Xiongnu
Major nomadic confederacy that was established circa 200 BCE and eventually reached from Manchuria to Central Asia
tribute system
Chinese method of dealing with foreign lands and peoples that assumed the subordination of all non-Chinese authorities and required the payment of tribute-produce of value from their countries-to the CHinese Emperor (although the Chinese gifts given in return were much more valuable)
Sui Dynasty
Ruling Dynasty if China that effectively reunited the country after several centres of political fragmentation
Song Dynasty
The Chinese dyanasty that rose to power after the Tang dynasty. Together, the dynasties established patterns of Chinese life that endured into the twentieth century. During the Song dynasty an explosion of scholarship gave rise to Neo-Confucianism, state structures were established that lasted for thousands of years, and a revolution in agricultural and industrial production made China the richest and most populated country on the planet.
Tang Dynasty
Ruling dynasty of China from 618 to 907; noted for its openness to foreign cultural influences.
Silla Dynasty
The first ruling dynasty to bring a measure of political unity to the Korean peninsula
Shotoko Taishi
Japenese statesman who launched the drive to make Japan into a centralized bureaucratic state modeled on CHina; he is best known for the Seventeen Article Constitution which lays out the principles of his reform
Khitan
A nomadic people who established a state that included parts of northern China
Jurchen
A nomadic people who established a state that included parts of Northern China
Izumi Shibuki
Japans most illustrious female poet who grew up at the Japanese court and participated in its love affairs and scandals.
Hangzhou
China's capital during the Song dynasty with a population of more than one million people
hangul
a phonetic alphabet in Korea in the 15th century
Foot binding
Chinese practice of tightly wrapping girls' feet to keep them on small size and delicacy was central to views of female beauty
Emperor Wendi
Sui Emperor who particularly patronized Buddhism
Economic Revolution
A major economic quickening that took place in China under the Song dynasty marked by rapid population growth, urbanization, economic specialization, the development of an immense network of internal waterways and a great increase in industrial production and innovation
Chu Nom
A variation of Chinese writing developed in Vietnam that became the basis for an independent national literature "southern script"
Chinese Buddhism
Buddhism was China's only large-scale cultural borrowing before the twentieth century; Buddhism entered China from India in the first and second centuries CE but only became popular in 300 CE through a series of cultural accommodations at first supported by the state; Buddhism suffered persecution during the ninth century but continued to play a role in Chinese society.
bushido
The "way of the warrior" referring to the military virtues of the Japanese samurai, including bravery, loyalty, and an emphasis on death over surrender