Module 1

What is East Asia?

• China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam
• Geographical and cultural term
• Mongolia- livestock outnumber humans 12:1

Archaeology

• growth field, work being done
• overwhelming Chinese Scholars
• reluctant to let outsiders do too much
• tourist sites

Early Man in China

• debate over human origins, out of Africa late, simultaneous development in several areas
• between periods of glaciation: Peking Man

Stone Age Cultures

• rice in south
• millet in north

North- Yangshao (5000-3000 BC)

• (painted pottery) mostly millet cultivation

First Dynasty: Longshan

Black Pottery culture- 3000-1600 BC

• some writing and bronze development

• first Dynasty= Xia Dynasty

Bronze Age

• Shang Dynasty, c. 1500-1100 BC (1027)
• First solidly identified political entity
• capital at Anyang
• developed out of black pottery
• Bronze technology, writing, use of chariots
• Oracle Bones
  • used to divine fortunes, turtle shell/ shoulder blade of ox, holes drilled, heated
  • fortunes asked by diviner, 120 names of diviners found, positive and negative statements
  • addressed to ancestors, rarely to Heaven
  • 200,000 bones have been found, 50,000 published

Chinese Writing

• like Arabic numerals

• not phonetic

• many dialects

Legends from Zhou

• creation story missing
• earliest books focus on world of man and government
• less emphasis on relation between creator and man
• Lunar Calendar
  • leap months added repeat lunar month is no zodiac sign
  • first day of each month on new moon, 15th on full
  • 10 day week
  • 3 week month
  • 360 day year

5 ancient classics

• major source of early history

• equivalent of the Old Testament

• Yi Jing: (Book of Changes) used as a book of divination

  • replaces oracle bones
  • 64 hexagrams
  • yin/yang
  • yang- heaven bright, active (male)
  • yin= earth, dark, passive (female)

• Shu Jing: Book of History/ Documents

• Shi Jing: Book of Odes/ Poetry

• Li Ji/Jing: Book of Rites/Rituals

• Chunqiu: Spring and Autumn Annals

  • Zuo Chronicle