ASIA

China ReunifiedThe Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties restored peace to China

in between periods of chaos and disorder In 581 the Sui dynasty was established

o It is known for unifying China under one emperor

o Sui Yangdi was the second ruler of the dynasty• He was a cruel ruler, and used forced labor to

build the Grand Canal, connecting the Huang He (Yellow River) and Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)

• Sui Yangdi’s oppressive policies led to a rebellion that ended the empire

The Tang dynasty came to power in 618o Tang rulers restored civil service exams for

government positionso The Tang dynasty extended the borders of the

empire to Tibet in the southwest o Emperor Tang Xuanzang and other Tang rulers

were unable to prevent plotting and corruption in the government• Tang rulers hired Uighurs to put down

rebellions but continued unrest led to the fall of the dynasty in 907

In 960 the Song dynasty came to powero The Song ruled during a period of economic

prosperity and cultural achievemento Because of threats from nomadic warriors to the

north, the Song moved their capital farther south to Hangzhou

Chinese Government and EconomyFor 700 years, the Chinese economy grew in size and sophistication During the rule of the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties, the

Chinese government and economy grew in size and complexity

The Song government weakened the power of large landholders and helped poor peasants get their own lando which led to an abundance of food

The economy was still based on agriculture, but technological advances led to development of steel and gunpowder

International and domestic trade also increased and the Silk Road was renewed

Changan became the wealthiest city in the world during the Tang era

Chinese SocietyThe political stability established by

the three dynasties allowed Chinese society to grow in complexity

In the late 1200s, the Italian merchant Marco Polo described Hangzhou as one of the largest and most beautiful cities in the world

The Liuhe Pagoda of Hangzhou, built in 1165 during the Song Dynasty

Chinese society developed into a complex mixture of landowners, free peasants, sharecroppers, and landless laborers

Most significant was the rise of the landed gentryo called the scholar-gentryo became the political and economic elite of

Chinese society Few women had any power

o An exception was Wu Zhao, known as Empress Wu, who ruled for half a century

When a woman was married, her family was expected to give a dowry to the husbando Poor families sold their daughters

The Mongols and ChinaThe Mongols created the world’s largest land empire by

conquering all of China The Mongols under Genghis Khan created the

largest land empire evero Mongols were a pastoral people from the Gobi in

what is present-day Mongolia In 1206 Genghis Khan was elected the ruler of the

Mongolso He immediately devoted his life to conquesto Upon Genghis Khan’s death in 1227, the empire

was divided into khanates

In 1279, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered the Song dynasty and established the Yuan dynasty in Chinao Kublai Khan established his capital at Khanbalik,

in what is present-day Beijing While the Mongols were successful in ruling China,

they were unsuccessful in attacking Southwest Asia The Mongols were finally unseated by internal

instability, political corruption, and excessive military spendingo In 1368 an uprising by Zhu Yuanzhang led to the

Ming dynasty

Religion and GovernmentBetween the Han and Yuan dynasties, religion’s role in

Chinese government changed Buddhism and Daoism became increasingly popular

during the Tang dynasty Buddhist monasteries acquired thousands of acres

of lands and serfso Buddhists taught that everything in the material

world is an illusion• This was contrary to Confucian teachings of

devotion to family and work Beginning in the Song dynasty, government

officials supported neo-Confucianismo the world is real and satisfaction comes from

participation

A Golden Age in Literature and ArtWith the invention of printing, a golden age of literature

and art emerged in China The golden age of Chinese literature occurred

during the Tang and Ming dynasties The invention of the printing press helped to make

literature more available to people Poetry, as expressed by Tang-era poets

Li Bo and Du Fu, was especially important to Chinese literature

Painting was an important art form during imperial Chinao Influenced by the Daoist vision, landscape painting

reached its height Tang artisans perfected the making of porcelain

Early JapanJapan’s history has been marked by power struggles

between rulers and independent families Early Japanese society was made up of a small

ruling class of aristocrats and a large population of farmers

The people lived in clans in the Yamato Plain near what are now the cities of Ōsaka and Kyōto

Prince Shōtoku Taishi tried to unify the clans of Japano He emulated the Chinese system of government

and established centralized power

In the Nara Period, the emperor began to call himself the “Son of Heaven.”o The aristocrats kept tax revenues for themselveso the centralized national government lost power

and influence During the Heian Period there was little centralized

powero The aristocratic families sought the protection of

samurai• The samurai lived by a warrior code known as

Bushido

Minamoto Yoritomo defeated the rival clans and set up a centralized government under the control of a shogun

Fighting the Mongols put a strain on the political system and the shogunate was overthrown

The collapse of central rule coincided with the rise of daimyoo Noble lordso The noble families constantly warred with each

other• by 1500 Japan was in chaos

Life in Early JapanJapan’s small size and relative isolation have had a major

effect on the development of its economy, religion, and culture

Farming provided the basis of the Japanese economyo although only about 11% of the land was tillable

Trade between regions began to increaseo Japan traded raw materials and manufactured

items in return for silk, porcelain, books, and copper coins

Women were subordinate to meno Aristocratic women were active in society and the

arts

Japanese religion was centered around the worship of spirits and became known as Shinto

Among aristocrats, a sect of Buddhism known as Zen became popular Zen would be adopted by the samurai as well

In early Japan, it was considered beneath men to write fiction Thus, women such as Mursaki Shikibu rose to

prominence

The Emergence of KoreaThe early history of Korea was marked by the presence of

dominating neighbors Korea is a mountainous peninsula Its proximity to China and Japan has greatly

influenced Korean history The Koryo dynasty emulated Chinese political

systemso The Koryo accepted Mongol rule in the thirteenth

century• This led to the fall of the dynasty

In 1392 Yi Sŏng-gye seized power and founded the Yi dynasty

India after the GuptasBuddhism, Hinduism, and Islam all influenced the

development of India The people of India retained a widespread

acceptance of Buddhism for centuries People did not always agree on the teachings of

Buddha and a split occurredo The followers who believed Buddhism was a life

philosophy became known as the school of Theravada

o The followers who believed Buddhism was a religion became known as the school of Mahayana

Buddhism eventually lost influence in India although it was transported abroad with much success

Early in the eighth century Arab armies brought Islam to northwest India

In the tenth century rebellious Turkish slaves founded the Islamic state of Ghazna (Ghaznī)

In 997, Mahmūd of Ghazna attacked Hindu kingdoms to the southeasto Mahmūd’s forces defeated the Rajputs and

extended Muslim power to the new state of the sultanate of Delhi

Mahmud of Ghanziat court

Timur Lenk (Tamerlane) ruled a Mongol state called Samarqando He attacked the capital of Delhi in 1398

• He massacred as many as 100,000 Hindu prisoners at the gates of the city

o His death in 1405 rid India and Asia of a tyrannical ruler• This allowed the Moguls and Portuguese to

gain influence in the region

Timur Lenk

Indian Society and CultureThe ruling class of India was made up of Muslims, but some

members of the Hindu population also prospered. The rich culture of India was reflected in its art, literature, architecture, and technological advances

Muslim rulers in India maintained strict separation between Muslims and Hinduso This relationship led to suspicion and distrust

between the two groups India’s location and traditional trade routes made it

a center for trade between Southwest and East Asia

Between 500 and 1500, religious architecture in India developed from caves to magnificent structures such as Hindu temples and towers

The use of prose in fiction was established in India by the sixth and seventh centurieso much earlier than most civilizationso One of the greatest authors of Sanskrit prose was

Dandin, who penned The Adventures of Ten Princes

The Peruvudaiyar Koyil Temple, the world's first complete granite temple, one of India's most prized architectural sites

The Formation of StatesThe geography of Southeast Asia led to the development of

distinct cultures throughout the region Between 500 and 1500, a number of organized

states developed throughout Southeast Asiao These states were influenced by the unique

geography of Southeast Asia The region is dominated by a mainland that

extends from China to the Malay Peninsula, and an archipelago which includes Indonesia and the Philippines

The area contains a vast array of races, cultures, and religions

The geographical barriers of the region encouraged the development of separate cultures

Vietnam was one of the first states to develop its own identityo Vietnam was heavily influenced by China

• Vietnam warred with its neighbor and eventually copied its system of government

Jayavarman II united the Khmer people and created the kingdom of Angkor (present-day Cambodia) in the ninth centuryo The proximity to enemies, such as the Burmese

kingdom of Pagan and the arrival of the Thai people in 1300, signaled the end of the Angkor Kingdom

The Thai people established their empire on the Chao Phraya Rivero They were influenced by a combination of Hindu

and Buddhist beliefs which became the modern culture of Thailand

The inhabitants of Burma were a pastoral people who grew wealthy and influential from trade in the region

The Malay region was divided between the mainland peninsula and the islands of Indonesiao This kingdom was never unified because of

geographical barrierso The people of the Malay kingdom grew wealthy

from controlling trade passing through the Strait of Malacca

o The Muslim city of Melaka became an important trading post on the peninsula• It was also influential in the spread of Islam in

the region

Life in Southeast AsiaThe growth of the states of Southeast Asia depended

largely on trade and agriculture The states of Southeast Asia can be categorized

into two groups:o agricultural societies and trading societies

Economic and political power in Southeast Asia was held by hereditary aristocratso Farmers, fishermen, artisans, and merchants

comprised the rest of the society

Women in Southeast Asia received more rights than in proximate regions

Hinduism and Buddhism were both popular in Southeast Asiao Theravada Buddhism eventually

became the religion of the masses

Standing Buddha