Chapter 9 – China and the World: East Asian Connections
The Reemergence of a Unified China
More than 3 centuries of not central state
Sinicization of nomads
Migration S into Yangtze R. valley
The “Golden Age” of Chinese Achievement
Reunited under Sui Dynasty (589-618)
Extension of canal system
Later Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) built on Sui’s political unity
GA of arts/literature (poetry, painting, ceramics)
Neo-Confucianism arose
Tang/Song built lasting state structure
6 ministries (personnel, finance, rites, army, justice, pub. works
Exam system to fill bureaucracy
Challenged hold of right on the government
System grew faster than job count
Instead ppl used passing as prestige
Song was richest and most skilled country at time
Rapid pop growth shows prosperity
Agricultural achievements
China most urbanized country in world
Had specialized markets, restaurants, inns, music schools, clubs
Food supply from waterway network of 30,000 miles
More industrial production
More iron output
Printing inventions (woodblock and movable)
Gunpowder
Cheap transport cost let peasants sell specialized crops
Taxes in cash
Women in the Song Dynasty
Elite in Tang part. more in social life
However, in Song, restrictions more on women b/c of Confucianism and econ growth
Confucianism emphasized subordination again
Foot binding
Wrapping feet tightly, possibly breaking bones and causing pain
Enhance marriage prospects and help wives compete with concubines
Undermined in textile industry, men took over
In cities, ran restaurants, sold goods, worked as maids, cooks, dressmakers
More property rights
Ambitious low ranking officials encouraged their education
China and the Northern Nomads: A Chinese World Order in the Making
Misconceptions
Static
Self-contained
Longest interactions with nomads and foreigners in north
Sometimes got more powerful than empires themselves
Liked Chinese goods, esp. silk
China/nomads threats to each other
The Tribute System in Theory
Outcome of encounter between Chinese and nomads made China the center of the world
Superior to barbarians outside
Representation of civilization (great contrast to nomads)
Required little from rest of the world
Tribute system required non-Chinese to acknowledge Chinese superiority
Foreigners had to pay tribute and give gifts to the emperor
Many were willing
The Tribute System in Practice
System disguised realities
Most confrontations were by large nomadic empires that could deal with China
The Xiongnu invaded China in time of the Han Dynasty
Turkic empires took large extortions from the Tang Dynasty
Couldn’t always dictate nature of relationship with nomads
Nomads didn’t want to conquer China
Better for them to extort
Some nomadic groups helped to bring China back together in a series of kingdoms
“Giving gifts” let Chinese think they were in complete control of nomadic situations and relations
Cultural Influence Across an Ecological Frontier
Sinicization of nomadic peoples
Governed the Chinese way
Adopted elements of Chinese culture
Chinese culture didn’t have a large impact on nomads in northern steppes
Mostly retained cultural practices
Very divided from Chinese way of life
Steppe culture influenced Chinese culture
Founders of Sui/Tang were part nomad
Things associated with nomads appealed to elites in north
Chinese in the south very critical of those in the north
Coping with China: Comparing Korea, Vietnam, and Japan
Engaged in tributary relations with China
Sedentary agricultural societies
Borrowed elements of Chinese culture but didn’t become Chinese
Appreciated the culture and sought their source of power
Reacted to China in different ways
Korea and China
Always in China’s shadow
Colonization led to influence by Chinese, especially through Buddhism
Rulers referred to with Chinese term “wang”
Resisted Chinese control feverently
Sometimes allied with them
Participated in tribute system but retained independence in politics
Capital modeled after Chang’an
Korean students sent to China
Learned Confucianism, natural science, art
Influence of China had negative impact on the women
Rigid Chinese patterns replaced more flexible Korean patterns of family and proper behavior
Some customs eroded, like widow remarriages
Primary vs. secondary wives
China didn’t influence the peasants or slaves
No prominent exam system
Hangul writing eventually replaced Chinese characters
Vietnam and China
Heavy borrowing from Chinese culture
Politically independent but participated in tribute
Heartland of culture was in Chinese state for 1000 years
Supposed to be completely assimilated
Attempts led to elite that was Chinese-schooled
Also led to rebellion
Trung Trac
Became separate state because of a rebellion during weakening of the Tang Dynasty, but still participated in tribute
Exam system adopted from China
Undermined aristocracy
Still retained much of their culture
Created a variation of Chinese writing called chu nom
Japan and China
Separated from China by ocean, so never invaded or conquered successfully
Voluntary adoption from Chinese culture
Clan-based aristocracies wanted to make Japan’s government based on the Chinese model
Shotoku Taishi led effort to make Japan bureaucratic
Large missions to China
The Seventeen Article Constitution
Chinese-style Japanese rulers
Encouragement of Confucianism and Buddhism
Tax system like China
Chinese culture became favorable in Japan
Schools of Chinese Buddhism
Elites liked using Chinese characters to write
Halt of formal tribute
No success in making effective state after Chinese government
Samurai warrior class formed
Contrast with Chinese emphasis on achievements in knowledge
Buddhism never replaced native belief system
Different evolution of art, but much borrowing
Japanese poetry style tanka
Heian period
Esthetic culture in imperial court
Knowledge of period comes from female writers
Women escaped oppressive Confucian features
Could inherit property
Easy marriage and divorce
Female influence lessened internally with no outside influence from any other civilization
China and the Eurasian World Economy
China’s uncontained economic growth impacted Eurasia
Spillovers: China’s impact on Eurasia
Chinese tech spread far beyond East Asia because of the movement of people across Eurasia
Papermaking and Printing
Printing didn’t reach Europe until late because of lack of paper
Movable type invented in the 15th century
Both had many implications with their invention
Certain goods stimulated further innovation in distant lands
Introduction of gunpowder to Europe led to the development of cannons in the 1300s
Technology made others imitate and innovate
The magnetic compass used worldwide after Chinese invention
Prosperity influenced commercialism and market all over Eurasia
Products in demand from West Africa to Japan
Good market for goods from far places
On the Receiving End: China as Economic Beneficiary
China was changed from interaction with outside world
Learned to grow and process sugar and cotton (India)
Fast-ripening, drought-resistant rice (Vietnam)
Turning Point: Area south of the Yangtze mad massive population growth, overtaking old centers of civilization in the north
Technology stimulated by outside contact
Similar device to Persian windmill developed
Printing evolved in monasteries
Gunpowder had relation to India and Buddhism
More Indian Ocean trade involvement
Thousands of visiting ships in Tang Dynasty
Sacred places of worship for many religions in big cities
Sometimes cultural diversity led to violence
China and Buddhism
Most important thing gained from India was Buddhism
First large scale borrowing of culture in Chinese history
Rooted in East Asia as faded in India
Making Buddhism Chinese
First brought in by Silk Road
Not supported during the Han Dynasty
Culture of Buddhism was different from the culture of China and Chinese values
Because of this, only foreign merchants and monks followed
Between 300 and 800 CE Buddhism got roots in Chinese popular and elite culture
Chaotic fall of the Han dynasty discredited Buddhism
Nomads found it useful
Money from rulers and elites helped further solidify hold Buddhism had on China
Many social services offered by monasteries
Place to stay for travelers
Charity for the desperate
Translated for Chinese understanding
Dharma became the dao
Morality associated with filial obedience
Husband controls wife instead of supports wife
Took hold in Mahayana form
Pure Land Buddhism
Had to repeat earlier name of the Buddha
Salvation by faith
Highly popular, authentically Chinese version
Tang Dynasty state support
Emperor Wendi of the Sui Dynasty
Monasteries became centers of wealth
Never independent from state like Christian church was
Losing State Support: The Crisis of Chinese Buddhism
Much criticism
Some saw Buddhism as challenge to imperial authority
Deepening resentment of wealth of monasteries
Clearly foreign origin
Growing resentment against foreign culture among the literate
An Lushan rebellion could have been the turning point
Xenophobia among the upper classes
China took action against Buddhism and other foreign belief systems
Many monks forced to return to normal life and pay taxes as citizens of China
Monasteries, temples, and shrines destroyed or made open to the public
State took monasteries’ wealth
More state control of Buddhism
Never completely disappeared
Ideas played a role in reforming of Confucianism
Element of Chinese pop religion
Temples had statues of the Buddha
Key Term
Definition
An Lushan
A foreign-born general who led a major revolt against Tang China, possibly causing the emergence of xenophobia in China’s upper classes.
bushido
The way of the warrior, a set of virtues that samurai followed, which featured skill in martial arts and loyalty.
Chinese Buddhism vs. Pure Land Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism was the Buddhism practiced in China after the Han Dynasty’s collapse. Chinese Buddhism was the Mahayana version, which had deities, relics, and numbers if heavens and hells.
Pure Land Buddhism was a version of the faith in which followers believed repeating “the Amitabha” could ensure access to heaven, emphasizing faithful salvation without very intense education; it became very popular and an authentically Chinese version of Buddhism.
chu nom
A variation of Chinese script that provided the basis for independent national literature.
foot binding
An ancient Chinese practice involving wrapping the bones of young girls’ feet very tightly, breaking bones and causing pain. It was associated with ideals of female beauty and expressed the increasing patriarchy in China.
hangul
The Korean form of writing that used a phonetic alphabet; elites resisted it, but its use eventually became widespread among women and literature, helping Korea maintain a distinct culture from China.
Hangzhou
The capital of the Song Dynasty in China that had a very high population at one million people and had many forms of specialized labor and public services.
Heian
Also known as Kyoto, a Japanese capital city modeled after Chang’an, the Chinese capital. The name also refers to a period in Japanese history in which a very refined esthetic culture had presence in the imperial court, despite its waning authority.
Jurchen/Khitan
Groups of people who inhabited the northern steppes and northern China, who required the people of the Song Dynasty to give silk, silver, and tea, some of which was transported along the Silk Roads. The Jurchen underwent sinicization the most among foreign peoples.
kami
Sacred spirits in the native Japanese belief system that were associated with ancestors and phenomena, which were later referred to as Shinto and established credibility for the imperial family.
Nara
An ancient Japanese capital that was heavily modeled on the Chinese capital Chang’an, due to China’s increasing influence on Japan.
Neo-Confucianism
An effort to revive Confucianism and incorporate it into Buddhism and Daoism; it came about because of an explosion in scholarship.
samurai
The warrior class of Japanese society that had values that were centered around great skill in martial arts, bravery, loyalty, honor, endurance, and willingness to die before surrendering.
Shotoku Taishi
An aristocrat of a major Japanese clan who initially led the Japanese effort to become a central bureaucracy modeled after China’s; it led to many political changes and laws occurring in Japan.
Silla Dynasty (Korea)
A dynasty that maintained independence from China politically but was still a part of the tribute system; the kingdom created political unity in the Korean Peninsula for the first time in Korea’s history and resisted Chinese assimilation.
Song Dynasty economic revolution
A time of great prosperity in China in which the dynasty became the richest, most skilled, and most populated civilization at the time and led to dramatic population growth.
Sui Dynasty
The dynasty following the Han Dynasty lasting from 589 to 618 CE. Emperors of the dynasty extended China’s canal system by around 1,200 miles, linking north and south China by their economies.
Tang Dynasty
The dynasty following the Sui Dynasty lasting from 618 to 907 CE that built a lasting state structure in China, including 6 ministries and an exam system to staff the bureaucratic government.
Tribute system
A system in China that had the Chinese pay monumental amounts of tribute to nomadic tribes in return for safety and gifts to the emperor to gain access to the country. It forced foreigners to acknowledge the Chinese were superior and in the center of the world.
Trung sisters
Two daughters of a deposed leader who launched a short but memorable uprising; Trung Trac addressed a very large number of soldiers after her husband’s execution.
Uighurs
A group of nomadic peoples that helped the Tang Dynasty escape an internal revolt; the leader of the group in return got a Chinese wife and high-quality silk, showing how China couldn’t always control nomadic relations.
Wendi (Emperor)
A Sui Dynasty emperor who constructed monasteries under the shadow of 5 sacred mountains and used Buddhism as a way to justify military campaigns, identifying the religion with Chinese culture and generation immense state support for Buddhism.
Xiongnu
A nomadic tribe that controlled the land between Manchuria and Central Asia and raided China, causing much damage; The Chinese were forced to give them gifts in exchange for protection, effectively extortion from the large state.