The spread of civilization in east and southeast

The Spread of Civilization in East and Southeast Asia

Ancient China• China is one of the

earliest river valley civilizations in the world.

• In fact, China has over 3,500 years of written history making it the oldest, continuous civilization in the world.

Ancient China• Ancient Chinese

civilizations were ruled by dynasties – series of family rulers

• Some significant dynasties were the Shang (first ever dynasty) followed by the Zhou, Qin and Han.

• These dynasties would rule for thousands of years.

• The last of them ending rule in 1911.

The Fall of Ancient China• Following the Zhou

Dynasty, China collapsed and was constantly at war with one another.

• China became a land of troubles.

• Long-held Chinese values—social order, harmony among people, and respect for leaders—were forgotten.

Confucius• Some thinkers, however,

tried to find ways to restore these values.

• One of the most important of these thinkers was Confucius. He became a well-educated man who thought deeply about the troubles of China.

Confucius• He believed that a time of peace

could return if the people would work at five basic relationships:– ruler and subject– father and son– husband and wife– older and younger brothers– friend and friend

• The family relationships, he thought, were the most important.

• Respect for parents and ancestors.

Confucius say… famous Confucius quotes

• Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.

• It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.

• Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.

• When anger rises, think of the consequences.

• Have no friends not equal to yourself.

Not so famous Confucius quotes

• If you drive like hell, you are bound to get there quickly.

• If you run behind a car you will get exhausted.

• Man who stands on toilet is high on pot.

A new Ruler• A new ruler arose to put an end

to the troubles of the warring states period in China.

• At 13, he became king of a part of China called Qin (Chin), and he brought the different parts of China together.

• He took a new name— Shi Huangdi, which means “First Emperor.”

Shi Huangdi• Shi Huangdi took steps to bring

all parts of his empire together. • He ordered the peasants to

build a network of roads that linked one corner to another. The network stretched for over 4,000 miles and trade grew.

• He also set standards for writing, law, money, and weights and measures that were to be followed throughout the empire.

The Great Wall• Perhaps Shi Haungdi’s

most famous achievement was the building of the Great Wall of China.

• He ordered the wall to be built to keep out foreign invaders such as the Mongolians.

• When completed, the wall stretched for over 1,400 miles across China.

Did you know?• The Great Wall of China

is the only manmade object you can see from space!

• It has been expanded many times over the years and is currently over 5,500 miles long.

• Over 1 million people are buried within the wall.

Shi Haungdi’s Tomb• Shi Haungdi had a giant

mausoleum created while he was still alive.

• The mausoleum consists of Shi Haungdi’s tomb surrounded by rivers of mercury and a terracotta army “standing guard”.

• Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses.

Fall of the Han Dynasty• Following the fall of the Han

Dynasty in 220 A.D., China once again broke apart and remained divided for another 400 years.

• Many ruling families fought for control.

• Despite the instability, China’s society did not fall as Rome did and enter into a Dark Ages like Europe.

• Instead, agriculture and technology continued to improve.

The Tang Dynasty• Eventually, a father and son duo

named Li Yuan and Li Shimin crushed all rivals and established the Tang Dynasty.

• The son, Li Shimin becomes emperor 8 years later and takes on the name of Tang Taizon.

• Tang Taizong became China’s most admired emperor. He was a brilliant general, a government reformer, a historian, and a master of calligraphy.

Chinese Calligraphy• Chinese calligraphy is fine handwriting.• Even though it is writing, calligraphy is

considered a work of art and must be practiced to perfect.

• Each stroke must be precise and each character must be written correctly.

• In modern times, the Chinese alphabet has been simplified, but in Ancient China, there was upwards of 80,000 characters that a master of calligraphy needed to learn.

The Tang Dynasty• The Tang Dynasty would unite

and bring stability to the region for the first time in 400 years.

• Tang rulers built a sizable empire, forcing neighboring lands such as Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet to become tributary states – an independent state that has to acknowledge the supremacy of another state and pay tribute to its ruler.

The Tang Dynasty• The Tang revive civil service by

recruiting talented officials and training them in Confucian philosophy.

• They break up large land holdings (which weakens rich landowners and strengthens the government) and give it back to the people.

• This also creates more revenue for the government as more people now pay taxes.

Fall of the Tang• After many years of

stability, the Tang would fall due to corruption, high taxes and rebellion.

• A rebel general overthrew the last Tang emperor and established the new Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty

• The Song dynasty lasted for 319 years, but controlled less territory than the Tang.

• It was a time of great wealth and cultural achievement for China.

The Song Dynasty• Its emperors had an open border

policy that encouraged foreign trade and imports.

• Chinese cities prospered as centers of trade.

• Farming methods improved and farmers produced two crops a year, creating a surplus.

• Thousands of tons of grain were shipped along the Grand Canal linking the Huang and Chang rivers.

Did You Know?• During the Song Dynasty,

Chinese first started using gunpowder. (850AD)

• It was first used in fireworks, then in weapons.

• It didn’t make its way to Europe till later in the Middle Ages (1200’s) and was first used on the battlefield in the Battle of Crecy during the Hundred Years War. (1346AD)

Do you know any other Chinese inventions at this

time?

Other Chinese Inventions• In addition to

gunpowder, the Chinese had invented many other things that had never been seen before in Europe.

• Such inventions were the smallpox vaccination, spinning wheel, clocks, printing press, silk, porcelain, umbrella and the compass.

Achievements in Architecture

• Pagodas were Chinese temples with eaves that that curve up at the corners.

• Many Buddhist sculptures dominated the landscape.

Women in Medieval China• Despite the many advances in

society, women took a secondary role in Medieval China.

• Women would often manage the family affairs such as servants and finances of the household however they could not keep a dowry and had to become part of her husband’s family when they married (like property).

• Families in China valued boys more than girls, and women had a subordinate position in society.

Foot Binding• The custom of foot binding

emerged during the Song dynasty.

• This painful process stunted the size of a girl’s feet making it incredibly difficult to walk.

• It was thought that a woman’s place was in the home and this greatly limited a woman’s ability to leave the home.

Can you think of any modern day “foot binding”?

Is it so different?• X-ray of bone changes in a bound foot• X-ray of bone changes in high heels foot

The Mongol and Ming Empires

Focus Question What were the effects of the Mongol invasion and the rise of the Ming

dynasty on China?

Mongol Armies Build an Empire

• The Mongols were a nomadic people who grazed their horses and sheep on the steppes, or vast, treeless plains, of Central Asia. Rival

Mongol clans spent much of their time warring with one another. In the early 1200s, however, a brilliant Mongol chieftain united these

warring tribes.

• This chieftain took the name Genghis Khan meaning “Universal Ruler.” Under his leadership, Mongol forces conquered a vast empire that stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe

Genghis Khan• Originally called Temüjin, Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) was

renowned for being ruthless, determined, and courageous. When Temüjin was nine years old, a rival Mongol clan poisoned his father. At the age of 15, Temüjin was taken prisoner. For the rest of his life, he never forgot the humiliation of being locked in a wooden collar and paraded before his enemies.

• When he regained his freedom, Temüjin wandered among drifting clans. He took revenge on the clan that had imprisoned him and in time, became supreme ruler of all the Mongols. Once despised, Genghis Khan would be admired and feared across two continents

Mongols Invade China

• Genghis Khan imposed strict military discipline and demanded absolute loyalty. His highly trained, mobile armies had some of the most skilled horsemen in the world. Genghis Khan had a reputation for fierceness. He could order the massacre of an entire city. Yet he also could be generous, rewarding the bravery of a single fighter.

• Genghis Khan did not live to complete the conquest of China. His heirs, however, continued to expand the Mongol empire. For the next 150 years, they dominated much of Asia. Their furious assaults toppled empires and spread destruction from southern Russia through Muslim lands in Southwest Asia to China.

• Protected by steep mountain ranges, India avoided invasion, but the Mongols arrived in China, devastated the flourishing province of Sichuan (see chwahn), and annihilated its great capital city of Chengdu.

Rulers Establish Order and Peace

• Once conquest was completed, the Mongols were not oppressive rulers. Often, they allowed conquered people to live much as they had before—as long as they regularly paid tribute to the Mongols.

• Genghis Khan had set an example for his successors by ruling conquered lands with toleration and justice. Although the Mongol warrior had no use for city life, he respected scholars, artists, and artisans. He listened to the ideas of Confucians, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Zoroastrians.

• In the 1200s and 1300s, the sons and grandsons of Genghis Khan established peace and order within their domains. Today, many historians refer to this period of order as the Pax Mongolica, or Mongol Peace.

• Political stability set the stage for economic growth. Under the protection of the Mongols, who now controlled the great Silk Road, trade flourished across Eurasia. According to a contemporary, Mongol rule meant that people “enjoyed such a peace that a man might have journeyed from the land of sunrise to the land of sunset with a golden platter upon his head without suffering the least violence from anyone.”

• Cultural exchanges increased as foods, tools, inventions, and ideas spread along the protected trade routes. From China, the use gunpowder moved westward into Europe. Techniques of papermaking also reached parts of Europe, and crops and trees from the Middle East were carried into East Asia.

• Although Genghis Khan had conquered such vast territory, his empire would not reach its peak for another 50 or so years under the leadership of his grandson, Kublai Khan. The Mongol empire would stretch from Europe in the west, south into the Middle East, north in Russia and as far east as China and the Koreas.The Height of the Mongolian

Empire

An All-Mongol Government• Kublai Khan tried to prevent

the Mongols from being absorbed into Chinese civilization as other conquerors of China had been. He decreed that only Mongols could serve in the military. He also reserved the highest government jobs for Mongols or for other non-Chinese officials whom he employed. Still, because there were too few Mongols to control so vast an empire, Kublai allowed Chinese officials to continue to rule in the provinces

• Under Mongol rule, however, Kublai Khan created a mix of cultures. He incorporated Mongol, Chinese, Middle Eastern culture.

• He, himself adopted the Chinese name Yuan, and established a new dynasty.

• He also commissioned Arab architects to build his palace.

• He also welcomed many foreigners to his court, including the African Muslim world traveler Ibn Battuta and European traveler Marco Polo.

Marco Polo Writes About China• The Italian merchant Marco Polo was one of many visitors to China

during the Yuan dynasty. In 1271, at age 14, Polo left Venice with his father and uncle. For the next 24 years of his life, he spent travelling. He crossed Persia and Central Asia to reach China. He then spent 17 years in Kublai’s service. Finally, he returned to Venice by sea, visiting Southeast Asia and India along the way.

• In his writings, Marco Polo left a vivid account of the wealth and splendor of China. He described the royal palace of Kublai Khan (see Traveler’s Tale) and also described China’s efficient royal mail system, with couriers riding swift ponies along the empire’s well-kept roads. Furthermore, he visits the Great Wall of China, and brings back many inventions never seen before in Europe.

Marco Polo• Marco Polo wrote about his adventures and travels.

Many people were intrigued by his tales. In the next centuries, Polo’s reports sparked European interest in the riches of Asia. He would be an inspiration for later explorers such as Christopher Columbus who sought to find a sea route to Asia. However, many people also did not believe him.

• On his deathbed, a priest was summoned and asked Marco Polo if he would like confess and take back any of the stories or tales and admit them as a lie.

• Marco Polo’s response was “I did not tell you half of what I saw.”

Mongols Continue Outside Contact• As long as the Mongol empire

prospered, contacts between Europe and Asia continued. The Mongols tolerated a variety of beliefs. The pope sent Christian priests to Beijing, while Muslims set up their own communities in China.

The Ming Restore Chinese Rule • The Yuan dynasty declined after the death of Kublai Khan,

which occurred in 1294. Most Chinese despised the foreign Mongol rulers. Confucian scholars retreated into their own world, seeing little to gain from the barbarians. Heavy taxes, corruption, and natural disasters led to frequent uprisings.

• Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang (dzoo yoo ahnd zahng), a peasant leader, forged a rebel army that toppled the Mongols and pushed them back beyond the Great Wall. In 1368, he founded a new Chinese dynasty, which he called the Ming, meaning brilliant.

• The Ming restored the civil service system, and Confucian learning again became the road to success. The civil service exams became more rigorous than ever. A board of censors watched over the bureaucracy, rooting out corruption and disloyalty.

The Economy Grows • Economically, Ming China was immensely

productive. The fertile, well-irrigated plains of eastern China supported a population of more than 100 million. In the Chang River valley, peasants produced huge rice crops. Better methods of fertilizing helped to improve farming

• Reshaping the landscape helped as well. Some farmers cut horizontal steps called terraces into steep hillsides to gain soil

in which to grow crops. In the 1500s, new crops reached China from the Americas, especially corn and sweet potatoes.

• Chinese cities, such as Nanjing, were home to many industries, including porcelain, paper, and tools. The Ming repaired the extensive

canal system that linked various regions, made trade easier, and allowed cities to grow. New technologies increased output in

manufacturing. Better methods of printing, for example, led to the production of a flood of books.

Culture Flourishes Ming China also saw a revival of arts and literature. Ming artists

developed their own styles of landscape painting and created brilliant blue and white porcelain. Ming vases were among the most valuable and popular Chinese products exported to the West.

• Confucian scholars continued to produce classical poetry. At the same time, new forms of popular literature to be enjoyed by the common people began to emerge. Ming writers composed novels, including The Water Margin about an outlaw gang that tries to end injustice by corrupt officials. Ming writers also produced the world’s first detective stories.

• How did Ming rulers restore a previous style of Chinese government?

• How did Ming rulers restore a previous style of Chinese government?

Answer: They restored the Civil Service System, and Confucian learning again became the road to success

Chinese Fleets Sail the Seas • Early Ming rulers proudly

sent Chinese fleets into distant waters to show the glory of their government. The most extraordinary of these overseas ventures were the voyages of the Chinese admiral and diplomat Zheng He (jeng he).

Zheng He and His Fleets • Starting in 1405, Zheng He commanded the first of seven

expeditions. He departed at the head of a fleet of 62 huge ships and over 200 smaller ones, carrying a crew of about 28,000 sailors. The largest ships measured 400 feet long. The goal of each expedition was to promote trade and collect tribute from lesser powers across the “western seas”.

• Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He explored the coasts of Southeast Asia and India and the entrances to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. He also visited many ports in East Africa. In the wake of these expeditions, Chinese merchants settled in Southeast Asia and India and became a permanent presence in their trading centers

• Exotic animals, such as giraffes, were imported from foreign lands as well. The voyages also showed local rulers the power and strength of the Chinese empire.

• What was the relevance of Zheng He’s overseas expeditions?

• “The countries beyond the horizon and from the ends of the earth have all become subjects. . . . We have traversed immense waterspaces and have behold in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising skyhigh, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away . . . while our sails loftily unfurled like clouds day and night continued their course, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading on a public thorough fare.”

• —Zheng He, quoted in The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth Century (Duyvendak)

Exploration Ends • In 1435, the year Zheng He died, the Ming emperor suddenly

banned the building of seagoing ships. Later, ships with more than two masts were forbidden. Zheng He’s huge ships were retired and rotted away.

• Why did China, with its advanced naval technology, turn its back on overseas exploration? Historians are not sure. Some speculate that the fleets were costly and did not produce profit.

• Also, Confucian scholars at court had little interest in overseas ventures and commerce. To them, Chinese civilization was the most successful in the world. They wanted to preserve its ancient traditions, which they saw as the source of stability. In fact, such rigid loyalty to tradition would eventually weaken China and once again leave it prey to foreign domination

• Fewer than 60 years after China halted overseas expeditions, the explorer Christopher Columbus would sail west from Spain in search of a sea route to Asia. We can only wonder how the course of history might have changed if the Chinese had continued the explorations they had begun under the Ming.

1. What military equipment is illustrated in the painting?

2. How did the Mongols come across this equipment (Did they invent it?)

3. What skills are emphasized by the artist?

The Emergence of Japan and the Feudal Age

Focus Question What internal and external factors shaped Japan’s civilization, and what characterized

Japan’s feudal age?

Geography Sets Japan Apart • Japan is located on

an archipelago (ahr kuh pel uh goh), or chain of islands, about 100 miles off the Asian mainland and east of the Korean peninsula. Its four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.

Seas Protect Japan

• Japan is about the size of Montana, but four-fifths of its land are too mountainous to farm. As a result, most people settled in narrow river valleys and along the coastal plains. A mild climate and sufficient rainfall, however, helped Japanese farmers make the most of the limited arable land.

• The surrounding seas have both protected and isolated Japan. The country was close enough to the mainland to learn from Korea and China, but too far away for the Chinese to conquer. Japan thus had greater freedom to accept or reject Chinese influences than did other East Asian lands..

• At times, the Japanese sealed themselves off from foreign influences, choosing to go their own way. The seas that helped Japan preserve its identity also served as trade routes. The Inland Sea was an especially important link among various Japanese islands. The seas also offered plentiful food resources and the Japanese, developed a thriving fishing industry

Forces of Nature

• The Japanese came to fear and respect the dramatic forces of nature. Japan lies in a region known as the Ring of Fire, which is made up of a chain of volcanoes that encircle the Pacific Ocean. This region is therefore subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Underwater earthquakes can launch killer tidal waves, called tsunamis, which sweep over the land without warning, wiping out everything in their path.

• How did the sea help Japan preserve its identity?

Early Traditions • The people we know today as the Japanese probably migrated from the

Asian mainland more than 2,000 years ago. They slowly pushed the earlier inhabitants, the Ainu, onto the northernmost island of Hokkaido.

The Yamato Clan Claims Power

• Early Japanese society was divided into uji, or clans. Each uji had its own chief and a special god or goddess who was seen as the clan’s original ancestor. Some clan leaders were women, suggesting that women enjoyed a respected position in society.

• By about A.D. 500, the Yamato clan came to dominate a corner of Honshu, the largest Japanese island. For the next 1,000 years, the Yamato Plain was the heartland of Japanese government. The Yamato set up Japan’s first and only dynasty. They claimed direct descent from the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and chose the rising sun as their symbol.

• Later Japanese emperors were revered as living gods. While this is no longer the case, the current Japanese emperor still traces his roots to the Yamato clan.

A Religion of Nature

• Early Japanese clans honored kami, or superior powers that were natural or divine. The worship of the forces of nature became known as Shinto, meaning “the way of kami.” Although Shinto has not evolved into an international religion like Christianity, Buddhism, or Islam, its traditions survive to the present day in Japan..

• Hundreds of Shinto shrines dot the Japanese countryside. Though simple in design, they are generally located in beautiful, natural surroundings. Shinto shrines are dedicated to special sites or objects such as mountains or waterfalls, ancient gnarled trees, or even oddly shaped rocks

• Missionaries from Korea had introduced Buddhism to Japan in the 500s. With it came knowledge of Chinese writing and culture that sparked a sustained period of Japanese interest in Chinese civilization.

Japan Looks to China • In the early 600s, Prince Shotoku of the Yamato clan decided to learn about

China directly instead of through Korean sources. He sent young nobles to study in China. Over the next 200 years, many Japanese students, monks, traders, and officials visited the Tang court.

The Japanese Visit China• Each visitor to China spent a year or more there—negotiating,

trading, but above all studying. The visions returned to Japan eager to spread Chinese thought, technology, and arts. They also imported Chinese ideas about government. Japanese rulers adopted the title “Heavenly Emperor” and claimed absolute power. They strengthened the central government, set up a bureaucracy, and adopted a law code similar to that of China.

• Still, the new bureaucracy had little real authority beyond the royal court. Out in the countryside, the old clans remained strong.

• In 710, the Japanese emperor built a new capital at Nara, modeled on the Tang capital at Chang’an. There, Japanese nobles spoke Chinese and dressed in Chinese fashion. Their cooks prepared Chinese dishes and served food on Chinese-style pottery.

• Tea drinking, along with an elaborate tea ceremony, was imported from China. Japanese officials and scholars used Chinese characters to write official histories. Tang music and dances became very popular, as did gardens designed using Chinese influences.

• As Buddhism spread, the Japanese adopted pagoda architecture. Buddhist monasteries grew rich and powerful. Confucian ideas and ethics also took root. They included an emphasis on filial piety, the careful management of relationships between superior and inferior, and respect for learning.

Selective Borrowing Preserves Culture

• In time, the initial enthusiasm for everything Chinese died down. The Japanese kept some Chinese ways but discarded or modified others. This process is known as selective borrowing.

• By the 800s, as Tang China began to decline. After absorbing all they could from China, the Japanese spent the next 400 years digesting and modifying these cultural borrowings to produce their own unique civilization.

Can you think of any examples of selective borrowing in the U.S.?

• Japan, for example, never accepted the Chinese civil service examination to choose officials based on merit. Instead, they maintained their tradition of inherited status through family position. Officials were the educated sons of nobles.

• The Japanese asserted their identity by revising the Chinese system of writing and adding kana, or phonetic symbols representing syllables. Japanese artists developed their own styles

Warriors Establish Feudalism • Feudal warfare

swept Japan in the 1400s. Disorder continued through the following century. Yet, despite the turmoil, a new Japanese culture arose. While the emperor presided over the splendid court at Heian, rival clans battled for control of the countryside.

• Local warlords and even some Buddhist temples formed armed bands loyal to them rather than to the central government. As these armies struggled for power, Japan evolved a feudal system. As in the feudal world of medieval Europe, a warrior aristocracy dominated Japanese society.

Shogun Rule• In theory, the emperor

stood at the head of Japanese feudal society. In fact, he was a powerless, though revered, figurehead. Real power lay in the hands of the shogun, or supreme military commander. Minamoto Yoritomo was appointed shogun in 1192. He set up the Kamakura shogunate, the first of three military dynasties that would rule Japan for almost 700 years.

The Ways of the Warriors• Often the shogun

controlled only a small part of Japan. He distributed lands to vassal lords who agreed to support him with their armies in time of need. These great warrior lords were later called daimyo (dy myoh). They, in turn, granted land to lesser warriors called samurai, meaning “those who serve.” Samurai were the fighting aristocracy of a war-torn land.

• Like medieval Christian knights in Europe, samurai were heavily armed and trained in the skills of fighting. They also developed their own code of values. Known as bushido, or the “way of the warrior,” the code emphasized honor, bravery, and absolute loyalty to one’s lord

• As the age of the samurai progressed, the position of women declined steadily. When feudal warfare increased, inheritance was limited to sons. Unlike the European ideal of chivalry, the samurai code did not set women on a pedestal. The wife of a warrior had to accept the same hardships as her husband and owed the same loyalty to his overlord.

Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants

• Far below the samurai in the social hierarchy were the peasants, artisans, and merchants. Peasants, who made up 75 percent of the population, formed the backbone of feudal society in Japan. Peasant families cultivated rice and other crops on the estates of samurai. Some peasants also served as foot soldiers in feudal wars. On rare occasions, an able peasant soldier might rise through the ranks to become a samurai himself.

• Artisans, such as armorers and swordmakers, provided necessary goods for the samurai class. Merchants had the lowest rank in Japanese feudal society. However, as you will see, their status gradually improved.

Japan Holds Off Mongols• During the feudal age, most fighting took place between rival

warlords, but the Mongol conquest of China and Korea also threatened Japan. When the Japanese refused to accept Mongol rule, Kublai Khan launched an invasion from Korea in 1274. A fleet carrying 30,000 troops arrived, but shortly afterwards a typhoon wrecked many Mongol ships and drove the invaders back to the mainland.

Kamikaze• In 1281, the Mongols landed

an even larger invasion force, but again a typhoon destroyed much of the Mongol fleet. The Japanese credited their miraculous delivery to the kamikaze (kah muh kah zee), or divine winds. The Mongol failure reinforced the Japanese sense that they were a people set apart who enjoyed the special protection of the gods.