WAYS OF THE WORLDRobert W. StrayerAP WORLD HISTORY

CHAPTER 8: CHINA AND THE WORLD: EAST ASIAN CONNECTIONS

500 – 2300

@sofisandoval 2015

The reemergence of unified China

Chinese history has often been viewed in the Est as impressive perhaprs, but largely static or changeless and self contained or ilsolated.

The collapse of the Han dynasty ushered in more than 3 centuries of political fragmentation in China and signaled the rise of powerful and locally entrenched aristocratic families.

Chinese migration southward toward the Yangzi river valley (because of political fragmentation) = created disunity, discredited confucianism and opened the door to a greater acceptance of Buddhsm and Daoism among the elite.

A “Golden Age” of Chinese Achievement China regained its unity under the Sui dynasty, its emperors

solidified that unity by a vast extension of the country´s canal system. The canals linked northern and southern China and contribuited much to the prosperity that followed.

Nevertheless, the Sui emperors campaign to conquer Korea exhausted the state´s resources and soon the dynasty was overthrown. = desintegration of the Chinese state.

The Tang and the Song dynasty renewed unity. = “golden age” of arts and literature, poetry, landscape painting, ceramics. Particularly the Song dynasty and also gave rise to Neo-Confucianism (incorporating thoughts of Buddhism and Daoism).

TANG AND SONG DYNASTIES STATE STRUCTURE

Six major ministries: Personnel, Finance, rites, army,

justice and public works.

Regulated by a Censorate (agency of surveillance over each ministry)

The examination system was revived Rigorous exams- central figure

upper class life. Substantial percentage positions went to the sons of the privileged (had education and preparation for exams).

Ability to print books for the first time in the world history.

Economic Revolution – Song Dynasty

China´s prosperity was its rapid growth in population, jumped from 50 million during the Tang dynasty to 120 million by 1200!

China was the most urbanized country in the world. Song dynasty capital Hangzhou was home to more than a million people.

Marco Polo describes Hangzhou “beyond dispute the finest and noblest city in the world”

China´s iron industry increased its input dramatically.- by 11th century 32,000 suits of armor, 16 million arrowheads, coins, tools, construction material.

Women in the Song Dynasty The “Golden Age” for the song dynasty in

China was perhaps less than “golden” for many of its women.

The patriarchal restrictions on women were tighten. To restore some of the earlier Han dynasty notions of female submission and passivity.

Confucian writers highlighted the suborditaion of women to men and the need to keep males and females separate in every domain of life. A song historian wrote “The boy leads the girls, and the girl must follow”.

The most compelling expression of tightening patriarchy lay in the foot binding. Among dancers and courtesans in the 11th century this practice involved tight wrapping of youngs girl´s feet, usually breaking the bones.

Foot binding Many mothers imposed this painful

procedure on their daughters, to enhance marriage prospects and assist them in competing with concubines.

Foot binding also served to distinguish Chinese women from their “barbarian” cunterparts and elite women from commoners and peasants.

Women still grew silk worms, but lost the more lucrative income generating world of weaving silk fabrics. Men took controll of skilled tasks on textiles.

https://youtu.be/P56LAPlFfgk?list=PLo1Z1rDpsUOKyZhhpTUxqXD3CrhO6t5xD

China and the Northern Nomads China´s most enduring and intense

interaction with foreigners lay to the north, involving nomadic pastoral people. Nomads focused their economies on raising livestock (sheep, cattle, goats) and the mastery of horse riding.

These nomads organized in kinship groups, tribes – created larger states powerful because of their impressive horsemanship and military skills (male societies).

These nomads were drawn to China (trading).

Chinese built Great Wall to keep nomads out. But needed the nomads (horses, furs, amber,

skins valuable to China).

The Tribute System China´s relationship with these people

(nomads) known as the “tribute system”. Foreigners seeking access to China had to send a delegation to the chinese court, where they would perform a “Kowtow”, series of rituals bowings and prostrations, and present their tribute.

In return of these expressions of submission, he would grant permission for foreigners to trade in China´s rich markets.

These attempted to regulate their relationships with northern nomads and neighbouring states such as Korea, Vietman, Tibet.

Tribute System in Practice Xiongnu – Nomadic confederency was the

largest reaching from Manchuria to Central Asia. – Persuaded the Chinese emperor to negotiate an arrangement that recognized the nomadic state as political equal.

Promised its leader a princess in marriage, and most important to agreed to supply him annually with large quantities of grain, wine and silk.

The Xiongnu agreed to refrain from military incursions into China.

Steppe nomads were generally not much interested in actually conquering and ruling China. Its was easier and more profitable to extort goods from fuctioning.

Cultural Influence across an Ecological Frontier

When nomadic peoples actually ruled parts of China, some of them adopted Chinese ways, employing Chinese advisers, governing according to Chinese practices.

Northern people learned to speak Chinese, wore Chinese clothing, married Chinese wives. But in contrast with the South who were gradually abosorbed by the Chinese culture.

The founders of the Sui and Tang dynasties were in fact a mixed nomad and Chinese ancestry.

Korea and China Chinese conquest of northern Korea during

the Han dynasty and some colonization by chinese settlers provided an initial channel for Chinese cultural influence, particularly in the form of Buddhism.

The Silla kingdom alliied with Tang dynasty China to bring some political unity to the peninsula for the first time. But Chinese efforts to have puppet regimes provoked sharp military resistance.

The Silla, Koryo and Yi kingdoms in Korea generally maintained its political independence while participating in China´s tribute system.

Korea and China: Influences Capital city of Kumsong was modeled on the Chinese capital

of Chang´an. Tribute missions also enabled both official and private trade,

mostly luxury goods and clothing (silk). Thousands of Korean were sent to China to study

(confucianism, arts and sciences). Also Buddhists monks visited learning centers and pilgrimage to China.

These efforts to plant Confucian values in Chinese culture in Korea had what one scholar has called an “overwelmingly negative” impact on Korean women.

WOMEN IN KOREA – CHINESE INFLUENCE Chinese observers noticed and

strongly disapproved of “free choice” marriages in Korea as well as the practice of women singing and dancing.

Korean women generally gave birth and went to their parents home to take care of the baby (joined by husband), this was strongly discouraged (offensive for Confucian orthodoxy) since a married woman belong to her husband´s family.

KOREA Korea remained Korea, after 688 C.E the

countrys´political independence though periodically threatened was largely intact. Chinese cultural influence had little impact beyond aristocracy and certainly did not penetrate the lives of Korea´s serf-peasants.

The examination system never assumed the prominence, and the Korea´s aristocratic class was able maintaing an even stronger monopoly on bureaucratic office.

Korea moved toward a greater cultural independence by developing a phonetic alphabet, known as HANGUL, for writing Korean language.

VIETNAM AND CHINA As in Korea, the elite culture of Vietnam borrowed

heavily from China. Adopting Confucianism, Daoism, Administrative techniques, and the examinaton system.

The heavy pressure of Chinese presence generated not only a Vietnamese elite schooled in Chinese culture but also periodic rebellions.

The weakening of the Tang dynasty (China) enabled large rebellions to established Vietnam a separate state.

Nevertheless, Vietnamese dynasties found Chinese approach to government useful and established an aristocracy /examination system.

Vietnamese elite deeply commited to Chinese culture. Vietman retained a greater role for women in social

and economic life, despite heavy chinese influence.

JAPAN AND CHINA Unlike Korea and Vietnam, Japan was physically

separated from China by 1000 miles and more of ocean. This allowed that never successfully invaded or conquered it.

Japan´s extensive borrowing from Chinese civilization was wholly voluntary.

The inital leader of this borrowing was Shotoku Taishi. He lauched a series of large scale missions to China, which took hundreds of Japanese monks, scholars, artists, students to China. When they returened they put in practice what they learned.

Japanese ruler proclaimed himself as an emperor (chinese style), encouraging Buddhism and Confucianism.

Japanese adopted the Chinese calendar and Chinese tazation system, and government ministries. Cities (2 capitals, Kyoto and Nara modeled on Chinese capital Chang´an.

JAPAN AND CHINA Japan was selective from what they borrowed

from China. The Japanese combined what they had assimilated from China with elements of their own tradition.

Japan as a political power became increaingly decentralized, local authorities developed their own military forces, the famous SAMURAI warrior class.

The samurai developed a distinctive set of calies featuring skill in martial arts, bravery, loyalty and honor for death over surrender. – BUSHIDO (the way of the warrior). -> contrasted China (values).

Japan focused on KAMI (sacred spirits associated with human ancestors, later this became SHINTO) -> tradition of legitimacy over imperial family.

JAPANESE WOMEN STATUS Japan´s women had more privilege than

Chinese (Japan had less Confucian culture). Japanese women inherit property, married

couples lived apart, marriages were made and broken easily.

Nevertheless, women loose title at the end of 12th century because of Samurai warriors replaced marriage alliances as a political stratefy, the influence of women in political life was reduced.

Japan even though borrowed Chinese culture and some values. They were a distictive civilization, mixed also foreign culture without loosing either its political independence or cultural uniqueness.

SPILLOVERS: CHINA´S IMPACT ON EURASIA China´s economic revolution lay in the diffusion

of its many technological innovations to peoples and places far from East Asia. Chinese techniques for producing salt by solar

evaporation spread to Islamic world. Papermaking known in China since the Han dynasty

spread to Korea and Vietnam Printing, a Chinese invention rapidly reached Korea,

where a movable type became a highly developed technique. -> Buddhism, print of sacred texts.

Gunpowder, Chinese invention 1000, = Europe cannons (aided by gunpowder) appreared in Islamic world by 1356.

Chinese prosperity during the Song dynasty greatly stimulated commercial life and market based behaviour across the Afro Eurasian trading world.

China as Economic Beneficiary China learned about the cultivation and processing of both Cotton and sugar from

India. From Vietnam, gained access to new fast drought resistant strains of rice that

made highly productive rice base agriculture. -> Yangzi River grew in population. China´s extraordinary burst of creativity owed to the cross cultural contact.

Persian windmills, the 1st printbook in 868 C.E was a famous Buddhist text “Diamond Sutra”.

China´s involvement with a woder world derived from its growing participation in the Indian Ocean trade network.

Quanzhou city: mixed of Buddhist temples, Muslim mosues and Hindu Phallic sculptures greaced the mixed rich city. -> these led to rebellions (cultural).

Merchants achieved a degree of social acceptance.

China and Buddhism Buddhism initially entered China via

the Silk Road. Han Dynasty – “barbarian religion”

since monastic life of monks seemed to dishonor Chinese family values, its concern of Buddhist individual salvation seemed selfish.

With the collapse of the Han Dynasty around 200 C.E, discredited Confucianism and opened the door to alternative understandings of the world.

Buddhism in China In South China Buddhism provided some comfort in

the face of collapsing society. Buddhist monasteries increasingly provided an array

of social services: travelers accomodation, sick were treated, children learned read, poor received charity.

Buddhist notion of “morality” was translated with the Confucian term that referred to “submission and obedience”, also some Indian convepts were modified in the process of translation. “husband supports wife” to “husband controls wife”.

Pure Land School – Buddhism school with emphasis on salvation by faith without the meditation.

Examination system on becoming a monk supervised by the state and education in monasteries required also the study of Confucian classics understandings.

THE CRISIS OF THE CHINESE BUDDHISM

800 C.E following centuries of foreign influence in China, a growing resentment against foreign culture. AN LUSHAN rebellion (devastaded Tang Dynasty, foreigh culture)

Decades later, Chinese state took direct action against Buddhist establishment, 260,000 monks to returned to normal life tax paying citizens. Monasteries and temples destroyed or to public use.

Europe, where inmigrant religion triumphed over and excluded all other faiths, Buddhism in China became assimilated into Chinese culture alongside its other traditions.

RELIGIONS IN CHINA

CONCLUSION The history of China illustrates the range of internal factors that have

driven change. The political era of “warring states” provided a setting and the motivation for the emergence of Confucianism and Daoism = Chinese civilization.

Brutal policies of Shihuangdi – played a role in unification of China and Qin Dynasty.

Creation of canals, networks commerce, waterways and technological achievements.

Massive inequalities by Chinese society generated peasant upheavals. – led to new ruling dynasties.

In the end, clear distinctions between internal and external sources of change in China´s history are misleading, since between “inside”and “outside” the line tseld is constantly chaning.

WHAT COMES FROM BEYOND IS ALWAYS TRANSFORMED BY WHAT ENCOUNTERS WITHIN.