Unit 1 WHAP

• China possessed the biggest popsicle of power in the time period of 1200 to 1450
• Song Dynasty


  The dynasty in China during the time period of 1200 to 1450
• How Song rulers maintained and justified their power

  1. Revival of Confucianism

  2. Increasing use of an imperial bureaucracy
• Confucianism


  A philosophy that taught human society was hierarchical by nature
• Neo-Confucianism


  The revival of Confucianism during the Song Dynasty, influenced by Buddhist and Taoist ideas
• Under Confucianism, women's legal rights were restricted in Song China
• The practice of foot binding was prevalent among the elite in Song China
• Imperial bureaucracy


  A governmental entity that carried out the will of the emperor
• To get a job in the Song bureaucracy, men had to pass a civil service examination based on Confucian classics
• Song China's cultural influence on other states

  Korea, Japan, and Vietnam adopted aspects of Chinese culture
• Tributary relationship


  Where Korean officials would visit the Song court and acknowledge China's power. Also payed tributes to Song.
• Vietnam did not marginalize women as much as China did under Confucianism
• Buddhism


  A belief system that originated in South Asia and spread to China
• Theravada Buddhism


  The original form of Buddhism, focused on escaping the cycle of birth and death
• Mahayana Buddhism


  A branch of Buddhism that emphasized the teachings being available to all, not just monks
• Chan Buddhism


  The distinct version of Buddhism that developed in China
• Song economy


  • Widespread commercialization
  • Boom in iron and steel production
  • Agricultural innovations like Champa rice
  • Transportation innovations like the Grand Canal and improved ship design
• The Song Dynasty's economic prosperity began in the previous Tang Dynasty
• The introduction of Champa rice doubled agricultural output in Song China
• The Grand Canal linked the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, facilitating trade
• Song engineers improved ship design with water-tight bulkheads and stern-mounted rudders
• Dar al-Islam, meaning "the house of Islam", was the region where Islam was the majority religion around 1200
• Historian: 'Dar al-Islam was a "big old honking house"'
• Major religions that interacted during this period

  • Judaism
  • Christianity
  • Islam
• Judaism


  Monotheistic ethnic religion of the Jews, originated in the Middle East
• Christianity


  Established by the Jewish prophet Jesus Christ, who claimed to be the Messiah
• Islam


  Founded by the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century on the Arabian Peninsula, taught salvation through righteous actions
• After Muhammad's death in 632, Islam spread rapidly throughout the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and South Asia
• Dar al-Islam


  The "house of Islam", the regions where Islam was the dominant religion
• Islam deeply affected the societies where it was practiced, particularly through its facilitation of trade connections
• Before becoming a prophet, Muhammad was a merchant, so he and his followers were focused on trade
• This contrasted with Jesus' teachings on not accumulating wealth
• Islamic states generally became more prosperous than Christian states prior to 1200
• The Abbasid Caliphate was founded in the 8th century and experienced a "Golden Age of Islam" with many innovations and advancements
• By 1200, the Abbasid Empire was fragmenting and losing its position as the center of the Islamic world
• Several new Islamic empires arose, largely composed of Turkic peoples rather than Arabs
• New Turkic Muslim empires

  • Seljuk Empire
  • Mamluk Sultanate
  • Delhi Sultanate
• These new Turkic Muslim states resembled the former Arab empires in implementing Sharia law and having the military in charge of administration
• Ways Islam expanded during this period

  • Military expansion
  • Merchant activity and trade
  • Efforts of Muslim missionaries, including Sufism
• Scholars in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate's Golden Age preserved and translated the works of Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle into Arabic