
religious communities where Buddha’s followers stayed, studied, and meditated; both men and women could join monasteries as monks or nuns; often exempt from taxation which put strains on Chinese political systems
fief
land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service
ethiopia
- Previously known as Axum
- Christian kingdom that developed in the highlands of eastern Africa under the dynasty of King Lalaibela
- retained Christianity in the face of Muslim expansion elsewhere in Africa
- facilitated trade
coercive labor
Any labor system that involves force (slavery, chattel slavery, serfdom, and indentured labor)
great schism
- in 1054, divided medieval Christianity into (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Relations between East and West had long been embittered by political and ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes.
renaissance
“rebirth”; following the Middle Ages, a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome; began in Florence, Italy and spread throughout Europe
crusades
A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule; ultimately spread culture and increased trade but were not successful
three field system
A rotational system for agriculture in which one field grows grain, one grows legumes, and one lies fallow. Restores nutrients to the soil to improve crop yields. It gradually replaced two-field system in medieval Europe.
waru waru agriculture
A form of farming used in the Inca Empire; divided the hills into terraces or flat steps almost like steps; they could then control the amount of water being put into those places; led to vastly improved agriculture for the Incas
chinampas
Floating gardens constructed along lake shores by the Mexica/Aztecs to increase agricultural yields.
religious mysticism
adherents within religions focusing on mystical experiences that bring them closer to divine - prayer, meditation
what cultures were associated with buddhism
indian, chinese, japanese, southeast asian
who founded buddhism
- Siddhartha Gautama, young Hindu prince
- lived in Nepal from 563-483 BCE
- rejected wealth and materialistic possessions and became Buddha (enlightened one)
did Buddhism have a supreme being
no
4 Noble Truths
- all life is suffering
- suffering is caused by desire
- can be freed of desire
- freed of desire following a prescribed path
what was the effect of the death of Buddha
- 483 BCE
- Buddhism split into Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism
meditation, simplicity, nirvana as renunciation of consciousness and self
Mahayana Buddhism
- great ritual, spiritual comfort
- more complex but greater spread
impact of Buddhism
- rejects caste system; appealed to those of lower rank
- India: reabsorbed in Hinduism
- China, Japan, Southeast Asia: Buddhism continued to thrive
- Further Areas: spread via trade routes
cultures associated with Christianity
started as a group of Jews, quickly expanded through Europe, northeastern Africa, Middle East
what was Christianity based around
Jesus of Nazareth, a figure who claimed to be Messiah the Jews had awaited - teachings of devotion to God and love for others
- biblical teaching
who crucified Jesus
Romans and Jewish leaders in 30 CE and his followers believe he rose from the dead into heaven
what did Christians believe
- Believe Jesus is the Son of God - forgiveness of sins, everlasting life is achievable through him
- World was created by God, but world has fallen from God
- Believers should seek God and care for him and others
impact of Christianity
- compassion, grace through faith appealed to lower classes and women
- Became most influential religion in Mediterranean basin by 3rd century
- Became official religion of Roman Empire, then branching north and west
- Connection with Roman Empire had profound impact on global culture
