Prequal Era Source Readings Only

Primary Source: Widows Loyal unto Death (yes!)

• Widows in society should never remarry. It was seen as appraisal if they were to starve themselves or kill themselves then to marry again. 

• Example: Xu Sungie married Chen Boshan at 17. When her husband was gravely ill, he told her to remarry because she had no son, but after the coffin closed, she hanged herself to die with her husband. 

Primary Source: Cases of Wako Pirates (yes!)

• Japanese raided coast of Korea in 13th century but it escalates during the Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

  • Consisting of Japanese, Chinese, and other pirates, misfits, renegades.

• Memoirs of Sato Shinen 

  • Origins: During Eisho and Taitei era (1504-1527), several warriors from islands off the coast of Iyo banded together and crossed the ocean to foreign lands and became pirates and became wealthy.

  • Development: Pillaged towns and seized items to become rich. 8 men -> thousands 

  • Workings: As it gradually became a big problem, China strengthened coastal defenses. Pirates vice versa prepared to fight the land armies

• The Veritable Records of the Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty

  • Origins: Wang Zhi, Xu Hai and others often went to sea unlawfully and carried Chinese money and commodities to trade with barbarian traders. Sponsored by the Xie family. But one day the Xie family stopped paying and threatened to call authorities so the wokou decided to attack the Xie family and then the Xie family, worried that they were going to be searched after, reported the wokou saying they invaded the Xie family. 

  • Workings: The Xie family worried the authorities would connect them back to the pirates, so they made an agreement with other pirates. Since the news of other pirates coming out was out, government troops were deployed and stuff. This increased taxes and kept the Court busied and worried for 6 OR 7 years 😂. Eventually they did win against the pirates, but it cost a lot. 

• Gazetteer of Zhangzhou Prefecture

  • Origins: Hong Dizhen although there was no evidence of his inducing the Japanese to engage in piracy, sometimes when Chinese were captured by wokou, he would pay a ransom and send them back home. People had high regard for him

  • Development: years later he went to Wuyu with bad people and they went into a succession but authorities didn’t like that so they went to arrest them but failed to arrest any of them. So the authorities went to arrest Dizhen’s relatives instead and from then on he allied with the Wokou to start trouble

Primary Source: Ming Maritime (yes!)

• The main argument is that the Chinese tribute system created a stable international order in early modern East Asia by establishing a hierarchy centered on China while still allowing surrounding states to maintain much of their independence, trade, and diplomatic relationships

  • Tributary status was a diplomatic protocol to recognize sovereignty of another country's rule. Tribute embassies stabilized the political and diplomatic relationship between two sides,  provided information about important events and news, formalized rules for trade, and allowed intellectual and cultural exchange among scholars. 

  • The tribute system reduced conflict and created stability. The text explains that the system could “mediate inter-state relations” with minimal use of war, and that the system as a whole remained stable because other states accepted China's political, economic, and cultural centrality. 

  • Secondary states kept their independence despite recognizing China’s superiority.
    Countries such as Korea and Vietnam accepted China's position at the top of the hierarchy, but they were still largely free to manage their own domestic affairs and conduct foreign policy independently. 

  • The system encouraged diplomacy, trade, and cultural exchange. Tribute embassies helped stabilize relationships, exchange information, regulate trade, and promote intellectual and cultural exchange. The tribute system therefore wasn't just about paying China tribute—it created rules for interaction throughout the region. 

Secondary Source: Women in Steppe Society (naur)

• Before Chinggis Khan, Mongol society was impoverished

  • Nomadic women were vulnerable to aggression, and rape

• Women had power after being married (status as wives)

  •  Significant in families for children

  • Had businesses

• Women’s lives were governed by status.

• When Chinggis Khan came he fixed social hierarchies to be merit based social and military system

Bride Price, Levirate, and Seniority Among Wives

• Rich men wived more wives than poor men

  • Men had to pay bride price for “loss” of the families daughter (cuz he take her away)

  • Brides with wealthy family can bring dowries (riches, luxuries -> owned and stay owned by wives until she gives away)

    • Paying bride price became too much work so they started kidnapping the wives instead

    • There's exchange marriages too (eliminate need of dowry)

  • Levirate marriages were nomadic practice

  • Men that had multiple wives, were in like a hierarchy, Senior wife controlled wealth and stuff and so forth

• Women and Work

  • Farmwork was spilt 

  • Wives manage noncombatant camps (and a lot of stuff even though they didn’t deal with “strong manly” chores