WHAP - 2.5 Cultural Consequences of Connectivity (wip)

New Religions

  • Unity

    • Justification for kingdom’s leadership

    • influenced literary and artistic culture

    • fused or coexisted with existing religions (ex: neo-confucianism)

  • Buddhism on East Asian culture

    • China

      • From India to China via Silk Roads:

        • Xuanzang (Buddhist monk) popularized

      • Chan Buddhism / Zen Buddhism:

        • Popular among ordinary citizens

        • Song dynasty - scholar gentry began to adopt (printing)

        • Buddhist writers wrote in the vernacular

    • Korea

      • Elite are students of Confucianism

        • Prioritizes class, civil service exam (?!?!)

      • Peasants are students on Buddhism

  • Neo-confucianism

    • Fused rational thought with Taoist and Buddhist abstract ideas

      • Popularity in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

      • Originated in china

  • Spread of HInduism and Buddhism

    • Buddhism in Sri Lanka (Sinhala Dynasties)

      • Buddhist priests advised Monarchs

    • Majapahit Kingdom

      • Hindu kingdom with strong Buddhist influences

    • Srivijaya Empire

      • Buddhist Kingdom in Sumatra

    • Angkor-Khmer Empire

      • Previously had Hindu artwork and sculptures of deities

      • Eventually became Buddhist with the addition of Buddhist sculptures and artworks in 12/13th century, but did not destroy Hindu structures

  • Spread of Islam

    • Merchants, missionaries, conquests

    • Africa, South Asian, and Southeast Asia

      • Africa

        • Bantu & Arabic Languages

        • Timbuktu - Islamic center of learning

      • South Asia

        • Buddhism and Hinduism before Islam introduced

        • Islam attracted lower-class because no caste system

        • Blended Hindu and Islamic Architecture

        • Urdu language

        • Bhakti Movement*

      • Southeast Asia

        • Muslim leaders combined Mughal Indian Features, local traditions, and Chinese Buddhist and Confucian traits

    Scientific and Technological Innovations

  • Examples

    • Scholars (Islamic) translated Greek classic into Arabic

    • Mathematics texts from India

    • Papermaking from China

    • Champa rice from india to Vietnam and China

    • Lateen sails, stern rudder, astrolabe, magnetic compass

    • GUNpowder and GUNS WOOOO

Black Death

  • Introduced via trade routes

  • Major epidemic 1347-1351

Travelers

  • Marco Polo

    • Italian visited Kublai Khan

    • 1295 return to Italy and wrote a book

    • Many disbelieved his description of a great China

  • Ibn Battuta

    • Muslim scholar from Morocco

      • Travelled to Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asian, China, Spain, North Africa, and Mali to learn about Islam and its people

  • Margery Kempe

    • English Mystic

    • Jerusalem, Rome, Germany, Spain

    • Middle-class medieval woman’s life

    • Spiritual visions, mystical experiences

*check spork for last slide on 2.5 ppt for question → Fred Cazel argues that the crusade’s practice of the credit system contributed to the improved economy and expansion of the real estate market , leading to the rise of the middle class (bourgeoisie) social order. In turn, this assisted in financing the crusades.