Chapter 1: The resurgence of empire in East Asia

A young monk hits the road (602-664)

• The emperor of china banned his subject from traveling beyond the Chinese borders into central Asia in the early 7th century

• A young buddhist named Xuanzang snuck past the imperial guard and traveled through to India- the origin of the Buddhism

• He studied the Sanskrit language and recognized that the Chinese buddhist texts contradicted the original buddhist texts

• After 12 years in northern India studying and collecting texts and relics, he returned to China and was welcomed with a hero’s welcome

• He translated buddhist doctrines until he died in 644

The restoration of centralized imperial rule in China

• After the Han dynasty many kingdoms tried and failed to reunite China under imperial rule

• A ruler in northern China named Yang Jian went on many military campaigns to reunite china in the 6th century

• His dynasty was called the Sui dynasty and lasted less than 30 years

• The Tang then Song dynasties which replaced the Sui dynasty made China an efficient society

• The Tang and Song dynasties had major effects on most of the eastern hemisphere

The Sui dynasty (589-618C.E)

Establishment of the dynasty

• Yang Jian had tight political discipline on his state then expanded his reign to the rest of China

• He rose to power when he was declared duke of Sui in Northern China by a Turkish ruler

• Yang Jian made a 7 year old child a ruler when his patron died but abdicated him a year later and took the throne using the mandate of heaven- the Chinese ideology that the Gods can give and take away power from rulers

• Yang Jian then sent military expansions to south and central China and by 589 they ruled all of China

• The rulers of this dynasty had strict demands on their subjects to help build a strong centralized government

The Grand Canal

• This project was the most elaborate project that took place during the dynasty and was the largest water works project before modern times

• The second emperor Sui Yangdi (reigned 604-618) completed the project to facilitate trade between Northern and Southern China and establish a foundation for political, economical and cultural unity

• The Grand Canal was a major investment and needed high taxes and forced labor to accomplish which made Yangdi’s rule hospitable

• Rebels went against the dynasty because of the multiple disastrous expeditions into Korea

• In 618 the dynasty came to an end

The Tang Dynasty (618-907C.E)

• After the death of Yangdi, a rebel ruler took over Chang’an and made himself of a dynasty he named The Tang Dynasty

• The dynasty lasted almost 300 years and made China a powerful, proactive and prosperous society

Tang Taizong

• Most of the dynasty’s success was because of their second emperor Tang Taizong (reigned 627-649C.E)

• To become an emperor, Taizong killed 2 of his brothers and pushed his father aside. He also saw himself as a confucian ruler who heeded the interests of his subjects

• The main 3 policies that helped the dynasty succeed are:

  1. Maintenance of a well articulated transportation and communication system

  2. Distribution of land according to the Equal-Field system

  3. Reliance of bureaucracy based on merit

• These policies originated in the Sui dynasty but were applied more systematically and effectively in the Tang dynasty

Transportation and Communication

• The Tang rulers used the grand canal, roads, horses and human runners as forms of communications

• The dynasty officials also maintained inns, postal stations and stables to accommodate travelers, couriers and their mounts

• It takes approximately 8 days for the Tang court to communicate with the most distant cities

The Equal-Field System

• This system governed the allocation of land based on the land’s fertility and the recipients needs

• This system worked for about a century but started to strain in the 8th century due to rapid population increase making it more corrupt and hard to accomplish

• Land was also acquired by Buddhist monasteries which decreased the land avilable to recipients

Bureaucracy of Merit

• The Tang dynasty used bureaucracy of merit to choose government officials

• It was based on a person’s progress on confucian education and mastery of a curriculum based including Chinese literature and philosophy

• Most of the government officials in the early Tang dynasty were aristocrats

• In the late Tang dynasty education was more widely available and office holders came mostly from common families

• The system worked well and lasted 13 centuries

Military Expansion

• Soon after the foundations of the dynasty the Tang began military expansions

• In the North the dynasty expanded to Manchuria and the Silla Kingdom in Korea

• In the South the dynasty conquered north Vietnam

• In the West the dynasty extended as far as the Aral Sea and a portion of the Highest plateau of Tibet

• The Tang empire ranks among the largest in Chinese history

Tang Foreign Relations

• The Han dynasty’s idea that maintaining a tributary relationships with neighboring lands was revived by the Tang dynasty

• Neighboring lands recognized Chinese emperors as overlords and sent lavish gifts to China

• Tributary states received confirmation of their authority and lavish gifts

• The concept of Tributary was considered fictional because Chinese authorities had little real influence in the subordinate land

• This system was important because it institutionalized relationships between China and neighboring lands. It also fostered trade, cultural exchanges and diplomatic contacts

Tang Decline

• Casual and careless leadership in the mid 8th century led to a crisis that the dynasty never recovered from

• After the short lived rebellion led by An Lushan, a military commander, where he captured the capital Chang’an the Tang commanders invited the Uighurs, nomadic Turkic people, to bring their army

• The imperial house never regained control after the crisis, the equal-field system deteriorated and tax collections didn’t meet dynastic needs

• One uprising led by military commander Huang Chou lasted almost a decade. He stole from the rich and gave the resources to the poor

• The Tang emperors granted more and more power to military commanders who eventually became rulers of China.

• In 907 the last tang emperor abdicated his throne and the dynasty ended

The Song Dynasty (960-1279)

• After the fall of the Tang dynasty, China was ruled by warlords until the Song Dynasty reunited China under imperial rule in the 10th century

• The dynasty never built a very powerful state

• They mistrusted military leaders and placed emphasis on civil administration, industry, education and the arts

Song Taizu

• The first Song emperor, Song Taizu (reigned 960-976) inaugurated the policy and placed the military under tight supervision

• After the Song took over China, he insisted that the generals retired honorably to a life of leisure so they don’t dispose of him

• Taizu saw all government official as servants of the imperial government and rewarded them handsomely

• The dynasty expanded bureaucracy by merit by creating more opportunities for education

• They also accepted more candidates and gave them generous salaries

Song Weakness

• The Song dynasty administration had more centralized government than previous dynasties. But, they had 2 major problems that eventually led to their downfall

  1. Financial

     • The Song bureaucracy consumed most of China’s surplus production

     • Efforts to raise taxes led to rebellions

  2. Military

     • Scholar-Bureaucrats weren’t educated on military and military affairs but they were the ones who led the military and made military decisions

• From the early 10th century to 12th century a semi-nomadic people from Manchuria called The Khitan ruled an empire that stretched from Mongolia to Northern Korea

• In the first half of the Song dynasty, the Khitan demanded and received a large amount of tributes

• In the 12th century, The Jurchen conquered the Khitan and Northern China captured the Song capital Kaifeng and called themselves the Jin empire

• The Song moved their capital to the port city Hangzhou

• The later part of the Song dynasty was known as Southern Song and shared a border with the Jin empire between the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers

• In 1279, the Mongol forces ended the Southern South and added Southern China into their empire

The economic development of Song and Tang China

• The Song dynasty benefited from a series of agricultural, technological, industrial and commercial development which made China the economic powerhouse of Eurasia

• The economic development originated in the Tang but results were shown more during the Song dynasty

• The economic surge stimulated trade and production in the eastern hemisphere and not just China from about 600-1300 C.E

Agricultural Development

Fast-Ripening rice

• Agricultural production was the foundation of the economic surge

• When the Sui and Tang went on military campaigns to Vietnam, they found strains of fast ripening rice

• When the strain of rice was introduced to the fertile land of South China, the rice resulted in an extended supply of food

• Like the Dar al Islam, the Tang and Song dynasties benefited to the introduction of new food crops

New agricultural techniques

• Chinese cultivators also increased crop production by adopting agricultural techniques

• They increased the use of heavy iron plows and harnessed animals to prepare land for farming

• They used compost and manure to enrich soil and used organized irrigation systems

• Artificial irrigation made it possible to extend cultivation to difficult terrain- a development that expanded China’s agricultural potential

Population growth

• Increased agricultural production led to results like rapid population growth

• After the Han dynasty (600C.E) population was around 45 million

• After 200 years (800C.E) population was around 50 million

• After 2 centuries (1000C.E) population was around 60 million

• The population growth showed the productivity f agricultural economy and the well organized distribution of food using transportation networks

Urbanization

• Increased food supplies encouraged the growth of cities

• In the Tang dynasty, Chang’an was the world’s most populous city with approx. 2 million residents

• In the Song dynasty, China was the most urbanized land in the world and in Southern Song (late 13th century), Hangzhou had more than one million residents

• Li Bai (701-761) who was the most popular poet in the Tang era, took the social life of these cities as one of the political themes

• Another result of more food production was the emergence of a commercialized agricultural economy

Patriarchal social structures

• While increasing wealth and agriculture, the dynasties also tightened patriarchal social structures which showed the concern to preserve family fortunes

• In the Song dynasty the Veneration of a family ancestors became more elaborate

• Descendants diligently sought the graves if their loved ones then arranged elaborate graveside rituals in their honor

Foot Binding

• Strict patriarchal social structures explains the popularity of foot binding which spread widely in the Song

• Foot binding- wrapping a young girls’s feet with strips of cloth to prevent natural growth of bones

• Resulted in women having malformed and curved feet which made it hard to walk without canes or helpers

• Many wealthy and some common families bound their daughter’s feet to enhance their attractiveness and supervise their affairs

Wu Zhao : The Lady Emperor

• Wu Zhao (626-706) was a daughter of a scholar official. She then became a concubine at the court of Tang Taizong and the emperor after him. She married the second emperor and when he had a health crisis, she used the opportunity to administer affairs of the court

• In 690 she claimed the imperial court to herself and made herself an emperor

• Confucian principles say that the role of political leadership is a man’s duty and women should obey their fathers, sons and husbands

• She strengthened the civil service system as a way of undercutting aristocratic families that might attempt to dispose her. She also patronized Buddhists and in return they composed treaties that legitimize her rule

• She ruled until she was 80 but opponents were finally able to force her to abdicate in favor of her son. She was the only woman in Chinese history to claim the imperial title and become a ruler

Technological and industrial development

Porcelain

• Large supplies of food enabled people to pursue technological and industrial interests. The Tang and Song dynasties had a large range of technological innovations

• In the Tang era, Craft makers discovered methods of making high quality porcelain- a lighter thinner and adaptable to more uses than pottery

• Porcelain technologies diffused to other societies and the demand for Chinese porcelain increased.

• China exported large amounts of porcelain during the Tang and Song dynasties and it gained such reputation that a fine porcelain in called chinaware

Metallurgy

• Tang and Song craftsmen improved metallurgy technology

• Production of iron and steel surged in this era because they discovered that using coke instead of coal made a superior grade of metal

• Most of the Iron and steel supply was used to make arrowheads. But, they are also used in large structures like bridges and pagodas

• Metallurgical techniques soon diffused to other countries and was sped up by the nomadic people

Gunpowder

• Tang and Song craftsmen also invented new products like gunpowder, printing and naval techniques

• While trying to make an elixir that prolongs life, craftsmen discovered that the mixture of certain substance make explosive material

• Military officials took the opportunity and used gunpowder to make fire lances- flame thrower and primitive bombs

• The earliest products that used gunpowder had limited effectiveness but refinements enhanced their effectiveness

• Knowledge of gunpowder diffused through Eurasia and in the 13th century, people in Southwest Asia and Europe were experimenting with bombs

Printing

• The precise origin of printing lies obscured in the mists of time. Some form of print may have been used in the Sui dynasty but it became really popular in the Tang era

• Earlier printers used block-printing techniques

  1. Carve a reverse image on a wooden block

  2. Ink the block

  3. Press a sheet of paper on top

• Craftsmen experimented with reusable and a movable type but it was inconvenient so it was not used

• Printing made it possible to produce text quickly, cheaply and in large quantities

Naval technology

• Chinese inventions also extended to naval technology

• Chinese mariners used to travel to Korea, Japan and Ryukyu Islands by themselves but they needed help navigating for further voyages

• In the Tang dynasty, the people developed a taste for spices found in Southeast Asia which increased the amount of voyages

• In the Song dynasty, seafarers sailed ships with advanced features with the south pointing needle being the main one

• Long distance travelers diffused elements of Chinese naval technology and the compass in particular which became a common property of mariners throughout the Indian ocean basin

The emergence of a market economy

• China’s various regions increasingly specialized in the cultivation of particular food crops or trading their products for imports from other regions

• The market wasn’t the only influence on the Chinese economy. government officials played a large role in the distribution of staple foods and dynastic authorities closely watched military sensitive enterprises such as the iron industry

• Millions of cultivators produced fruits and vegetables for sale on the open market and manufacturers sold silk, porcelain and other goods

• The Chinese economy become more tightly integrated than ever before, and foreign demand for Chinese products fueled rapid economic expansion

Financial Instruments

• Trade grew so rapidly during Tang and Song times that China experienced a shortage of copper coins that served as money for most transactions

• Chinese merchants developed alternatives to cash which resulted in more economic growth. Letters of credit came into common used the early the Tang dynasty known as flying cash

• This allowed merchants to deposit goods or cash at one location and draw the equivalent in cash or goods elsewhere in China

• Later developments included the use of promissory notes- notes that pledged payment of a given sum of money at a later date and checks- entitled the bearer to draw funds against cash deposited with bankers

Paper money

• The search for alternatives to cash eventually led to the invention of paper money- made by wealthy merchants in the late 9th century

• In return for cash deposits from their clients, they issued printed notes that the clients could redeem for merchandise

• Since the society was short for cash, the notes facilitated commercial transactions

• Occasionally merchants were not able to honor their notes due to temporary economic reverses or poor management which led to disorder and sometimes even riots

• By the 11th century, the Chinese economy had become so dependent on alternatives to cash that is was impractical to banish paper money all together

• To preserve convenience while avoiding disorder, government authorities forbade private parties from issuing money and reserved the right for the state.

• The first paper money printed under the government’s guidance appeared in 1024 in the Sichuan province- the most active center of early printing

• By the end of the century, government authorities throughout most of China issued money-complete with serial numbers and dire warnings against printing and counterfeit notes

• Rulers of nomadic people in Central Asia adopted the practices in their states

• Printed money also had serious problems after its appearance

• Government officials printed currency representing more value than they actually possess in cash reserves which led to a partial loss of public confidence in paper money

• Not until the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) did Chinese authorities place printed money under tight fiscal controls.

• In spite of abuses, printed paper money provided a powerful stimulus to the Chinese economy

A Cosmopolitan society

• Trade and Urbanization transformed Tang and Song into a prosperous cosmopolitan society

• Trade came to China by land and sea. Muslim merchants from Abbasid empire and Central Asia helped to revive the Silk Roads network and flocked to large Chinese trading centers. Even people from the Byzantine empire made their way across the silk roads to China

• Residents of cities like Chang’an and Luoyang became accustomed to merchants from foreign lands

• Arab, Persian, Indian and Malay marines arriving by way of the Indian ocean and south China sea and established merchant communities in port cities of Guangzhou and Quanzhou

China and the hemispheric economy

• High productivity and trade brought the Tang and Song economy a dynamism that China’s borders couldn’t restrain

• Chinese consumers developed a taste for foreign which stimulated trade

• Objects form foreign countries became symbols of a refined elegant lifestyle due to its scarcity and distant provenance

• In exchange for foreign goods China sent goods like silk, porcelain and lacquerware to Central Asia, India, Persia, and port cities of East Africa

• Economic surge during the Tang and Song dynasties promoted trade and economic growth among the eastern hemisphere

Cultural change in Tang and Song China

• Interactions with peoples of other societies encouraged cultural change in China during the Song and Tang

• Confucian and Daoist traditions didn’t disappear but made their way for foreign religion and they developed along new lines that showed the conditions of Tang and Song

• Mahayana- the “greater vehicle”, a more metaphysical and more popular northern branch of Buddhism

• Buddhism- religion based on four noble truths. Associated with Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.E) or the Buddha. It adherents desired to eliminate all distracting passion and reach Nirvana

Establishment of Buddhism

• Buddhist merchants traveled the ancient silk roads and visited China as early as the second century B.C.E

• During the Han dynasty, the Buddhist religion attracted little interest. Confucianism, Daoism and faiths that honored family ancestors were the most popular alternatives

• After the fall of the Han dynasty, the confucian tradition lost credibility

• Confucianism- idea used to maintain public order and providing an honest and effective government

• Daoism- the belief that people should maintain a good relationship with the universe and live in harmony

• In the age of warlords and nomadic invasions the confucian tradition just fell and rulers scorned values

Foreign Religions in China

• After the Han dynasty multiple religions established communities in China

• The emperor Tang Taizong issued a proclamation passing their doctrine and he allowed them to open monasteries in Chang’an or other cities

• These religions of salvation mostly served the needs of foreign merchants trading in China and converts from nomadic societies

• Most religions and traditions attracted little interest

Dunhuang

• Mahayana Buddhism gradually found a popular following in Tang and Song china

• After Buddhism came to China, residents of oasis cities in Central Asia had converted to Buddhism during the last two years before Common Era and these cities became the sites of Buddhist missionary efforts

• By the 4th century a sizable Buddhist community had emerged at Dunhuang- in western China (currently Gansu providence)

• Between 600 -100-C.E, Buddhists built hundreds of caves in the vicinity of Dunhuang and decorated them with murals depicting effects in the lives of Buddha and the bodhisattvas

• Missions supported by establishments such as those at Dunhuang helped Buddhism establish a foothold in China

Buddhism in China

• Buddhism attracted Chinese interest party and because of its standards of morality, it’s intellectual sophistication and it’s promise of salvation

• Buddhists established monastic communities in China and accumulated sizable estates donated by wealthy convents

• Buddhist monasteries became important elements in the local economies of Chinese communities. It had implications for everyday life in china

• In some way, Buddhism posted a challenge to Chinese cultural and social traditions. They used Buddhist texts to elaborate, speculate and investigate into metaphysical themes like nature and soul

• Only Confucians placed great effort on written texts and used their energy more on practical and not metaphysical issues

• Buddhists followed and celibate, monoastic lifestyle while traditional Chinese cultures encouraged procreation to make offsprings

Buddhism and Daoism

• Buddhist missionaries wanted to tailor their message to their audience and explained Buddhist concepts in Chinese vocabulary and cultural traditions

• Daoism- they translated the Indian word dharma (buddhist doctrine) as dao and the Indian term nirvana (personal salvation that comes after the soul escapes from a cycle of incarnation) as Wuwuei (the daoist ethic of non-competition)

• While still believing in their lifestyle, they also recognized the validity of family life

Pilgrimage to South Asia

• Monks and pilgrims helped popularized Buddhism in China.

• Xuanzang was only one among the multiple pilgrims who made the journey in the name of religion

Schools of Buddhism

• Over time monks and scolrs organized several distinctive schools of Buddhism that appealed to Chinese tastes and interests

• Buddhists of the Chan school (aka Zen in japanese), made a place for daoist values in chinese Buddhism. Even more popular than Chan Buddhism- emphasis on intuition and sudden flashes of insight instead of textual study

Hostility to Buddhism

• Buddhism met determined resistance from Daoists and Confucians

• Daoists resented in for its popular following and Confucianists didn’t agree with their support for celibacy

Persecution

• During the tang dynasty, the tang emperors ordered the closure of Buddhist monasteries and the expulsion of Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Nestorian Christians and Manichaeans but they did not implement the policy all the way

Neo-Confucianism

• The emperors of the Song dynasty didn’t persecute them but they actively supported the traditional Chinese culture

• They also sponsored studies of Confucian scholars

Confucians and Buddhism

• the confucian tradition of the song dynasty was different from earlier times because they naw studied the classic works of their tradition but also became familiar with Buddhist writings

• Confucians drew a great deal of inspiratation from Buddhism as well as organized Confucian values. It came to be known as Neo-Confuciaism

Zhu Xi (1130-1200)

• He was the most important representative of the Song’s neo-confucianism

• He had a deep commitment to Confucian values. He wrote Family rituals- abt weddings, funerals, venerations and other events

• He became fascinated with the concept of Buddhism

• He wrote a lot on metaphysical themes

Neo-Confucian influence

• It ranks as an important cultural development for 2 reasons

  1. It illustrates the deep influence of Buddhism in Chinese society

  2. It influenced east asia long term

Development of Complex Societies in Korea, Vietnam and Japan

• Chinese societies influenced the development of neighboring lands during the tang and song dynasties

• Chinese way of government helped shape public life in Korea, Vietnam and Japan

• Those lands weren't absorbed into China and still had their cultural distinctions

Korea and Vietnam

• The Chinese went on campaigns as early as the Qin and Han dynasties and when the Han dynasty weakened they ousted the Chinese forces from both lands

• Later in the Tang dynasty, both of them borrowed Chinese political and cultural traditions and used them in their societies

The silla dynasty

• In the 7th century, Tang armies conquered much of Korea before the native silla dynasty railed to prevent Chinese domination

• In theory Korea then became a vassal state of china but in most aspects Korea was an independent kingdom

• Korea had a tributary relationship with China which opened doors to trade

Chinese influence in Korea

• The relationship facilitated the spread of Chinese political and cultural influences o Korea

• The silla monarches (one of the most famous one being Queen Seondeok) built a lavish capital in their ancestral town of Kumsong (now Kyongju in southeastern Korea) which was inspired by Chang’an

• Among with gifts and other stuff, Korea also sent scholars to China so they can study Chinese literature and bring Chinese texts to Korea

• Confucianism and Chan Buddhism had widespread interests among the people. the Korean elites turned to Confucius and the commoners and peasants were interested in Chan Buddhism

• The major difference between China and Korea was the fact that aristocrats and royal houses dominated Korean society much more that was the caste in China

• Korea also never established bureaucracy on merit and political initiatives stayed in the hands of the ruling class unlike China

China and Vietnam

• the relationship between China and Vietnam was more tense that Korea and China

• During the military campaigns of the tang dynasty into what the Chinese called Nam Viet, they faced resistance and when the finally won the Chinese tried to absorb them into Chinese Society

• The Viets adopted Chinese agricultural methods of irrigation systems and Chinese schools and administrative systems

• They also studies Confucian texts and took exams based on the Chinese style education

• Vietnamese authorities entered a tributary relationship with China but they still resented their efforts to dominate the southern land and mounted a series of revolts

• Vietnam also differed from China in many ways:

  • The Vietnamese retained their indigenous religions

  • women played a more prominent role in their society and economy. They dominated local markets and participated in business ventures

Chinese influence in Vietnam

• Chinese traditions still found their way into the southern land

• Vietnamese authorities established an administrative system and bureaucracy inspired by China

• The ruling class of the society also pursued Confucian education

• Buddhism also won a large population of following

Early Japan

• China never invaded Japan but Chinese traditions still had a major impact on early Japanese Political and cultural development

• The earliest inhabitants of Japan were nomadic people from northeast asia who migrated to Japan about 35,000 years ago

• Their language, culture and religion was derived from their parent society and later on rice, horses, bronze, iron metallurgy was introduced by immigrants from Korea

• The japanese islands grew and built an agricultural society where small states were dominated by larger clans

Nara Japan

• the establishment of the Sui and Tang dynasties has affected japan

• One of the aristocratic clans the soga insisted on ruling over the other clans even though they didn’t have authority outside of their clans

• Inspired by the Tang, they claimed imperial authority and introduced reforms to centralize Japan

• they established a court, insisted on a chinese style bureaucracy, implemented and equal field system, provided support for Confucianism and Buddhism

• In 710 they moved their capital to Nara (near modern Kyoto) which was inspired by Chang’an

• Chinese influence was the most obvious during the nara period (710-794)

• Still Japan didn’t lose it’s distinctive characteristics

• While adopting Confucianism and Buddhism they still observed the rights of shinto- their religion which revolved around venerations of ancestors and hosts of natural spirits and deities

Heian Japan

• In the Heian period (794-1185) local rulers on the island of Honshu recognized the emperor as Japan’s supreme political authority

• Unlike the chinese, japanese rarely ruled but they served as a figurehead which is why they weren’t subjected to deposition

• Effective power lay in the hands of Fujiwara family

• the cultural development of Heian shows the influence of the Chinese

• Most literature imitated chinese models and was written in chinese

• Even in Japanese writings chinese influence is shown because their letters are similar to that of the chinese language

The tale of the genji

• tale of the genji - a japanese literary work made during the Heian period by the aristocratic woman Murasaki Shikibu

• It offers meditation on the passing of time and the sorrows that time brings to sensitive humans

Decline if Heian Japan

• shogun- a military governor who ruled in place of an emperor

• the equal field system eventually fell disused

• in the later 11century the Minamoto and Taira overshadowed the others

medieval japan

• the Kamakura and Muromachi were considered medieval because it was bn the nara and modern times

• samurai- professional warriors specialized in the use of forced art and fighting