Period 3: Asia

Question 1

Who was Emperor Xuanzong?

Answer 1

Emperor Xuanzong was an emperor of the Tang dynasty. Under his rule, the Tang expanded Chinese territory into parts of Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet, and Korea.

Question 2

How did the Tang dynasty decline?

Answer 2

By 907, the empire had become so large that local warlords gained more and more power, and the Tang dynasty collapsed.

Question 3

Who unified the Song dynasty?

Answer 3

Emperor Taizu reunified China under the Song dynasty in 960. The Song dynasty lasted during a long period of peace and prosperity.

Question 4

How did the Song dynasty fall?

Answer 4

The Song eventually fell to the Jurchen and then the Mongols until finally in 1279 the Mongols established the Yuan dynasty in its place.

Question 5

How did the Yuan dynasty fall?

Answer 5

The Yuan dynasty lasted less than a century. The Mongols were driven from China, and in 1368 the Ming dynasty restored traditional Chinese rule to the empire.

Question 6

What made the Tang dynasty unique?

Answer 6

Poetry, which today tells us about daily life in China during that time.

Question 7

What were developments in the Song dynasty?

Answer 7

• the Song built on the Tang dynasty’s talent for poetry with more practical applications of words in the form of encyclopedias and histories
• developed printing processes that facilitated the spread of its literary accomplishments throughout Asia and later influenced the development of literature in Korea and Japan

Question 8

What dynasty created the civil service examinations?

Answer 8

The Han dynasty.

Question 9

What were characteristics of the Tang and Song dynasties?

Answer 9

• civil service exams were modified but still focused on Confucian principles which created educated, talented, and loyal government workers
• built an extensive transportation and communication network including canals
• developed new business practices such as the introduction of paper money and letters of credit

Question 10

Where was power in the Tang dynasty based?

Answer 10

Tang power was based on military garrisons along the central Asian trade routes and their capital at Chang’an, which was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and the largest city in the world at this time.

Question 11

What was the Tang tribute system?

Answer 11

Through the Tang tribute system, independent countries such as Vietnam and Korea acknowledged the supremacy of the Chinese emperor and sent ambassadors to the city with gifts. This helped spread Chinese influence and brought religion into China.

Question 12

What happened after the Song lost control of its northern half to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty?

Answer 12

The Song withdrew to the south and established a capital city at Hangzhou. An early form of moveable type resulted in an increase in literacy and bureaucrats among the lower classes. Printed books also spread agricultural and technological knowledge, leading to an increase in productivity and population growth by the 1100s.

Question 13

What new technologies were applied to the military during the Song dynasty?

Answer 13

• gunpowder in primitive weapons
• the magnetic compass, watertight bulkheads, and sternpost rudders made the Chinese junks (aka ships) the best of their time

Question 14

What were innovations in the Song dynasty?

Answer 14

• iron production increased rapidly
• steel was produced using water-wheel-driven bellows to produce needed temperatures
• introduced Champa, a fast-ripening rice, from Vietnam
• new agricultural techniques -> more food supplies -> population growth -> urban centers expanded

Question 15

Who was the only female emperor in the Tang dynasty?

Answer 15

Wu Zhao became the first and only Empress of China at the death of her husband, Emperor Gaozong. She was ruthless toward her adversaries and compassionate toward peasants.

Question 16

How were women treated in the Tang dynasty?

Answer 16

• most women in China never gained Wu Zhao’s power
• Chinese men considered women inferior
• valued a woman’s beauty and femininity (similarly to European men of the Middle Ages)

Question 17

How were women treated in the Song dynasty?

Answer 17

• adherence to a new Confucianism justified the subordination of women
• foot binding became a widespread practice

Question 18

What was Mahayan Buddhism?

Answer 18

Mahayan Buddhism emphasized a peaceful and quiet existence and a life apart from worldly values, which appealed to many people.

Question 19

What was Chan (or Zen) Buddhism?

Answer 19

Chan Buddhism emphasized meditation and appreciation of beauty, which won converts in the educated classes, who generally followed the principles of Confucianism.

Question 20

How was Buddhism seen in China in the 800s?

Answer 20

Confucians saw Buddhism as a drain on the treasury and the labor pool because Buddhism dismissed the pursuit of material accumulation. The Daoists saw Buddhism as a rival religion. In the mid-800s under Emperor Wuzong of the Tang dynasty, a wave of persecutions destroyed thousands of monasteries and reduced the influence of Buddhism in China.

Question 21

Who was the first important ruling family in Japan?

Answer 21

The Yamato clan, whose international connections helped them emerge as leaders in the fifth century. This is the first and only dynasty to rule Japan.

Question 22

What were characteristics of the Shinto religion?

Answer 22

• Shinto means “the way of the gods”
• worshipped the kami, which refers to nature and forces of nature
• goal was to become part of the kami by following certain rituals and customs
• encouraged obedience and proper behavior
• the Yamamoto clan claimed that the emperor was a direct descendant of the sun goddess, one of the main forces in Shinto, which helped the Yamamoto stay in power

Question 23

How did China influence Japan in the sixth century?

Answer 23

In 522, Buddhist missionaries went to Japan and brought with them Chinese culture. Buddhism spread but didn’t replace Shinto; instead, many Japanese followed both.

Question 24

How did China influence Japan in the seventh century?

Answer 24

Prince Shotoku borrowed bureaucratic and legal reforms, which were modeled on the Tang dynasty.

Question 25

What were Prince Shotoku’s reforms that were enacted after his death called?

Answer 25

The Taika Reforms were enacted in 645.

Question 26

How did China influence Japan in the eighth century?

Answer 26

Japanese built their new capital modeled on the Tang capital.

Question 27

How did Japan differ from China?

Answer 27

Japan rejected Confucianism and the civil service exams. In Japan, education wasn’t as important as birth, and noble classes were inherited.

Question 28

What happened after the capital of Japan was moved to Heian in 794?

Answer 28

Chinese influence decreased while the power of aristocratic families increased.

Question 29

Who was the Fujiwara?

Answer 29

The Fujiwara was one of the most powerful families in Japan who soon ran the affairs of the country in the 800s. The emperor remained as a figurehead, but the real power shifted to the Fujiwara.

Question 30

How did the Fujiwara impact Japanese society?

Answer 30

• golden age especially in terms of literature

- Japanese noblewomen were prolific

Question 31

How did Japan devolve into a feudal system?

Answer 31

By the 12th century, power in Japan had spread among a larger pool of noble families who started fighting each other for control over their small territories.

Question 32

Who was Yoritomo Minamoto?

Answer 32

In 1192, Yoritomo Minamoto became shogun, aka chief general. The emperor was the figurehead but the real power was in the hands of the shogun.

Question 33

What was feudalism like in Japan?

Answer 33

Shogun -> daimyo -> vassals -> peasants/artisans

Question 34

Who were the daimyo?

Answer 34

The daimyo were owners of large tracts of land (aka lords of medieval Europe). The daimyo were part warrior and part nobility. They divided their lands to lesser samurai, aka vassals.

Question 35

What was the Code of Bushido?

Answer 35

The samurai followed a strict code of conduct known as the Code of Bushido (similarly to the code of chivalry in Europe). The Code of Bushido stressed loyalty, courage, and honor. If a samurai failed to follow the code, he was expected to commit suicide.

Question 36

How were women treated in Japan?

Answer 36

• not held in high esteem (in contrast to European feudalism, in which noblewomen had few rights but were adored for being beautiful and possessing feminine traits)
• Japanese women lost any freedom they had during the Fujiwara period and were forced to live harsher, more demeaning lives

Question 37

What were characteristics of Korea?

Answer 37

• had its own independent and powerful dynasty but became a vassal-state of the Tang to maintain friendly relations with China
• gift-giving and exchanges with China resulted in Korean schools and the imperial court being organized like in China
• the power of the royal houses and nobility in Korea prevented a meritocracy
• the tribute relationship was also responsible for the spread of Confucianism and Chan Buddhism to Korea

Question 38

What were characteristics of Vietnam?

Answer 38

• less willing to accept even the appearance of a tribute relationship with the Chinese
• actively resisted the Tang armies
• a tribute relationship was eventually established, Confucian education was accepted, and an active trade relationship existed between Vietnam and China, but the Vietnamese maintained local traditions and continued to revolt against Tang authorities
• maintained independence after fall of the Tang

Question 39

What were characteristics of the Delhi sultanate?

Answer 39

• based in Delhi under the sultan after Islamic invaders defeated the Hindus from 1206 for 300 years
• Islam spread thorughout northern India
• Hindus held on to their religious beliefs under this theoretically tolerant regime but individual sultans were offended by Hinduism’s polytheistic ways and did their best to convert them
• non-Muslims had to pay a tax (similarly to non-Muslims under the Umayyads in Arabia)
• sultans were capable of religiously motivated destruction; destroyed Hindu temples sometimes

Question 40

How does Hinduism differ from Islam?

Answer 40

• Hinduism is polytheistic
• Islam is monotheistic
• Hinduism upholds the caste system
• Islam holds that all people are equal under God
• cows are sacred to Hindus
• cows are food to Muslims
• Hinduism sees itself as universal and exclusive
• Islam sees itself as tolerant of other beliefs and even mixed with other beliefs

Question 41

What progress occurred in India under the sultans?

Answer 41

• colleges were founded
• irrigation systems were vastly improved
• mosques were built (often with the help of Hindu architects and artists)
• many Hindus in northern India converted to Islam
• many Hindus in southern India held on to their traditions though