Chapter 13 Notes: The Spread of Civilizations in East Asia

The Tang (618 – 907) and The Song (960 – 1279) Dynasties

Achievements:• civil service exams to determine best & brightest• Grand Canal connecting Beijing, the Hwang Ho and Yangtze Rivers ship-ping grain within China• caravans carried silk over Silk Road

“If China were a man, the Great Wall would be his backbone, and the Grand Canal would be his main blood vessel.”

• block printing & movable type• crossbow• gunpowder (1st for fireworks; later for cannons)• abacus (a machine that counts beads for arithmetic) • compass used by traders to navigate at sea • paper currency• paintings with black ink on silk paper• built Buddhist pagodas • fine porcelain (Westerners called “chinaware”)• windmills

Society:

• followed traditional beliefs of Confucianism• women must obey male family members• women also ran all family affairs including finances• female foot-binding to limit female mobility to keep close to home• peasants performed labor for government & paid taxes• merchants as lowest class b/c they earned their wealth on labor of others

Achievements by Kublai Khan:• reunited Northern and Southern China• Mongols as his military aristocracy but help came from Chinese officials• encouraged Mongols to adopt Chinese ways• adopted Chinese name “Yuan” for his dynasty• claimed Mandate of Heaven to rule China• burned coal as a source of heat as witnessed by Marco Polo, a merchant from Venice (Italy)

Mongol Influence on Russia:• conquered most of Russia in 13th century; controlled for 200 years • Russians adopted Mongol words, customs, clothing styles• Muscovy (Moscow & surrounding territories) rebelled

• Ivan the Great won Muscovy’s independence; declared self “Czar” or “Tsar” (“Caesar” or Emperor)

•Mongols overthrown in China by a Chinese monk who established the Ming Dynasty

CONFUCIANISM: AROUND 600 B.C.•founded in China by Confucius, a scholar, not a god•Philosophy: *system of ideas concerned with worldly goals, esp. to ensure social order and good government *5 key relationships stressed *father to son………………………………….. not all relationships equal – *elder brother to younger brother…………… older people superior to younger ones; *husband to wife……………………………… men superior to women – *ruler to subject *friend to friend •social superiors lead by example•strengthened respect for ancestors •filial piety – respect for parents above all duties•“Do not do to others what you do not wish yourself”•good leaders are educated leaders•no sacred text but Confucius’ sayings copied down by his students into a collection called Analects•spread to other areas in Asia as the Chinese spread their culture

end Day 1

The Ming Dynasty 1368 - 1644

Achievements:• added Korea, Burma, Vietnam to empire• built imperial city, Beijing as capital & home to all later emperors• restored civil service exams

• sponsored travel expeditions • Chinese explorer, Zheng He, sailed to coasts of India, Arabia, & Africa claiming to have “unified the seas & continents”

• China halted expeditions believing further change would harm culture

Society:• illiterate peasantry• scholar-gentry class owned land that peasants worked

• respected education• children studied to pass civil service exams, focusing on Confucian teachings

• craftsmen made luxury items like silk & porcelain that merchants exported

China’s Influence on Korea

• Chinese influences because of location of Korean peninsula• cultural bridge b/t China & Japan• 1st became a Chinese military colony based on Confucian traditions as a younger brother owing respect & loyalty to older brother, China

• Buddhism reached its greatest influence in Korea• replaced complex system of Chinese writing with hangul, an alphabet using symbols to represent sounds of spoken Korean, leading to a high literacy rate

Japan’s Emergence

• geographical influence on an archipelago (chain of islands) east of Korean peninsula• language related to Korean but completely different from Chinese• Korean missionaries introduced Buddhism sparking Japanese interest in Chinese • civilization•revised Chinese system of writing and added kana, phonetic symbols representing syllables• Zen Buddhists valued peace, simplicity, & love of beauty, revering nature

Japanese social pyramid (feudalism):