Transcript southeast asia

SOUTHEAST ASIA
Khmer, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thai
S.E. Asia
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Includes Myanmar,
Thailand, Vietnam,
Laos, Cambodia,
Malaysia, Singapore,
Brunei, Indonesia &
Philippines
S.E. Asia (cont’d)
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Heavily influenced by India: Sanskrit,
Hinduism & Buddhism, architecture, laws
& political ideas
The Khmer, 802-1431 A.D.
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In Cambodia,
conquered much of
Laos, Thailand &
Vietnam
Hindu-Buddhist
empire
Capital at Angkor
The Khmer (cont’d)
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Hydraulic engineering allowed irrigation & to
harvest rice 3x’s per year
Used wealth from crops for construction projects:
hundreds of temples, roads, reservoirs, irrigation
canals, harbors & hospitals
Rulers known for splendor of court -- presented
selves as incarnations of Hindu Gods to enhance
their power
King Suryavarman &
Angkor Wat
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1100’s height of power
King Suryavarman
built Angkor Wat
temple to glorify
Hindu God Vishnu and
himself
Temple nearly 1
square mile big
Fall of The Khmer
Cost of building Angkor Wat weakened the
kingdom
 Rebellions against the Khmer & infighting
within royal family crippled the empire
 In 1431 A.D., the Thai captured the capital
& ended Khmer rule
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Vietnam
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Dominated by China
for more than 1000 yrs
Absorbed
Confucianism, Daoism
& Buddhism from
Chinese
Govt similar to China,
including civil service
exams based upon
Confusianism
Vietnam (cont’d)
Believed in “animism” = that spirits inhabit
living & nonliving things
 Building “dinhs” = spirit houses in each
village, a home for the guardian spirit of the
village
 Continuously fought China for
independence
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Vietnam (cont’d)
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The Trung Sisters rode
atop elephants & led a
successful revolt
against China in
39A.D., & gained
independence for 2 yrs
When later defeated
by Chinese, sisters
drown selves
Vietnam (cont’d)
938 A.D., Ngo Quyen lead Vietnamese to
defeat Chinese warships in the Battle of the
Bach Dang River -- China countered &
invaded Vietnam
 Vietnamese date their independence from
defeat of warships
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Vietnam (cont’d)
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To keep peace with China and so as not to
be invaded, Vietnam agreed to send tribute
(gifts) to the Chinese emperor
Myanmar
a/k/a Burma
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First settled by 2
groups of people: the
Mons (south) & the
Tibeto-Burmans
(along Irrawaddy
River in the north)
Both were Buddhist &
adopted Indian culture
Myanmar
a/k/a Burma
500 B.C., the Tibeto-Burmans dominated &
pushed the Mons southward
 Tibeto-Burmans set up capital called Pagan,
center for Buddhist learning & culture with
temples & monasteries
 1200’s, Mongols under Kublai Khan
captured Pagan; many Burmans moved
south but remained ununited
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The Thai
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The Thai were
originally from China
1238 A.D., established
Thai kingdom at
Sukhothai; kingdom
only lasted 100 yrs.
King Ramkhamhaeng
ruled during golden
age
Thai King Ramkhamhaeng
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Thai developed
alphabet & writing
system based upon
Khmer
Followed Buddhism &
built beautiful temples