Midterm 1.1 Flashcards
What’s another way to describe the Mandala system?
Galactic polity
What are 4 important features of the Mandala system?
- People more important than territory
- Overlapping sovereignty and alliances
- Constant fluctuation in the size of states
- Ethnicity not politicized - migration was normal, multi-ethnic
What are 3 implications of the Mandala system for international relations?
- Looseness in international politics
- Defining nations is difficult (who are YOUR people)
- Borders - historic disputes over territory
What was Ayutthaya?
The second capital of the Siamese kingdom
When was Ayutthaya in power?
14th-18th centuries
Height of power was 1600-1700’s
True or False: In the 1700s, Ayutthaya was the largest city in the world!
True
True or False: At its height, merchants came to Ayutthaya from Europe, China, and all over the world to trade.
True
How did Ayutthaya compare to European powers during its height in the 16-1700’s?
- Massive population
- Massive wealth due to trade networks led to elaborate building projects like the canal system that facilitated that trade
- Cosmopolitan
- Fine works of art, temples, palaces being done, Thai culture
Which Asian political structure can be described using concentric circles of power with the seat of power at the center?
Mandala
Which Asian political structure has ties to religion?
Both - Tributary and Mandala based on the idea that a demi-God or son of heaven was at the center of order
Why is galactic polity another name for the mandala system?
Because galaxies resemble the mandala structure. Numerous star systems, those stars have planets orbiting them, with moons orbiting those planets. Interconnected, overlapping orbits.
Which massive Mandala was described as “Singapore-ish” in the 1600-1700’s?
Ayuttahaya
What was Pagan?
The capital of Burma mandala during the 9th-13th centuries
What was Ava/Taungoo?
The capital of Burma mandala during Taungoo dynasty in the late 1700s and early 1800s
What was Angkor?
capital of the Khmer empire/mandala in the early 12th century (cambodia)
What was Srjivaya?
Empire in Indonesia mandala between 7th-13th centuries
What was Majapahit?
The empire that took over Indonesia mandala following the collapse of Srjivaya. 13th-16th centuries
What is the official view of the tributary system by the Chinese government?
They believed almost all Asian cultures and European powers paid them tribute to acknowledge their supreme power. They believed they were on top of the world and everybody else bowed to them.
Examples of when the Chinese view of the tributary system was false:
Anywhere in Southeast Asia. Thailand specifically had a demi-god king that continued until the 20th century. They didn’t care about the religious / power authority of other states.
Also maritime had much weaker trade/tributaries with China.
Was there any time when China’s view on the tributary system was correct?
With Korea for sure and maybe Japan, until the dharma moved and they no longer respected the Son of Heaven’s right to rule over them.
Why did China’s tributary system evolve?
Under the Ming dynasty 14th-17th centuries, it was a way to formalize China’s imperial authority.
Why did most countries accept China’s tributary conditions?
Because it opened up the door to trading with a wealthy country.
What is “Tianxia”?
It means “all under heaven” and describes the Chinese view of the world order. That the son of heaven at the center would eventually control all around it (all under heaven).
What are the layers of Tianxia?
Son of heaven at the center with his court, minor officials, commoners, tributaries, and barbarians.
What is different between Tianxia and a Mandala?
- In Tianxia there was a value judgment on those outside their immediate influence (barbarian), but mandalas aren’t like that.
- The king at the center of a mandala was also a demi-god, more than a son of heaven
True or False: Tianxia applied to the whole earth
True
True or False: Tianxia implied that it was the will of the people and the cosmos that the son of heaven ruled over them
True
True or False: Tianxia represents a world institution, where the entire world is subjugated under the same son of heaven in a reign of peace and prosperity
True
What is the “world-ness” or world order that Tianxia is talking about?
A political structure that transcends internationality with nation-states and sovereignty, etc. Basically it’s literally all people under the reign of a single person…
What argument does Reilly make about the view of the tributary system?
He claims that most of SE Asia were involved in the tributary system, acting like outposts of the Chinese empire. The closer one was to China, the stronger that tributary relationship and fealty to the Chinese imperial power.
Was Reilly’s argument true or false?
False - Most historians agree that there was no real tributary system outside of China. SE Asian countries DID bring tribute every so often, but did not swear fealty to China. They were just trying to trade.
How does the case of Vietnam counter the traditional view of the tributary system?
Vietnam has consistently been worried about China overtaking them, so there’s been a constant power struggle between the two. Shadow hegemon.
China found it difficult and not worthwhile to hold administrative power in Vietnam, so Vietnam was autonomous.
Why did Korea and Japan fall into the tributary system more easily?
Buddhist connections. They believed the son of heaven was an important buddhist link. That changed when the dharma moved East.
What was Japan’s relationship with the tributary system?
They began sending diplomatic/trade missions in the 7th century. It’s unclear if Japan accepted China’s view of their tributary relationship or if they considered themselves ambassadors.
When did Japan reject the Chinese tributary vision?
Rejected the status demanded by the Qing (dharma had moved, true China had fallen to barbarians)
Who was Prince Shotoku?
Semi-legendary prince of 6th and 7th centuries. He was either a reincarnation of the founder of one school of buddhist thought OR a legendary monk visited his residence, passed on the mantle of Buddhism and then died.
Either way, it is Prince Shotoku that the Japanese claim inherited the mantle of Buddhism, making them the center of Buddhist thought. The dharma moved East. They were claiming Japanese superiority over China. Prince Shotoku legitimized Japanese authority.
What was Korea’s relationship to the tributary system?
They were part of the neo-Confucian order and supporters of the Ming dynasty. But when the mongols (barbarians) took power, they viewed it as a loss of true confucianism and buddhism. Barbarians had taken power. They still sent tributes but did not approve of the authority of Yuan dynasty.
Korea eventually saw themselves as the only ones still upholding true Confucianism.
True or False: Tianxia is similar to Meiji view of Japan.
True
What are the 5 roles of religion in international relations?
- Facilitate trade
- Sites of pilgrimage and patronage
- Higher education, centers of learning
- Hierarchies of ordination
- Legitimacy to rulers and states
How did Buddhism transform the relationship between Chin and Korea (China and Japan)?
Korea and Japan didn’t consider themselves inferior in a Sinitic world order, they thought they were centres of a Buddhist universe.
Korean monks seen as “ideal” types of people
Played into the tributary state idea (paid tribute to the center of Buddhism/China)
What are Jataka tales?
Birth stories that establish legitimacy. Specifically, Buddhists gained individual power saying they are from a specific lineage or that their school is a pure line
When did Japan begin to gain imperial power (modernizing/colonizing)?
Meiji, late 1800s to 1912
Who was Amoghavajra?
Esoteric Buddhist monk, Half Indian, half Iranian.
The most politically powerful Buddhist monk in Chinese history - translator during the Tang dyansty. He worked for the government and was very influential.
What does it mean that Buddhism was a “civilizing mission”?
- Tributary state stuff
- A model of rule for Korea and Japan
- Adopted language, education, bureaucracy, legitimacy, trade networks, culture, etc.
What was the role of the Indian emperor, King Ashoka, in the spread of Theravada buddhism?
- Indian emperor from 304-232 BC
- Massive buddhist empire
- Extensive missionary works
- Mass construction of temples
- State feeding of monks
- Spread to Sri Lanka and SE Asia
How did Buddhists use religion to acquire/maintain power in India and China?
- Jataka tales - legitimacy
- esoteric buddhism - Amoghavajra
How did the Confucian bureaucracy incorporate Buddhism and Taoism to make sure they didn’t overpower the existing system?
Merged religious principles. The defense of scripture became the role of the state. The son of heaven was the center of buddhism too.
What is a similarity between mayahana buddhism and Confucian principles?
Ordinary individuals can earn merit while living profane lives. One can better oneself.
What was the role of Srijivaya in the transmission of Buddhism across Asia?
It became the center of religious learning. Chinese monks would go there on their way to India seeking Buddhist texts.
More than 1000 buddhist priests
Major shipping/trade area in the region helped to spread it.
Who were the Mon?
Indigenous people of Burma and Thailand.
Who converted first to SE Asia?
Mon people
Where did Theravada enter SE Asia from?
Sri Lanka
(Ashoka)
Why does Thailand consider itself center of Buddhism in SE Asia?
Remained independent from Indian, Chinese, and western powers and their religious influence, so their buddhism is pure.
They sent monks to Sri Lanka in 18th century to revive Sri Lankan sangha (they revived the original buddhism and have a pure line)
How was the spread of Islam similar to the spread of Buddhism during Srijivaya period?
- Divinely ordained law, followed on a personal level, led to mutual trust among merchants. Conversion to Islam became necessary for anybody who wanted to join trade network.
- Religious scholars converted kings
- Central force in the globalization of free trade
What is the “genealogy” of Buddhism in SE Asia?
- Sri Lanka
- Mons (Thailand/Burma)
- Burmese and Thai
- Thais to Khmer
- Thais to Laos
What were the two biggest reasons Islam spread to the Malay archipelago?
- Trade
- Missionary activity
What is the history of Islam spreading through SE Asia?
- Muslim traders to the area
- Sufi missionaries sent to Sumatra in 13th century
- Malay sultanates became muslim
- Champa mandala on the mainland
- Java in the 16th century
Zhongguo ren
Hong Kong
Macao
Taiwan
Mainland China
Huaren / Huayi
Southeast Asians who are ETHNIC Chinese
Huaqiao
Overseas Chinese (chinese term) for SE Asian Chinese, NOT HK/Macao/Taiwan
Gang-ao-tai Tongba
HK
Macao
Taiwan
What are the three policies each SE Asian country has had towards ethnic Chinese?
- Assimilation
- Accommodation
- Pluralism
Which countries practiced assimilation?
Indonesia
Thailand
Philippines
Which countries practiced accomodation?
Malaysia
Brunei
Which country practiced pluralism?
Singapore
What do surveys show about ethnic Chinese people living in SE Asian countries?
They feel nationals of SE Asian countries, not Chinese
Is there a relationship between Chinese population and Chinese investment/trade in SE asia?
The countries with the highest trade with China also have the largest % of ethnic Chinese. HOWEVER, it also correlates to development levels in the region, so it might actually mean that Chinese populations lead to better economies and therefore more trade with China.
Peranakan
Mixed heritage
Used in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
Sino-Thai
Thai descendants of Chinese people
Chinese mestizo
A person of mixed Chinese and Filipino ethnicity
Who had the most advanced navy in the world at the start of the opium wars?
Britain
When was the first opium war?
1839-1842
What is another name for the unequal treaty?
Treaty of Nanking
What did the Treaty of Nanking do?
It established 5 treaty ports and forced China into trading with Europe
True or False: Soon after the treaty of Nanking, Americans and other Europeans signed similar treaties with China
True
When was the second opium war?
1856-1860
What was the convention of Peking?
The series of treaties signed to end the second opium war
What 5 things did the convention of Peking establish?
- Legalization of opium
- Expansion of cheap laborers
- Exempting foreign imports from transit duties
- Open a second group of 10 treaty ports
- Foreign traders and missionaries were allowed to travel into China
True or False: Japan’s isolation policy lasted 220 years
True
What was the Perry Expedition?
Military leader (Perry) sailed to Japan with large black ships to intimidate Japan into opening up to trade.
What is gunboat diplomacy?
Intimidation from large war ships, avoiding all out war
When was the Meiji period?
Late 1800s to 1912
What was the Iwakura Mission?
The Japanese toured the United States and Europe, learning all about government, institutions, prisons, schools, factories, shipyards, mines, business, etc.
It was the mission that taught Japan had to modernize like the West.
What was the Meiji Restoration?
Rapid industrialization and modernization. Japan emerged as a great power influenced by Western science, philosophy, politics, and even aesthetic ideas.
What was the Meiji Constitution?
1889 established a mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy (no longer an emperor with sole power). Added a legislative assembly and political parties
When was the first Sino-Japanese war?
1894-1895
What was the result of the first Sino-Japanese war?
China had to give up Korea as a tributary. They also gave Taiwan to Japan
True or False: Japan was the first Asian power to beat a European country
True
Which European country did Japan beat in the 1904 war?
Russia
What was the controversy surrounding Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931?
The League of Nations said they had acted illegally in seizing the entire province. So Japan quit the league and Britain did nothing.
The U.S. refused to recognize Japan’s claim over Manchuria as legitimate. This led to their eventual support of China in WWII.
What was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea?
Chosun (Joseon)
1400-1900
True or False: The Joseon period was the height of classical Korean culture, trade, literature, and science
True
Which country was known as the “hermit” kingdom?
Korea, they had a harsh isolation policy because everybody kept picking on them
What ended Korea’s centuries of isolation?
The United States barged in to force them to trade
What was the Shinmiyangyo incident of 1871?
The U.S. retaliated against Korea for killing 4 Americans by sailing in gunboats and killing hundreds of Koreans.
This forced Korea to open up to trade in the next few years.
Features of Japanese colonialism in Korea:
- Japanese land ownership increased
- Wives and daughters of Koreans sold into factories or prostitution to pay taxes
- Hundreds of thousands of Japanese settlers
- Cultural assimilation was mandatory (names)
- Royal palace was demolished
- Economic policies were implemented to benefit the Japanese
Which group violently opposed the Japanese and were almost exterminated as a result?
Native Taiwanese
Features of Japanese colonialism in Taiwan:
- Village militia corps with the supervision of Japanese policemen
- Split people into household groups for greater control/accountability
- Put people on surveillance duties against suspicious outsiders/criminals
- Increased amenities and infrastructure
- Gave Taiwan seats in parliament
- Kominka - Movement to build Japanese spirit and identity among the people
- Locals forced to change names, speak Japanese, wear Japanese clothing, convert to Shintoism, etc.
True or False: For Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese, past negative history strongly correlates with their present views of each other
TRUE!
