chapter 26 Flashcards
tradition and change in east asia
Who granted Matteo Ricci permission to travel to Beijing and establish a mission?
emperor Wanli
Chiming ___________ enchanted Wanli and his court and soon became the rage in elite society throughout China.
mechanical clocks
While Chinese emperors showed no interest in Christianity, the chiming bells symbolized what in terms of European and Chinese relations?
increasing engagement between Asian and European peoples
What dynasty succeeded the Ming dynasty?
Qing dynasty
What were the principles of Ming and Qing emperors?
- deeply conservative
- principal concern was to maintain stability in large agrarian (relating to cultivation) society
- adopted policies that favored Chinese political and cultural traditions
Who was the founder of the Ming dynasty?
Hongwu
- significant for his use of mandarins who oversaw implementation of government policies
- placed great trust in eunuchs
Why was emperor Yongle’s efforts significant to the increasing power of the Ming dyansty?
- naval expeditions that spread Chinese culture as far as east Africa
- maintained tightly centralized state that Hongwu established
The Ming emperors were determined to prevent what?
new invasions
Where did Yongle move the Chinese capital to in 1421 to keep closer watch on the Mongols?
Beijing
Early Ming emperors commanded powerful armies that slowly lost their effectiveness in controlling Mongol armies, whilst later Ming emperors sought to protect their realm by…?
building new fortifications, such as the Great Wall of China
When/who ordered construction of the original Great Wall?
first emperor of the Qin dynasty ordered construction of long defensive wall in 3rd century BCE, early walls fell to ruin
After the original Great Wall projects undertaken by the Qin dynasty fell to ruin, what dynasty undertook the new project?
Ming dynasty
- workers labored in hundreds of thousands throughout late 15th and 16th centuries to build wall
How long was the Great Wall?
2,500 km or 1,550 miles
How tall is the Great Wall?
15 meters, or 33-49 feet high
In addition to the construction of new fortifications, what else did the Ming dynasty do to eradicate Mongol and other foreign influences to create a stable society in the image of the Chinese past?
- individuals abandoned Mongol names and dress with Ming encouragement
- restored institutions that the Mongols had ignored or suppressed
- government sponsored study of Chinese cultural traditions, especially Confucianism
- provided financial support for imperial academies and regional colleges
- restored system of civil service examinations that Mongols neglected
Ming rule did not survive beyond the ____________ century.
mid-sixteenth
Suppression of pirates that disrupted Ming coastal communities took more than ___ years.
40
Why did suppressing the pirates threatening the Ming’s ineffective coastal defenses take so long?
increasingly inept imperial government
How did Ming government begin to weaken, leading to its collapse?
- Ming emperors lived extravagantly in their imperial enclaves while receiving news about the outside world from their servants and administrators
- emperors sometimes ignored government affairs while satisfying their own interests
- authority of eunuchs increased, while emperor authority decreased and corruption and inefficiency spread throughout government
In addition to pirate attacks and devolution of Ming government, what other forces contributed to Ming decline?
- inability to organize effective relief efforts amidst famine struck regions
- Invasions from Manchu forces from the north who captured capital at Beijing and displaced Ming dynasty
Where was the Manchus homeland?
Manchuria north of the Great Wall
What does “qing” translate to?
“pure”
The Manchus were mostly _______ _______, although many had turned to agriculture and settled in the rich farmlands of southern Manchuria.
pastoral nomads
Who was an ambitious chieftain who unified Manchu tribes into a centralized state?
Nurhaci (r. 1616-1626)
What factors contributed to the Manchu’s success in establishing the Qing dynasty?
- military prowess
- Chinese support for the Manchus
- Chinese generals willingly deserted Ming dynasty because of corruption and inefficiency
How did the Machus preserve their own ethnic and cultural identity in the Qing dynasty?
- only outlawed intermarriage between Manchus and Chinese
- forbade Chinese from traveling to Manchuria and from learning Manchurian language
- Qing authorities forced Chinese men to shave front of heads and grow Manchu-style queue as a sign of submission to dynasty
Who was a Confucian scholar and enlightened ruler who applied his studies of Confucian classics to creation of policies in the Qing dynasty?
Kangxi (1661-1722)
How did Kangxi project Chinese influence into central Asia and forestall problems with nomadic peoples?
through conquest:
- conquered island of Taiwan
- conquests in Mongolia and extended almost to Caspian Sea
- imposed Chinese protectorate over Tibet
How is Qianlong related to Kangxi?
Qianlong is Kangxi’s grandson
How did Qianlong consolidate Kangxi’s conquests in central Asia?
maintaining military garrisons in eastern Turkestan, and encouraging merchants to settle there in hopes that they would stabilize the region
What lands did Qianlong make vassal states of the Qing dynasty?
Vietnam, Burma, and Nepal
Under whose rule did the Qing dynasty experience its height?
Qianlong, China remained a wealthy and well-organized land
What marked Qianlong’s rule as highly successful and propelled the Qing dynasty to become more prosperous?
- imperial treasury bulged so much that Qianlong had to cancel tax collections four times
- Qianlong paid less attention to imperial affairs and delegated many responsibilities to his favorite eunuchs
Both Ming and Qing dynasties presided over tightly centralized states, which they administered through a bureaucracy staffed by __________ ________.
Confucian scholars
How long did the autocratic state created by the Ming emperor Hongwu govern China’s fortunes?
more than 500 years
Chinese tradition held that the emperor was more than a mere mortal, that he was considered what?
the “son of heaven”—the human being designated by heavenly powers to maintain order on earth
What was involved in the kowtow ritual?
three kneelings and nine head knockings before personal audience with the emperor
The superiority and utmost authority held by Chinese emperors was similar to that of what other emperors in history?
Byzantine emperors who reserved royal colors for their dress, carefully choreographed daily activities–conveyed sense of awesome authority
The class of scholar bureaucrats came from the class of well-educated and highly literate men known as…?
the scholar gentry
Day-to-day governance of Chinese empire fell to _____________ appointed by the emperor.
scholar-bureaucrats
How did the scholar-gentry obtain their positions?
passed rigorous civil service examinations
- prepared for these exams at early age
- memorized thousands of characters necessary to deal with Confucian curriculum
What subjects did the scholar-gentry have to study to pass the civil service examinations?
mainly Confucian works and curriculum like the “Analects of Confucius” in addition to calligraphy, poetry, essay composition
What were the “eight-legged essays”?
literary compositions with eight distinct sections
Describe the process of the civil service examination.
- number of candidates to pass metropolitan examination restricted
- guards verify identities and search for hidden printed materials
- sent to small cell chambers with only a bench, a makeshift bed, and boards
- spent three days and two nights in these rooms writing eight-legged essays in response to questions posed by examiners
- no interruptions, no communication between candidates
What did each candidate have to bring for their three-day civil service examination?
water pitcher, chamber pot, bedding, food, an inkstone, ink, and brushes
Those who passed the metropolitan examinations could look forward to what?
powerful positions in the imperial bureaucracy
Those who only passed the district exams had limited prospects to what?
few opportunities for bureaucratic employment and usually spent careers teaching in local schools or serving as family tutors
By concentrating on Confucian classics and neo-Confucian commentaries, the examinations guaranteed that ___________ would be at the heart of the Chinese education and that Confucians would govern the state.
Confucianism
How did the civil service examinations ensure that competition for degrees was ferocious at all levels?
the possibly of bureaucratic service, prospects for rich social and financial awards
How did the examinations act as a pivotal institution in terms of its inclusivity and promises of upward mobility?
- opened the door to honor, power, and rewards, encouraging pusuit of a formal education
- did not erect social barriers
- candidates of wealthier families enjoyed advantages as they could more easily travel to examination sites
- but exams open to all males regardless of age or social class
- molded the personal values of those who managed affairs in imperial China (largely influenced by Confucianism)
Developments in trade, manufacturing, and urban growth did what to the stability that the Ming and Qing dynasties sought to preserve?
disrupted and partly undermined such stability
What did filial piety imply?
the duties of children toward their fathers and also loyalty of subjects toward the emperor
Like the imperial government, the Chinese family was…?
hierarchical, patriarchal, and authoritarian
What duties did filial piety imply for children towards their fathers/parents?
children had the duty to look after their parents’ happiness and well-being
- crucial obligation to support parents at an old age
What were the principal motives behind clan-supported education?
corporate self-interest and altruism (unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others)
- government position brought prestige and prosperity to the entire clan, so educational support was a prudent investment
Clans were a form of what?
patrilineal descent group
What responsibilities did clans hold?
maintenance of local order, organization of local economies, and provision for welfare
- responsibilities went beyond that of nuclear families
included educational support and transmission of Confucian values
Who typically served as leaders of clans?
members of the gentry usually dominated
Whereas boys had the opportunity for upward social mobility via official examinations to bring honor and financial reward to the entire clan, how did parents regard girls?
as a social and financial liability
- many newborn girls primary victims of infanticide
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, patriarchal authority over females probably…?
became tighter than ever before in China
- practice of foot binding exceptionally popular during late Ming and Qing dynasties
The practice of foot binding became most widespread among the _________ ______, since it demonstrated an ability to support women who could not perform physical labor.
wealthy classes
While foot binding was a practice most widespread among the wealthy classes, why might commoners bind the feet of their girls?
bind the feet of especially pretty girls in hopes of arranging favorable marriages that would enhance the family’s social standing
Marriage was a contractual affair whose principal purpose was…?
to continue the male line of descent
What were mens’ and womens’ rights in a marriage?
- bride became a member of the husband’s family and there was no ambiguity about her position in the household, eternally providing subservience to her husband and new family
- women could not divorce husbands
- men could put aside their wives for any reason; no male offspring, wife guilty of adultery or theft, wife too talkative
How was patriarchal authority in Chinese families during the Ming and Qing dynasties strengthened?
through custom and law
China was a predominantly ______________ society, a fact that was meshed agreeably with the Confucian view that land was the source of everything praiseworthy.
agricultural
The emperor acknowledged the central importance of agriculture by…?
plowing the first furrow of the season
What percent of China’s land is in cultivation?
11 percent
To feed the country’s large population, China’s farmers relied on what method of agriculture?
intensive, garden-style agriculture that was highly productive
How did Chinese peasants increase their yields of traditional food crops like rice, wheat, and millet?
intensively cultivating every available parcel of land
What American crops introduced by Spanish merchants increased the food supply of China?
American maize, sweet potatoes, and peanuts allowed farmers to take advantage of soils that were previously largely uncultivated
How did rapidly increasing population result in greater problems?
agricultural production could not keep pace with population over a long term
While increasing population placed pressure on Chinese resources, what happened to the commercial market?
Commercial market increasingly offered opportunities for entrepreneurs
- entrepreneurs had access to large labor force that both occupationally and geographically mobile, able to readily recruit workers at a low cost
Compensation for exports came most importantly in the form of what?
silver bullion
What industry was especially well organized in China where weavers worked in workshops for regular wages?
silk industry
Chinese ________ were relatively few, but included spices from Maluku, exotic products such as birds and animal skins from tropical region, and small quantities of woolen textiles from Europe.
imports
As QIng authorities closely supervised the activities of foreign merchants in China, Portuguese merchants could only operate at what port?
port of Macau
As QIng authorities closely supervised the activities of foreign merchants in China, British agents had to deal exclusively with whom?
the official merchant guild in Guangzhou
Which Ming emperor sponsored seven massive maritime expeditions (1405-1433) led by the eunuch admiral Zheng He?
Yongle
After the reign of Yongle, how did the Ming and Qing government respond to Chinese maritime expeditions?
- Ming government withdrew support for expensive expeditions
- tried to prevent Chinese subjects from dealing with foreign peoples
- Qing government tried to end maritime activity altogether
ex: Kangxi ordered evacuation of the southern coastal regions - Qing authorities closely supervised activities of foreign merchants in China
Aside from closely supervising the activities of foreign merchants in China, how else did Chinese government discourage maritime activity?
- government policies discouraged organization of large-scale commercial ventures by Chinese merchants
- impossible to build large sailing ships
- impossible to organize large trading firms like BIC or VOC without government approval
Chinese merchants were especially prominent in __________, where they exchanged silk and porcelain for American silver.
Manila
The Chinese were also frequent visitors at the Dutch colonial capital of __________, where they supplied the VOC with silk and porcelain in exchange for silver and Indonesian spices.
Batavia
Even with government policies and regulation, how did Chinese merchants still manage to link China with global trade networks?
worked either individually or in partnerships
The _______________ was an age when merchants established a prominent Chinese presence throughout southeast Asia.
early modern era
Describe technological innovation during the Tang and Song dynasties versus the Ming and QIng dynasties.
Tang and Song: Chinese engineers produced flood of inventions, China was world leader in technology
Ming and Qing: technological innovation slowed, little innovation in agricultural and industrial technologies, but adopted European cannons and firearms
The main contributor to great technological innovation during the Tang and Song dynasties was that the imperial government emphasized what?
the imperial government encouraged technological innovation as a foundation of military and economic strength
In contrast to the Tang and Song government, what did the Ming and Qing governments emphasize over technological innovation?
Ming and Qing regimes favored political and social stability over technological innovation, which they feared would lead to unsettling change
In addition to government policy, what other factor during the Ming and Qing dynasties discouraged technological innovation?
ready availability of skilled workers
- employers found that hiring additional workers to increase production was less costly that making large investments in new technology
What were the implications of employers during the Ming and Qing dynasties choosing to hire additional workers rather than making large investments in new technology?
SHORT TERM: maintained relative prosperity in China, while keeping most of the population employed
LONG TERM: ensured that China lost technological ground to European peoples, who embarked on rounds of stunning technological innovation beginning about the mid-18th cent.
What does “gentry” refer to?
class of well-educated and highly literate men who had earned academic degrees by passing rigorous civil service examinations, dominated China’s political and social life
What two groups of highly educated and literate men under the emperor occupied the most exalted positions in Chinese society?
scholar-bureaucrats and gentry
The scholar-bureaucrats and the gentry functioned as ____________ between the imperial government and local society.
intermediaries
Because of their official positions, the ____________ ranked slightly above the _______.
scholar-bureaucrats; gentry
What commonalities did scholar-bureaucrats share with the gentry?
- came largely from gentry ranks
- after leaving government service, usually rejoined gentry society
What distinctive clothing did scholar-bureaucrats and gentry wear to easily identify themselves?
black gowns with blue borders adorned with various rank insignia
What honors and privileges did scholar-bureaucrats and the gentry enjoy in Chinese society?
- received favorable legal treatment that reflected their privileged status
- enjoyed immunity from corporal punishment
- exempt from labor service and taxes
In contrast to landed elites elsewhere, who often lived on rural estates, China’s gentry resided largely in ______________, where they tended to political, social, and financial affairs.
towns and cities
Most of the gentry owned ______, which was their major source of income. As long as they did not have to perform physical labor, some gentry also supplemented their income by operating and pawn and rice shops, worked as business partners and entrepreneurs
land
Confucian tradition ranked what three broad classes of commoners below the gentry?
peasants, artisans or workers, and merchants
By far, the biggest class in Chinese society consisted of…?
peasants (everyone from day laborers to tenant farmers to landlords)
Confucian principles regarded ________ as the most honorable of the three commoner classes, since they performed honest labor and provided food that supported the entire population.
peasants
Despite their lower status, artisans and craft workers generally enjoyed _______ income than peasants did.
higher
Who was at the bottom level of the Confucian social hierarchy?
merchants
- moralists looked upon them as “unscrupulous social parasites”
With their lower social standing, what did merchants have to do to be successful in Chinese society?
enjoyed little legal protection, government policy was always critically important to their pursuits
- often garnered support from bribing government bureaucrats or profit-sharing arrangements with gentry families
Describe the relationship between merchants and gentry families?
participation of gentry families in commercial ventures blurred distinction between merchants and gentry
- merchants would also provide sons with education to promote to gentry status
As manufacturing and commerce had become much more economically important than agriculture, those who could recognize and exploit opportunities had the potential for what?
to lead comfortable lives and even to climb into the ranks of the privileged gentry class
What was the main focus of Ming and Qing authorities?
to preserve the stability of a larger agrarian society, not to promote rapid economic development through trade
- did not develop policies designed to strengthen both merchants and the state
Who were included in the group of “mean people” beyond the Confucian social hierarchy?
armed forces/military, slaves, indentured servants, entertainers, prostitutes, and other marginal groups like the “beggars of Jiangsu” an the “boat people of Guangdong”
How did Confucian moralists regard armed forces?
as a wretched but necessary evil
- attempted to avoid military dominance of society by placing civilian bureaucrats in the highest command positions, even at the expense of military effectiveness
Who was Zhu Xi?
Song dynasty scholar, the most prominent architect of neo-Confucianism
How did Zhu Xi create a neo-Confucianist belief system?
combined the moral, ethical, and political values of Confucius with the logical rigor and speculative power of Buddhist philosophy
- emphasized values of self-discipline, filial piety, obedience to established rulers–all of which appealed to Ming and Qing rulers seeking to maintain stability in their realm
What made the neo-Confucian tradition the reigning imperial ideology from the 14th to the early 20th century?
Cultural policies of the Ming and Qing dynasties
How did Ming and Qing emperors promote a Confucian education?
- funded the Hanlin Academy
- maintained provincial schools throughout China (which prepared students for civil service examinations, and focused largely on Confucian texts and neo-Confucian commentaries)
- provided generous funding for projects emphasizing Chinese cultural traditions (like “Yongle Encyclopedia”, Kangxi’s “Collection of Books”, and Qianlong’s “Complete Library of the Four Treasuries”)
What was the Hanlin Academy?
research institute for Confucian scholars in Beijing
How was Kangxi’s “Collection of Books” more influential than Yongle’s compilation?
Yongle’s “Yongle Encyclopedia” was only available in three manuscript copies, whereas Kangxi’s “Collection of Books” was printed and distributed by the emperor
What happened to Qianlong’s “Complete Library of the Four Treasuries”?
it was too large to publish (ran to 93,556 pamphlet-size volumes), but emperor deposited manuscript copies in seven libraries throughout China
While the imperial courts promoted Confucianism, the intellectual and educational needs of urban residents in cities of China were met with what?
popular novels
- preferred entertainment and diversion more intellectually engaging than those found in teahouses and wine shops, knew little about Confucius and didn’t have advanced educations
How did Confucian scholars view popular novels?
crude fiction that had little to do with the realities of the world
What made it possible to produce books cheaply and in mass quantities?
printing!
In addition to the conflict, horror, wonder, and excitement, that popular novels offered, what other subjects were written about that appealed to readers?
thoughtful reflections on the world and human affairs
What was the historical novel “the Romance of the Three Kingdoms” about?
explored political intrigue that followed collapse of Han dynasty
What was the novel “The Dream of the Red Chamber” about?
told the story of cousins deeply in love who could not marry because of their families’ wishes, shed fascinating light on the dynamics of wealthy scholar-gentry families
What was the novel “Journey to the West” about?
dealt with 17th century journey to India of the famous Buddhist monk Xuanzang, made Xuanzang’s magical companion monkey a wildly celebrated character in Chinese literature
Who was the founder of the mission to China, with an ambitious goal of converting China to Christianity?
Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1610)
What helped Matteo Ricci so effectively dazzle his hosts with European science, technology, and mechanical gadgetry, to form strong enough relationships to spread Christianity amongst the Chinese?
his talent for languages and phenomenal memory, allowed him to converse fluently and master the thousands of Chinese characters to write in Chinese
- opened doors for Jesuits and form relationships with Confucian scholars
What were some mechanical devices introduced to the Chinese by the Jesuits?
- finely ground glass prisms became popular because of their refraction of sunlight into component parts
- harpsichords, Jesuits had musical talents to compose songs for their hosts
- “self-ringing bells”- kept tolerably accurate time, chimed the hours
What treatise did Matteo Ricci write to argue that the doctrines of Confucius and Jesus were very similar, if not identical?
“The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven”
How did the Jesuits portray Christianity as a faith very similar to Chinese cultural traditions?
- Ricci’s treatise “The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven” argued Chinese and Christian doctrines very similar
- neo-Confucian scholars altered Confucius’s own teachings so adoption of Christianity by Chinese would represent return to a more pure and original Confucianism
- held religious services in Chinese language, allowing converts to continue time-honored practice of venerating ancestors
How many converts did the Jesuits attract through all of their efforts/by the mid-18th century?
200,000 Chinese Christians out of the 225 million Chinese population
Why did many Chinese people hesitate to adopt Christianity?
its exclusivity: Christianity claimed to be the only true religion, so implied that Chinese Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism were inferior, or even fallacious creeds
Why did the Roman Catholic mission in China eventually end?
conflict between the Jesuits and members of the Franciscan and Dominican orders, who also sought converts in China
What did the Franciscans and Dominicans complain about to the pope about the Jesuits’ missions in China?
complained to the pope about their rivals’ tolerance of ancestor veneration and willingness to conduct Chinese-language services
How did the pope respond to the Franciscans and the Dominicans complaints about the Jesuits’ missions in China?
issued several proclamations ordering missionaries in China to suppress ancestor veneration and conduct services according to European standards
How did emperor Kangxi respond to the pope’s demands about missions in China?
ordered an end to the preaching of Christianity in China
- did not strictly enforce the ban, but mission weakened and by 18th cent. effectively came to an end
While the Roman Catholic mission didn’t attract a large number of converts in China, what implications did the interactions between Jesuit missionaries and Confucian scholars have on European society?
Jesuits made China known in Europe:
- letters, reports, writings, described China as orderly and rational society
- civil service system attracted attention of European rulers, began to design their own civil service bureaucracies
- rational morality of Confucianism appealed to European thinkers
From the 12th through 16th century, shoguns ruled Japan through retainers who received political rights and large estates in exchange for what?
military services
While the shogun was supposed to rule as a temporary stand-in for the Japanese emperor, ultimately, who had authority?
shogun= ultimate source of political authority, sought to monopolize power
emperor= figurehead
What do Japanese historians refer to the sixteenth century as the era of?
“sengoku”= “the country at war”
- civil war between shoguns and retainers with conflicting ambitions
In 1600, the last of the chieftains that emerged to bring about the unification of Japan was who?
Tokugawa Ieyasu (r. 1600-1616)
What military government did Tokugawa Ieyasu establish?
known as Tokugawa “bakufu” (“tent government” since it was theoretically only a temporary replacement for the emperor’s rule)
How long did Tokugawa and his shoguns rule the “bakufu” as shoguns?
from 1600 to the end of the Tokugawa dynasty in 1867
Similar to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the principal aim of the Tokugawa shoguns was…?
to stabilize their realm and prevent the return of civil war
Who were the daimyo?
powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary landholdings
How did the daimyo function as near-absolute rulers within their domains?
- maintained a government staffed by military subordinates
- supported an independent judiciary
- established schools
- circulated paper money
- established relationships with European mariners, integrated gunpowder weapons into Japanese conflicts
From what castle town did the shogun govern his personal domain and seek to extend his control to the daimyo?
Edo
About how many daimyo were there?
260 or so
What was the policy of “alternate attendance” instituted by the shoguns to control the daimyo?
required daimyo to
1. maintain their families at castle town of Edo and
2. spend every other year at the Tokugawa court
How did the policy of “alternate attendance” help the shoguns control the daimyo?
- allowed them to keep an eye on the daimyo
- encouraged daimyo to spend money on lavish residences and comfortable lives in Edo rather than investing in military forces that could challenge the bakufu
In addition to the “alternate attendance” policy, how else did the shoguns attempt to control the daimyo?
- subjected marriage alliances between daimyo families to bakufu approval
- discouraged the daimyo from visiting one another
- required daimyo to obtain permits for construction work on their castles
- meetings between daimyo and emperor required permission
How did the Tokugawa shoguns prevent European influences from destabilizing the land?
instituted policy that:
1. forbade Japanese form going abroad on pain of death (they’d be killed if they did it)
2. prohibited construction of large ships
3. expelled Europeans from Japan
4. prohibited merchants from trading in Japanese ports
5. forbade import of foreign books
Through what port were small numbers of Chinese and Dutch merchants able to trade with the Japanese under tight restrictions?
southern port city of Nagasaki
Economic growth during the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan had its roots in what?
agricultural production
Between 1700 and 1850, japanese population grew moderately due to what factors?
contraception, late marriage, abortion, infanticide
Why did Japanese families resort to infanticide between 1700 and 1850?
Japan was land poor–strained resources caused financial difficulties for local governments and distress for rural communities
Because of __________ cultural influence, the Japanese social hierarchy followed __________ precepts in ranking the ruling elites.
Chinese; Confucian
Who were among the most prominent and privileged class of Japanese society?
shogun, daimyo, and samurai warriors
Just like in Ming and Qing Chinese society, beneath the ruling elites of Japanese social hierarchy stood…?
peasants and artisans, with merchants at the bottom
Agricultural production doubled between 1600 and 1700 in Japan due to what?
- new crop strains
- methods of water control and irrigation
- use of fertilizer
- villages moved away from subsistence farming in favor of production for the market
The extended period of peace ushered in by Tokugawa rule undermined the social position of the __________ ______.
ruling elites
As Japan was stable, the interest of Tokugawa authorities was to…? What was the result of these interests?
reduce the number of armed professional warriors
- pushed daimyo and samurai to become bureaucrats and government functionaries
As they lost their accustomed places in society, what happened to the livelihoods of the ruling elite of Japan?
fell into financial difficulty:
- principal income came from rice collected from peasant cultivators of their lands
- became indebted to rice brokers and gradually declined into poverty
While ruling elites were losing power during the peace and stability of Tokugawa rule, who became increasingly wealthy and prominent in Japanese society?
merchants!
- rice dealers, pawnbrokers, and sake merchants controlled more wealth than ruling elites did
- sometimes purchased elite ranks or contracted marriages with elite families to improve social standing
The Tokugawa shoguns promoted the _______________ of Zhu Xi.
neo-Confucianism
How did the Tokugawa shoguns promote neo-Confucianism?
- patronized scholars who advocated neo-Confucian views
- made neo-Confucian values prominent foundation of educational curriculum
While some recognized Japan’s debt to Chinese intellectual traditions (thus promoting neo-Confucianism), others sought to establish what kind of native religion?
sought to establish a sense of Japanese identity that did not depend on cultural kinship with China
- scholars of “native learning”
What did the scholars of “native learning” advocate about Japanese identity?
scholars of “native learning” scorned neo-Confucianism and Buddhism as alien cultural imports
- emphasized importance of folk traditions and indigenous Shinto religion for Japanese identity
- many viewed Japanese people as superior to all others, regarded foreign influence as unacceptable
- urged study of Japanese classics and glorified purity of Japanese society before foreign influence
What was the imperial capital of Japan?
Kyoto
What was Japan’s largest city and home to bureaucrats and daimyo?
Edo
What was the commercial hub of the Japanese islands?
Osaka
What were the “ukiyo”?
“floating worlds”
entertainment and pleasure quarters where teahouses, theaters, brothels, and public baths offered escape from social responsibilities and rigid rules of conduct that governed public behavior in Tokugawa society
The emergence of a prosperous merchant class encouraged the development of what?
vibrant popular culture seen flourishing amongst an exuberant middle class
What were the two main expressions of the lively culture of ukiyo?
prose fiction and new forms of theater
Who wrote the fiction novel “The Life of a Man Who Lived for Love” that stressed the erotic rather than aesthetic version of love?
Ihara Saikaku (1642-1693)
What was kabuki theater?
featured several acts consisting of lively and sometimes bawdy (dealing with sexual matters in a comical way) skits where stylized acting combined with lyric singing, dancing, and spectacular staging
- crucial component: actor’s ability to improvise and embellish dialogue
What was bunraku theater?
puppet theater
- chanters accompanied by music, told stories acted out by puppets
Who was the Jesuit who traveled to Japan in 1549 and opened a mission to seek converts to Christianity?
Francis Xavier
While the principal interest of the daimyo was to establish trade and military alliances with Europeans, how did the Japanese ultimately react to Jesuit missions?
Many Japanese converts became enthusiastic Christians and worked to convert their compatriots to the new faith
Although Christians were only a tiny minority of the Japanese population, how did government officials and moralists react to the increasing population of Japanese Christians?
- generated backlash among government officials and moralists seeking to preserve Japanese religious and cultural traditions
- concerned that Christianity might serve as cultural bridge for alliances between daimyo and European adventurers, which could lead to destabilization of Japanese society/threats to bakufu
Why did some Japanese converts eventually reject their adopted faith?
European missionaries refused to allow them to become priests or play leadership roles in the mission
What did the Japanese shoguns do after promulgating several decrees ordering a halt to Christian missions and commanding Japanese Christians to renounce their faith?
- tortured and executed European missionaries who refused to leave the islands and Japanese Christians who refused to abandon their faith
- executed victims by crucifixion or burning at the stake
What was the effect of the Tokugawa’s campaigns to rid Japan of European/Christian influence?
- inspired enough fear that even some European missionaries abandoned Christianity
- late 17th cent. anti-Christian campaign claimed tens of thousands of lives
- Christianity survived as a secret, underground religion observed only in rural regions of southern Japan
After 1639, _________ merchants trading at Nagasaki became Japan’s principal source of information about Europe and the world beyond east Asia.
Dutch
What was the study of the Dutch language by Japanese scholars in order to communicate with Dutch foreigners?
Dutch learning
When did Tokugawa authorities lift the ban on foreign books, allowing Dutch learning to play a significant role in Japanese intellectual life?
1720
Describe some European influences adopted by the Japanese as the Dutch began more frequent trading at Nagasaki?
- European art influenced Japanese scholars interested in anatomy and botany because of its accurate representations of objects
- scholars translated Dutch medical and scientific treatises into Japanese and learned to draw using linear perspective
- able to prepare textbooks more accurate than the Chinese works previously used - European astronomy popular since it enabled scholars to improve calendars and issue accurate predictions of eclipses and other celestial events
By the _____________ century, the Tokugawa shoguns themselves had become enthusiastic proponents of Dutch learning, as schools of European medicine and Dutch studies flourished in several Japanese cities.
mid-18th century
