Ch.

13 Reading Notes
Chapter Title:
-111 BCE

The Spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

-1180-1185 CE Gempei Wars in Japan

Chronology (time period & major events):

-646 CE -857-1160 CE Vietnam conquered Taika reforms in Japan Period of Fujiwara By china -668 CE dominance --109 BCE Korea wins independence in Japan Korea (Chosan) -838 CE -939 CE Conquered by China last Japanese embassy Vietnam wins -222-589 BCE to China independence from Era of Division China

Significant Characteristics & Developments:

Social

Political

Economic

Cultural

TED

JAPAN: borrowed court etiquette from China; very structured rules at court; polite behavior always; no privacy, every action known by everyone; rise of provincial warrior elites; rise of power and dominance of Buddhists; samurai-lords relationship,-greatly respected; peasants became serfs-bound to land; merchant woman had a bit of independence; position of woman decline over time; woman were given in marriage alliances KOREA: peoples before-hunting and herders; aristocrats- family connections still more important than test scores; beneath the elite class->purpose servicing elites, commoners, near slaves lowborn VIETNAM: woman had a lot to lose with Confucian ideas; scholar gentry didnt have much power JAPAN: Taika reforms-copying Chinese administration; Army/bureaucratic ideas stopped by aristocratic families/Buddhist monks; Emperor cant control Buddhist monks influenced government; power given to aristocratic families; rank determined by birth not merit; local leaders organized local militias; warrior leaders(Bushi) administered law, public works, collected revenue, and maintained armies; Chinese decline-> Gempei wars- peasants vs. samurai KOREA: ruled by indigenous dynasties; unified law code; tried to implement Chinese styled bureaucracy; alliance with China and Silla- paid tribute(send embassies and must kowtow VIETNAM: Han captured; elites attended Chinese schools, took exams for administration; peasant uprisings; succession of dynasties began with Le JAPAN: merchants status considered low but were actually significant in their role; guild organizations(solidarity/group protection); relatively commercial trade and agrarian KOREA: tribute system allowed access of Chinese learning, art and manufactured goods; elite attracted to luxury goods(fancy clothes, special teas, scrolls, artwork); exported raw materials(forest products and copper) VIETNAM: market for their ivory, tortoise shells, pearls, peacock feathers, aromatic woods, exotic products from sea/forest -Buddhism played key role in transmission of ideas from China to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam JAPAN: Shintoism- view of natural and supernatural world; adopted Chinese characters/language; wrote history in dynastic terms; struggles to master Confucian ways; worshipped Chinese styled temples; admired Buddhist art; syncretism of Buddhism and Kami-Shinto; complex gardens/palaces; writing verse prioritized; samurai warriors constantly trained in hunting, riding, archery/ had a warrior code/seppuku; woman-> were taught to slay selves rather than dishonor-if raped, Japanese theatrical female roles played by men; ART: focus simplicity/discipline, monochrome ink sketches; ARCHITECTURE: built to blend with natural setting/meditation, famous gardens(volcanic rocks, raked pebbles, Bansai trees, tea ceremony) KOREA: built universities; Chinese writing was tough to be adapted; scholars study at Chinese schools academies; aristocrats favored Buddhism over Confucianism; artwork/monastic designs reproduced Chinese Buddhist work; outdid teachers for pottery)porcelain/black stoneware VIETNAM: resilient culture; Able to defeat Khmer/Cham neighbors superior military forces/weapons; Chinese palaces, ministries, civil service exams, bureau of Censors-graft/corruption; attached to grassroots level of Buddhism JAPAN: mini-kingdoms-small fortresses, constant threat from neighboring lords; self sufficient (granaries, blacksmith, wells); samurai used longbows and steel swords; Daimyos-> new cropssoybeans, hemp, paper, dyes vegetable oil KOREA: extension of China mainland, dwarfed by neighbor, colonized by Chinese settler VIETNAM: rice growing area; distant from China-> was hard for China to control; cropping techniques and irrigation, military organization gave them an edge over neighbors

Key People or Individuals (briefly identify):

-Emperor Koken: Japanese capital shifts to Heian (Kyoto) in 794

-Lady Murasaki: wrote the first novel The Tale of Genji; it criticized those who pursue aesthetic enjoyment; shows how cultured nobility must act; females played unusually creative toll avoided full Chinese influence. -Fujiwara family: Had exceptional influence over imperial affair-got power by marrying their daughters into the royal family -Ashikaga Takuaji: led a revolt of the bushi that overthrew the Kamakura regime and established the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1573) -Trung sisters: Children of a deposed local leader that led an uprising. -Xuan Huoung: famous woman writer in Vietnam

Comparison/Relations with Other Societies:

-China/Islam/Japan: Women became involved in palace intrigues and power struggles. -China/Japan: Art was done by skilled artisans in Japan and the scholar-gentry in China. -West/Japan: Both had fully developed feudal systems during the postclassical era. Both of their feudal systems was set in political values that joined together most of the systems participants. Western Europe stressed contractual ideas, while the Japanese relied on group and individual bonds. Japan had mini-kingdoms similar to fiefdoms in Europe. -Vietnam/China: In Vietnam woman were more favored than in the Chinese. China/Korea: Korea had near-slaves which were similar to the mean people of China

QUESTIONS: -Why wasnt Vietnam influenced by Chinese culture as much as Korea was?
-Why did Japan and the West were the only one to have feudal systems during the postclassical era? -If Korea was an extension of the Chinese mainland, why wasnt it considered a part of China?

CONNECTIONS:
-Chinese organization suited to sedentary agriculture-wet rice cultivation-and the development of civilizaton -Borrowing of China led to ignorance of outside world -writing, bureaucracy, religious teachings, and art spread to Asia -Korea-direct rule was brief-but was influenced greatly -Japan emulated China for a bit, aristocrat class took over -imports were monopolized by wealthy elites -Chinese culture allowed the Vietnamese to counterbalance Indian influences among their Southeast Asian rivals.