Chapter 13

Section #1Two Golden Ages of China

In the year 220, the Han dynasty collapsed. This left China divided for almost 400 years! After this, various dynasties rose and fell in the south. One of those dynasties was the Sui dynastySui dynasty which spanned from 589 to 618. During this time emperor Sui Sui Wendi Wendi briefly reunited the north and south. Then, in 618, the Tang dynastyTang dynasty emerged and restored China to its earlier glory.

Tang DynastyThe Tang Dynasty began when Li YuanLi Yuan was a general under the Sui dynasty. Once the Sui dynasty began to collapse; his 16 year old son urged him to lead a revolt. Li Yuan and his son proceeded to destroy all rivals and establish the Tang Tang DynastyDynasty. Li Yuan then became the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Tang Dynasty (part #2)Eight years later, Li Yuan stepped down from the throne and let his son become emperor. His son took the name of Tang Tang TaizongTaizong . Tang Taizong then went on to become China’s most admired emperor. Later on, Tang emperors conquered territories deep into Central Asia. Eventually, the Tang Dynasty began to decline. In 907, the Tang dynasty was officially overthrown by a rebel general. A brief time of chaos followed; however, it did not last long.

Song DynastyIn 960, the Song DynastySong Dynasty was founded by a scholarly general who reunited much of China. Lasting 319 years, the Song period was considered a golden age. During the Song period Chinese wealth and culture was very dominant in the east Asian areas. The one setback that the Song had was their military. Despite this the Song enjoyed an expanding economy and great foreign trade. In the early 1100s, the Song retreated south of the Haung He. Once there they lasted for another 150 years until they were defeated.

Chinese SocietyUnder the Tang and Song dynasties, China had a very well-ordered society. It included an emperor and aristocratic families who lived in the emperor’s court, gentry, peasants, and merchants. The emperoremperor was the head of Chinese society. The aristocratic familiesaristocratic families who lived in his court were part of the bureaucracy. The gentrygentry were the wealthy landowning nobles. The peasantspeasants were the people who worked the land and lived on what they produced. The merchantsmerchants actually had a lower social status than the peasants. Some merchants did, however, become rich in market towns and cities. A woman’s status in society was actually higher during the Tang Dynasty and early Song dynasty than it was later.

Arts and LiteraturePoetry, painting, and calligraphy were essential skills for the scholar-gentry. With the use of these crafts, the artist sought balance and harmony through the mastery of simple soft strokes and lines. In the Song period, Chinese landscape painting was a great triumph. This era also had some great sculpture, architecture, and porcelain . Poetry was another great achievement, especially the poetry of Li BoLi Bo.

Section #2The Mongol and Ming Empire

Building The Mongol Empire

The MongolsMongols were a group of nomadic people who grazed their horses and sheep on the steppes of central Asia. Different Mongol clans spent a lot of time fighting each other. In the 1200s, a brilliant Mongol chieftain united the war tribes. He took the name Genghiz KhanGenghiz Khan, which means “World Emperor!”

Building The Mongol Empire (part #2)The Mongol empire, under the rule of Genghiz Khan, went on to conquer the Asian steppe. Next, they turned to China. However, they had the problem of the wall! Genghiz Khan died before he could complete the conquest of China. After his death, Khan’s heirs continued expanding the Mongol Empire. Eventually they conquered China. When the Mongols conquered people they were not oppressive rulers. They actually allowed the conquered people to live much like they had before as long as they paid tribute to the Mongols. In the 1200s and 1300s,there was peace in the Mongol Empire. This time is therefore referred to as Pax Mongolica, which means Mongol Peace. Political stability set the stage for economic growth.

China Under Mongol RuleIn the year 1279, the last Song emperor fell to the Mongol leader Kublai KhanKublai Khan, Genghiz Khan’s grandson. When China was under the rule of Kublai Khan the government system tried to prevent the Mongols from being absorbed into Chinese civilization. This was achieved by reserving the highest government jobs for Mongols and allowing only Mongols to serve in the military. Kublai Khan then named his dynasty the Yuan Yuan dynastydynasty. During the Yuan dynasty, , Marco PoloMarco Polo, an Italian merchant from Venice, was one of many visitors to China. Marco Polo actually spent 17 years in Kublai Khan’s service. He then returned to Venice after visiting Southeast Asia and India. Marco Polo also wrote a book all about the wealth and splendor of China. Marco Polo’s book amazed readers in Medieval Europe. Over the next centuries, this sparked Europe's interest in in the riches of Asia.

The Ming Restore Chinese RuleAfter the death of Kublai Khan, the Yuan dynasty declined. Eventually, a peasant leader named Zhu YuanzhangZhu Yuanzhang forged a rebel army that pushed the Mongols back beyond the Great Wall. Then in 1368, Yuanzhang founded a new Chinese dynasty, the Ming Ming dynastydynasty, which means brilliant.

The Ming Restore Chinese Rule (page #2) Early Ming rulers wanted to reassert Chinese greatness after years of foreign rule. They restored the civil service system and Confucian learning. The Ming dynasty also did very well economically. The peasants produced huge rice crops in the well-irrigated plains of eastern China. The cities were also home to many industries, which included porcelain, paper, and tools. Furthermore, the Ming dynasty sparked the revival of the arts and literature.

China and the World Early Ming rulers sent fleets of ships out into distant waters. The voyages of the Chinese admiral Zheng HeZheng He were extraordinary! His first of seven voyages began in 1405. Zheng He lead 62 large ships and hundreds of smaller ones. The largest ship measured up to 400 feet long. The goal of these voyages was to promote trade and collect tribute from lesser powers across the “western seas”. Between the years 1405 and 1433, Zheng He explored the coasts of Southeast Asia and India as well as the entrances to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Through these voyages local rulers saw how powerful and strong the Chinese empire was and acknowledged their supremacy. In the year 1433, Zheng He died and the Ming emperor banned the building of seagoing ships. To this day, historians are not sure why this happened.

Section #3Korea and Its Traditions

GeographyKorea is located on a peninsula that juts south from the Asian mainland. To the south of the Korean peninsula is Japan. On the northern end of the peninsula, there are mountains and the Yalu River which separates Korea from China. Mountains cover nearly 70 percent of the Korean peninsula. Since farming is difficult on the mountains, most people live along the western coastal plains, which is Korea’s major farming region. Korea’s coastline is 5,400 miles long and has hundreds of good harbors. The offshore waters also contain many islands. Koreans have always depended on seafood as their primary source of protein. Since Korea is located directly below China, it has received many cultural and technological influences from China. Korea has also acted as a cultural bridge connecting China to Japan.

Geography page #2China

Korea

Japan

Korea UnitedBetween the years 300 and 600 AD, three separate kingdoms were forged by powerful local rulers. In the north there was KoguryoKoguryo, in the southwest, PaekchePaekche, and in the southeast, ShillaShilla. These three kingdoms often fought each other and China. In 668, with the support of the Tang empress, Wu ZhaoWu Zhao, the Shilla kingdom united the Korean peninsula. In Korea’s history there were only three dynasties. They were the ShillaShilla (668-918), Koryo Koryo (918-1392), and the ChosonChoson (1392-1910). Under the Shilla dynasty, Korea became a tributary state. Korea also adopted Confucius ideas. During the Koryo age, Buddhism reached its height in Korea.

Choson: The Longest DynastyIn the year 1392 the Choson dynasty Choson dynasty was established. It was set up by a brilliant general named Yi Song-gyeYi Song-gye. Yi then reduced the influence of Buddhism and set up a government based on Confucian principles. During this time period one of Koreas most celebrated rulers, King Sejong, replaced the complex Chinese writing system with hangulhangul. Hangul is an alphabet using symbols to represent the sounds spoken in Korean. Since this was easier to use it led to a higher literacy rate in China. In the 1590s Japan decided to invade China through Korea. When Japanese armies landed on the Korean peninsula they burned and looted the area. Korean admiral, Yi Sun-shin, stopped the invaders at sea by using metal plated “turtle boats”. Then after six years the Japanese armies withdrew from Korea.

Section #4The Emergence of Japan

GeographyJapan is located on a archipelagoarchipelago. An archipelago is a chain of islands. Japan is located about 100 miles off the Asian mainland and east of Korean peninsula. Japan is made up of four main island which include Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.Shikoku. Japan is about the size of Montana but four fifths of Japan is too mountainous to farm. Because of this most people settled in the narrow river valleys or along the coastal plains. Since Japan is surrounded by seas they been protected and isolated. Japan also lies in a region called the ring of firethe ring of fire. This region is subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanoes. These underwater earthquakes can launch killer tidal waves called tsunamis. Tsunamis sweep over land without warning and wipe out everything in their path.

Early TraditionsThe Japanese people that we know today originally migrated from the Asian mainland more that 2,000 years ago. They eventually pushed the original inhabitants called the Ainu up to northernmost island of Hokkaido. The early Japanese society was made up of ujiuji or clans. Each of the uji’s had it’s own chief and a special god or goddess who was seen as the clan’s original ancestor. Around 500 A.D. the Yamato clan dominated a corner of Honshu which is the largest Japanese island. For the next 1,000 years the Yamato plain was the heartland of Japanese government. They set up Japan’s first and only dynasty. They chose the rising sun as their symbol because they claimed to be direct descendants from AmaterasuAmaterasu, the sun god. The Japanese worshiped the forces of nature and this came to be known as ShintoShinto. The language of the Japanese is distantly related to Korean but very different from Chinese. By about 500 A.D. Buddhism was introduced to Japan from Korea. Along with Buddhism came the knowledge of Chinese writing and culture. This resulted in Japan becoming very interested in China.

The Ring of Fire

Japan

Japan Looks to ChinaIn the early 600s the prince of the Yamato clan, Prince ShotokuPrince Shotoku, decided to learn about China. He did this by sending young nobles to study in China. When they returned to Japan they were eager to spread the Chinese knowledge. They also brought back ideas about Chinese government. Japanese rulers adopted the title of “Heavenly Emperor” and claimed absolute power. They also set up a bureaucracy. As Buddhism spread the Japanese also adopted the pagoda architecture. Eventually the initial enthusiasm for Chinese died down. They kept some of the ideas but discarded others.

The Heian PeriodFrom the years 794 to 1185 the blending of Chinese and Japanese cultures took place. Also during this time the capital was Heian which is in present day Kyoto. At the Heian court there was a lot of sophisticated and elegant culture. During this period of time woman produced the most important work of Japanese literature. They produced essays, fine dairies and collections of poetry. The best known Heian writer was Murasaki Murasaki ShikibuShikibu. Her work ,The Tale of Genji, was the worlds first full-length novel.

Section #5Japan’s Feudal Age

Japanese Feudalism EmergesWhile the emperor presided over his court at Heian , rival clans battled for control of the countryside. As these clans battled for power Japan evolved into as feudal society. The emperor may have stood at the head of Japanese feudal society but he was actually powerless. The real power was in the hands of the shogunshogun or supreme military ruler. Often the shogun only controlled a small part of Japan. He then distributed land to vassal lords who in return agreed to support him with their armies in times of need. These warrior lords were daimyodaimyo. They in turn granted land to lesser lords called samuraisamurai. The samurai were heavily armored and trained in the skills of fighting. They also made their own code of values called bushidobushido. Originally, some noblewomen became samurai but as the age of the samurai progressed the position of woman declined. Way below the samurai in the social hierarchy were the peasants, artisans, and merchants.

Order and Unity Under the Tokugawas

In the year 1338 a new dynasty was established. Then in the year 1450 the level of warfare increased. Eventually in 1590 a general named Toyotomi Hideyoshi Toyotomi Hideyoshi brought most of Japan under his control. He then attempted to conquer Korea and China but he failed. Then in 1600 Tokugawa Iesassu Tokugawa Iesassu became master of Japan. Three years later he became shogun. The Tokugawa shogunite then went on to rule Japan up until 1868.

Zen Buddhism and Japanese CultureDuring the feudal age in Japan a Buddhist sect from china won the acceptance of the samurai. In Japan it was known as ZenZen. A major part of Zen was meditation and devotion to duty. Zen changed and shaped Japanese culture in many ways. On way was that it the upper class men got the chance to express devotion to nature at the Zen monasteries.

Changing Artistic TraditionsOne artistic tradition was theater. In the 1300s there were plays in which men wore elegant carved masks and a chorus chanted important lines. Then in the 1600s kabukikabuki was introduced. Kabuki is a form of drama which often included comedy or melodrama. Puppet play were also popular. They were called bunrakubunraku. Literature was another artistic tradition. In the feudal age there were famous stories like Tale of Heike and some famous essays which include Essays in Idleness. The Japanese also had a new version of poetry called the HaikuHaiku. The Japanese also had their own form of landscape painting.

THE END!!!THE END!!!