China
This was a revised form of Confucianism that evolved as a response to foreign religions and held sway in China until the 20th century.
Neo-Confucianism
The leader who united the scattered Mongolian tribes and led them in the conquest of parts of Asia and Europe.
Genghis Khan
"General," a powerful military leader in Japan.
Shogun
In China, a group of people who controlled much of the land and produced most of the candidates for civil service.
Scholar-Gentry
One of several separate territories into which the Mongol empire was split.
Khanate
"The Way of the Warrior;" the strict code by which Japanese samurai were supposed to live.
Bushido
A ceramic made of fine clay baked at very high temperatures.
Porcelain
Mongol leader who ruled China and launched several campaigns against Japan and Vietnam.
Kublai Khan
The term for a chain of islands.
Archipelago
Chinese poet who was known to be free spirited and wrote, "Quiet Night Thoughts".
Li Bo
A school of Buddhism that developed in northwest India, stressing the view that Nirvana can be achieved through devotion to the Buddha.
Mahayana
"The Sacred Way" or "The Way of the Gods;" the Japanese state religion; among its doctrines are the divinity of the emperor and the sacredness of the Japanese nation.
Shinto or Shintoism
Dynasty in which the Grand Canal, which connected the Huang He and Chang Jiang rivers, was completed.
The Sui Dynasty
"The teachings of the elders," a school of Buddhism that developed in India; its followers view Buddhism as a way of life.
Theravada
Japanese leader who established the Kamakura Shogunate.
Minamoto Yoritomo