Chapter 13 – The spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam• The people of China’s borders naturally

were influenced by their great neighbor• Japan “borrowed” heavily from China

during the 5th and 6th centuries• In all 3 regions, Buddhism was a key

force in transmitting Chinese civilization

• Japan – The common people looked to Buddhist monks for spiritual and secular assistance and meshed Buddhist beliefs with traditional religion

• *Taika reforms (646 CE) – Attempts to remake the Japanese monarch into an absolutist Chinese-style emperor; included attempts to create professional bureaucracy & peasant army• Taika reforms failed; the aristocracy

returned to Japanese traditions• Heian – Japanese city later called Kyoto

– built to escape influence of Buddhist monks

• *Bushi – regional warrior leaders in Japan; ruled small kingdoms from fortresses; administered the law, supervised public works projects, and collected revenues; built up private armies (Samurai)

• Similar to Feudalism in Europe – local nobles carved out estates and reduced the peasants to serfdom

• Samurai – mounted troops of the bushi; loyal to local lords, not the emperor

• The aristocrats lived in palaces and gardens; the basis of their life was the pursuit of enjoyment

• Sinfication– Extensive adaptation of Chinese culture in other regions (from previous chapter)

• Japanese peasants were reduced to the status of serfs with the rise of the Samurai

• Bakufu – Military government established by the Minamoto; retained an emperor, BUT the real power resided in military government and samurai

• Shoguns – Military leaders of the Bakufu

Similarities of Japan and Western European Feudalism

• BOTH were not able to sustain more centralized political forms• BOTH embraced elite militaristic values• BOTH of their women were excluded from inheritance• Warfare based on spying, timely assaults, wise command, and

organization of professional armies.

• Japanese determined aristocratic rank by birth, thus blocking social mobility (think of the Indian caste system!)

Korea Not until 3rd century CE was Korea

independent of China Korean bureaucracy admitted

members almost exclusively by birth rather than test scores– “It’s not what you know, but who you

know.” ;-)

• Buddhism supplied the key links between Korea and China

• Korea, because of its proximity to China, was more profoundly influenced over a longer period than any other state

Korea’s Three Kingdoms

• Three competing kingdoms emerged in Korea: Silla, Koguryo and Paekche

• Koguryo* – Tribal people of northern Korea; established an independent kingdom in the northern half of the peninsula; adopted cultural Sinification*

• Silla* – southeast Korean kingdom was successful in establishing a unified and independent government in Korea although they paid the Tang tribute.

Southeast Asia

• Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, & the Malay Peninsula

• Located between China and India (and south of China)

• More rights for women than in India or China

VIETNAM • they had their own culture (remained

distinct, in spite of Sinfication)• They were prepared to receive the

benefits of Chinese civilization but not to lose their identity

• Their spoken language was not related to Chinese

• Vietnamese women had more freedom and influence than Chinese women did

• The expanding Han Empire first secured tribute from Vietnam; later, after 111 BCE the Han conquered and governed directly

• Viets attended Chinese schools, learned Chinese scripts• Chinese techniques made Vietnamese agriculture the most

productive in Southeast Asia

Vietnam adopted Chinese model of government as well as Confucianism as state religion/philosophy

• Geography, environment, and movement in Vietnam divided the nation into two cultural divisions – one in the south along the Mekong River and the other in the north along the Red River

• The conflict between north and south left the Vietnamese oblivious to outside threats from the French and the Catholic Church.

The Khmer Empire - Cambodia

• Kingdom of Angkor in 9th century• Jayavarman (King) united Khmer

Empire• Thai people invade and

destroyed the Khmer capital in 1432

• Khmer set up new capital in Phnom Penh

Thailand Influenced by both

China and India; Thailand adopted Buddhism as its state religion and the political practices of India.

Malay Peninsula/Indonesia

• Heavily influenced by Indian culture

• In the 15th c. an Islamic state formed around the small city of Malacca (southwest Malaysia)

A sultanate* is a term used for a land ruled by the authority and office of a strictly Islamic monarchy

The Least You Need to Know

As the Chinese Empire developed and grew culturally and politically, so did its influence on Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia

Geographic isolation set the stage for Japan to develop its own unique culture and government

Although originally dominated by China, Korea eventually emerged as a divergent nation, both politically and culturally

In Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, the class that most welcomed Chinese influence and culture was the court bureaucrats (scholar-gentry; upper-class)