Ancient History of Asia

Before & After the Westerners Came

Outline

Ancient civilizations in AsiaEmpires and dynasties

Qin Dynasty tributary system

After Westerners came Opium War Meiji Restoration

Mesopotamia

First known civilization (7,000 B.C.)Earliest cities (3,500 B.C.)Became part of the

Persian Empire in6th century B.C.

Indus Valley Civilization

Bronze Age culture (2500 B.C.-1700 B.C.)

Cities dominated by large public buildings

Invasion by Aryansfrom the north in1500 B.C.

Chinese Civilization

Shang Dynasty (1,600 B.C. - 1,047 B.C.) 31 kings of same family weak central control written record

Zhou Dyn. (1047-256 B.C.)

Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.)

Qin Shi Huang (``First Emperor of Qin”) Unification Centralized control

laws, measures, currency, roads, Great Wall, thinking

Later Dynasties

Han (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.)Jin (265 - 420)Sui (581 - 618)Tang (618 - 907)Song (960 - 1279)Yuan (1271 - 1368)Ming (1368 - 1644)

China’s Tributary System

Traditional system for managing foreign relations

The ``Central Kingdom” worldviewMing dynasty (1368 - 1644) had the

most extensive tributary system tributes from East Asia, South Asia,

Southeast Asia, and even West Asia and Africa

Zheng He’s fleet (1405-33)

Over 300 ships & 20,000 men

trade and commerceSoutheast Asia, South

Asia, West Asia, and East Africa

Zheng He’s expeditions

Ancient Southeast Asia

Buddhist kingdoms and empirestrade with East and South Asianear continuous warfareinvasion by Mongols in the 1300’sspread of Islam in 1400 - 1620mosaic of small states

Cause of the Opium War

The Opium War (1840-42)

British navy captured Hong Kong and defeated China

Historic Turning Point

Series of western invasionsUnequal treaties with Western powers

extraterritorial jurisdiction tariffs subject to approval by Western

powersShattered tributary systemExacerbated domestic crisesCulminated in the fall of Qing dynasty

Japan’s Meiji Restoration

Similar challenges, different response

Japan’s 250-year seclusionCommodore Matthew Perry’s

warships entered Tokyo Bay in 1853

Western Challenges

Series of treaties with Britain, France, Russia, and the Netherlands opening ports low customs duties extraterritorial jurisdiction

Domestic problems

Shogun (literally, ``general”) in Edo (Tokyo) controlled the Emperor in Kyoto

Shogun’s government didn’t have strong central control

Japan was divided into some 260 semiautonomous and mutually jealous domains

Meiji Restoration - I

Broke down shogun’s polity military coup

Created centralized national government Used Emperor as focus of loyalty and

symbol of legitimacy Incremental steps to replace the

autonomous domains with prefectures Imperial Guard of 10,000 men

Meiji Restoration - II

Two most important constituencies: samurai and farmers

samurai: privileges gradually removedfarmers: land-tax reform

eradicated payment in produce basis for modern capitalist economy 109 million certificates of land ownership

Meiji Restoration - III

Education established elementary schools universal compulsory education

Military universal conscription (citizen army)

Meiji Restoration - IV

Meiji Constitution of 1889 limited constitutional monarchy after

Bismarck’s Germany male suffrage based on property rights bicameral legislature with budgetary power Emperor’s rights, prerogatives, and power

commanded the military

War Minister or Navy Minister from military

Self-modernization

Industrialization, technological innovations, and growth of trade

New Imperialist Power

Japan defeated China in 1894-5Japan defeated Russia in 1905

Theodore Roosevelt: ``if [the Japanese] win out, it may possibly mean a struggle between them and us in the future”

Japan annexed Korea in 1910

Asia by World War II