ch 4 Flashcards
Geography of east asia
-in earlier times, bulk of chinese population lived in chinese proper, by which is meant historical heartland of ancient china
-bounded by yellow, east, and south china seas
-mountainous jungles bounding it
-At times, the dynasties
of China became actively involved
in all of these neighboring areas,
incorporating them directly into
their expanding empires or indirectly
as subordinate, tribute-paying states.
-Within China proper, two rivers
were particularly important to the
formation of agricultural commu-
nities that served as the building
blocks of Chinese civilization. Those
were the Yellow River and Yangzi
River.
-well suited to wheat and millet farming
-Japan is an island country consisting of four main islands and many smaller ones,only fifteen percent of the land is suited to agriculture.Japan is also located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, wheretectonic plates composing the earth’s crust frequently move and collide. That is why earthquakesand volcanic activity have been a constant threat to populations living on these islands.
-Thus, those areas of East Asia located further to
the east and south are generally warmer and wetter, and for longer periods of time. That made
them well-suited to rice-paddy agriculture, and rice consequently became the primary cereal crop
in southern China, the Korean peninsula, and the islands of Japan. While growing rice is labor
intensive, this grain also offers high yields per unit of land, so it has supported population growth
in these countries and, therefore, the formation of vibrant civilizations.
CHINA FROM NEOLITHIC VILLAGE SETTLEMENTS TO THE
SHANG KINGDOM
-in China, thefirst major states emerged along
China’s second longest river–the
Yellow River. These states are the
Xia [shee-ah] Dynasty (c. 1900
– 1600 BCE), Shang [shawng]
Dynasty (1600 – 1046 BCE), and
Zhou [joe] Dynasty (1045 – 256
BCE). Each of these kingdoms wasruled by a line of hereditary mon-
archs hailing from one lineage,
which is why they are also referred
to as dynasties.
-written sources not until shang, so relied on archaeological record
Neolithic communties/cultures:
-Yangshao culture,which was concentrated along the middle reaches of the Yellow River. Over one thousand sites leftbehind by millet-farming village communities have been discovered.Jiangzhai (c. 4000 BCE), forinstance, was a moated village settlement that occupied roughly thirteen acres (see Figure 4.2). Itwas composed of related lineages and tribal in organization.
-gradually supplanted by Longshan
Culture, reaches of yellow river, Their rammed-earth walls protected urban areas
with public buildings, roads, and drainage systems. The cemetery’s arrangement suggests that
people living in the towns were buried alongside clan members, but also that some members werewealthier and more powerful:
—archaeologists have concluded that, during the third millennium
BCE, population grew and some of it shifted from villages to walled towns. These walled towns
developed into political and economic centers exercising control over and serving as protection
for surrounding communities. Individuals with more elaborate graves were likely political and
religious leaders, and served as chieftains.
Hence, numerous competing chiefdoms
emerged, providing the foundation for
more powerful kingdoms to follow.
-xia dynasty first, capital most likely speculated to be located along yellow river, socially stratified, bronze age kingdom
-shang dynasty: was a lost civilization, then we found lots of residential areas, cemeteries, tombs, the likes, some royal graves half size o football field, anyang capital: center of loosely governed state Shang kings directly governed the capital and its vicinity, but likely
controlled areas farther out by building confederations with locally powerful lineage chieftains,
and regularly hunting, warring, and carrying out rituals with them.
-oracle bones how they tried to see the future outcomes of things, past ancestors important to them, believed in god Di, nature gods, deceased kings
THE LONG ZHOU DYNASTY
-a Zhou king overthrew the
last Shang ruler
-kinsmen over different territories, could rule lands but still follow obligations to the king
-But over time, Zhou kings lost their ability to control these lords, and the lords became
increasingly independent.
-zhou king murdered, eastern zhou marked beginning, nobility then had lots of warfare over china control
-qin dynasty prevailed
-Burgeoning turmoil also inspired much thinking about what was needful to restore
order and create a good society, as well as what defined the good life. Two major philosophical
traditions emerged to address these issues: Confucianism and Daoism.
The Western Zhou Dynasty
-king wen founder of zhou dynasty
-king wu his son brought down shang dynasty
-implemented policies on newly conquered territory: moved capital, used mandate of heaven to explain why they should be ruling (“heaven had decreed it”), and royal kinsmen sent to establish colonies strategically in critical locations
-sacrificed to heaven, deceased ancestors
-illustrious lineages ruled over farmers in not easy life villages
-Zhou kinship feudalism: worked, then started to fail at functioning because it lost meaning, lords wanted to do their own thing, zhou kings not able to impose their wills and defeated several times in military campaigns
The Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Warring
States Period
-king ping relocated toluoyang, ruled smaller area, power reduced
-warring states period, at least one major battle per year, state of qin last one standing
-hegemon titles given to resolve disputes between nobles on behalf of the king-went to th elord of hte most powerful state
-These hegemons periodically convened interstate meetings to manage such
matters as misbehaving states or foreign invasions. Attending lords cemented their agreements by
swearing oaths and drinking the blood of sacrificed animals. Yet, although hegemons maintained
a semblance of order, warfare remained constant because it was a way of life for the illustrious
lineages of the Zhou realm.
-battles/skirmishes arranged between nobles, winner brought glory to ancestors
-eventually turned into not a chivalrous, As opposed to serving a lesson to and resolving some dispute with another lord, these self-
declared kings waged war to destroy them and take their land.
-made massive armies and strategic forts
-As opposed to serving a lesson to and resolving some dispute with another lord, these self-
declared kings waged war to destroy them and take their land-art of war writtem by military commander,the importance of formulating a strategy
that insures victory prior to any campaigning.
-Stated more simply, Warring States Period rulers created administrative units and a
civil service. Their embryonic bureaucracies included such features as a system of official posts,
salaries paid in grain and gifts, administrative codes, and methods for measuring a servant’s
performance. Thus, by the end of this period, largely owing to the demands of warfare, the Zhou
feudal order had been supplanted by a small number of powerful territorial states with centralized
monarchies. Among them, the most successful was the state of Qin, which eventually conquered
all of China and became an empire.
THE QIN DYNASTY AND THE TRANSITION FROM ANCIENT
TO IMPERIAL CHINA
-the first emperor of QIn brought warring states period to a close, Hence,
he had realized the aspi-
rations held by the ma-
ny rulers he subjugated,
that is, to unify the known
world under one powerful
monarch and, by so do-
ing, to initiate an age of
peace and prosperity, one
rooted in obedience to a
sagely ruler.
–the First Emperor did in-
deed create somethingnew and more significant:
an immense territorial
state centrally administered from his capital, by a monarch with unchallenged sovereignty
-The Dukes of Qin were important players throughout the centuries of warfare and alliances so
characteristic of the Eastern Zhou, and especially after the reforms of Duke XiaoThese reforms were based on the advice of his chancellor Shang Yang
an individual famed for being one of the founders of another major intellectual tradition that
developed during the Warring States Period: Legalism.
-Their goal was to devise the best techniques
for organizing a state’s territory and people so as to maximize a ruler’s power and control in times
of both war and peace. Legalists believed that the best way to do so was to concentrate authority
in one central administration governed by an absolute monarch.
-Shang Yang introduced many measures, laying the foundations for future Qin
greatness. He believed that the basis for state power lay with an obedient and disciplined farming
population, because that was the principal source of revenue and conscripts for the army. So he
organized villages across the land into units of five families each, and made the members of each
unit responsible for each other. Every member would be rewarded based on the amount of grain
the unit produced or the number of severed heads returned from the battlefield. For meritorious
service to the state, a unit could advance along a system of ranks, each of which bestowed certain
privileges. But should any member commit a crime, everyone would be severely punished. To make
this more effective, the Qin state developed a legal code with clear lists of penalties for specific
crimes, made it publicly available, and applied it uniformly to people regardless of their social
status. Also,
-Qin subjects lived under a regime with a transparent set of expectations, and
also a system of rewards and punishments.
-legalist thinkers method: organizing a
state through the uniform application of laws and regularizing administration,
-Qin rulers assumed the title of king and engaged in
numerous battles, destroying several neighboring states.
-chinese realm unified under Qin rule, one bloodied state fell after another under them
-the qin dynasty was briefly lived but had a lasting effect on China
because of the stable administrative foundation it laid.
-The First Emperor of Qin and his advisors
invented the title used by all subsequent rulers. They made newly conquered territory a part
of their centralized bureaucracy. From his royal court and central administration, the emperor
governed a land organized into a hierarchical system of commanderies (provinces that began as
military outposts) and counties. His regime standardized currency and the system of writing, and
issued regulations for uniform weights and measures.
-built lots of stuff like roads and big walls too
-after first emperor died, the empire quickly disintegrated (revolts breaking out)
THE HAN DYNASTY,
-china had civil war then A former farmer and village headman
who rebelled and built an army and kingdom through his military acumen and charisma, Liu
Bang defeated his adversaries and declared himself emperor of a new dynasty.
-after adopting the foundations laid by the Qin Dynasty,
the Han further strengthened them, cementing an imperial pattern that persisted in China until
the fall of the last dynasty (Qing) in 1911.
-majority of people were farmers living in villages
-The government relied heavily on the first group for revenue and conscription and
therefore tried to keep these owner-farmers in business with low taxes, relief in times of hardship,
and improvement in their agricultural methods. Unfortunately, over the course of the dynasty,
many farmers fell on hard times and were forced to sell their land to powerful landlords, thus
becoming their tenants or even slaves. Landlordism thus became a major social and political
problem, as local great families dominated ever more dependent poor, undermining the central
government’s revenue base.
-lots of goods being made by the minority of urban areas
-great importance placed on farmers
-commoner classes of farmers, artisans, traders were governed by a very organized state. Empire broken up into counties with officials who all passed information around and to the emperor
-inherited some Qin government with its
emphasis on rational and efficient methods of administration and use of systems of rewards and
punishments to promote order but saw the more human confucian ideas
-imperial confucianism;legitimated monarchy and
a hierarchical social order.
-imperial academy for students to be educated in confucain texts leading to those values penetrating society (the well off graduated students would get high positions)
-emperor claiming mandate from heaven
-the biggest threats to the settled agricultural population of China came from
non-Chinese nomadic pastoralists scattered about
-were skilled horsemen and hunters
-tribes with most skilled as cheitains
-emperor wu found and used silk roads which were then secured and traffic along them grew
Conclusion: The Han Dynasty and Empires in History
-These are some of the outstanding features of the Han Empire, and ones that can also be
compared to other empires that existed at this time in other parts of the world, such as Mauryan
Empire in India (see Chapter Three), Persian Empire in the Middle East (Chapter Five), or Roman
Empire (see Chapter Six). Each empire conferred a special status on rulers, had an organized
imperial administration with an educated civil service, maintained a large army to defend an
expanding and increasingly well-defined territory, and developed an ideology and legal codes
that justified authority and reinforced social order. Confident in the superiority of their organized
governments, powerful militaries, and worldview, each of these empires proceeded to extend
control over neighboring states and peoples.
Political History–From Three Kingdoms (220 – 280) and the Western
Jin (265 – 317) to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (317 – 589)
-lots of rebellions from unhappy farmers agains han
-Desperate to escape poverty and starvation, many villagers fled their homes or joined roving
bandit gangs. Some rallied behind individuals who promised the dawn of a new age, thereby
becoming part of large, militarized religious societies with political goals. One was the Yellow
Turbans,
-youthful emperors relied more on their generals who would then quabble more
-cao cao good at goal of restoring order, gained control over the dynasty as it fell apart and made a dictatorship
-Thus, Cao rulers created colonies of farmers who supplied tax revenueand, as hereditary military families,soldiers for Wei armies.
-The two other kingdoms, Wu and
Han, were located in the south. Over
the course of decades, the ruling
warlords of all three states fought
each other in campaigns involving
much treachery and stratagem. In
263 CE, the Han kingdom fell to the
invading forces of Wei commanders.
But then, just two years later, a
powerful Wei family–the Sima–
usurped the throne and changed
the kingdom’s name to Western Jin
[jean] (265 – 317 CE). The Western
Jin conquered Wu in 280 BCE,
thereby bringing to an end the Three
Kingdoms period.
-The Western Jin had reunified China, but that unity
wasn’t to last. The policy of settling tribes of non-Chinese
nomads in north China backfired. Among them, rebel
chieftains rose up, carved out kingdoms of their own, and
expanded their power all across the north.
-China was again divided up among competing dynasties,
a state of affairs that would persist until 589 CE, during a time
referred to as the Northern and Southern Dynasties (317
– 589). Six successive Southern Dynasties were all located at
Jiankang, and had as their base of power the Yangzi River basin But their
rulers were usually militarily
weak and lacked revenue, due
to southern China’s comprising
a colonial frontier dominated
by powerful families with large
estates and private armies.the ruling family was always limited in power by their influence
-At times,the north was divided among numerous, rival regimes, while, at others, it was unified. But all of
these kingdoms shared similar characteristics. They were ruled by military dynasts who wanted to
restore the Chinese empire. Their armies consisted of an elite, heavily armored cavalry drawn from
aristocratic military families that was supplemented by Chinese foot soldiers (see Figure 4.13).
They employed educated Chinese to serve as civil officials and administer their territories.
-yang jian established control with sui dynasty, china now united again
China’s Third Great Tradition: The Introduction of Buddhism to China
-Buddhist merchants and monks from India and
Central Asia brought their faith and scriptures to China by the Silk Roads and maritime trading
routes
-immense impact (can be compared to christianization
-it met a spiritual need amoungst the un rest
-multiple heavens and other one
-they seemed similar to concepts in Daoist philosophy. Both
philosophies questioned the reality of ordinary understandings of the self and world, emphasized
that our desires create an illusory world, and offered techniques for achieving liberation. Nirvana,
for instance, was compared to the Dao (Daoist “Way”).
-rulers used it to look good
–The Sui [sway] Dynasty did not last long (581 – 618 CE) and only had two emperors: Emperor
Wen and Emperor Yang. Both envisioned recapturing the glory of the Han Dynasty; hence, they
engaged in many construction projects and military campaigns. Immense capital cities were
built at Chang’an and Luoyang and, in order to supply them with sufficient grain, a canal system
was created to connect the Yellow River to the Yangzi River. These emperors also believed that
Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula were properly Chinese territory; therefore, they repeatedly
launched enormous military expeditions to attack the most powerful Korean kingdom located
There. All the campaigns met defeat
-What is more, that very same year, the Yellow River
flooded, and rebellions broke out along it, sui unraveled
THE TANG DYNASTY AND THE EMERGENCE OF EAST ASIA
-one of the
most dynamic and long-lived dynasties in China’s
history. That dynamism was made possible by how
effectively early Tang rulers consolidated the empire
internally and then engaged in military expansion
-dominated by an aristocracy
-equal fields system to all farmers
-sophisticated law codes helped it flourish - maintained social and cosmic harmony
-Tang laws encoded the status
hierarchy and values of imperial Confucianism. The
most serious crimes were those committed against the
emperor, country, senior family members, and social
superiors. Nevertheless, those of higher status were held
accountable for their actions;
-had a formidable military
korea
-the peninsula had already long been populated by peoples who
had migrated there from northeast Asia and settled into agricultural villages. These peoples were
not originally speakers of Chinese; rather, they spoke languages belonging to the Altaic language
family, which possibly includes Korean. This point is important because people unfamiliar
with East Asia sometimes think that the languages spoken by Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, and
Vietnamese are closely related, when in fact they are quite different.
-centuries. By the early centuries CE, three kingdoms extending from Manchuria to where Seoul
lies today (the capital of South Korea) covered the northern half, while the southern half was
divided up by confederations of chiefdoms. The most powerful kingdom was Goguryeo
-The Korean peninsula lies very close to China, with only Manchuria and the Yellow Sea dividing
the two states. - rulers of chinese states interesting in taking control of the trade and people here
-emperor wu sent expeditions into Manchuria and Korea.He opened up a corridor leading
from China through Manchuria into
the peninsula and established four
commanderies to control the area
-After the Han Dynasty collapsed,
northern China was in turmoil and
unable to control these frontiers. In
313 CE, King Mich’on of Goguryeo,
in an effort to expand the size of his
kingdom, seized Chinese territory.
That date marked the beginning of a
new stage in Korean history referred
to as the Three Kingdoms period
-For most of the Three
Kingdoms period, Goguryeo was the dominant military and political power, spreading its control
over much of Manchuria and northern Korea.
-Given the geopolitical position of Korea, it is not surprising that all three kingdoms highly
valued martial traditions. First of all, they fought with each other for control over territory and re-
sources on the peninsula. Secondly, positioned as Korea is between China and Japan, those states often intruded upon peninsular conflicts. For all these reasons, Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo monarchs readily borrowed ideas from China
that might benefit their realms and givethem more power. That borrowing in-
cluded introducing elements of Chinesepolitical institutions and legal traditions,
as well as Buddhism and Confucianism.
All of these kingdoms sent students to
study in China and patronized Chinese
Buddhist monks and learned Confucians
who visited their courts.
-rulers could style themselves as living buddhas, why they sponsored temples being built
-Confucianism, on the otherhand, provided models of civility, courtly
etiquette, and bureaucratic governance
for ruling elites, and rulers could stylethemselves in Chinese fashion as sover-
eign monarchs.
-silla dynasty unified korean peninsula with chinese practices and had alliances with tang emperors
-the Chinese Sui Dynasty fell because Sui rulers suffered terrible
defeats at the hands of the armies of the great kingdom of Goguryeo. Tang Dynasty rulers
continued the invasions but also failed. For that reason, they were open to building alliances with
Silla and combining their military forces.
Silla drove out the tang after working together so that china wouldn’t control the korean peninsula
Japan from the Yayoi Period to the Seventh Century
-jomon period, when foraging was so good that sedentary villages thrived without agriculture
-by the end of the
Yayoi period, powerful chiefdoms had emerged in
Japan, and they were allying with and battling each
other to control trade routes and territory.
-yamato cheiftains emerged as dominate, made the large keyhole shaped tombs
-prince shotoku’s 17 article confederation: buddhism and confacian ethics, sovereign is like heaven to his subjects, ranks and norms for court etiquette
-council of kami (spirits and dieties associated with natural phenomenon) affairs to oversee native japanese religious traditions-shinto
-used makis to explain things and how nacesoters decended from them or preventing disasters
-In sum, like Korea, Japan’s history was highly impacted by developments in China, even
as native languages, traditions, and creative adaptation remained foundational to the unique
identities of each. However, Korea was far more subject to the intrusion of Chinese states in the
Korean Peninsula, something that did not happen in Japan. Rather, as the first state formed on
the archipelago, ruling elites looked to China for ideas as to how the kingdom might be governed.
In the course of doing so, they also introduced the great tradition of Mahayana Buddhism.
The Decline and Collapse of the Tang Dynasty
-overexpansion problems
-lots of things collapsing such as equitable land distribution
-farmers joining bandit gangs
THE SONG DYNASTY
-tang fell, it was in lots of different kingdoms again
-Zhao made a coup to become emperor
-challenges it faced from northern conquest dynasties, economic prosperity, a civil service
examination system and the educated elite of scholar-officials it created, cultural brilliance,
and footbinding.
-The first two northern conquest dynasties, the Liao [lee-ow]
and Jin [jean], emerged on the plains of Manchuria when powerful tribal leaders organized
communities of hunters, fishers, and farmers for war
-As their power grew, they formed states and conquered territory in northern China, forcing
the Chinese to pay them large subsidies of silk and silver for peace. So Chinese rulers and
their councilors were in constant negotiations with peoples they viewed as culturally-inferior
barbarians under conditions where they were forced to treat them as equals,
-jin conquered liao, forced song to move
-The Song
Dynasty thus constantly faced the prospect of extinction and was challenged in its legitimacy by
rival emperors claiming the right to rule the Chinese realm.
-One reason Song monarchs were able to buy peace was the extraordinary prosperity during
their rule and the resulting tax revenue made available.
-The reason for such growth was flourishing agricultural
production, especially rice-paddy agriculture. More drought-resistant and earlier-ripening strains
of rice, combined with better technology, lead to higher yields per acre.
-this productivity inspired other things like metallurgy and gunpowder making to pop off
-spurred the commercialization
of the economy. A commercialized economy is one that supports the pursuit of profit through
production of specialized products for markets.
-A denser population and sophisticated economy led to urbanization.
-To manage their realm, Song rulers implemented a national civil service examination
to recruit men for office.
-promoted literacy
-Zhu Xi (1130 – 1200), arguably the most important philosopher in later imperial
Chinese history, produced a grand synthesis that would shape the worldview of the scholar-official
class. He argued that the cosmos consists of a duality of principles and a material force composing
physical things. One principle underlies the cosmos and individual principles provide the abstract
reason for individual things. In human beings, principle manifests as human nature, which is wholly
good and the origins of the human capacity to become moral persons. However, an individual’s
physical endowment obscures their good nature and leads to moral failings, which is why a rigorous
Confucian curriculum of moral self-cultivation based in classical texts like Confucius’ Analects is
necessary. Most importantly, Zhu Xi argued, individual morality was the starting point for producing
a well-managed family, orderly government, and peace throughout the world.
-moveable type printing
-social norms and the
law did place women in a subordinate
position. Whereas men dominated
public realms like government and
business, women married at a young age
and lived out most of their lives in the
domestic sphere.
-roles capably; she would also earn
respect. Song literature further reveals
that women were often in the fields
working or out on city streets shopping.
Among the upper classes, literacy and
the ability to compose essays or poetry
made a woman more marriageable. For
this reason, some women were able to
excel.
THE YUAN DYNASTY
-also a northern conquest territory
-dynasty. The
key players here were steppe nomads living on the grasslands of Mongolia, known as Mongols, and
their leader Genghis Khan.
-the Mongols
conquered many countries, including China, and incorporated them into a large Eurasian empire.
-relied principally on their herds and also trading with close by sedentary people
-when he died, empire was divided into four khanates
-Unlike his predecessors,
who largely treated Chinese as chattel and ruthlessly
exploited their towns and villages, Kublai saw the advantages
of taking a more enlightened approach. With the advice of
Chinese advisors, he adopted Chinese-style methods for
governing China, founded yuan dynasty and asserted mandate of heaven
-agricultre and farmers promoted
-supported construction
