HTS 2061 Quiz 2

Mongul Rule in China: Yuan dynasty

Four classes: Mongol, Northern Nomads, Northern Chinese, Southern Chinese 100 quota for the civil exam: 50 for 200000 non-chinese; 50 for 85 million chinese -the four books became the standard textbook for the civil exam

routs of spread of Mahayana buddhism

India --> Central Asia --> China --> Korea --> Japan

The Daze ("Big Swamp") Village Uprising

Led by Chen Sheng, 209 BCE -Chens words: "Every man, regardless of birth, has the chance to become someone with great power if he exerts himself." "How can a little songbird understand the ambitions of a grand swan!" -became the center of the peasant uprising that overthrew the Qin dynasty

Marco Polo

MarcoPolo (1254-1324), Venice merchent, spent 17 years in Kublai Khans service (1275-1292) His description of the world was dictated to a professional romance writer in a Genoese prison Legend goes that he brought spaghetti and ice-cream back

Poems

More than 50000 tang dynasty poems survived to this day Romantic Poet: Li Bai Realistic Poet: Du Fu

the second chinese empire

More than three centuries of period of disunion between Han and Sui -Sui dynasty, 589- 618 (yang) Capital: chang'an, todays Xi'an. -Tang, 618-907 (Li) -Capital: Chang'an became the most cosmopolitan city in the world

chinas four greatest inventions

Paper making (Han, early 2nd century) Gunpowder (Tang, 9th century) Movable printing ( Song early 11th century) Magnetic compass (Song, early 11th century)

Equal field

Principle: the bulk of the land should be divided equally among the peasants policy: each able-bodied male, age 18-59, was supposed to receive about 14 acres of arable land, of which only one-fifth could be permanently owned

Late imperial china

Song (960-1279) -Northern Song (kaifeng) ending 1127 -Southern Song (Hangzhou) -Yuan (1279-1368) (Beijing) -Ming (1368-1644) (Beijing) -Qing (1644-1911) (Beijing)

the custom of foot binding

Starting among the court ladies in the 10th century -considered as beautiful and high class -viewed as sexy and erotic -spread to common people and became extremely popular in the Qing dynasty -Ended in the 20th century

China: Song dynasty

Strong economy: commercial revolution -conservative culture: neo-confucianism -weak military: vulnerable to invasions from the north

The tang code

the first chinese law code to survive in full -revised every 10-15 years and was regularly supplemented -subsequent chinese dynasties adopted the code in part or in full -as did chinese neighbors, inclusing the japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese

Chinas last dynasty

the ming was overthrown by peasant uprising Qing, ruled by the Manchu, 1644-1911 -Prosperous under the Emperor Qianlong during the 18th century -The Canton system -The Macartney mission, 1793 -the Opium War, 1840 -China became a semi colonial nation -The nationalist revolution of 1911 -the communist revolution of 1949 -a century of national humiliation

Empress Wu (Wu Zetian)

the only women in the history of china to assume the title of emperor (690-705) and named her dynasty Zhou -a ruthless but capable ruler, promoting civil examination system and equal field system -patronizing Buddhism -womens social status -Confucian mainstream view of Wu Zetian -Mao's wife Jiang Qing

Tibet

tibet was unified for the first time in 607 under chinese suzerainty -the chinese pacifying policy through marriage -the reformist yellow sect of buddhism, named after the color of their robes. -The yellow sect combines religion with political power for both Tibetans and Mongolians -Dalai lama, meaning "Ocean of Wisdom" in mongol. title of the spiritual and temporal rulers from 1642-1959 -Reincarnations of Dalai Lama (the current is the 14th- born in 1935)

Reasons contributed to the success of buddhism in china

-Afterlife: more optimistic view of afterlife than the indigenous Chinese view of harsh underworld jails for most of the dead, with the realm of the immortals reserved only for the few -reincarnation: appeal to both the rulers and the subjects -compromise: they were willing to absorb the elements of preexisting religions, assimilated many local deities as guardians, and drawn Taoist vocabulary -acceptance: the secular nature of Confucianism allowed cultural acceptance, tolerance, and integration

The pattern of Chinas Dynastic Cycle

-An able leader claimed the "mandate of heaven" and founded a new dynasty -a period of stability and prosperity -land concentration and corruption of government -increasing impoverishment of the people -peasant rebellion and alien invasions -collapse of the dynasty and civil war -an able leader claimed the "mandate of heaven" and founded a new dynasty

Confucianism during the Han empire

-Martial emperor declared Confucianism as the official ideology of chinese empire -confucianism had been the most dominating school of thought or ideology for more than 2 thousand years up to 20th century - Confucianism was under attack and severe criticism in the 20th century -the chinese now are reviving some of the confucian ideas such as benevolence, social harmony, work ethics, family value, etc

Four noble truths of buddhism

-Reincarnations: individual beings pass through endless cycles of birth and death -karma: individuals cumulative records of good and bad deeds -nirvana:the goal of life is the snuffing out of the forces propelling one from existence to existence, union of the universal godhead -dharma: the law or discipline of being good monks (in Hinduism: the selfless execution of one's earthly duties -the principle of non-violence

Hinayana (thervada) buddhism (the lesser vehicle)

-developed in India between about 200-100 BC -closer to the original faith -emphasizing monastic life -good works could offset bad conduct in the building of karma -spread to Ceylon and Southeast Asia, especially in Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos

Han inventions

-paper, around AD 100, Cai Lun -Earthquake detector, Zhang heng, a hill in the noon named after him -Navigation: ships with multiple masts, watertight compartments, and magnetic compass -Medicine:circulation of blood (conventional western claim for its discovery by William Harvey in the 17th century) acupuncture for surgeries -Fine porcelain known as "china"

Civil service examination

-started from the Sui, continued till 1905 -largely based on Confucian classics -all responsible government officials were selected from degree holders Three degrees: County-"Flowering Talent" Provincial-"Elevated Man" Metropolitan-"Presented Scholar" At each level only about 1-3% of the candidates passed the exam -the number one scholar from the pool of the presented scholars -the hanlin academy: the highest elite group of scholars

purpose of the ming voyages

-trades? territories? tributary system? searching for a missing emperor? Why were the abandoned after Zheng he? -too costly? -Agriculture vs international trade? Confucianism? did china close her door after zheng he? a golden opportunity missed? -A controversial book about the ming voyages: "1421, the year china discovered america" by Gavin Menzies, published in 2003 -After abandoned ocean voyages, the ming government re consolidated the great wall

Han dynasty

206-220 -Liu Bang, a commoner who founded a major dynasty -the first 60 years of moderate policy -Han Wudi, or the martial emperor -Expansion North: defeating Xiongnu ( a people of turkish origin, commonly known as the huns) West: Reaching central asia Northeast: Controlling Korea South: Vietnam -Tributary system Silk Road (from the Han capitol Chang'an [todays Xi'an] to central asia)

Qin Shi Huangdi, First emperor of Qin

260-210 BCE, born Ying Zheng, was a prince of the state of Qin and became king at 13. -unified china in 221 BC -abolished the feudal system -established a centralized imperial system -Standardization for the purpose of consolidating the centralized imperial power: weight, measure, currency, size of the road, legal system, written language -Construction Projects: transportation system, irrigation system, the Great Wall, A-Fang palace, his tomb, Legalism and ruthlessness, searching for longevity, Xu Fu, Elixir & Japan

Yuan culture

A rich cultural diversity novel drama landscape painting fine porcelain medicine

Womens social status

According to the tang code, a couple wishing to divorce on the basis of mutual consent and a peaceful process were not to be punished -this signifies that the law protected people's rights to divorce through consultation -historical records show that it was not unusual for a women to divorce or remarry at this time. as a contrast to the prevailing attitude of other feudal dynasties -a widow was not considered to be unchaste if she remarried

Life of buddha

Founder Sakyamuni (Sanskrit: sage of the Shakyas) (Born Siddhartha Gautama, "descendant of Gotama") -563 BC-483 BC, son of a petty king in northeastern India (today Nepal) -married and had a son -age 29- abandoned home -age 35 - under a bodhi tree became the buddha (the enlightened one) -Age 80: ended his earthly life His body became the most sacred relics in buddhist tradition

Sima Qian

Chinas greatest historian -wrote the historical records (Shiji) -a one-man account of the history of the entire known world -since shiji, every period from han to 1911 was fully documented in the series known as the standard histories (masterpeice of chinese literature)

the four books compiled and annotated by Zhu Xi

Confucian Analects Mencius Great Learning Doctrine of the Mean

Neo Confucian Moral Teaching

Filial piety (xiao) is a virtue of respect for ones parents and ancestors. it is central to confucian role ethics -"the 24 stories of filial piety" -womens social status compared to tang -emphasizing the virtue of chaste

Zheng He

chinas most famous navigator Zheng he(1371-1433) a court eunuch and a muslim -fro 28 years from 1405 to 1433 almost 28000 crewman -they traveled more than 50000 km and visited over 37 countries, including areas near the Red sea and east africa

Mahayana buddhism (the greater vehicle)

developed in india between abotu AD 100-200 -the buddha was made into a supernatural god, there were innumerable saints, called bodhisattvas, deliberately choosing not to enter the final bliss of nirvana, stayed behind to help others along the way -People who are favored by a bodhisattva can gain temporary respite from the suffering O-mi-t'o-fu ( in China) or Amida buddha (in Japan): worship by chanting his name -a popular bodhisattva: Kuan-yin or Kannon (sound observer) the goddess of mercy. She was much prayed to for help in the present world rather than for release from it

the grand canal

from Beijing to Hangzhou about 1100 miles long the longest canal in the world A UNESCO world heritage cite