Ch. 12 The Spread of Civilization in East and Southeast Asia

500-1650

Section 1- Two Golden Ages of China

Confucius

Tang Dynasty Reunifies China

• Sui Dynasty under Sui Wendi (589-618)

• First Tang emperor was Li Yuan

• Vietnam, Tibet, and Korea become tributary states – states that remained self-governing, but recognized Chinese supremacy and pay tribute

Tang Warrior Sui Wendi

Tang Government

• Reinstituted Han government

• Recruited talented officials trained in Confucian philosophy

• Tang brought land reform– Split land holdings among the peasants– Weakened the power of large landowners

Tang Declines

• Lost land to Arabs

• Downward swing of dynastic cycle– Corruption, high taxes, drought, famine,

rebellions

Ceramic colored horseFrom Tang DynastyOn display in Shanghai Museum

The Song Dynasty

• Ruled for 319 years• Smaller state than the Tang• Constant bombardment from the North• Song culture flourished • Grand Canal- linked the Huang and Chang Rivers• New type of rice• Foreign trade thrived under the Tang and Song Dynasties

This Song-period reproduction of an eighth-century landscape depicts Tang dynasty emperor Xuanzong (the mounted figure in foreground wearing red) fleeing with his party to Szechwan.

China’s Ordered Society

• Gentry- wealth landowning class• Gentry valued education above all else• Peasants worked and lived off the land• The emperor was far removed from peasant life• Slavery played a minor role in Chinese society• Merchants are the lowest class because

Confucian virtues said that merchants gained their wealth from others work

• Attitudes toward merchants effected the economy

The Status of Women

• Higher in Tang and early Song periods that later• Control of household issues• Women could not keep dowries or remarry• Boys valued more that girls• Girls become part of their husbands family

when they married• Foot binding

Tang and Song Culture

• Artist Paint Harmony

• Architecture- pagoda– Similar to Indian

stupa

• Porcelain- “chinaware”

• Chinese writing- Li Bo

Section 2- Mongol and Ming Empires

Mongols

• Mongols are nomads from Central Asia

• Graze horses and kept sheep on the steppes- vast, treeless plains

Genghis Khan

• United Mongolian tribes

• Highly trained horsemen

• Fierce leader

• Used cannons and gun powder

• Died before conquest was complete, but his heirs finished the job

Pax Mongolia

• “Mongol Peace”

• 1200s-1300s– Mongols not oppressive rulers– Made travel on the Silk Road safe– Trading and inventions reach Europe

China Under Mongol Rule

• Kublai Khan– Genghis Khan’s grandson– Defeated the last Song emperor in 1279– Ruled all of China, Korea, and Tibet– He wanted to keep the Mongols and Chinese

separate– Gave top positions to Mongols only– Welcomed foreigners to his court

Li Bai Taking a Stroll

13th Century Southern Song Dynasty

Ma YuanSong DynastyOn a Mountain Path in Spring

Brushed by his sleeves,Wild flowers dance in the wind;Fleeing from him,Hidden birds cut short their song.

Marco Polo 1254-1324

• Traveled from Venice, Italy to China

• Spent 17 years in Kublai Khan’s service

• Sparked European interest in Asia

• He left a written account of his travels– p. 378-379, complete questions 1 and 2 in

pairs and discuss

Ming Restore Chinese Rule

• Yuan dynasty declined after Kublai Khan’s death in 1294

• Chinese hated Mongol rulers• Uprisings were common• Zhu Yuanzhang, a peasant leader, created

a rebel army• He established the Ming (brilliant) dynasty

in 1368• Ming restores typical Chinese government

Chinese Fleets Sail the Seas

• Zheng He- Chinese admiral and diplomat– Sailed all around the Pacific and Indian

Oceans with his huge fleet and 28,000 sailors– Reached India, Persian Gulf, and the east

coast of Africa– Showed lesser kingdoms the power and

prestige of the Chinese– Some Chinese permanently settled in these

trading port cities

Exploration Ends

• Zheng He died in 1435• In the same year the Ming emperor

banned the building of seagoing ships• Why would they do this?

– Urging of traditional Confucian scholars?– Costly fleets?– What might have happened if Ming China kept

exploring? (Hint: Think Christopher Columbus)

Section 3- Korea and Its Traditions

p. 383-386

Geography of the Korean Peninsula

• Located on a peninsula that juts out from China

• Points south toward Japan

• 70% mountains• Most people live on the

fertile west coast• Its location so close to

China and Japan profoundly effected the course of Korean history

Development of Korea

• Korean migrated from Siberia and Manchuria during the Stone Age

• They developed their own culture before China’s influence during the Han dynasty

• From 100 B.C. to A.D. 676 there were 3 kingdoms: Koguryo in the north, Paekche in the southwest, and Silla in the southeast

Korea during the 3 kingdom period

Development of the Silla and Koryo Dynasties

• The 3 kingdoms often fought with each other and with China

• Chinese influence government, Buddhism, arts• Backed by the Tang emperor, the Silla kingdom

defeated Paekche and Koguryo in 676, uniting Korea

• Silla 668-935• Koryo 918-1392• Choson 1392-1910

Silla Dynasty

• Prosperous time in Korean history

• Traded with China

• Buddhism flourished

• The capital of Kyongju was modeled off the Tang capital of Chang’an

• Copied Chinese civil service examinations but only allowed aristocrats to take the tests

Koryo Dynasty

• New capital at Songak

• The name Korea comes from this dynasty

• Invented movable type

• Created porcelain called Celadon- bluish green glaze– Very difficult to perfect– Highly prized throughout Asia

Koryo DynastyIncense burner

Celadon pottery from start to finish

Choson Dynasty

• Hangul is created as the new alphabet– Made during the reign of King Sejong– Uses symbols to represent the sounds of

spoken Korean– Promotes a very high literacy rate

The Japanese invaded in the 1590s causing destruction and brought many Korean artisans back to Japan

The original decree by Korean King Sejong establishing the Hangul writing system. In 1446, Sejong promulgated a new writing system, intended to enable the common people to read and write. However, the Chinese language remained the preferred linguistic medium of the scholarly bureaucracy and of educated Koreans.

King Sejong