history of east asia notes

Historiography

The examining of how historians before interpreted historical events and people and how that changed overtime.

Assessment of Historical Sources

Historians evaluate sources by posing critical questions about their reliability, omissions, bias, and what they reveal about the time period.

Limitations of Historical Sources

Sources are rarely completely reliable, often contain inherent bias, and present only partial segments of the broader historical story.

Societal Context from Sources

Historical sources provide insights into the mindset of historical populations, reflecting their thoughts, beliefs, values, fears, and experiences.

Sinitic

Pertaining to Chinese culture, language, or identity.

Yellow River Valley

A primary site in North China, where ancient Chinese ancestors possibly originated, characterized by frequent flooding and enriched soil.

Technological Developments from Flooding

Frequent flooding in the Yellow River Valley led to advanced irrigation systems and flood-control infrastructure.

Longshan Culture

Chronologically later than the Yangshao Culture, known for thin, highly polished black pottery and evidence of structural walls. They worked with metals and had significant pounded walls.

Oracle Bones

The earliest known form of Chinese writing, constructed primarily from turtle shells or mammal scapulae, used for divination by the Shang Dynasty.

The Shang Dynasty

The first known historical dynasty in China, recognized for decentralized political structure and advancements in metalworking and early writing.

Social Developments in the Yellow River Valley

Large-scale flood management and infrastructure projects required collective labor, compelling people to work together and establish organized communities.

Agricultural Developments in the Yellow River Valley

Seasonal flooding enriched the soil, enabling settled populations to cultivate crops such as wheat and beans.

Political Developments in the Yellow River Valley

Managing complex flood-control systems created a vital need for organized leadership, priests, and administrative bureaucrats, directly facilitating the emergence of a structured social hierarchy.

Cross-Cultural Exchange in the Yellow River Valley

Geographic networks facilitated the transmission of key innovations between cultures, including the chariot and early writing systems.

Yangshao Culture (4800 BCE)

Practiced systematic agriculture and inhabited permanent, settled communities, known for producing distinctive painted pottery and crafting large ceramic pots featuring red and black geometric designs.

Significance of the Yangshao Culture

The Yangshao Culture is significant for its early agricultural practices, which laid the groundwork for settled communities and societal development in ancient China, along with its noted artistic contributions through pottery.

Shang society

It was a hierarchical society, meaning people were divided into social classes. Elites had more wealth, power, and access to weapons and better housing than common people.

Political power in Shang society

The Shang king controlled political and religious affairs, holding the most political power.

Historical significance of oracle bones

They provide evidence about Shang religion, government, writing, and daily life.

Lady Hao (Fu Hao)

A powerful Shang woman who was a wife, mother, military leader, and warrior.

Significance of Lady Hao’s tomb

It contained weapons and valuable objects, showing that women could hold high social, military, and religious status in Shang society.

Significance of the Western Zhou

The Zhou conquered the Shang and introduced the Mandate of Heaven, a new justification for political rule, establishing a more decentralized system.

Zhou justification for overthrowing Shang

They claimed the Shang had lost the Mandate of Heaven because its rulers had become corrupt and ineffective.

Mandate of Heaven

The belief that Heaven gives a ruler the right to govern, but can take that right away if the ruler governs poorly, originating during the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Mandate of Heaven requirements

A ruler must govern well and morally to keep Heaven’s approval; if corrupt or failing the people, Heaven can withdraw support.

Political legitimacy

The belief that a ruler has the rightful authority to govern.

Importance of the Mandate of Heaven

It provided a way to explain and justify dynastic change; a new dynasty could claim the previous dynasty had lost Heaven’s approval.

Difference between Mandate of Heaven and oracle-bone divination

Oracle bones were used to ask specific questions of the supernatural, while the Mandate of Heaven was a broader idea regarding legitimate governance.

Communication of Heaven's approval or disapproval

Heaven communicated this through conditions such as peace, good harvests, prosperity, natural disasters, famine, and political disorder.

Weakening of the Western Zhou

After the Western Zhou weakened, China entered the Eastern Zhou period, which included the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Spring and Autumn Period

A time when many smaller states competed for power while the Zhou king became increasingly weak and less powerful.

Warring States

A period in ancient China when several powerful states constantly fought one another for territory and control.

Significance of the Warring States Period

It led to major political, economic, social, military, and philosophical changes, with states becoming stronger and more centralized.

Importance of Warring States Period for China

Competition encouraged stronger governments, larger armies, better technology, and stronger economies, enabling the Qin to unify China.

Intensity of warfare during the Warring States Period

Warfare became more intense due to larger armies, new military technologies, and better strategies.

Important military technology during the Warring States Period

The crossbow.

Siege definition

A military strategy in which an army surrounds a city or fortress, blocking supplies and people from getting in or out.

Social structure changes during the Warring States Period

Traditional elites lost some power, while farmers, merchants, artisans, and military specialists gained importance.

Importance of farmers to Warring States governments

Farmers produced food and taxes, supporting larger populations and armies.

Strong agricultural economy benefits

More food leads to a larger population, more taxes, a larger army, and a stronger state.

Need for talented people during Warring States Period

Rulers needed skilled individuals in government, military strategy, administration, taxation, and agriculture to strengthen their states.

Emergence of Chinese philosophers during Warring States Period

They arose due to political and social instability, questioning how society should be organized, how rulers should govern, and how peace could be achieved.

Major philosophies developed during Warring States Period

Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism.