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Term
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A cultural and geographic region including China, Japan, Korea, and surrounding areas.
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East Asia
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A major East Asian civilization and the country where ice cream was invented.
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China
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An island off China's southeast coast, historically linked to China and Japan.
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Taiwan
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A former Portuguese colony and now a Special Administrative Region of China.
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Macao
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A former British colony and Special Administrative Region of China known for trade.
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Hong Kong
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An island nation in East Asia with a long history of isolation and modernization.
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Japan
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The largest and most populous island of Japan.
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Honshu
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Japan’s northernmost main island, known for agriculture and cold climate.
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Hokkaido
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The southernmost main island of Japan, early center of foreign contact.
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Kyushu
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The smallest of Japan’s four main islands.
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Shikoku
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An island chain south of Japan, historically the Ryukyu Kingdom.
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Ryukyu Islands
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A peninsula divided today into North and South Korea with deep Confucian traditions.
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Korea
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A Korean dynasty (1392–1897) known for Neo-Confucian state ideology.
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Joseon (Choson)
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A group of Chinese-related languages and dialects.
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Sinitic Languages
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Logographic writing system used in Chinese and adapted by Japan and Korea.
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Chinese Characters
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The ethnic and national population of China, mainly Han Chinese.
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Chinese People
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The dominant ethnic group of China, forming over 90% of the population.
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Han-Chinese
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An ethnic minority group in southern China speaking a Tai language.
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Bouxcengh (Zhuang)
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A Muslim ethnic group in China who speak Chinese but follow Islam.
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Hui
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A Turkic Muslim ethnic group primarily in Xinjiang, China.
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Uighur
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An ethnic group from Tibet with distinct Buddhist culture.
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Tibetan
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A Central Asian people who established the Mongol Empire and later ruled China as Yuan.
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Mongols
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The ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula.
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Korean People
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The Korean alphabet created in the 15th century under King Sejong.
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Hangul
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The ethnic majority of Japan, historically known as Yamato.
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Japanese People
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The ancient Japanese ethnic group and imperial lineage.
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Yamato
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Japan’s largest plain and agricultural heartland, including Tokyo.
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Kanto Plain
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A major Japanese plain containing Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara.
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Kansai Plain
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Chinese characters used in Japanese writing.
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Kanji
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A phonetic Japanese script used for native words and grammar.
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Hiragana
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A phonetic Japanese script mainly for foreign words.
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Katakana
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An ethnic group from northeast China who founded the Qing dynasty.
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Manchus
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China’s last imperial dynasty (1644–1912), ruled by the Manchus.
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Qing Empire
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A braided hairstyle imposed by the Qing dynasty as a symbol of loyalty.
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Queue
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The Chinese concept that the emperor ruled all under heaven (tianxia).
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Universal Emperorship
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A system for selecting officials in imperial China based on Confucian learning.
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Civil Service Exam
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The belief that government positions should be based on talent, not birth.
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Meritocratic Ideal
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The lowest degree in China’s imperial exam system.
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Budding Talent (xiucai)
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The middle degree in the imperial examination hierarchy.
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Elevated Person (juren)
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The highest degree in the imperial examination system.
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Presented Scholar (jinshi)
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The growth of market exchange and money economy in premodern East Asia.
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Commercialization
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The increased use of money instead of barter in economic life.
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Monetization
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The primary currency metal that linked China to global trade.
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Silver
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Rapid population increase in Qing China due to agricultural growth.
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Population Boom
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A diplomatic framework where states paid tribute to China acknowledging its superiority.
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Tributary System
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The worldview that China was the cultural center of civilization.
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Sinocentrism
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A Qing policy restricting foreign trade to Guangzhou (Canton).
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Canton System
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A failed 1793 British mission to open trade with Qing China.
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Macartney Embassy
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A narcotic traded by Britain in China, leading to the Opium Wars.
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Opium
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Qing official who attempted to suppress the opium trade.
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Lin Zexu
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British superintendent involved in the First Opium War.
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Charles Elliot
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Two wars (1839–1842, 1856–1860) over trade and sovereignty between China and Britain.
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Opium Wars
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Imbalanced treaties forced on China after military defeats.
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Unequal Treaties
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The 1842 treaty ending the First Opium War, ceding Hong Kong to Britain.
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Treaty of Nanjing
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Chinese ports opened to foreign trade after the Opium Wars.
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Treaty Ports
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Period (1842–1949) of foreign domination and internal crisis in China.
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Century of Humiliation
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The warrior class of feudal Japan who served lords with loyalty and upheld a strict honor code called bushidō.
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Bushi/Samurai
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Powerful feudal lords in Japan who controlled vast lands and private armies under the shogun’s authority.
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Daimyo
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A century-long era of civil war and social upheaval in Japan (c.1467–1600) before unification.
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Warring States Period/Sengoku Jidai
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The period of trade and cultural exchange between Japan and Europeans, especially the Portuguese, in the 16th century.
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Nanban Trade
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A powerful daimyo who began Japan’s unification by conquering rival warlords in the late 1500s.
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Oda Nobunaga
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Nobunaga’s successor who completed Japan’s unification and launched invasions of Korea.
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Hideyoshi Toyotomi
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Japan’s invasions of Korea (1592–1598) led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ultimately repelled by Korean and Ming forces.
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Imjin War
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The founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate who unified Japan after winning the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.
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Tokugawa Ieyasu
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Japan’s military government from 1603 to 1868 that maintained peace through strict social order and isolation.
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Tokugawa Shogunate/Edo Period
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The Tokugawa government’s policy of national isolation restricting foreign trade and contact from 1639–1853.
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Sakoku Policy
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Western scientific and technical knowledge brought to Japan through limited contact with the Dutch at Dejima.
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Dutch Learning
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The growth of cities and merchant culture during the Edo Period as economic activity expanded.
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Urbanization
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The 1853–54 mission by U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry that forced Japan to open its ports to foreign trade.
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Perry Expedition
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The 1854 agreement between Japan and the U.S. ending Japan’s isolation and opening two ports to American ships.
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Treaty of Kanagawa
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The charismatic leader of the Taiping Rebellion who claimed to be the brother of Jesus Christ.
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Hong Xiuquan
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A massive 19th-century rebellion in China against the Qing dynasty inspired by Christian utopian ideals.
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Taiping Civil War
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The religious followers of Hong Xiuquan who formed the core of the Taiping movement.
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God Worshippers
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A wave of social uprisings in 19th-century China challenging Qing rule amid population and economic crises.
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Mid-Century Rebellions
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The process of organizing society around armed power and local militias during China’s internal unrest.
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Militarization
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A Confucian scholar-official who organized the Xiang Army and helped suppress the Taiping Rebellion.
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Zeng Guofan
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Locally raised armed groups formed to defend regions when the Qing central army weakened.
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Militias
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A regional army organized by Zeng Guofan in Hunan that became key in defeating the Taiping forces.
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Xiang Army
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The shift of power from the Qing central government to regional military and political leaders.
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Decentralization
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Original historical documents or firsthand accounts used for scholarly interpretation of past events.
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Primary Sources
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A major Japanese port city opened to foreign trade after the 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa.
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Yokohama
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Foreign residents in treaty-port Japan (Britain, U.S., France, Netherlands, Russia) during the late Tokugawa era.
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People of Five Nations
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Economic strain in Japan’s final shogunate years due to trade imbalance and social unrest.
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Late Tokugawa Economic Crisis
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A nationalist slogan advocating imperial loyalty and resistance to foreign influence.
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Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians (Sonno Joi)
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Popular street celebrations and social disorder in late-Tokugawa Japan expressing frustration and hope for change.
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What the Hell?/Ee ja nai ka?
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Loyalist samurai activists who sought to overthrow the Tokugawa regime and restore imperial rule.
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Warriors of Resolve/Shishi
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The 1860 killing of the Tokugawa official who signed unequal treaties, symbolizing anti-foreign anger.
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Assassination of Ii Naosuke
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The emperor who presided over Japan’s rapid modernization and westernization beginning in 1868.
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Meiji Emperor
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The 1868 political revolution that restored imperial rule and began Japan’s modernization.
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Meiji Restoration
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The civil war (1868–1869) between pro-imperial and shogunate forces leading to the Meiji government’s victory.
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Boshin War
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The concept of Japan’s divine national essence centered on the emperor and unity of the people.
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National Body/Kokutai
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The small group of Meiji leaders who guided Japan’s early modernization and government policy.
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Oligarchs/Genro
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A Japanese diplomatic journey (1871–73) to study Western institutions and negotiate treaty revisions.
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Iwakura Mission
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A Meiji statesman who drafted Japan’s constitution and served as the country’s first prime minister.
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Ito Hirubumi
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A Meiji reformer and diplomat who promoted industrialization and foreign relations.
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Inoue Kaoru
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A military leader who built Japan’s modern army and advanced the “Rich Country, Strong Army” policy.
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Yamagata Aritomo
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The Meiji slogan linking economic modernization with national military strength.
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Rich Country, Strong Army/Fukoku Kyohei
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A conflict (1856–1860) in which Britain and France forced China to expand trade and diplomatic privileges.
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Second Opium War
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The 1860 destruction of Beijing’s imperial palace by British and French troops during the Second Opium War.
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Burning of the Summer Palace
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The powerful Qing regent who dominated Chinese politics from 1861 to 1908.
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Empress Dowager Cixi
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A Qing ruler (r.1861–1875) under Cixi’s regency who presided during early reform attempts.
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Tongzhi Emperor
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The Qing emperor who supported the Hundred Days’ Reform but was later placed under house arrest by Cixi.
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Guangxu Emperor
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A 19th-century Chinese reform effort to modernize industry and the military using Western technology.
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Self-Strengthening Movement
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A leading Qing official and diplomat involved in modernization and negotiating with foreign powers.
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Li Hongzhang
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China’s first railway, built near Shanghai in 1876 but soon dismantled due to local opposition.
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Wusong Railway
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An ancient Chinese waterway linking north and south China, vital for grain transport and trade.
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The Grand Canal
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A late-Qing shipping enterprise promoting Chinese control over domestic trade routes.
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Chinese Merchant's Navigation Company
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The Korean kingdom (1392–1897) known for its Confucian government and cultural achievements.
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Joseon
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The hereditary scholar-official elite class in Joseon Korea who dominated politics and society.
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Yangban
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The final king and first emperor of Korea who sought to modernize amid foreign pressure.
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King Gojong
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Influential Korean queen advocating modernization and closer ties with China, assassinated by Japanese agents.
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Queen Min
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The conservative regent who ruled for King Gojong and resisted foreign influence.
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Heungseon Daewongun/Regent, Yi Ha-eung
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A failed 1866 French punitive mission in response to persecution of missionaries in Korea.
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French Expedition to Korea
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The 1866 destruction of an American ship in Korea, escalating foreign tensions.
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USS General Sherman Incident
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The 1871 U.S. naval attack on Korean forts after failed diplomacy, known as the Shinmiyangyo.
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American Expedition to Korea
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Japan’s 1876 military show of force that led to Korea’s opening to trade.
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Japanese Expedition to Korea
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The 1876 treaty forcing Korea to open ports to Japan, modeled on Western unequal treaties.
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Treaty of Ganghwa
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Japan’s 1879 incorporation of the Ryukyu Kingdom as Okinawa Prefecture.
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Annexation of Ryukyu Islands
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Japan’s formal integration of Hokkaido, promoting settlement and indigenous Ainu assimilation.
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Annexation of Hokkaido
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Japan’s 1874 punitive mission to Taiwan marking early overseas military activity.
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Taiwan Expedition
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Japan’s strategy of imitating Western imperial models to gain equal status among world powers.
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Mimetic Imperialism
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A Meiji slogan promoting Westernization, education, and social reform.
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Civilization and Enlightenment/bunmei kaika
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Large family-controlled industrial conglomerates that dominated Japan’s modern economy.
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Zaibatsu
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Japan’s first government-run silk factory symbolizing early industrialization.
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Tomioka Silk Mill
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The historical condition of rapid industrial, social, and cultural transformation in the 19th–20th centuries.
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Modernity
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