Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese civilization: The era of the Tang and Song Dynasties
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| 1071255002 | Period of the five dynasties | Era of continuous warfare (220-589) among the many kingdoms that followed the fall of the Han. | |
| 1071255003 | Wendi | Member of prominent northern Chinese family during period of Six Dynasties; proclaimed himself emperor; supported by nomadic peoples of northern China; established Sui dynasty | |
| 1071255004 | Yangdi | Second member of Sui dynasty; murdered his father to gain throne; restored Confucian examination system; responsible for construction of Chinese canal system; assassinated in 618 | |
| 1071255005 | Li Yuan | Also known as Duke of Tang; minister for Yangdi; took over empire following assassination of Yangdi; first emperor of Tang dynasty; took imperial title of Gaozu. | |
| 1071255006 | Ministry of Rites | Administered examinations to students from Chinese government schools or those recommended by distinguished scholars | |
| 1071255007 | Jinshi | Title granted to students who passed the most difficult Chinese examination on all of Chinese literature; became immediate dignitaries and eligible for high office | |
| 1071255008 | Chan Buddhism | Known as Zen in Japan; stressed meditation and appreciation of natural and artistic beauty; popular with members of elite Chinese society | |
| 1071255009 | Mahayana Buddhism | "Great Vehicle" branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus reverence for Buddha and for bodhisattvas, enlightened person who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment. | |
| 1071255010 | Wuzong | Chinese emperor of Tang dynasty who openly persecuted Buddhism by destroying monasteries in 840s; reduced influence of Chinese Buddhism in favor of Confucian ideology | |
| 1071255011 | Yang Guifei | Royal concubine of Tang emperor Xuanzong; introduction of relatives into administration led to revolt. | |
| 1071255012 | Khitans | Nomadic peoples of Manchuria; militarily superior to Song dynasty China but influenced by Chinese culture; forced humiliating treaties on Song China in 11th century | |
| 1071255013 | Zhao Kuangyin | (960-976) Founder of Song dynasty; originally a general following fall of Tang; took title of Taizu; failed to overcome northern Liao dynasty that remained independent. | |
| 1071255014 | Zhu Xi | (1130-1200) Most prominent of neo-Confucian scholars during the Song dynasty in China; stressed importance of applying philosophical principles to everyday life and action | |
| 1071255015 | Wang Anshi | Confucian scholar and chief minister of a Song emperor in 1070s; introduced sweeping reforms based on Legalists; advocated greater state intervention in society. | |
| 1071255016 | Southern Song | Rump state of the Song Dynasty from 1127 to 1279; carved out of the much larger domains of the Tang and northern Song; culturally one of the most glorious reigns in Chinese history. | |
| 1071255017 | Jurchens | Founders of Qin kingdom that succeeded the Liao in northern China; annexed most of the Yellow River basin and forced Song to flee to south. | |
| 1071255018 | Grand Canal | Built in 7th century during reign of Yangdi during Sui dynasty; designed to link the original centers of Chinese civilization on the north China plain with the Yangtze river basin to the south; nearly 1200 miles long | |
| 1071255019 | Junks | Chinese ships equipped with watertight bulkheads, sternpost rudders, compasses, and bamboo fenders; dominant force in Asian seas east of the Malayan peninsula | |
| 1071359371 | Chang'an | Capital of Tang dynasty; population of 2 million, larger than any other city in the world at that time. | |
| 1071359372 | Huangzhou | Capital of later Song dynasty; located near East China Sea; permitted overseas trading; population exceeded 1 million. | |
| 1071359373 | Foot binding | Practice in Chinese society to mutilate women's feet in order to make them smaller; produced pain and restricted women's movement; made it easier to confine women to the household | |
| 1071359374 | Bi Sheng | 11th century artisan; devised technique of printing with movable type; made it possible for China to be the most contemporary literate civilization. | |
| 1071359375 | Li Bo | Most famous poet of the Tang era; blended images of the mundane world with philosophical musings. | |
| 1071359376 | Empress Wu | (690 - 705 C.E.) Tang ruler who supported Buddhist establishment; tried to elevate Buddhism to state religion; had multistory statues of Buddha created. | |
| 1071359377 | Xuanzong | Leading Chinese emperor of the Tang dynasty who reigned from 713 to 755 though he encouraged overexpansion | |
| 1071359378 | Liao Dynasty | Founded in 907 by nomadic Khitan peoples from Manchuria; maintained independence from Song dynasty in China. | |
| 1071359379 | Sinfication | Extensive adaptation of Chinese culture in other regions; typical of Korea and Japan, less typical of Vietnam. | |
| 1071359380 | Neo-Confucians | Revived ancient Confucian teachings in Song era of China; great impact on the dynasties that followed; their emphasis on tradition and hostility to foreign systems made Chinese rulers and bureaucrats less receptive to outside ideas and influences. | |
| 1071359381 | Tangut tribes | rulers of Xi Xia kingdoms of northwest china; one of regional kingdoms during the period of the southern song; conquered by Mongolia in 1226 | |
| 1071359382 | Xi Xia | Kingdom of the Tangut people, north of Song Kingdom, in the mid-11th century; collected tribute that drained Song resources and burdened Chinese peasantry. | |
| 1071359383 | Jin Kingdom | Kingdom north of the song empire. Established by the Jurchens after overthrowing Liao Dynasty; ended in 1234 |
