Culture, Power, and Trade in the Era of Asian Hegemony

220-1350 C.E.

• India and Southeast Asia in the Classical and Medieval Periods

• China: Cultural and Political Empires

• Korea: From Three Kingdoms to One

• The Emergence of Japan

• Oceania 

S - Social• India

o Patriarchal o Gupta  State began its rise in 320 with accession of Chandra Gupta I.o Rulers depended on local authorities and communal institutions.o Peasants paid taxes.o Marriage alliances aided Gupta's rise to power.o Practiced religious pluralismo Had a smaller bureaucracy.o Military forces raised by feudal levy.o Later, the Muslims came into India.

• Chinao Under Tang Dynasty:o Patriarchal/ Women had limited rights/ Punishments for wifely disobedience.o Women active in arts and literatureo Class and education played important role in women's statuso Women were also poetso Largely state controlled and aristocratico Under the Song Era:o  Population swelled from 60-115 milliono A more demure and modest demeanor was expected from women 

Continuation of S-Socialo Weaker women were attractive/ Limited public roleo Under Yuan Dynasty:o A hierarchy dominated: Mongols at top, other people of Central Asia,

northern next, then southern almost completely excluded./ Short lived• Korea 

o Three Kingdoms: one in the north, and two in the southo Free peasants/ Legal codes punished murder, theft, and bodily injury as well

as female adultery and jealousy/ Officials positions determined by "bone-rank"

• Japano  Marriage practices emphasized the central role of the bride and her familyo Complicated courtship for a womano Non married woman could have more than one sexual partnero Influence of the throne depended on marriage customs and family relations

• Oceaniao Villagers lived in rectangular houses/ Used stone and cowrie tools, jewelry,

and potteryo Women: high status, inherited property/ Men held political power o Girl's marriages arranged from birth.

P - Political India• Gupta monarchs developed a centralized political structure It consisted of provincial

governors, district officials, state controlled industries, and an imperial secret service. The system was affective only on royal lands.

• Hegemony, a form of imperialism, was what they based their government.• The Gupta rulers depended on local authorities and community institutions because they

had a smaller bureaucracy.• Peasants had to pay taxes to the state- 1/4 of harvest, 1/50 of cattle and gold, 1/6 of their

wealth in food, and a day of labor for the state. China• The period of disunity-incessant military/a period of constant warfare (the 16 Kingdoms)• In 439, Northern Wei established an equal field system to overcome the powerful land

owner whose control over serfs decreased the land available for taxation• The first Sui ruler established an imperial military force and land-based militia, a

centralized administration, and revived the civil service system. • Tang Dynasty examination system, a highly centralized government, using a complex

bureaucracy / the 2 tax system later replaced the equal-field system. • A hierarchy was established with Mongols / taxation / subject to serfdom.• Kubilai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, he relied heavily on the advice of signified

advisers. Capital moved to Beijing in 1264 and became the first Central Asian conqueror of Southern China and conquered all of China in 1279. The richest empire on earth. Yuan was short lived with Khan as its last effective leader.

Japan• Was governed by both male and female shamanistic rulers.• The tomb period gave rise to Japan's first organized government. At first, a clan located in one village

was the extent of a leader's control.  Political authority was intimately connected to religious authority. Original clans were headed by a head priest or priestess (believed to be descended from the clan's deity)

• The Yamato leaders were able to build on their productive wealth to support their military strength OneYamato leader made so many reforms that Japan changed forever. He also reorganized the Yamato governing structure on the Confucian state model to make it the central monarchy of Japan and wrote the "Seventeen Article Constitution."

• Noble families were often tied by bloodlines to the imperial family. By the eleventh century, the gradual erosion of the tax base undermined the court's central authority. Guards that were to protect the estate owners provincial interests became part of the samurai class.

• The throne's power depended on the balance of the Fujiwara family. Their influence over the throne was dependent on marriage customs and family relations.

•  The era of warrior dominance was started in 1185 after Minamoto Yoritomo's victory over the Taira warrior band. He had the emperor confer to him the new position of shogun or great general. The shogun served at the emperor's pleasure. He made use of the bond of loyalty to motivate samurai warriors or vassals. they were appointed constables of provinces with the duty of raising armies and acting as stewards or overseers on shoes. He showed his authority by letting them collect small amounts of revenue. By doing this, owners acknowledged Kamakura's (capital) right. Yoritomo and his successors made much use of use of the provincial governing system of the old imperial system. He established the samurai board, the judicial board, and the administrative board.

• In 1274 and 1281, the samurai fought bravely against the Mongol invasion, without being rewarded.• The practice of daughter inheritance and multiple inheritances gave way to inheritance by son, to

keep samurai lands intact. This strengthened the lord-vassal bond at the center of feudalism; this became increasingly important in the three next centuries. 

Korea• Was divided into three kingdoms in the third century. There was one in the north and two in the south,

they were very much a part of East Asia international culture. They developed Chinese culture and adopted their government. In the fourteenth century, influences led to the merging of Korea as one kingdom.

• The earliest kingdom, Ko Choson established in the third millennium BCE, developed a productive society with labor specialized into peasant and artisan classes. The productiveness caught the attention of China, which conquered it

• The fall of the Han allowed the Koreans to push the Chinese out and compete for dominance. • Koguryo, established in 37 BCE, developed a Chinese style of kingship. The bulk of society was free

peasants, living in villages under headmen. A legal law code punished offenders. • Paekche / third century / enabled Koguryo to strengthen its institutions, a National Confucian Academy

and an administrative law code, which made Koguryo a centralized aristocracy, developed. • Fifth century-Silla asserted its power and had an aristocratic society with its officials positions

determined by bloodline or status.  Youth were enrolled in the Flower of Youth Corps. • Eighth century - Silla rule. In 936, a rebel unifies the peninsula under the Koryo Dynasty, he and his

successors emancipated slaves, instituted the examination system, and collected privately owned arms. He also attempted to model the kingdom on song Confucianism. The state gradually weakened due to uprisings and was invaded by the Mongols in 1238. In the 1270s and 1280s they helped them unsuccessfully raid Japan. In 1392, the Ming Dynasty conquered the already weakened Koryo state.

Oceania• Oceania is comprised of the Pacific Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. It has become

increasingly shaped by its geographic and economic proximity to China. The end of colonialism has caused the many people to reconsider their cultural identities, claiming that custom is important. Lack of written records has led historians to rely on archaeological evidence to understand the settlement and the history of Oceania.

I - Interaction• India

o Arab force seized Sind, a coastal outpost in northwestern India o Armies of Central Asian and Turkic slaves helped Mahmud launch a series of attacks into

northwestern India.o Indian culture influenced Southeast Asia's Srivijayan empire(Indonesia and Malaysia today) 

•  Chinao Ruled by Mongols/ Barbarians were integrated o China subjugated Turkic Central Asia and Northern Vietnamo Manchuria experienced the cultural influence of Tang as did Korea, Japan, and South East

Asia• Korea

o Ko Choson, earliest Korean kingdom/ Agriculture, used ploughs and kniveso Koguryo, king Sosurim adopted Buddhism o Built Pagoda/ Mongols invaded in 1238/ Mongols and Korea together had unsuccessful

invasions of Japan• Japan

o More than 100 miles of open sea between Japan and Chinao Had a permanent capitalo had the world's fist novel, "Tale of Genji" by Lady Murasaki

• Oceaniao 3 regional groups: Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia(Pacific Islands)o In the last Ice Age, there was a land bridge connecting many of the Indonesian archipelago

facilitating human migration.o Advanced boating technology

C - CulturalIndia• (184 B.C. E.- 320 C.E.) political fragmentation led to the spread of Indian religions and

technologies from the east to the west of India.• reunification of India's north under the Gupta dynasty led to emergence of Hindu culture,Sanskrit

literature, and indigenous art• Great progress was made in the field of education.  There were a number of famous universities

that became the centre of advanced learning• religions - spread by missionary and commerical activity along the silk road.• Gupta Period ( 320-500)  - art and literature combined stability and serenity with a zest for

life / stimulated learning and resulted in many accomplishments in science and mathematics.   • Gupta period witnessed the beginning of a new style of temple architecture and sculpture.  • The Indian Caste system consisted of the Brahmins (priests), the Kshatriya (warriors), the Vaishya

(merchants) , and Shudras (artisans)  • Islam was spread by Islamic missionaries during commerical activities

China• Stability resulted from a common written language, family structure, and religion. • Buddism and Daoism and Confucian beliefs prospered• Tang dynasty (618-907) - poets, artists, architects, and painters were inspired by religious beliefs

and secular themes • Song Era (920-1279) - Aesthetic expression encouraged versatility and  the personalization of

work.  • Mongol conquest had limited cultural effect on the population. • Mongols treated ethnic Chinese as distinctly inferior .

Cultural Korea•  Culturally Buddhist•  Poetry and Art followed Buddhist themes•  King Taejo attempted to model the Kingdom on Song's Confucianism

Japan• Early Japan had expert weavers and female religious leaders!• Japanese culture flowed into Japan first from Korea and then China• pottery dates back from 10,000 B.C.E / was influenced by Chinese pottery• bronze and iron technology led to an improvement in agricultural methods• new schools of Buddhism influenced Japanese religion• the world's first novel , paintings, sculpture, temples, monasteries, and other

building were extraordinarily refined...only one-tenth of the population were aristocrats.

Oceania• Melanesians and Polynesians had many common roots• lived in rectangular houses, used stone and cowrie tools, to make jewelry

and pottery.• had advanced boating technology (dugout canoes).• gendering of society was important  ...men and women had distinct roles

E - EconomicIndia• state controlled industries• peasants had to pay taxes• a peaceful and stable Gupta increased agricultural productivity and foreign trade• commerce with Rome brought gold and silver and Arabian horses were also imported• India exported textiles, spices, jewels, etc.• trading also spread Buddhism

China•  geographic location - China did not have much influence except through their extensive

trade routes. Extensive trade routes went to Manchuria, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia.• The Northern Wei instituted an equal-field system to overcome the rise of powerful land

owners whose control of land and serfs decreased the farm land available for taxation.• Silk Roads / Indian Ocean trade• Tang- two tax system-taxes are paid twice in a year based on the value of your land, not

on output • Chinese techniques in paper making, iron and porcelain production, and silk processing• Song Dynasty- rapid economic, industrial growth, many farmers raised and sold silk,

sugar, vegetables, cotton, fruit, and wood products. Government maintained some monopolies, moderately taxed trade, and aided intensive agriculture, it also loosened control over individual enterprise. Technical innovations (water clock, explosives, suspension bridges, and nails) furthered economic growth.

• Yuan Dynasty- active traders, richest empire on earth, immense public works. 

Korea• Koreans grew millet, soybeans, and rice/used ploughs and knives, developed metallurgy,

all natural objects had life - animistic religion.• Free peasants formed the bulk of society.• Lively trade existed between Tang and Silla.• Strengthened institutions and formed an examination system. • King Taejo emancipated slaves but kept some form of labor.

Japan• Adept at farming / fond of alcohol / experts at weaving and fishing• Koreans brought to Japan a revolution of agricultural technology, bronze and iron

Technology, pottery, and farmers lived in pit dwellings• Kami- natural forces and spirits are believed to be everywhere in nature• The Yamato region possessed the most fertile agricultural land in ancient Japan/the

leaders were able to build on their productive wealth to support military strength. Oceania• Has been shaped by its geographic and economic proximity to the Asian

world / large separation due to water / economy centered on villages.• Developed agriculture with the use of domesticated animals and irrigation.• Lapita farming practices along with dogs and rats transformed landscape to grow kumara.

When North Island of New Zealand by the Polynesian Maoris, stripped landscape enabled the growth of kumara, a sweet potato.

• Lapita society had advanced boating technology; built canoes that traveled long distances  on voyages. Lapita culture spread far west of New Guinea to Tonga and Samoa in the east.

SOAP S-TONE

Document: Faxian: A Chinese Buddhist Monk in

Gupta India

S - Speaker                    A Chinese Buddhist Monk named Faxian.

O - Occasion                    People needed to be happy, relatively free of government oppression, and inclined toward courtesy, charity, and social customs.

A - Audience                    The audience included people in China, India, in the city of Patna, and the poor.

P - Purpose                    The purpose was to illustrate both the effects of the spread of Hinduism and the draw that the Indian heartland had on Buddhists abroad.  His purpose is to inform others about the knowledge he gathered from traveling 14 years as a pilgrim.

S - Subject                     The subject is the illustration of the effect Buddhism had that he observed throughout the 14 years he went on a pilgrimage to India. .  The subject is about the ritual and festival in Pataliputra (modern Patna)  where Ashoka once reigned.  Faxian is an important source on India around 400 C.E.

T - Tone                    The tone is very formal, decorous, and elaborate.  The mood is welcoming and inclusive.