1.1 Developments in East Asia

The Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty

• 960-1279 C.E.

• emphasis on administration, industry, education, and the arts

• Military not emphasized

• Confucius ideals were really strong

Confucianism

most influential religious philosophy in the history of China; existed for over 2500 years; inner virtue, morals, and respect for community and its values

Bureaucracy

• Vast organization of appointed officials who carry out Emperor policies

• Since Ancient China

• Expanded educational opportunities to lower class men to help pass civil service exams

Civil Service Exams

required exams to qualify for bureaucratic jobs; helped people move up the social ladder

Meritocracy

• Chinese system that allowed for more upward mobility than any hiring system of the time

• Poor were underrepresented

• Bureaucracy became so large it increased the cost of government

Grand Canal

United North and South China, made China the most populous trading area globally

Gunpowder

Invented in previous dynasties; Songs made guns; spread west with Silk Road

Agricultural Productivity

• Champa Rice is brought from Vietnam, able to grow in lowlands, riverbanks, and hills (new places)

• Power moves to where rice is grown

• Irrigation systems increased productivity

• Population grew

Proto-industrialization

Economic changes when rural people make more than they can sell; relied on home and community based production with simple equipment

Artisans

skilled craftspeople who produced steel, porcelain, and silk under government supervision

Manufacturing and Navigation

Compass developed; ships were redesigned to carry more goods; printed paper used for navigational maps

Money

• Letters of credit replaced coins after shortages of copper

  • promissory notes and checks

• Independently produced paper money developed, though unstable

• Government claimed monopoly on money production

Tributary System

• Arrangement in which other states had to pay money or provide goods to the emperor, originated with the Han Dynasty

• Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Southeast Asian kingdoms were tributary states

• Reps of these states had to kowtow (bow) to the emperor

• How the Song Dynasty received income

Urbanization

China was really urbanized with many cities with 100,000+ people

Scholar gentry

Educated in Confucian philosophy, most influential social class, farmer artisan and craftsmen classes ranked below

Footbinding

Binding the feet of young girls to keep them from growing naturally; increased likelihood of finding suitor; banned in 1912