Transcript The Spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea and Vietnam

The Spread of Chinese
Civilization: Japan,
Korea and Vietnam
EQ: How does Chinese civilization influence
the development of Japan, Korea and Vietnam
in the post-classical era?
The Spread
 The term used to describe this spread of
Chinese culture is SINIFICATION.
 Naturally, all three of these civilizations (Korea,
Vietnam and Japan) are China’s immediate
neighbors and greatly emulated everything
China did
 For all three groups, the key force of spread of
Chinese culture was Buddhism
 Japan followed, though, a process of selective
borrowing strictly during the 5th and 6th
centuries of the Tang Dynasty
Early Japan (Before
Sinification)
 Just like China, Japanese society
emerged into uji (clans)
 The Yamato clan grew to power in
southern Honshu around 500 AD
– this family established Japan’s
first and only dynasty
 Shinto – Japanese religion,
worshiping the forces of nature;
expresses harmony with ones
surroundings
 Korea was an important bridge to
Japan from mainland China
Japan: Imperial Age
 3 periods: Taika, Nara and Heian, took place between the
7th and 9th centuries
 Japanese selective borrowing from China peaked, though
Shinto beliefs would remain central to Japanese society
 646 - Taika Reforms
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First premise was to revamp the bureaucracy of Japan
along Chinese lines, with aristocrats and intellectuals
learning Chinese and Confucianism (difficult)
The common people took to Buddhism, with great awe
and reverence, which distracted the efforts of
establishing intellectual order
An association between Shinto spirits (kami) and
Buddhist “deities” (even though there aren’t supposed to
be any) emerged
The Taika Failure
 The reforms failed…the aristocracy returned to Japanese
traditions…the peasantry loved Buddhism and turned it into
ZEN…the emperor’s power slowly waned into the hands of
landowners (daimyo) who had control over the peasantry
 Buddhism’s influence almost claimed the throne of Japan…but
the emperor fled and moved the imperial court from Nara to
Heian, thus abandoning the Taika reforms
 The aristocracy (daimyo) began to dominate the central
government, raised their own armies and began to divide
Japanese land amongst themselves
The Emperor at
Heian (Kyoto)
 The power of the emperor has begun to erode after
the flight to Heian, though he still is a symbol of
Japanese society
 While at Heian, the nobility lived isolated from the
rest of the people and by strict codes of behavior
(but not immune from soap opera stuff)
 Despite isolation, the court was active in intellectual
and literary pursuits…kanji was created to simplify
Chinese script…
 Women were expected to be as acculturated as
men…Lady Murasaki Shikibu (the world’s first
recognized female author and the Danielle Steel of
her time) wrote the Tales of Genji (world’s first
novel) detailing life at Heian
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“Although I am not sure, that he will not be
coming, when the locusts shrilly call, I go to the
door and wait”
Decline of Imperial
Power…rise of Feudalism
 By the 9th century, the pleasure loving emperor lost control
to landowners…The Fujiwara clan dominated political
power in Japan and married into the throne at Heian
 Combined with Buddhist religious forces (yes, they owned
land and were not TRULY Buddhist) the Fujiwara slowly
took over power of Japan and achieved cooperation with
the peasant masses already entranced by ZEN
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The Fujiwara employed the use of esoteric Buddhist teachings
involving magic, salvation thru prayer and meditation (cult
worship) to distract peasants and the court
 However, other clans/landowners (daimyo) would slowly
become resistant to this Buddhist domination
Korea…between China and
Japan
 As mentioned previously, Korea served as
a bridge between China and Japan
 They still managed, despite this influence,
to create an independent cultural identity
(descendant of nomads from Siberia and
Manchuria)
 They had a kingdom, Choson, that was
eventually conquered by the
Han…Koreans fled to the North (Koguryo)
and resisted the Chinese controlled south
(Silla and Paekche)
 Korea also began a process of adopting
Chinese culture (Sinification) and
Buddhism again was the key element of
transferring culture…though the Koguryo
did not fully adopt Chinese style rule
(noble resistance)
The Tang take Korea
 Continuing political disunity amongst the 3 Korea
kingdoms allowed the Tang to unify with the Silla and
conquer Korea by the late 7th century (668)
 The Tang received tribute from Korea and left the Silla
to rule over Korea
 The Korean peninsula remained an autonomous state
until the 20th century when the Japanese annexed
their territory
Increased Sinification…decline
and changes…
 Under the Silla and Koryo dynasties (918-1392), Chinese influences
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were dominant…Tang systems of rule were copied, Chinese art and
innovations were brought to Korea
The Silla modeled their imperial system after the Tang…built cities
w/secluded parts for the imperial families and wealthy aristocrats,
schools with Confucian teaching and exams, Buddhist monasteries and
temples
Aristocracy dominated life in Korea…all other common people were
subject to the will/control of the elite (virtual slaves, uneducated in
Chinese ways, unable to become artisans or artists)
This domination caused periodic revolts from the peasantry…coupled
with Mongol invasions in the 13th and 14th centuries, the power of the
Silla and Koryo weakened
When the Yi family came to power in 1392, they would restore the
aristocratic dominance that would last until the 20th century
China and SE Asia: The
Making of Vietnam
 The region of the Red River valley was home to the Nam Viet (people of the
south) civilization, an already distinct culture called the “southern barbarians”
by the early Chinese dynasties
 The Q’in raided the Vietnamese during their short period of existence and
began a relationship with the Viet rulers…this opened a system of exchange
in which the Chinese swapped silk for pearls, shells, other items from the
sea and exotic woods
 Eventually the Viets removed the Q’in feudal rulers…They adopted the Q’in
feudal system and began in intermarry with Khmers, Chams and Tai peoples
to solidify their power
 Their language or society was not changed by early Chinese
contact…strong family ties (nuclear family) in villages…Viet society gave
women more freedom and influence in politics, economics, etc. compared to
Chinese society
Conquest, Sinification, and
Resistance
 The Han dynasty secured Nam Viet as a tribute
state, then conquered and governed it directly by
111 BCE…Chinese culture was introduced…the
Han system of schooling and examination was
imposed on them…a scholar gentry emerged that
assimilated some elements of Chinese culture
 Vietnamese agriculture benefited as Chinese
techniques in farming increased production (and
increased population)
 Vietnamese resistance to Han rule increased as
cultures came into conflict (Han still considered
Vietnam “barbaric”)…Vietnamese began to mock
Chinese teachings…aristocratic and peasant
revolts erupted against further Chinese
influence…Women played a large roll in revolts as
they were beginning to feel subjugated by
Confucian rules (Trung sisters)…as a result women
continued to maintain their independence
Vietnamese independence
and expansion
 By 939, Vietnam was largely independent from Chinese rule and
remained that way until imperialism in the 1800s
 A dynasty system emerged (Le Dynasty) that modeled its bureaucratic
rule like China…however, the scholar gentry never gained dominant
power…much power was held at local levels as rulers identified more
with village rulers and the peasantry rather than the central
authority…Buddhism also held control over the common people
(similar to the early Japanese problem)
 The Viet expanded southward over the centuries, successfully
conquering the various peoples of Cambodia, Laos and southern
Vietnam (Khmer and Cham)
 The northern Vietnamese lost control over southern Vietnamese
peoples as they intermarried with the Khmer and Cham
peoples…regional military commanders took power and the Nguyen
dynasty established a southern capital at Hue…this conflict between
North and South would continue through to modern day