postclassical asia – china and her impact
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Postclassical Asia – China and Her Impact. Early Postclassical China. Period of disorder after the fall of the Han (approx. 200s – 500s) - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Postclassical Asia – China and Her Impact
Period of disorder after the fall of the Han (approx. 200s – 500s)
Buddhism spread to China by way of the Silk Road during the Han & gained momentum after Xuanzang’s journey to India (Buddhism had changed over time as it spread)
Sui & Tang dynasties restored order – agricultural & technological advancements
China interacted w/ the eastern hemisphere through trade and spread influence to Korea, Vietnam & Japan
Early Postclassical China
580 - Yang Jian claimed the Mandate of Heaven in state of Sui & by 589 ruled all of China Strong, centralized gov’t – built palaces, granaries, walls, milt. forces to
central Asia & Korea, high taxes & mandatory labor services
GRAND CANAL – enabled trade between North & South (rivers flowed east) – linked Beijing in north w/ Chang’an in west & Yangtze River in south
Revolts broke out when additional resources for Korean campaign were demanded
Sui Dynasty(589-618)
Grand Canal
Tang Taizong (r.627-649) Capital at Chang’an Maintained transportation & communication
network – roads, horses & even human runners Equal-field system (based on needs – not
heredity) – it worked during the 1st half of the dynasty, but fell to corruption and Buddhist monasteries later
Bureaucracy based on merit – civil service exams
Military Expansion – Manchuria, Korea, Vietnam became tributary states
In decline for 150 years – rival forces, corruption, etc.
Tang Dynasty (618-907)
Song Taizu - mistrusted military leaders, expanded civil service & rewarded loyalty Financially weak – large bureaucracy drained
treasury & peasants revolted at raising taxes Militarily weak – military decisions were being
made by scholar-bureaucracy instead of milt. leaders – therefore, nomads took over in the north (1st Jin pushed Song south of Huang He Rvr., then Mongols took over entire empire)
Song Dynasty (960-1279)
Agriculture Fast-Ripening Rice from Vietnam enabled two crops
per year New Techniques – iron plow, harnessed oxen (in
north) & water buffalo (in south), used manure for fertilizer, extended irrigation systems (pumps & waterwheels) → artificial irrigation methods enable terraced mtns
Results Increased population (115 million by 1200) Urbanization (Chang’an had about 2 million residents,
Hangzhou about 1 million & many others over 100,000) Market-oriented cultivation (southern province of Fujian was
growing cash crops of lychees, oranges & sugarcane for export to the north & importing its rice → gov’t unhappy)
Increased patriarchy – veneration of ancestors & footbinding
Tang & Song Economic Developments
Chinese Footbinding
Porcelain - lighter, thinner & more adaptable (glaze) => Chinaware & led to increased trade
Iron & steel metallurgy for weaponry, agricultural tools & structures (bridges & pagodas) & coke for heating
Gunpowder – Daoist alchemists – used by mid-tenth century in warfare (spread to Europe by late 1200s)
Printing – Block-printing (stamp whole pages) & then moveable-type (individual, moveable symbols that could be rearranged to create pages) – Confucian & Buddhist texts, calendars & agricultural pamphlets
Naval technology – sailed further using various ship techniques & the magnetic compass
T & S Technological Developments
Chinese Inventions 700-1000
Chinese regions specialized in their production of goods w/ increased internal & foreign trade
Copper coins (currency unique to China) became scarce → letters of credit, promissory notes & checks (borrowers lost life & fortune if tried to deny debt) → ultimately led to invention of paper money – used first by merchants & then by gov’t (1024)
Trade came by land (from Abbasid & Central Asia) & sea (Arab, Persian, Indian & Malay mariners) Imports → spices from SE Asia, feathers & tortoise shells
from Vietnam, pearls & incense from India, and horses & melons from central Asia
Exports→ silk, porcelain & lacquerware
T & S Market Economy
Cultural Change in Tang & Song New religions introduced at a time when it seemed
Confucianism had failed Nestorian & Manichaean Christianity (from SW Asia) and
Islam present in cities, but little impact with the majority Mahayana Buddhism gained popularity w/ Silk Road
Monasteries important in the local economies (agriculture) Introduced chairs & refined sugar
Chan/Zen Buddhism became very popular Syncretism of Buddhism & Daoism because of conflict w/
traditional Chinese thought – used Daoist terms to explain Buddhism & encouraged one son for monastic life instead of celibacy for all (explains Xuanzang’s pilgrimage to India)
Cultural Change in Tang & Song (cont)
Late Tang rulers tried to rid China of foreign faiths, but it was really an attempt to seize property
Neo-Confucianism – Song attempt to encourage traditional Chinese traditions while still valuing Buddhist thought Zhu Xi (12th century) – Family Rituals – provided
instructions for various affairs * Illustrates deep influence of Buddhism in China &
influenced east Asian thought long-term (Korea, Vietnam & Japan)
Theravada Buddhism Mahayana Buddhism
Reaching Nirvana is the ultimate goal of the Theravada Buddhist.
Vow to be reborn in order to help all other sentient (aware of feelings) beings reach Nirvana first.
Strives for wisdom first . Compassion is the highest virtue.
Centers on meditation, and requires major personal dedication such as being a monk or nun.
Encourages practice in the world and among the general community.
Followed as a teaching or Philosophy.
Followed with reference to higher beings, more like a religion.
Moved primarily South and West covering Indochina and Ceylon (Sri-Lanka).
Moved Primarily North and West, covering China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet.
Early work written in Pali (e.g. kamma, dhamma).
Early texts are in Sanskrit (e.g. karma, dharma)
Emphasizes rules and education
Emphasizes intuition and practice
Politically conservative Politically liberal
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Schwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar
Viet people settled near the Red River During the Qin & Han dynasty, became
subjugated under feudal warlord control Viets traded w/ China (silk in exchange for
ivory, tortoise shells, pearls, peacock feathers, etc.)
Intermarried w/ other SE Asian ethnic groups (Khmers – Cambodia & Tais – Thailand) → separate spoken language, village autonomy, grassroots Buddhism, art & literature, nuclear family life, women greater freedoms (& cultural aspects → wore long skirts, watched chicken-fights, & blackened their teeth)
Vietnam
Sinification Agricultural methods & irrigation systems Schools & administrative techniques (& Confucian
exams) Gradually adopted extended family model & ancestor
veneration Revolt
Trung sisters (39 CE ) – children of a deposed local leader
By 939, won independence from China Expansion
Moved south & west once independent
Vietnam (cont.)
Hue Palace (Vietnam)
Early Korea
(worksheet)
Early Japan
Japanese Geography Archipelago formed by volcanoes in
the “Ring of Fire”: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu & Shikoku
4/5 of the land is too mountainous to farm
Close to Korea (cultural diffusion from China through Korea)
Sea offered plentiful food resources & thriving fishing industry
Forces of Nature: volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis → fear & respect for nature
Terraced Farming
Early Traditions Clans known as “uji” had their own
chief and a special diety Yamato clan came to dominate a
corner of Honshu Yamato claimed direct descent from
the sun goddess (Amaterasu) & early emperors were revered as living gods
Shintoism Worship of the
forces of nature “the way of kami”
– spirit powers that are natural or divine
Shrines are located in beautiful, natural surroundings (mountains, waterfalls & ancient gnarled trees)
Cultural Diffusion w/ China Prince Shotoku (Yamato) sent young
nobles to study in China during the 600s
Borrowed Confucian ideas & law codes
Set-up bureaucracy (but never adopted civil service system)
Tea drinking became popular Used Chinese characters to write
official histories Buddhism spread (w/ pagoda
architecture)
Heian Period
794-1185
794 – the Japanese established a new capital at Heian (later called Kyoto)
Court life was the pursuit of beauty Wrote poetry Calligraphy valued 1010 – The Tale of Genji (Lady
Shikibu Murasaki) – world’s first novel
Due to search for beauty, neglected tasks of government
Heian Period