Term
|
Definition
| Religion, based on Four Noble Truths, associated with Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.E.), or the Buddha; its adherents desired to eliminate all distracting passion and reach nirvana. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Influential branch of Buddhism in China, with an emphasis on intuition and sudden flashes of insight instead of textural study. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Philosophy, based on the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Kong Fuzi (551-479 B.C.E.), or Confucius, that emphasizes order, the role of gentleman, obligation to society, and reciprocity. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Chinese philosophy with origins in the Zhou Dynasty; it is associated with legendary philosopher Lao Zi and it called for a policy of non competition. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Oasis in modern western China that became the site of Buddhist missionary activity by the fourth century C.E. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Chinese system during the tongue Dynasty in which the goal was to ensure an equitable distribution of land. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A practice that involved the tight wrapping of young girls' feet with strips of cloth that prevented natural growth of the bones and resulted in tiny, malformed curved feet. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A huge network of canals that link the Yangtze and Huang He River systems, and that eventually extended to 2000 kilometers (1200 miles). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Gunpowder is the first explosive to have been created in the world. Popularly listed as one of the "Four Great Inventions" of China, it was invented during the late Tang dynasty (9th century) while the earliest recorded chemical formula for gunpowder dates to the Song dynasty (11th century). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Capital of the Southern Song Dynasty in the late thirteenth century. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A Japanese period (794-1185), a brilliant cultural era notable for the world's first novel, Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Li Bai was a Chinese poet acclaimed as one of the best and most important poets of the Tang dynasty, and even in the whole of Chinese poetry. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The “greater vehicle,” a more metaphysical and more popular northern branch of Buddhism. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Early Chinese name for the modern nation of Vietnam. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Nara is the capital and largest city of Nara Prefecture, with other major cities including Kashihara, Ikoma, and Yamatokōriyama. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Neo-Confucianism is the cultural revival of Confucianism as an ethical, social and religious system, which dominated Chinese philosophy from the 13th through the 19th century. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Nirvana is the goal of many Buddhist paths, and leads to the soteriological release from dukkha ('suffering') and rebirths in saṃsāra. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A very light, thin and adaptable type of pottery that, when fired with glazes, became a highly valuable export commodity during the Tang and Song Dynasty. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Chinese dynasty (221-207 B.C.E.) that was founded by Qin Shihuangdi and was marked by the first unification of China and the early construction of defensive walls. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Indigenous Japanese religion that emphasizes purity, clan loyalty, and the divinity of the emperor.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Japanese military leader who ruled in place of the emperor. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Important early Korean dynasty that flourished during the seventh and eighth centuries. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Chinese dynasty (960-1279) that was marked by an increasingly urbanized and cosmopolitan society. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| First emperor of the Chinese Song dynasty who reigned from 960 to 976 C.E. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Chinese dynasty (589-618) that constructed the Grand Canal, reunified China, and allowed for the splendor of the Tang dynasty that followed. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Second emperor of the Chinese Sui Dynasty, responsible for the construction of the Chinese Grand Canal system, who reigned from 604-618 C.E. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Japanese literary work written during the Heian Period (764-1185 C.E.) by the aristocratic woman Murasaki Shikibu. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Powerful and wealthy Chinese dynasty that ruled a vast East Asian empire from 618 to 907 C.E.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Chinese emperor (r. 627-649) of the Tang dynasty (618 to 907). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Daoist concept of a disengagement from the affairs of the world. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Concubine of Emperor Tang Taizong, who seized imperial power for herself in 690 after Taizong became debilitated. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Xuanzang was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| First emperor of the short-lived but effective Sui Dynasty which united China after centuries of division. Reigned from 589 to 604 C.E. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Neo-Confucian Chinese philosopher (1130-1200). |
|
|
