Cultural Connectivity Unit 2 Topic 5
Cultural Diffusion
The period between 1200 and 1450 was significant for the exchange of ideas and cultural traits, termed cultural diffusion.
States were interconnected, into a larger network on exchange leading to the influence of one culture on another.
Merchants not only traded goods but also spread their culture and technology.
Categories of Cultural Transfers
Cultural Transfers along Trading Routes
Significant spread of belief systems, for example:
Buddhism:
Spread from India to East Asia via Silk Roads around the 2nd century CE.
Adapted to Chinese understanding through syncretism with Daoism, leading to Chan Buddhism became popular among Chinese people of lower classes.
In order to make Buddhist teachings intelligible to the Chinese population merchants and monks explained them in terms of Chinese Daoism which was a belief system indigenous to China.
Later exported to Japan, evolving into Zen Buddhism.
Islam:
Strong support for merchant activity.
Encouraged states in Africa and Southeast Asia to convert for inclusion into the Islamic trade network.
Example: Swahili civilization adopted Islam, leading to trade power and cultural blending (Swahili language: a mix of Bantu(indigenous to Southern Africa and Arabic(came in with the Muslim traders).
Literary and Artistic Transfers
Muslim scholars at Baghdad's House of Wisdom preserved and translated Greek and Roman philosophy, and being transferred to Southern Europe, causing the spark of the European Renaissance.
Scientific and Technological Transfers
Paper-making technology spread to Europe in the 13th century, increasing literacy via movable type printing adopted by Europeans.
Gunpowder: Spread from China through the Mongol Empire and later adapted by Islamic and European states, changing military power dynamics.
Impact on Cities
Networks of exchange led to the increase wealth and power of trading cities.
Rise of Trading Cities:
Hangzhou:
Key trading city in China at the southern Grand Canal, leading to increased urbanization and population.
Samarkand and Kashgar:
Located along the Silk Roads, these cities grew in power due to their strategic positions in trade.
Decline of Cities:
Baghdad:
Once a cultural center, it fell to the Mongols in the 1258, leading to decline to the city and the end of the Abbasid Empire.
Constantinople:
The Byzantine capital sacked by the Ottomans in 1453 and renamed it Istanbul.
Interregional Travel and Safety of Trade Routes
Increased safety along routes led to enhanced travel opportunities.
Notable Travelers:
Ibn Battuta:
A young Moroccan Muslim scholar; traveled widely across Dar Al Islam over about thirty years, documenting cultures and practices.
His travel was made possible because of trade routes.
He sailed on merchant ships down the east coast of Africa, rode on camels and merchant caravans across the Sahara desert.
His travels were important because he wrote about them and told Grand stories of the places he visited which helped his readers develop an understanding of far-flung cultures across the world.
Marco Polo:
European traveler who traveled from Italy to China and through the Indian Ocean and wrote about Kublai Khan’s court and wealth of China, contributing to European understanding of Asia.
Marjery Kemp:
Christian mystic and made pilgrimages to holy Christianity’s holy sites(Jerusalem, Rome, Spain); despite being illiterate, she dictated her spiritual journey writing her observations down, revealing variations in Christian practices across cultures of Europe and the Middle East.
Conclusion:
The period from December to 1450 was marked by remarkable cultural exchanges through trade, leading to significant changes in belief systems, arts, and the rise and fall of influential cities.