Chapter 13 – Spread of Chinese Civilization:

Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

• Japan, Vietnam, and Korea – each of these societies blended Chinese influence with local conditions, preferences and creativity producing distinctive civilized developments.

• Buddhism played key roles in the transmission of Chinese civilization and culture

• Chinese influence in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam emphasized links to China more thant to the wider world

Japan: The Imperial Japan: The Imperial AgeAge

Japan: The Imperial Japan: The Imperial AgeAge

“Great Kings” era“Great Kings” era

In the Taika (645-710), Nara In the Taika (645-710), Nara (710-784), and Heian (794-857) (710-784), and Heian (794-857) periods, Japanese borrowing periods, Japanese borrowing from China peaked. from China peaked.

Began promoting Began promoting adoption of Chinese adoption of Chinese culture:culture: ConfucianismConfucianism Language (characters)Language (characters) Buddhist sectsBuddhist sects Chinese art & architectureChinese art & architecture Government structureGovernment structure

In the Taika (645-710), Nara In the Taika (645-710), Nara (710-784), and Heian (794-857) (710-784), and Heian (794-857) periods, Japanese borrowing periods, Japanese borrowing from China peaked. from China peaked.

Began promoting Began promoting adoption of Chinese adoption of Chinese culture:culture: ConfucianismConfucianism Language (characters)Language (characters) Buddhist sectsBuddhist sects Chinese art & architectureChinese art & architecture Government structureGovernment structure

Taika Period

• 646 – Taika reforms aimed at incorporating Chinese characters, court etiquette, Buddhist monks cures and magic for illnesses, and worshiping Buddhist deities meshed with ancient Japanese spirits.

• However, the Japanese aristocracy challenged Chinese influence.

• Strengthening of Japanese traditions occurred.

• Taika reforms to remake the Japanese monarch into an absolutist Chinese style emperor were resisted by the aristocratic families and Buddhist monastic orders who dominated the emperor and capital

• The emperor established a new capital city at Heian, later called Kyoto - - A move to kill the influence of the monastic orders

• The emperor abandoned all Taika reforms and restored the aristocratic families in an effort to break with Chinese influence

• Aristocrats took control of central government positions and built up their own royal estates.

• The emperor placed local army leaders to organize the military – a move that would help erode control of the imperial household

Heian Era

• During the Heian era Japanese emperor a world of luxury – an atmosphere of social status, affairs, and gossip.

• It was a false life focused on beauty (fine gardens) and social interaction

Heian Court DressHeian Court DressHeian Court DressHeian Court Dress

Heian Period: 794-Heian Period: 794-11561156

Heian Period: 794-Heian Period: 794-11561156 Growth of large landed estatesGrowth of large landed estates

Arts & literature of China Arts & literature of China flourishedflourished Elaborate court life [highly Elaborate court life [highly refined]refined]First novelFirst novel

The Tale of GenjiThe Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki by Lady Murasaki ShikibuShikibu[1000 pgs.+][1000 pgs.+]

Moving away from Chinese Moving away from Chinese models inmodels in religion, arts, and government religion, arts, and government

Growth of large landed estatesGrowth of large landed estates Arts & literature of China Arts & literature of China flourishedflourished Elaborate court life [highly Elaborate court life [highly refined]refined]First novelFirst novel

The Tale of GenjiThe Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki by Lady Murasaki ShikibuShikibu[1000 pgs.+][1000 pgs.+]

Moving away from Chinese Moving away from Chinese models inmodels in religion, arts, and government religion, arts, and government

Tale of GenjiTale of Genji ( (first novel)first novel)Tale of GenjiTale of Genji ( (first novel)first novel)

Lady Murasaki ShikibuLady Murasaki ShikibuLady Murasaki ShikibuLady Murasaki Shikibu

She contributed much to the Japanese script known as kana, while men wrote with Chinese characters, kanji.

She contributed much to the Japanese script known as kana, while men wrote with Chinese characters, kanji.

• Women at the Heian court, like their counterparts in China and the Islamic world, became involved in palace intrigues and power struggles.

Heian Period:Heian Period:Cultural BorrowingCultural Borrowing

Heian Period:Heian Period:Cultural BorrowingCultural Borrowing

1.1.Chinese writingChinese writing

2.2.Chinese artistic stylesChinese artistic styles

3.3.Buddhism [Zen]Buddhism [Zen]

4.4.BUT, not Chinese civil BUT, not Chinese civil service system!service system!

1.1.Chinese writingChinese writing

2.2.Chinese artistic stylesChinese artistic styles

3.3.Buddhism [Zen]Buddhism [Zen]

4.4.BUT, not Chinese civil BUT, not Chinese civil service system!service system!

Decline of Imperial Power

• Fujiwara, one of the aristocratic families of the 9th c. exercised exceptional influence over imperial affairs.

• They used their wealth and influence to build up large estates that provided a stable financial base for their power.

• The lands under their control expanded. • Aristocrats’ and monks’ power increased,

but they failed to recognized the growing power of the local lords

Rise of the Provincial Warrior Elite

• Some of the provincial families had risen to power as land owners, estate managers, or local state officials, and came to control land and labor carving out little kingdoms – “mini-states”

• The Mini-states were self-contained worlds. • From them the warrior leaders, or bushi

(local lords) controlled the law, public works, taxes and built up armies = effective military forces

• Samurai, mounted troops were loyal to local lords, but also were sometimes called in to protect the emperor and capital

• Provincial lords and their samurai were hired to be bodyguards and to protect the palaces

• Hence, a warrior class emerged• The bushi and samurai sharpened their

martial skills using superbly forged, curved steel swords; represented heroic warfare

Code of Code of BushidoBushidoCode of Code of BushidoBushido

* Fidelity

* Politeness

* Virility

* Simplicity

* Fidelity

* Politeness

* Virility

* Simplicity

• Warrior Code:– Family honor and death rather than retreat or

defeat– Ritual suicide to restore their family’s honor

• Seppuku – disembowelment now known in the West as hara-kiri, belly splitting (honorable way to die)

•Japan moving toward a feudal order similar to western Europe era

Seppuku: Seppuku: Ritual SuicideRitual Suicide

Seppuku: Seppuku: Ritual SuicideRitual Suicide

Kaishaku – his “seconds”

Kaishaku – his “seconds”

It is honorable to die in this way

It is honorable to die in this way

Samurai SwordSamurai SwordSamurai SwordSamurai Sword

Early Mounted Early Mounted Samurai WarriorsSamurai WarriorsEarly Mounted Early Mounted

Samurai WarriorsSamurai Warriors

Samurai ChargingSamurai ChargingSamurai ChargingSamurai Charging

Modern-Day “Samurai Modern-Day “Samurai Warriors”Warriors”

Modern-Day “Samurai Modern-Day “Samurai Warriors”Warriors”

• Rise of samurai frustrated hopes of creating a free peasantry

• Peasants reduced to serfs• Separated from the warrior elite by ways

of dressing • Peasants turn to popular Buddhism

– Teachings understood and appealed to peasants and artisan classes

Era of Warrior Dominance

• Power of provincial lords grew/imperial household and aristocracy declined

• 12th c. Rivalry between the powerful families, the Taira and Minamoto

• Minamoto commanders and their alliances proved superior to Taira

• Five years, the Gempei War raged on the island Honshu. Taira were destroyed.

• Minamoto established the bakufu, or military government (its capital was at Kamakura)

• Although the emperor’s court was preserved, the real power was with the Minamoto and their samurai.

• The feudal age in Japan had begun.

• After the Minamoto, the Hojo family came to power (Shogun)

• The emperor and Minamoto became puppet rulers

• Civil wars followed for 10 years • Japan broke into 300 competing

states run by warlords (Daimyos)

Declining Influence of China

• Imperial house weakened; aristocracy was• empowered• Chinese influence diminished for Japanese• Mandate of heaven and centralized power

were out• Confucian precepts waned while the bushi

elite and their samurai retainers(warriors) influence increased.

• Buddhism morphed into a Japanese religion

Declining influence of China• By 838 the Japanese cut ties

with Tang China• The Gempei wars caused great

suffering• The Minamoto emerged

victorious• Military govt. (Bakufu)

established at Kamakura• Japan became a feudal state

Breakdown of Bakufu Dominance and the Age of the Warlords

• Yoritomo, leader of the Minamoto and founder of the Kamakura Shogunate, weakened the regime because of his fear of overthrow.

• Fear of spies bred paranoia under the first of the Kamakura shoguns, or the military leaders of the bakufu.

• Upon Yoritomo’s death, bushi lords focused on building up their power.

Minamoto YoritomoMinamoto YoritomoMinamoto YoritomoMinamoto Yoritomo

Founded the Kamakura Shogunate: 1185-1333Founded the Kamakura Shogunate: 1185-1333

• The Hojo, another warrior family came to dominate the Kamakura regime.

• The Ashikaga Takuaji, leader of a Minamoto family, overthrew the Kamakura regime and established the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1573)

• Both the emperor’s and shogunate’s authority were weakened due to the strife between the two

• During the fighting, bushi vassals seized the lands of peasantry, the old aristocracy, and competing warlords resulting in bushi warlords power surge.

• The lands the warlords acquired were given out to their samurai warriors, who in turn pledged their loyalty and military support to their lord (feudalism)

Full Samurai AttireFull Samurai AttireFull Samurai AttireFull Samurai Attire

Comparing Japanese and European Feudalism

• Both rose due to weak central governments.

• Both were based on mutual obligations and military needs

• There were differences- In Japan, family and social bonds were very strong

• Losing in battle was the worst disgrace

FeudalismFeudalismFeudalismFeudalismA political, economic, and social system

based on loyalty, the holding of land, and military service.

Japan:Japan:

A political, economic, and social system based on loyalty, the holding of land, and

military service.

Japan:Japan: Shogun

Daimyo Daimyo

Samurai Samurai Samurai

Peasant PeasantPeasantPeasant

Land - Shoen

Land - Shoen

Protection

Loyalty

Loyalty

Food

FeudalismFeudalismFeudalismFeudalism

A political, economic, and social system based on loyalty, the holding of land,

and military service.

Europe

A political, economic, and social system based on loyalty, the holding of land,

and military service.

Europe

King

Lord Lord

Knight Knight Knight

Peasant PeasantPeasantPeasant

Land - Fief

Land - Fief

Protection

Loyalty

Loyalty

Food

•Provincial lords amassed power.

•Japan divided into 300 little kingdoms, whose warlord rulers were called daimyos

Toward Barbarism? Military Division and Social Change

• Bushi era deteriorated in 15th and 16th c

• Spying, sneak attacks, ruses, and betrayals became the order of the day

• Peasants became a critical component of daimyo armies

• Peasant forces became a misery of the common people; they looted and pillaged; were brutal and destructive.

• Japan was reverting from civilized life to barbarism.

• Despite the chaos, there was economic and cultural growth.

• Actions by the daimyos helped stabilized village life– Regular tax collection, construction of irrigation

systems and other public works, building strong rural communities

– New tools, use of draft animals, new crops (soybeans)

– Peasants encouraged to produce highly marketable items giving potential sources of increased income

•A new and wealthy commercial class emerged

•Guild organizations grew strong helping to provide social solidarity and protection.

• Women in merchant and artisan families had some degree of independence and could participate in guild organizations

• However, women in the warrior elites faced loss of inheritance through the trend of daimyo families toward primogeniture, or limiting inheritance to the eldest son.

• Japanese women of all classes lost roles in religious ceremonies and were replaced in Japanese theatrical performances by men specially trained to impersonate women.

Artistic Solace for a Troubled Age

• Zen Buddhism- stressed simplicity and discipline has a special appeal to the warrior elite.

• Zen monasteries provided trade contacts with China – revival of Chinese influence in Japan on the cultural level

Zen BuddhismZen Buddhism Japanese variation of Buddhism

Came from India through China

Reinforced Bushido values of mental and self-discipline

• Architectrual works of this period, including the Golden and Silver Pavilions that Ashikaga shoguns had built in Kyoto – foster contemplation and meditation.

Korea: Between China and Japan

• Koreans descended from peoples of eastern Siberia and Manchuria.

• Choson – earliest Korean kingdom – conquered by the Han Chinese, so parts of Korea were colonized by Chinese settlers.

• Chinese influenced the Korean culture through those colonies.

• Later the Koguryo tribe of Korea established an independent state in the northern half of the peninsula. Went to war with two southern rivals, the Silla and Paekche

• Contacts with splinter kingdoms of China resulted in a wave of Sinification – extensive adoption of Chinese culture in Korea.

• Buddhism was a link between Korea and the successors of the Han dynasty

• Chinese writing was introduced – not a good fit for Korea

• The Koguryo monarch used the unified law code patterned after that of Han China

Tang Alliances and the Conq;uest of Korea

• Tang dynasty included Korea in its territories• Tang struck an alliance with the rulers of the

Silla kingdom to the southeast of Korea and destroyed the Packche kingdom and then defeated Koguryo

• Because the Silla agreed to make tribute payments, the Chinese withdrew their armies in 688 leaving the Silla the independent rulers of a united Korea up to the early 20th c.

Sinification: The Tributary Link

• Silla rulers established a miniature of the Tang Empire.

• Submission and tribute guaranteed continuing peace with the Chinese and provided access to Chinese learning, art, and manufactured goods.

• The tribute system became the major channel of trade and inter-cultural exchange between China and its neighbors.

Sinification of Korean Elite Culture

• Silla rulers rebuilt their capital at Kimsong to look like its Tang counterpart.

• Aristocratic families dominated imperial government

• Some aristocrats submitted to Confucian examinations

• Korean elite continued to favor Buddhism over Confucianism.

• Korean artwork and monastic design outdid the Chinese

•Korean celadon porcelains and black stoneware are considered some of the finest pottery ever made.

Civilization for the Few

• The Korean elite monopolized the Chinese imports of the day.

• Korean Society:– Aristocrats– Those who served the aristocrats (government

functionaries)– Commoners – peasants– Near-slaves known as the “low born” (miners,

artisans, servants and entertainers)

Koryo Collapse, Dynastic Renewal

• Revolts by the common and low born people weakened the Silla and Koryo in combination with quarrels between aristocratic households and outside invasions.

• Yi dynasty was established in 1392 – restored the aristocratic dominance and links to China

Between China and SE Asia: The Making of Vietnam

• Vietnamese were a distinct people and did not want to be controlled by China -- feared losing their identity

• The Chinese first called them Nam Viet, “people in the south”

• Trade between the Chinese and Vietnamese consisted of Chinese silk which was traded for Viets’ ivory, tortoise shells, pearls and other exotics.

• Later the Viet rulers defeated the feudal lords ending their control of the Red River valley and brought their lands under the control of the Viet kingdom.

• Vietnamese customs and cultures differed from Chinese.

• Vietnamese became a distinct ethnic group through intermarrying with the Mon-Khmer(today’s Cambodians) and Tai-speaking peoples.

• They practiced village autonomy and preferred the nuclear family to the Chinese extended family custom.

• Vietnamese women had greater freedom and more influence within the family and in society than did Chinese counterparts. Where Chinese women wore black pants, the Vietnamese women preferred long skirts

• The Vietnamese preserved most of these features even through previous times of control by the Chinese.

• Buddhism was the preferred religion of the Vietnamese.

Conquest and Sinification

• By 111 B.C.E. the Han pushed to conquer the feisty Viets. These Chinese encouraged Viet local lords to adopt Chinese culture. Other cultural changes were attempted.

• Vietnamese elites were drawn to the bureaucratic ways of the Han, attended Chinese-style schools, and took exams to qualify for high posts

• Chinese cropping techniques and irrigation technology were introduced making Vietnamese agriculture the most productive in SE Asia. – Result: High Vietnamese population density

• Eventually the Chinese realized the Viets were, for the most part, not assimilating into the Chinese culture.

• Vietnamese resisted Chinese dominance– Vietnamese aristocracy led revolts against them– Vietnamese peasantry was disappointed with Chinese

imports and rose up time and again to drive off the alien rulers

– The Trung sisters began the 39CE uprising against the Chinese by reminding Vienamese women of the undesireable Confucian norms and male dominance of the Chinese

Winning Independence

• Barriers the Chinese faced:– Long distances and mountain barriers prevented

ease in supplying military expeditions to the far south

– Vietnamese took advantage of 1) the political turmoil of the fall of the Tang dynasty and 2) the nomadic incursions in northern China to assert their independence

– Vietnamese massively rebelled against the Chinese– 939 the Vietnamese won political independence

from the Chinese and held on to it until the conquests by the French in the 19th c.

Continuing Chinese Impact

• The Le dynasty was Vietnam’s first ( 9810-1009)• Ruled through a Chinese-like bureaucracy• Used civil service exams• An administrative elite - Confucian in nature• Vietnamese equivalent of the Chinese scholar-gentry was weak

because Vietnamese officials identified more with the peasantry rather than bureaucratic administrators

• Scholar bureaucrats were considered less influential than well-educated Buddhist monks who were more closely linked with the peasantry

• The high esteem in which women were held in Buddhist teachings enhanced the popularity of the monks in Vietnam.

• Result: Most Vietnamese dynasties enjoyed less authority than those of their Chinese counterparts.

Vietnamese Drive to the South

• Though watered down, the Chinese legacy of influence gave the Vietnamese big advantages in struggles within Indochina.

• Their main enemies were the Chams and Khmers to the south.

• 11th to 18th c. Vietnamese fought: – a series of successful wars against the Chams, an

Indianized people who were eventually driven out– And later, the Khmers of the Mekong delta who were

pushed out when the Vietnamese used their advantage of superior weapons and forces to combat them.

Expansion and Division

• The Hanoi-based dynasties had trouble controlling their commanders and peasants fighting.

• Intermarriage between and custom sharing of the Chams and Khmers created problematic differences

• Control of the Hanoi-based dynasties weakened over the southern region– Problem: less attention to orders and tax

collection caused tension

• By the 16th c. a rival, the Nguyen, emerged to challenge the claims of legitimacy of the Trinh family that ruled the north.

• For the next two centuries, these rival houses fought for the right to rule Vietnam. The hope was to eventually reunite all of Vietnam.

• Because so much attention was paid to this problem, the Vietnamese people failed to see the external threat to their homeland:

– France and the conversion-minded Roman Catholic church!