Transcript Origins of agriculture to the first river

Chapter IX
Inner & East Asia
600 - 1200
The Sui and Tang Empires, 581-755
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Reunification under the Sui and Tang
• The Sui Empire reunified China & established a
government based on Confucianism, heavily influenced by
Buddhism.
• The Sui’s rapid decline and fall was due to its having spent
large amounts of resources on ambitious construction:
Grand Canal, irrigation, and military projects.
• The Tang Empire was established in 618. The Tang carried
out a program of territorial expansion, avoided overcentralization, and combined Turkic influence with Chinese
Confucian traditions.
Buddhism and the Tang Empire
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Tang Emperors legitimized control using Buddhist idea: kings
as spiritual agents bringing subjects into Buddhist realm
Buddhist monasteries were allies of the Tang; in return for
assistance, received tax exemptions, land, gifts.
Mahayana Buddhism was most important school of
Buddhism in Central and East Asia: beliefs were flexible,
encouraged adaptation of local deities, and encouraged the
translation of Buddhist texts into local languages.
Buddhism spread through Central and East Asia through trade
routes that converged on the Tang capital, Chang’an
To Chang’an by Land and Sea
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The destination of ambassadors from other states who
were sent to China under the tributary system.
Very large city of over
a million residents
mostly outside walls
Due to high number of
traders and
ambassadors, it was a
cosmopolitan city
Upheavals and Repression, 750-879
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Tang Empire broke the power of the Buddhist monasteries
and Confucian ideology was reasserted.
Buddhism undermining family system & eroding tax base by
tax-free land, attracting thousands to become monks and
nuns.
Buddhism used to legitimize women’s participation in
politics. Best example was Wu Zhao: took control of
government, made herself emperor with support of
Buddhism.
Buddhism repressed, Confucians created accounts of critical
portraits of Wu Zhao & other influential women in Chinese
history. Crackdown on Buddhism also brought destruction of
Buddhist cultural artifacts.
End of the Tang Empire, 879-907
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As its territory expanded and faced internal rebellions,
the Tang dynasty relied on powerful provincial military
governors to maintain peace. In 907, the Tang state
ended, and regional military governors established their
own kingdoms.
None of these smaller kingdoms were able to integrate
territory on the scale of the Tang.
The Emergence of East Asia, to 1200
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The Liao and Jin Challenge
• After Tang fell, new states emerged in the their
territory: the Liao, the Jin, and the Chinese Song
• Liao had strong military & forced Song to give them
cash and silk in return for peace.
• Song helped the Jurchens of northeast Asia defeat the
Liao.
• Jurchens established their own Jin Empire, turned on
Song, & drove them out of north and central China in
1127.
Song Industries
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During Song period, Chinese made technological innovations,
many based on information brought to China from West Asia
during Tang era. Innovations had to do with mathematics,
astronomy, and calendar making.
Shipbuilding: Song introduced sternpost rudder, watertight
bulkheads, & seafaring compass. These were later adopted in
the Persian Gulf.
Song also had standing, professionally trained, paid military.
Iron & coal were strategic resources for Song military. Song
produced large amounts of high-grade iron and steel for
weapons, armor, and defensive works. The Song also
developed and used gunpowder weapons.
Economy and Society in Song China
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Song society was dominated by civilian officials
Song thinkers developed sophisticated Neo-Confucian
philosophy
Certain Buddhist sects, particularly Chan (Zen) continued to be
popular
Civil Service examination system broke domination of the
hereditary aristocracy by allowing men chosen for government
service on basis of merit. Who scored best though?
With invention of moveable type, Song able to mass-produce
authorized preparation texts for examination-takers.
China’s population rose to 100 million. Population & economic
growth led to large, crowded, well-managed cities like
Hangzhou.
Economy and Society in Song China
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The introduction of government-issued paper money caused
inflation, and was later withdrawn.
Tax collection was privatized, a new merchant elite thrived in
the cities, their wealth derived from trade rather than land
Women’s status declined during the Song period
Women were entirely subordinated to men and lost their rights
to own and manage property; remarriage was forbidden
Painfully bound feet became a mandatory status symbol for
elite women (OUCH!)
Working-class women and women from non-Han peoples of
southern China did not bind their feet and had more
independence than elite Han Chinese women did.
New Kingdoms in East Asia
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Chinese Influences
• Korea, Japan, and Vietnam were rice-cultivating
economies whose labor fit well with Confucian
concepts of hierarchy, obedience, & discipline
• They all adopted aspects of Chinese culture, but
political ideologies remained different
• None of them used the Chinese civil service
examination system, although they did value
literacy in Chinese and read the Chinese classics
Korea
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Horse breeding, hereditary elites & shamanism were
common in Korea before Chinese interaction (Qin
reports)
Korean hereditary elite absorbed Confucianism and
Buddhism from China and passed them along to Japan.
The several small Korean kingdoms were united first
by Silla in 668, then by Koryo in the early 900s.
Korea used woodblock printing as early as the 700s,
and later invented moveable type, which it passed on to
Song China.
Japan
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Mountainous terrain was home to hundreds of small states
Unification from Korea established government at Yamato
Mid-seventh century rulers implemented reforms to establish a
centralized government, legal code, national histories, architecture,
and city planning based on the model of Tang China.
A constitution that influenced Japanese political thought for centuries
was developed in 604 by Suiko, the longest ruling Emperor of Japan
(592-628) until the 19th century, oh and she was a girl!
During the Heian period (794–1185), the Fujiwara clan dominated
Japanese government. This period is known for aesthetic refinement
of aristocracy & the elevation of civil officials above warriors.
By late 1000s, some warrior clans became wealthy & powerful.
Kamakura Shogunate, warrior clan controlled Japan in late 1000’s
Vietnam
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Geographic proximity & irrigated Rice agriculture made
Vietnam suitable for integration with southern China
Economic & cultural assimilation took place during Tang and
Song times
Southern Vietnam: kingdom of Champa influenced by Malay,
Indian, & Chinese culture
Dai Viet was established, Champa interacted with Song State,
exported fast-maturing Champa Rice to China (2 crops)
East Asian countries shared common Confucian interest in
hierarchy, but status of women varied from country to
country
Conclusion
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Tang Empire: travel, trade, & communication influenced Japan
Diversity produced great wealth & new ideas, but rival groups
weakened political structure
Song China’s spread of Tang technology resulted in privatization of
commerce, progress in technology & industry, increased productivity
in agriculture, & study of ideas relating to time, cosmology, and
mathematics
Avoiding Tang’s distortion of trade relations & inhibition of
innovation & competition, Song economy showed great productivity
Buddhism preferred religion in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, but
esteem for Confucian thought created Chinese influences in all 3
regions
Japan retained greater political independence from China than did
Korea and Vietnam but its political system was ultimately based on a
warrior aristocracy