Post Classical East Asia

Silk Road 

Vocab: 

China:

Sinification

• A process whereby non-Chinese societies come under the influence of the dominant Chinese state and society (Japan, Korea, Tibet, Vietnam) 

Sui 

• Sui Dynasty 589 CE~618 CE (Unification Foundation) 

• A wealthy aristocrat and military general Yang Jian established through the military → unified North and South China then he declared himself emperor. 

• Continued the development of the Civil Service Exam

• KNOWN FOR THE GRAND CANAL

Grand Canal-Short lived Dynasty

• The Grand Canal: (the legacy and the downfall)

  • Extended the canal to connect Northern and Southern China 

  • Unified China both culturally and economically

  • Emperor heavily taxed the rich and required peasants to do labor

• In the Tang Dynasty the Grand Canal would be used to share information because it connected North and South China. 

Unification  

• The unification of China was through military conquests in the Sui Dynasty. 

  • Allows them to influence other places

  • Built the Grand Canal (Emperor Yang Sui)

Civil Service Exams

• A standardized test created in the Han Dynasty so if you pass you could get a government position. 

• It continued in the Sui Dynasty but was more recognized in the Tang Dynasty. 

Tang

• Tang Dynasty 618 CE~907 CE (Military Stability) 

• The “Golden Age” of China where there was a flourish of…

  • Cultural Achievements: art, poetry, and literature

  • Innovations/Inventions: woodblock printing, medicine, gunpowder, tea production, etc.

  • Economic Power: Through the Silk Road

• Government System: Tang Blueprint

  • ☆Tang Code: A set of laws that helped judges settle disputes which LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR THE EQUAL FIELD SYSTEM

    • A collection of laws from previous dynasties

    • Was a model for other regions (ex. Japan and Korea)

  • Equal Field System: A bureaucratic system where…

    • land equally divided among farmers and peasants + low taxes → ECONOMIC PROSPERITY 

  • Transportation and Communications: The use of the Grand Canal and roadway networks carried information from region to region

    • The roadway network was manned by horses and runners

  • Bureaucracy of Merit: Because of Confucianism and its impact on the educational system: top 5 percent of posts in the government were reserved for people who passed the civil service exam. 

  • Military Expansion/Tributary Relationships: Emperor Taizong’s military conquests in Northern China led to the unification of China under his control. He had the surrounding regions (Korea, Tibet, Vietnam, Japan) recognize his authority. 

Empress Wu Zetian

• Only female empress in all of Dynasty China. Was Emperor Taizong’s concubine. 

• Ran a highly centralized society just like other rulers 

• Didn’t comply with Confucian expectations for women 

• Used the Great Cloud Sutra (Buddhist writing) to bring legitimacy in her rule 

  • The Great Cloud Sutra spoke of a female queen who was a Bodhisattva (someone who wants to achieve enlightenment and would eventually become a buddha) 

Empress Wen Cheng

• A member and princess of a minor branch in the Tang Dynasty.  

• Got married to Emperor Songsten Gampo of Tibet after he defeated Tang armies 

  • Basically China sent Empress Wen Cheng to have a political relationship with Tibet. 

• Introduced Buddhism to Tibet and sent Chinese diplomats to teach the Tibetan court on how to read and write Chinese characteristics and the Tang Code. 

Military Conquest/ Tributary System Kowtow

• Emperor Tang Taizong brought Manchuria (northern China) under his imperial control and had the Silla Dynasty of Korea recognize Chinese lordship. This dynasty was the physically largest of any Chinese Dynasty. “Subjects” kowtow and pay tribute to the Middle Kingdom.

  • Summary: After Emperor Taizong united China (conquered northern China) he got other regions like Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Tibet to recognize his (the emperor’s) authority under the Mandate of Heaven. 

    • Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Tibet had to kowtow because of the tributary system otherwise China would invade them. 

Tang Code

• A comprehensive law code which helped local magistrates settle disputes and laid the foundations for the equal field system.

  • Summary: A set of laws that helped judges settle disputes which LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR THE EQUAL FIELD SYSTEM

    • A collection of laws from previous dynasties

    • Was a model for other regions (ex. Japan and Korea)

Equal Field System

• The dynasty set up an extensive bureaucratic system where land was fairly divided among the farmers and peasants. This paired with relatively low taxes led to economic prosperity.                 

Fast Ripening Rice

• Came from Vietnam

• Increased food production → increase in population in China. 

• People moved to the city because they didn’t need to farm anymore. 

Influence of Buddhism

• Buddhist principles became intertwined with Confucian values/practices because of the Silk Road. 

Song

• 960 CE - 1270 CE (Economic Prosperity) 

• The extra money China had was put into the economy instead of the military which led to economic prosperity in China. 

• The power shifted from Military Leadership to Civil Leadership

  • Emperor Song Taizu expanded the Civil Service Exams to more social classes 

  • Retired military leaders and replaced them with bureaucrats → more bureaucratic society 

Jurchen/Gunpowder

• Jurchen: Forest-dwelling, fishing people in Northern China who were skilled horse riders. 

  • They allied with the Song to defeat the Kitan. After they defeated the Kitan they attacked the Song defeating them. 

• The Jurchen used gunpowder as a weapon against the Kaifeng and the Song 

Commercial Revolution

• A time period where Chinese society grew in size, wealth, technology, and developed its first national economy. 

  • New economic systems were practices (increase in banks and distribution of paper money) 

  • More innovations like woodblock printing, paper money, iron and steel, etc. 

C.R. Inventions, Advancements and Technology

• Paper Money: Introduced In 1000 CE, flying cash was a new and lighter form of money. It was also a lot easier to handle compared to the copper coin

  • Use of paper money → expanded money supply → more economic growth in the commercial revolution. 

• Woodblock Printing: An advancement in technology that allowed the printing of text and images onto a piece of paper. This increased the literacy rate in China. 

  • Sped up the process of book publishing → decrease price of books → more people had access to education 

• Education Boom: Books were cheaper → more people had money to spend → money was spent on education → more people took the civil service exams 

• Iron and Steel: Because of urbanization people began going into the metal industry where they produced metal goods. 

  • Metal goods were highly sought after 

  • As population increased demand for iron goods increased

Neo-Confucianism

• The practice started from the influence of Buddhism, as Buddhism grew in influence, for the purposes of how Buddhism focuses on individualism and Confusion focuses on society as a whole.

• Was focused on the physiological aspect of Confucianism rather than the ritualistic aspects 

  • More emphasis on spirituality compared to the societal part of Confucianism.

• Summary: Neo-Confucianism is a combination of Confucianism and ideas from Buddhism and Daoism. 

Foot Binding

• Foot Binding intertwined with Confucian values such as…

  • Women submitting to males (master and servant relationship) 

  • Strict gender roles 

• Women would be footbinded at a young age so as they grew, it was physically hurt in walking, therefore making them “home locked”.

• Foot binding was a symbol of status and wealth. 

  • Foot binding → women didn’t have to work → high social status because they could afford servants to do physical work for them. 

Silk Roads and Cultural Syncretism

• The Silk Roads was a network of trade routes that connected the East and West. 

  • It allowed cultural connections to form between China and India 

• Because of the Silk Road ideas, goods, religion, and many other things were shared from the East to the West. 

Courtly Dress and Silk

• An example of cultural diffusion because these dresses were similar in style.

• Courtly Dresses made of silk (comes from China) were worn by aristocrats. This was for all regions (Korea, China, Japan, and Vietnam)

Vietnam: 

Chu Nom

• A variation of Chinese writing developed in Vietnam that became the basis for an independent national literature; “southern script” 

Fast Ripening Rice-Population Increase-Urbanization 

• Fast Ripening Rice was rice in Vietnam that grew quickly. This rice was grown in China because it grew much faster than the native rice (from China).

• Increase in food production → increase in population → rice became a cash crop (commercialized) → urbanization (people no longer needed to farm so they move to the city) 👨‍🌾🚫🧳🌆

  • Urbanization meant that more people could become merchants, steel workers, etc. which in turn led to economic growth and prosperity. 

Japan: 

Japan’s Geography

• Mountains → terrace farming; cutting into a mountain so the land is flat and good for farming 

• Pacific Ocean → acted as a natural barrier which helped protect Japan from invasions. 

  • Allowed for trade routes across the ocean to be formed

  • Supplied important source of food (seafood) 

• Archipelago 

Shintoism

• A religion polytheistic and animistic (belief that there are spirits in objects, animals, etc.) in Japan that worshiped the kami.

  • Kami: All forces of nature both seen and unseen

• The goal of the Shinto is to become a kami by following rituals and customs

• Encourages obedience, proper behavior, and ancestor veneration (respect/worship) 

• Can only be practiced in Japan because all the spirits are in Japan. 

Korea:

Korea’s Geography “Cultural Bridge”

• Korea is located “in between” China and Japan. 

• This “cultural bridge” allowed language, art, religion (Buddhism) to be brought in from China and Japan. 

Bone Rank System

• A social hierarchy in Korea that divided families based on bloodline. One could not change their social class and people of the lower class were expected to treat the upper class like royalty 🙇🫅

• True-bone families kept the land, but paid the civil servants and appointed officials.

• Really similar to the Indian caste system. 

Languages:

Kanji

• Chinese characteristics that were adopted by Japan 

Hanja

• Chinese characteristics that are used to write the Korean language 

Chu Nom

• A variation of Chinese writing developed in Vietnam that became the basis for an independent national literature; “southern script” 

Jeopardy Questions: 

China:

What are the 3 Post Classical Chinese Dynasties?

Sui, Tang, and Song

What trade route spread Chinese culture?

Silk Road

Why were Buddhists persecuted in China?

Buddhists were persecuted in the Tang Dynasty because they wanted to seek liberation (release) from society and the spirit while the main philosophy (Confucianism) aimed to strengthen society. 

• There was conflict between Buddhist values and Confucian values 

  • EX. Confucianism values family while Buddhist values individuality. 

What was the function of Civil Service Exams?

An exam that tested a person’s ability to go into government positions (bureaucracy) that were based upon Confucian values and texts. 

How was the Grand Canal both a success and a failure?

Success: Connected both North and South China (unification)

Failure: High tax and forced labor for the peasants and the wealthy led to the downfall of the Sui Dynasty

Mother Culture:

Define sinification

Non-Chinese societies came under the influence of Chinese culture

What architectural similarity can be seen throughout China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet?

The Pagoda in Buddhist temples

What is the tributary system?

Where people had to pay respects to the emperor by doing the kowtow. 

What are Chunom, Hanja, and Kanji?

All of these writing systems referenced off of Chinese characteristics 

How and where did the Bone Rank System operate?

The Bone Rank System in Korea was like the caste system (no social mobility and social class was chosen at birth). 

Political History:

How do you say emperor of China in mandarin?

Huangdi 

Which General began the Sui Dynasty and built the Grand Canal?

Yang Jian 

Which Post Classical Dynasty expanded China to its military height?

Tang Dynasty

What northern nomadic group conquered the Northern Song?

Jurchen who established the Jin Dynasty 

Which Emperor Dynasty reduced the size of the military and focused more on economic growth?

Emperor Song Taizu made the military smaller; investing the money into the economy. The Commercial Revolution was only made possible because he invested into the economy. 

Commercial Revolution:

Name two luxury items produced in Song China?

Silk and porcelain

What philosophy did the Song expand on in their government?

Neo-Confucianism 

Name the Big 3 inventions of Song China

Wood printing, gun powder, paper money

What was the importance of urbanization in Song China?

Because agriculture was so successful (surplus of food) farmers moved to the city. 

Farmers move to city → trade increases → more merchants and craftsmen → economic growth 

Describe the relationship between foot binding and Confucianism

The servant (wife) has to break their feet so they can submit to the master (husband). This was an example of one of the 5 relationships in Confucianism, it also shows the strict gender roles Confucianism had. 

Geography

Describe Japan’s geography

Mountains, Pacific Ocean and, Archipelago (a group is islands)

What type of land mass is Korea?

A peninsula. This led to a “cultural bridge” with Japan and China which gave rise to language, art, and religion to be spread. 

How did Chinese and Japanese farmers deal with mountainous terrain?

By using terrace farming

Where did “Super Rice/Champa Rice” originate from?

Vietnam

What is the connection between Shintoism and Japan’s natural environment?

There were spirits (kami) in living and nonliving things such as mountains in nature.