Song Dynasty
definition - succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period; 960-1279 significance - It had many cultural and political achievements, such as the economic revolution.
Sui Dynasty
definition - ruling dynasty of China (589-618 CE) that effectively reunited the country after several centuries of political fragmentation significance - It is when China regained its unity.
Tang Dynasty
definition - ruling dynasty of China (618-917 CE); noted for its openness to foreign cultural influences significance - It was "the best ordered state in the world."
Hangzhou
definition - capital of Song dynasty significance - It was "beyond dispute the finest and noblest [city] in the world."
economic revolution
definition - rapid population growth, economic speculation, increase in industrial production and innovations in Song dynasty significance - It made China "by far the richest, most skilled, and most populas country on Earth."
foot binding
definition - practice in Chinese society to mutilate women's feet in order to make them smaller significance - It was associated with images of female beauty and eroticism.
tribute system
definition - Chinese method of dealing with foreign lands and people that assumed the subordination of all non-Chinese authorities and required all foreigners access to China pay tribute significance - It was a system that attempted to regulate their relationships with northern nomads.
Khitan/Jurchen people
definition - nomadic people who established a state that included parts of northern China significance - It was a nomadic group who "picked up the pieces" after the collapse of the Tang dynasty.
chu nom
definition - a logographic writing system used to write the Vietnamese language significance - It provided a basis for an independent national literature and a vehicle for the writing of most educated women.
Izumi Shikibu
definition - a mid Heian period Japanese poet significance - She wrote about political posturing and the love affairs of aristocratic men and women.
Xiongnu
definition - a major nomadic confederation that was established in 200 BCE and eventually reached from Manchuria to Central Asia significance - It persuaded a Chinese emperor to negotiate an arrangement that recognized the nomadic state as a political equal.
Silla Dynasty (Korea)
definition - the first ruling dynasty to bring a measure of political unity to the Korean peninsula significance - It allied with China to bring political unity to the peninsula for the first time.
hangul
definition - a phonetic alphabet in Korea in the 14th century significance - It helped Korea move toward greater cultural independence.
Shotoku Taishi
definition - Japanese statesmen who launched the drive to make Japan into a centralized bureaucratic state modeled on China significance - He launched a series of large-scale missions to China.
bushido
definition - the "way of the warrior" significance - It was a distinct set of values for samurais.
Chinese Buddhism
definition - entered China through cultural accommodations significance - It was useful to helping nomadic rulers govern northern China because it was foreign.
Emperor Wendi
definition - Sui emperor who patronized Buddhism significance - He was responsible for the monasteries constructed at the base of China's five sacred mountains.