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| 315074466 | Li Shimin | (599-649) One of the founders of the Tang Empire, and its second emperor (626-649). He led the expansion of the empire into Central Asia. | 0 | |
| 315074467 | Tang Empire | An empire unifying China and part of Central Asia, founded in 618 and ended in 907. Their emperors presided over a magnificent court at their capital, Chang'an. | 1 | |
| 315074468 | Grand Canal | A 1100 mile long waterway linking the Yellow and YangziRivers. Begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui. A major part of trade and ommerce and contributed to the fall of the Tang, because of the high cost. | 2 | |
| 315074469 | Tributary System | System in which countries in East and Southeast Asia, not under the direct control of empires based in China nevertheless enrolled as tributary states, acknowledging the superiority of the emperors in China in exchange for trading rights or alliances. | 3 | |
| 315074470 | Uighurs | A group of Turkic-speakers who controlled their own centralized empire from 744 to 840 in Mongolia and Central Asia. They were significant because they rivaled the Tang. | 4 | |
| 315074471 | Tibet | Country centered on the plateau north of India. Their political power occasionally extended farther to the north and west between the 7th and 8th centuries. A rival to the Tang.At one point they had an alliance with the Tang. | 5 | |
| 315074472 | Liao Empire/ Khitan People | Land from Siberia to Central Asia. The rulers prided themselves on their pastoral traditions which contributed to their military might. BUddhism outweighed Confucianism. From 916-1121, they took the Song Empire under their rule.They fell to the Jurchens. | 6 | |
| 315074473 | The Jurchens | From northeastern Asia, had an alliance with the Song, against the Liao, but turned on the after taking down the Liao. They pushed the Song south after taking their capital in 1127. Learned military techniques from the Khitans. | 7 | |
| 315074474 | An Lushan | In 755, this Tang general was appointed as regional commander on the northeast frontier. He led 200,000 soldiers in a rebellion to force the emperor to flee Chang'an and to execute his favorite concubine. The rebellion lasted 8 years and benefited the military governors that suppressed it. | 8 | |
| 315074475 | Battle of the Talas River | A battle in 751, where the formidable Tang armies lost to the Arab Muslim army. This helped lead to the Tang's fall, because of demoralization and underfunding, and it stopped expansion. | 9 | |
| 315318626 | Song Empire | (960-1279) Empire in central and southern China (960-1126) while the Liao people contolled the north. Distinguished for its advances in technology, medicine, astronomy, and mathematics, like the improved compass and clock. Capital at Kaifeng until Jurchens took it. | 10 | |
| 315318627 | Southern Song | (1127-1279) Empire in southern China while the Jin people controlled the north. Capital at Hangzhou, because the Jurchens took their capital and pushed them south. The Song made annual payments to the Jin to avoic open warfare. | 11 | |
| 315318628 | Junk | A very large flatbottom sailing ship produced in the Tang, Ming, and Song Empires. It was important because it was especially useful for long-distance travel for commercial reasons. | 12 | |
| 315318629 | Gunpowder | A mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal in various proportions. It was first brought to China, 400's or 500's, to use in fumigators for keeping pests and spirits away. Then it was later used for explosives, like the Song's explosive shell, and to propel cannonballs and bullets. | 13 | |
| 315318630 | Neo-confucianism | New approaches to understanding classic Confucian texts that became the basic ruling philosophy of China from the Song to the 20th century. This emphasizes that humans are moral, rational, and good. It was very influential, and people wanted to become sages. | 14 |
