Urbanization in China

• Dozens of cities numbered over 100,000

• Song dynasty capital of Hangzhou was home to more than one million people

• The population jumped from 50 million during the Tang dynasty to 120 million by 1200 CE

• Cities had specialized markets and restaurants

• Various inns appealing to different groups

• Marco Polo called Hangzhou in the 13th century "beyond dispute the finest and noblest city in the world."

Chinese Iron Industry

• Large and small-scale enterprises

• By the 11th century, it was providing the government with 32,000 suits of armor and 16 million iron arrowheads per year

• Also metal for coins, tools, construction, and bells in Buddhist monasteries

• Industrial growth fueled by coal

Song Dynasty - Cultural and Political Achievements

• Rapid population growth thanks to Champa Rice

  • fast ripening

  • drought resistant

• Most urbanized country in the world

  • dozens of Chinese cities numbered over 100,000

  • Song dynasty capital of Hangzhou had more than a million residents

• Network of internal waterways (canals, rivers, lakes) - more than 300,000 miles - provided cheap transportation that unified the country

• Innovations such as moveable type, gunpowder, compass

• Industrial production increased

• Iron industry dramatically increased output

• Technological innovations flourished

• Chinese technologies like gunpowder and the magnetic compass reached Europe which would later help the European exploration and conquering of the rest of the world

Women in the Song Dynasty

• Tang Dynasty = Women had more rights thanks to influences from steppe nomads

• Song Dynasty = return of Confucianism = tightening of patriarchal restrictions on women

  • returned Han images of female submission and passivity

• Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Neo-Confucianism were adopted in new regions and often led to significant changes in gender relations and family structure. (Ex. of changes in gender relations and family structure: divorce for both men and women in some Muslim states, the practice of foot-binding in Song China; female monastic orders in Christianity and Buddhism)

• The most compelling expression of patriarchy = foot binding

• Tight wrapping of young girls' feet, breaking of foot bones

• Began with dancers and courtesans in the 10th or 11th century CE

• During the Tang Dynasty, foot binding widely spread among elite families and became more widespread in Chinese society

• Associated with new images of female beauty and eroticism - emphasized small, delicate - reticence

• Kept women restricted

• rapidly commercializing economy undermined the position of women in the textile industry

• urban workshops and state factories were run by men and took work from rural women

• however, women could still run restaurants, sell food in the market, work as maids, cooks, and dressmakers

• property rights expanded in the Song dynasty - could control their dowries and inherit property

• Song dynasty offered a mixture of tightening restrictions and new opportunities

China and Northern Nomads

• for 2,000 years or more, pressure from the steppes and the intrusion of nomadic peoples were constant factors in China’s historical development

• northern nomads did not practice agriculture but herded animals instead

• needed grain and other products from China

• drawn to China - trading, raiding, and extorting to obtain resources (even luxury goods)

• The great Wall was built to keep nomads out

• Chinese NEEDED nomads for horses, skins, furs, hides, and amber

• Nomads also controlled most of the Silk Road trading networks

Great Wall of China

• 220 - 206 BCE - most famous section was built by Qin emperor Qing Shi Huang (the emperor who united China)

• additions added from time to time

• most of what remains today was built during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

Buddhism in China

• May have arrived as early as the 200 BCE period

• Following the collapse of empires, imperial states were reconstituted in some regions, including the Byzantine Empire and the Chinese dynasties (Sui, Tang, and Song), combining traditional sources of power and legitimacy (like the patriarchy, use of religion, and land-owning elites) with innovations better suited to their specific local context (like new methods of taxation, tributary systems, and the adaptation of religious institutions)

Tribute System

• Chinese saw themselves as “civilization” in contrast to rude culture & primitive life of northern nomads

• educated Chinese saw themselves as self-sufficient while barbarians sought access to China’s wealth and wisdom

• tribute system = set of practices that required non-Chinese authorities to acknowledge Chinese superiority and their own subordinate place in a Chinese-centered world order

• foreigners seeking access to China had to send delegation to Chinese court -- would perform rituals of bowing and prostrations - and present tribute

• in return, emperor would give permission for foreigners to trade in China’s markets and provide them with gifts

• tribute system was used to regulate Chinese relationships with northern nomads, neighboring states of Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, and Japan, and after 1500, with European “barbarians” from across the sea

• some “tributes” were actually protection money from the Chinese to the nomadic empires

  • one Chinese emperor gave a Xiongnu leader a princess in marriage to stop devastating attacks

  • also gifted large quantities of grain, wine, and silk

  • were called “gifts” but were really bribes

• Steppe nomads were not interested in conquering China, it was easier and more profitable to extort goods from a functioning Chinese state!!

Korea and China

• temporary Chinese conquest of northern Korea during Han dynasty & colonization by Chinese settlers = channel for Chinese culture = Buddhism

• bitter rivals

• generally maintained political independence

• tribute system with China

• wanted to copy Chinese administrative techniques

• Korean students studied Confucianism in China

• negative impact on Korean women (who had more rights before Chinese Confucian influences arrived) esp. after 1300

• examination system never caught on

• Korean women originally had children and stayed with their families

  • This was against Confucian ideals that women join the husband’s family

• Other rights eroded due to Confucianism:

  • Remarriage of divorced or widowed women

  • Female inheritance of property

  • Plural marriages for men

• Chinese culture had little influence outside of the aristocracy

• Korea had many slaves, 1/3rd of the population in 1100 CE

• Buddhist monasteries used slaves to cultivate the land

• Developed a phonetic alphabet called hangul for writing

  • Very different from Chinese writing

Vietnam and China

• also borrowed heavily from China

• adopted Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, administrative techniques, examination system, artistic & literary styles

• achieved political independence through the tribute system

• unlike Korea, they were ruled by Chinese officials for 1,000 years

  • 111 BCE - 939 CE

• Regarded by the Chinese as “southern barbarians”

• China expected Vietnam to fully assimilate into China politically and culturally

• Chinese styles, language, and clothing are mandatory

• Chinese-style irrigated agriculture introduced

• Vietnamese officials educated as Confucian scholars

• Chinese became language for official business

• periodic Vietnamese rebellions

• Became a separate, independent state after 938 BCE

• Vietnamese dynasties continued to use Chinese government systems

• Utilized the Mandate of Heaven

• still had unique language & greater role for women in social & economic life

Asian Languages

• Japanese = Curvy, little cute symbols

• Korean = Face like symbols with circles

• Chinese = BIG, scary symbols

China and Japan

• separated by 100 miles of ocean

• never successfully invaded or conquered by China

• borrowing from Chinese civilization was voluntary

• height of borrowing = 7th - 9th centuries CE

• hundreds of monks & scholars visited China and brought back ideas

• adopted Chinese-style court rituals, court rankings, calendar

• encouraged Buddhism & Confucianism

• no threat = selective in their borrowing

• Japanese never succeeded in creating effective centralized & bureaucratic state to match China

• court & emperor remained an important ceremonial & cultural role - real political authority in the country was with aristocratic families (at court & in provinces)

• decentralization = local authorities developed their own military power = samurai (warrior class of Japanese society)

• Buddhism never completely replaced original Japanese beliefs (Shintoism)

Shintoism in Japan

• Shintoism is Japan’s native animist religion. Animist religions believe in nature spirits (of mountains, trees, animals, etc). Shintoism is still practiced in Japan today in conjunction with Buddhism.

Samurai

• Bushido - “way of the warrior”

• unwritten law code for samurai

• Began in 9th century CE

• stressed frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and honor until death

• born from Neo-Confucianism and Confucian texts during the Tokugawa-era

  • also influenced by Shinto and zen Buddhism

• Seven virtues: rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, loyalty

• As in the previous period, social structures were shaped largely by class and caste hierarchies. Patriarchy continued; however, in some areas, women exercised more power and influence, most notably among the Mongols and in West Africa, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Women in Medieval Japan

• Most of what we know about medieval Japanese court life comes from the writings of Japanese noblewomen

• Upper-class women in Japan escaped oppressive features of Chinese Confucianism: prohibition of remarriage for widows, seclusion within the home, and foot binding

  • The most powerful borrowing came during the Tang Dynasty when Chinese women actually did have more freedoms

• Japanese women could inherit property

• Married couples often lived apart or with the wife’s family

• Marriages were easily made and broken

• Japanese women did begin to lose status after the 12th century (1100s)

• This had less to do with Confucianism and more to do with warrior/samurai culture

Murasaki Shikibu

• 973 - c.1025 CE

• Educated with her brother (which was uncommon at the time)

• Married, but after her husband’s death she joined the imperial court as lady-in-waiting to Empress Shoshi

• Kept a diary of court life for two years

• Wrote Tale of Genji, about a fictional prince but clearly based on her experiences at court

Izumi Shikibu

• Japan’s most famous female poet

  • tanka-style poetry

• Wrote about scandalous love affairs and spiritual pursuits

• Born around 975 as daughter of a mid-level official

• Grew up in the imperial court where literacy education was essential for upper-class girls

• Married a provincial governor at 20, but had affairs with two different princes

• Divorced her husband and continued to have multiple scandals

• Became lady-in-waiting for Empress Akiko

• Murasaki Shikibu found her disgraceful