Ancient Civilizations

The Asian World

China:Sui dynastyTang dynastySong dynastyYuan dynasty

Peoples of East and South Asia

Sui Dynasty• China fell into chaos after Han dynasty ended in 220

• 581, Sui dynasty was set up/ Unified China/ short lived

• Emperor Sui Yangdia built the Grand Canal that linked Yellow River & Yangzte River

• Canal made it easier to ship rice north & south

• Yangdi used forced labor to build the canal

• Extravagant living, high taxes, & military failures caused a rebellion & dynasty ended

Grand Canal of China

Tang Dynasty• Lasted from 618-907

• Tang rulers began by instituting reforms, restoring civil service examination for recruiting civilian bureaucrats, & trying to stabilize the economy by giving land to peasants and breaking up the power of large landowners

• Extended control north to control Tibet

• Established diplomatic relations with people of SE Asia & Koreas

Tang Dynasty• Brought about its own destruction/ Rulers were not

able to prevent plotting & government corruption

• Tang Xuanzang = emperor/ fell in love with a commoner’s daughter/ Upset general demanded someone pay for war & strive & forced the woman to hang herself

• Uighurs, northern tribal group of Turkic speaking people ended the Tang dynasty in early 10th century/were hired to fight for Tang but overthrew them instead

• Led China into civil war

Song Dynasty• Ruled from 960-1279/ major period of economic &

cultural achievement

• Uighurs still caused the Song dynasty a problem/ lost control of Tibet

• In order to stay in power, Song became allied with Mongols

• Within a few years, Mongols turned on the Song & overthrew them creating a Mongol dynasty

Chinese Government & Economy

• 700 years from the beginning of Sui to the end of the Song

• China had a large bureaucracy/ outside the capital, government had a structure of provinces, districts, & villages

• Agriculture, manufacturing, & trade grew dramatically between Sui & Song

• Primarily a farming society

• Reform efforts & advances in farming techniques created an abundance of food

Chinese Government & economy• Chinese began to make steel which was used to

make swords & sickles

• Intro of cotton led to new kinds of clothes

• Gunpowder invented during the Tang dynasty/ used to make explosives a weapon called “fire lance”

• Woodblock printing was developed during Tang dynasty led to books being mass produced

• Silk Road was revived during the Tang dynasty due to unification with SW Asia

Sickle Fire Lance

Chinese Society• Marco Polo described Hangzhou, capital of Song, as

a Paradise

• Majority of Chinese lived off the land and lived in villages/ Most hardly left their villages during their entire life

• Status of women was very low/ female children were considered less desirable than males/ female infants might even be killed if there was not enough food for all

• Wives became part of their husband’s families

• Her parents would provide a dowry to the husband

Mongols

Mongol Empire• Mongols came from present day Mongolia

• Organized loosely into clans/ Temujin gradually unified the Mongols

• In 1206, Temujin was elected Genghis Khan “strong ruler” at a massive meeting in the Gobi

• Genghis devoted himself to conquests/Mongols created the largest land empire in history/Comprised of much of the Eurasian landmass/capital was Karakorum

• Genghis died in 1227/ empire was divided among his sons/ attacked Persians, Abbasids, and Song

Temujin: Genghis Khan United Mongol Clans

Mongol Dynasty in China• When attacking the Song, Mongols first experienced

gunpowder & the fire-lance

• In 1279, Kublai Khan completed the conquering of Song & established Yuan dynasty in China/ established capital of Khanbaliq = now known as Beijing

• Under Kublai, Mongol forces advanced against Vietnam, Java, Sumatra, & Japan/ Mongol military tactics of cavalry charges & siege warfare were not effective in these largely, tropical hilly regions & the Mongol campaigns failed

Mongol Dynasty in China• Mongols were successful at ruling China

• Adapted to the Chinese political system & used Chinese bureaucrats

• Mongols formed their own class = staffing the highest positions in the bureaucracy

• Mongols won support of Chinese people due to the economic prosperity & social stability the Mongols brought with them

• Marco Polo wrote stories about how wonderful Khanbaliq was

Mongol Dynasty in China• Mongol dynasty fell apart due to problems that

affected the other dynasties; too much spending on foreign conqests, corruption, growing internal stability

• In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang, son of a peasant, formed an army & ended the Mongol dynasty & established the Ming dynasty

Zhu Yuanzhang: Overthrew

The Yuan Dynasty

Religion & Government• Buddhism & Daoism emerged to rival

Confucianism during Sui & Tang dynasties

• Confucianism reemerged at the end of the Tang period & held dominance until early 20th century

• Buddhism came to China in 1st century a.d. / brought by Indian missionaries & merchants

• Due to instability after the collapse of the Han dynasty, both Buddhism & Daoism attracted many people; especially ruling classes, intellectuals, & wealthy

Religion & Government• Early Tang rulers supported monasteries/ Buddhists

& Daoists become advisors at court

• Buddhism was attacked for being a foreign religion/ Buddhist monasteries held lands & serfs; with these holdings came corruption

• Late in the Tang period the government destroyed many Buddhist temples & forced thousands of monks to return to secular life

• Official support went to reviving Confucianism

Neo-Confucianism• Neo-Confucianism = differed by teaching the world

is real & that fulfillment comes from participation

• Neo-Confucianist divided the world into material & spiritual worlds & that humans linked the two

• Humans live in the material world but are linked with the Supreme Ultimate

• The goal of humans is to unify with the Supreme Ultimate through a careful examination of moral principles that rule the universe

Chinese Literature & Art• Invention of printing during Tang dynasty made

literature available & very popular

• Poetry became big/ 2,200 authors wrote at least 48,000 poems/ poems celebrated beauty of nature, changes of seasons, & joys of friendships

• Li Bo & Duo Fo = 2 most popular poets/ Li Bo ‘s poems were memorized by Chinese school children for centuries/ Duo Fo = serious Confucian concerned with social justice & the poor

Chinese Art• Landscape painting reached its height during the

Song & Mongol dynasties

• Painters went into the mountains to paint & find the Dao or Way = nature

• Landscape paintings reflects the Daoist search for balance between earth & water

• Ceramics & Tang-period porcelain began to flourish

• Porcelain did not reach Europe until eighteenth century

Peoples of East and South Asia

Japan:Yamato clanFujiwara familyMinamoto shogunateAshikaga shogunate

Japan Geography• Lies on the Ring of Fire• Archipelago • 4 largest islands =Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku,

Kyushu• Capital = Tokyo, on Honshu• Islands are peaks of volcanic mountains• Islands are covered with rugged mountains and

steep hills• Climate is heavily affected by ocean currents; varies

from tropical in south to cool in north• About size of California

Rise of Japanese State• Japanese first settled in Yamato plain; near present

day Osaka & Kyoto

• Society was compromised of clans; people were divided into small aristocratic classes and latter classes of farmers, artisans, & servants

• Local rulers protected the population in return for a share of the harvest

• Shotuku Taishi tried to unify the Japanese clans to resist Chinese invasion/ To do this he imitated the Chinese structure of government

Japanese State• Ruler was portrayed as a divine figure & the symbol

of Japan

• Taishi’s successor continued to emulate Chinese model/ centralized government

• After Taishi’s (622) death, Fujiwara clan gained power

• Fujiwara ruler moved capital to Nara/ used the title “Son of Heaven”/ central government declined

• 794, emperor moved the capital to Heian (present day Kyoto)…government returned decentralized system that existed before Taishi

Fujiwara Family Gained Power

Japan• During Heian period, peasants would give their land

to aristocrats to avoid paying high taxes, becoming tenant farmers

• Landed aristocrats increasingly turned to military power to pursue interests/ led to creation of Samurai – “those who serve” = knights who had own code of Bushido – “way of warrior” – were loyal to their lord & employer

• Late 12th century, Japanese wealthy families were in constant constant civil war

Japan• Nobleman Minamoto Yoritomo defeated several

rivals & set up his power near modern Tokyo & created a centralized government called a shogunate

• Shogunate = centralized government under a shogun, military ruler, not an emperor

• Yoritomo’s Kamakura shogunate lasted from 1192 to 1333

• 1281 Kublai Khan invaded with superior forces, but a typhoon destroyed the entire Mongol fleet

• Japan would not have foreign invaders again until 1945(end of WWII)

Japan• Power of Aristocrats grew during the 14th & 15th

centuries

• Daimyo = heads of families/ controlled vast land estates that were tax exempt

• Daimyo relied on samurai’s to keep control

• By 1500 central power had disappeared

• Onin War = civil war/ almost destroyed Kyoto/ rivalries of powerful lords pushed Japan into chaos

Life in Early Japan• Largely a farming society

• Due to heavy rainfall, farmers grew rice

• Trade & manufacturing began to develop during the Kamakura period/ Industries = paper, iron casting, & porcelain

• Foreign trade with Korea & China emerged in 11th century

• Women had a level of equality with men in early Japan/ 8th century law guaranteed inheritance rights for women/ abandoned wives could divorce & remarry

Life in Early Japan• Women were still considered subordinate to men

• Husband could divorce on the grounds of the wife talking too much, having a serious illness, or unable to produce a male child

• Women played an active role in various aspects of society

• Early Japanese worshipped spirits called kami that resided in nature/ Beliefs evolved into Shinto which became the state religion

• Shinto = “the Sacred Way” or “Way of the Gods” is still practiced today

Shinto• Early Japanese worshipped spirits called kami that

resided in nature/ Beliefs evolved into Shinto which became the state religion

• Shinto = “the Sacred Way” or “Way of the Gods” is still practiced today

• Shinto = state doctrine that believes there is a connection between the divinity of the emperor & the sacredness of the Japanese nation

• First emperor was descended from sun goddess, Amaterasu

Shinto Shrine

Japanese Religion• Some Japanese turned to Buddhism/ Sect called Zen

became most popular/ Zen beliefs became part of samurai warrior’s code

• Zen = are different ways to achieve enlightenment/ some say it can come suddenly/ some say it can be achieved only through strong self-discipline, especially meditation

Zen Master of the

Kamakura Period

Early Japan• 9th-12th centuries, women were the most productive

writers of prose in Japan/ women wrote diaries, stories, & novels to pass the time

• Men in early Japan believed prose fiction was merely “vulgar gossip”

• Tale of Genji = written by Muraski Shikibu, around 1,000/ novel that traces the life of the noble Genji as he moves from youthful adventure to a life of sadness & compassion later in life

• Landscape served as a means of expression in Japanese Art & Architecture

Tale of

The memories of long love gather like drifting snow. Poignant as the mandarin ducks who float side by side in sleep. Lady Murasaki (Murasaki Shikibu)974-1031

Peoples of East and South Asia

Korea:Silla KingdomKoryo dynastyYi dynasty

Korea• Korean peninsula is only slightly larger than

Minnesota/Very mountainous

• Heavily influenced by Chinese model of society

• 109 b.c., northern part of peninsula was under Chinese control/Koreans drove them out in the 3rd century

• Three kingdoms emerged; Koguryo in the north/ Paekche in southwest/ Silla in the southeast = bitter rivals from 4th – 7th century

• Silla gained control of Korea/ Korea sank into civil war after Silla king was assassinated

Korea• 10th century, Koryo dynasty arose in the north/

unified the country by adopting Chinese political institutions/ stayed in power for 400 years

• Mongols seized power in north in 13th century

• Koryo was still able to stay in power

• Mongol rule was harsh/ thousands of people were forced to make ships for Kublai Khan’s invasion of Japan

• 1392, Yi Song-gye seized power & founded the Yi dynasty in Korea

Buddhism• Buddhism was popular for Indian people for

hundreds of years• Theravada Buddhism = “teachings of the elders”

believed in original teachings of Buddha/ saw Buddhism as way of life/ claimed understanding one’s self is chief way to gain nirvana

• Mahayana Buddhism = stressed nirvana was reached through devotion to Buddha/ said Theravada was too strict for common people/Mahayana is religion, not a philosophy/devotion to Buddha

• Neither sect remained popular in India/ Hind..Islam• Buddhism was successful in other parts of Asia

Silla BuddhistTemple

India After the Guptas• 8th century, Islam became popular on Indian

subcontinent

• Successful because it arrived at a time of political disunity/Gupta empire collapsed/India’s 70 states warred with each other

• End of 10th century, Islam expanded as rebellious Turkish slaves founded Islamic state known as Ghazni, in present day Afghanistan

• Founder’s son = Mahmud of Ghazni attacked neighboring Hindu kingdoms & expanded his power

Expansion of Islam/ India• Rajputs = Hindu warriors/ fought Mahmud in

northern India

• Mahmud’s cavalry defeated the slower infantry & elephants

• By 1200, Muslim power was spread all over north India = created a new Muslim state known as the Sultanate of Delhi = eventually expanded power into the Deccan Plateau

Islam Comes to IndiaIn the Ghazni State

Timur Lenk• Sultanate of Delhi declined by 14th century

• Timur Lenk’s army raided Delhi & then retreated/ massacred 100,000 Hindu prisoners

• Timur Lenk ruled a Mongol state based in Samarkand

• Seized power in 1369 & began conquering/ Mesopotamia & region east of the Caspian Sea

• He died in 1405/Death removed a threat from states on the Indian subcontinent

Islam & Indian Society• Muslim rulers separated the Muslim ruling class &

the mass of the Hindu population

• Muslim rulers were tolerant of other faiths/tried peaceful means to convert/too many #’s to convert all

• Muslim customs were imposed on Hindus

• Distrust, Hatred & violence have always plagued Indian history

India Economy • India’s chief source of life is agriculture

• It was a trade center between Southwest & East Asia(Silk Road)

• Internal trade decreased during internal strive, but Foreign trade always remained high

India Culture• Architecture & prose literature was most important

Indian arts

• Architects built magnificent temples = each had a central shrine surrounded by a tower, hall for worshippers, entryway, porch, which all set in a courtyard

• Greatest temples are at Khajuraho/ 20 of the 80 are still standing

• Dandin = master of prose/ wrote The Ten Princes in the 7th century/ power of observation & humor made his writing popular

Hindu Temples at Khajuraho

Peoples of East and South Asia

Southeast Asia:Vietnamesethe Khmerthe Thaithe BurmansSrivujaya kingdomSailendra kingdomMajapahit kingdomSultanate of Melaka

Southeast Asia• Consists of mainland region & extensive

archipelago islands

• Mainland has many mountain ranges with fertile valleys in between

• Southeast Asia never unified under a single government

• Separate & Distinctive culture developed with different languages, religions, & cultural practices

Vietnam• Located just under China• One of the first people in SE Asia• China conquered Vietnam in 111 b.c./ however

failed to make Vietnam a part of China• Vietnamese overthrew Chinese occupiers in the 10th

century• Dai Viet (Great Viet) Vietnamese was established• Vietnamese adopted Chinese model of governing• Adopted Confucianism, Chinese court rituals, &

civil service examination• Expanded southward to Gulf of Thailand by 1600

Dai Viet Broke From China After 1000 Years

SE Asia Civilization• Arose in 9th century in present day Cambodia

• Jayavarman united the Khmer people/ he was crowned god-king in 802

• Angkor-Khmer empire was the most powerful in SE Asia

• Capital = Angkor Thom

• Power of Angkor declined with arrival of the Thai in 14th century/Thai moved southward because of Mongol invasion of China

• Thai converted to Buddhism & borrowed Indian practices to develop their own culture = Thailand

SE Asia Civilization• Thai founded Ayutthaya on Chao Phraya River =

center of Buddhist learning

• West of Angkor is Burman Kingdom of Pagan

• Burmans migrated from Tibet to valley of Salween & Irrawaddy rivers

• Burmans converted to Buddhism

• Pagan = active in sea trade/ declined in 13th century because of attacks from Mongols

Ayutthaya Buddhist Temples

Pagodas at Pagan

Malay & Indonesia• Malay peninsula & Indonesian Archipelago were

tied to the trade that passed through Indian Ocean

• Area did not unite under a single ruler

• Srivijaya Kingdom finally emerged

• Srivijaya kingdom in eastern Java-8th century/ dominated trade through the strait of Malacca

• Majapahit eventually became the region’s greatest empire

• 1400, Sultanate of Melaka, Islamic state/ became a major trading post on the western coast of Malay Peninsula/converted entire population to Islam

SE Asia Economy• SE Asian states divided into two categories;

agricultural societies & trading societies

• Trade reached its height after Muslim conquests of northern India

• Demand for spices rose = adding to the amount of trade

• Merchants from India & Arabian peninsula brought back cloves, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, & precious woods from Indonesian islands

SE Asia Society• Hereditary Aristocrats were at the top of society/

held political & economic power

• Most lived in cities/ Angkor Thom = major city

• Farmers, fishers, artisans, & merchants made up rest of population

• Most people were subsistence rice farmers/ paid heavy taxes/rent to local landlords/rulers

• Women in SE Asia had more rights than women in China or India

• Women worked with men in the fields & were involved in trade

SE Asia Culture• Chinese influence in Vietnam/ Indian influence

elsewhere

• Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia/ temple & observatory

• Hinduism & Buddhism moved into SE Asia/ old faiths blended with new/King was believed to have a link between the people & the gods

• Theravada Buddhism eventually became the religion of the masses of people in SE Asia = taught people they could reach nirvana through own efforts/ did not threaten other religions

Angkor WatAs Temple and

Observatory

Hindu Influence In

Southeast Asia