Disruption and Renewal in South and East Asia

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Chapter 6 Disruption and Renewal in South and
East Asia
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The Gupta Empire 1. The Gupta state had its
origin in the petty state of Mughada in the
eastern Ganges valley under the guidance of a
local raja (prince) named Chandragupta (not
related to Chandragupta Maurya) who married the
daughter of a powerful northern Ganges tribal
leader. Founded about 320, the Gupta Empire was
centered at its capital of Pataliputra (Putna).
Expansion was achieved by his son Samudragupta
(330-375) and grandson Chandragupta II (375-415)
who carried the borders north to the Himalaya
Mountains, south to the Narbada River on the
western Deccan Plateau where Samudragupta
defeated many of the rulers and then restored
them as his subjects. Likewise, he established a
loose control over Pallava and Simhala (Sri
Lanka). In the west the empire stretched to the
borders of the Punjab and Kashmir, and east to
the mouth of the Ganges. Gupta authority also
came to be exercised over states along the Indus
River to the Arabian Sea. 2. Under the Guptas
there was not only peace but also prosperity.
The state controlled gold, silver, and salt
mines, as well as water for irrigation. Clearly,
huge profits could be made. Moreover, such
products as spices, jewels, ivory, tortoise
shells, and fine cloths were exported in the
regional trade of Asia. India's location also
made it a center of exchange between China and
the West by both sea and land routes (the Silk
Road). All was under Gupta protection.
Significantly, the trade with the Middle East
resulted in the introduction of the use of gold
and copper coins for a money economy about the
second century. 3. Beginning about 450, the
Gupta Empire fell under the attack of a group
called the "White Huns" driving from the
northwest out of Afghanistan. By 480 they
controlled northern India. Gupta authority
collapsed about 550. When the Hun's power
disintegrated in the late sixth century, King
Harsha (606-648) sought to reunite the Gupta
state as militarily conquered most of northern
India and bring it under loosed control. When he
died without heirs, the empire broke
up. Questions 1. How was the Gupta Empire
established and expanded? 2. What was the
economic strength of the Guptas?
The Gupta Empire
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• The Gupta Empire and Harsha
• Chandra Gupta I, 320-335
• Samudra Gupta, 335-376
• Chandra Gupta II, 376-415
• White Huns (Huna) invasions, 5th century
• Harsha, 606-648
• Muslim invasions, 712
• Religious Developments
• Hinduism
• Puranas
• Vishnu, reincarnated nine times
• Ninth incarnation, Gautama Buddah

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India at the Death of Mahmud of Ghazni 1. Arab
armies began penetrating east to India in the
seventh century. By 636 under the leadership of
Muhammad ibn-Qasim, Arabs had reached the Arabian
Sea. When Indian pirates from the Hindu state of
Sind near the Indus River continued to attack
Arab shipping, Muslim forces attacked, conquering
the lower Sind and Indus valley in 711. From
this location the Arabs pressed north into the
Punjab at the frontier of India. 2. North India
was brought into Islam not by the Arabs but the
recently converted Turks. In 962 one group of
Turks established a small kingdom in northeastern
Iran in the area of the old Kushan kingdom with
its capital at Ghazni. In 986 the Turks began
raiding in the Punjab. Under Mahmud (997-1030)
the attacks were increased until he won the
Punjab and then pressed to the Ganges. By the
time of Mahmud's death in 1030 he controlled the
Indus valley, the Punjab, and northwestern India.
In religious fervor, Mahmud looted and destroyed
Hindu shrines throughout the areas conquered
under the guise of wiping out idolatry. 3.
Resistance to Mahmud and his successors came from
the Rajputs, a Hindu clan in northwest India.
Their infantry, supported by elephants, was no
match for the Muslim cavalry. The onslaught of
the Muslims continued. 4. Mahmud's death was
followed by a period of relative peace
characterized by local conflicts. This was
interrupted by a new line of Turkish rulers from
their capital of Ghur (west of Ghazni) in
Afghanistan. By 1193 the new attack on India
reached and captured Delhi. By the end of the
century the Muslims had extended their control
throughout most of northern India. Again Hindu
and Buddhist statues were destroyed. Most
Buddhists took refuge in Tibet. Meanwhile, the
sultanate of Delhi was established, reaching
across northern India from the Indus to the Bay
of Bengal from 1206 to 1526. 5. South of the
valley of the Ganges Muslim power spread more
slowly. Muslims did make attacks but had little
success. One of the groups with which the
Muslims had to contend were the Chalukyas and in
the south the Cholas and Pandyas. These Hindu
kingdoms flourished as a consequence of trade
with Southeast Asia, China, and the Middle
East. Questions 1. How was Islam brought to
India? 2. What was the impact of the Muslim
presence in India?
India at the Death of Mahmud of Ghazni
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• Shiva, god of death and fertility
• Parvati demands sacrifices
• Way of Works, maintain ones caste
• Way of Worship
• Art, Architecture, and Culture
• Importance of religious art
• Ajanta, cave temples
• Metal casting
• Literature
• Women
• India under Islam
• Mahmud of Ghazni
• Destruction of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain shrines
• Rajputs (kshatriyas, warrior class)

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China Under the Tang 1. After several centuries
of internal division, China was united under the
Sui dynasty (581-618). The capital was
re-established at Chang'an and expansion began
anew. Most significant during this period was
the connecting older canals and constructing new
ones. First, Chang'an was tied by canal to the
union of the Wei and Yellow Rivers one hundred
miles away. This was followed by extending the
canal to link the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. The
Grand Canal, when completed in 610, extended over
1400 miles. The new canal facilitated the
movement of grain and commodities from the
rice-rich southern provinces to the densely
populated north. The canal also served as a
means for communication, movement of troops, and
inspection of the empire. 2. The Sui collapsed
in part due to three failed campaigns to subdue
the Korean kingdom of Koguryo. When the Sui
emperor was murdered in 618, General Li Yaun
founded the new dynasty of the Tang (618-907).
Soon they began expansion, securing the heartland
by subduing the nomadic tribes beyond the Great
Wall. The northwest was pacified and renamed
Xinjiang ("new region") while the Tibetan kingdom
was brought under Tang control. Tribute also
came from rulers beyond the frontier. The
southern provinces below the Yangtze were fully
assimilated into the Tang Empire. 3. The Sui had
divided their country into a uniform system of
districts grouped in prefectures. The Tang
altered the system by grouping the prefectures
into provinces. 4. In the middle of the eighth
century, Tang foreign policy collapsed as Chinese
armies were defeated in central Asia and the
southwest. As the emperor's power disintegrated,
generals began to rebel. By 907 the Tang had
dissolved and China entered the Era of the Five
Dynasties featuring barracks emperors until 960
with the initiation of the Sung dynasty.
Question 1. How did the Tang reshape China?
China under the Tang
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• Age of Disunity in China, 220-581
• Civil war
• Hsiung-nu renew their attack
• China into a northern and southern regions
• Growth of Buddhism
• Emperor Wu, 502-549
• North China
• Missionaries
• Art
• Sui and Tang Dynasties, 581-907
• Yang Chien, Sui dynasty
• Li, Yuan (Duke of Tang) or Kao-tsu
• Tai-tsung, 626-249
• Expansion

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Chang'an Under the Sui and the Tang 1. Chang'an
was not only the capital of the Tang Empire, it
was also the eastern terminus of the trade routes
from central Asia and the western point of
deposit for the Grand Canal. With a population
drawn from all over Asia, the city and it suburbs
had a population of 1,960,186. Surrounding the
city were walls that formed a rectangle of
slightly over five by six miles. The city was
laid out in broad thoroughfares running east-west
and north-south. These formed 110 blocks, each
of which was an administrative unit. From the
southern gate ran a 500 foot wide thoroughfare to
the governmental headquarters at the Imperial
City where the Imperial Palace was located. The
road divided the city administratively into
eastern and western sections, each with its own
marketplace operated by the government. (John K.
Fairbank, Edwin O. Reischauer, and Albert M.
Craig, East Asia Tradition and Transformation,
pp. 105-106) Question 1. How does Chang'an
compare as a capital city to that of Rome and
Athens?
Chang'an under the Sui and the Tang
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• Kao-tsung, 649-683
• Lady Wu
• Ming-huang, 712-756
• Lady Yang
• Government and Economy
• Tang successful due to stable government
• Uniform educational system, examinations
• Economic prosperity
• International trade
• Content peasantry, equal field system
• Changan, 2 million people
• Based upon military power and trade

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Grand Canal at Wuxi
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• Religion
• Hsuan-tsang, Buddhist pilgrim
• Emergence of Mahayana Buddhism
• Pure Land
• Chan
• Rivalry between Buddhism and Taoism
• Competition of Confucianism
• Entrance of Zoroastrianism and Islam
• Poetry and Sculpture
• Sculpture in rock cave temples
• Flourishing secular sculpture

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• Sung and Nomadic Dynasties, 966-1279
• Chao Kuang-jin, Northern Sung dynasty, 960-1125
• Peace and prosperity
• Civilian government, Conservative and Innovators
• Southern Sung
• Literati leaders
• Use of diplomacy
• Gifts to states that were threatening
• Neo-Confucianism and Stagnant Buddhism
• Sale of ordination certificates
• Laughing Buddha
• Ethical character of Neo-Confucianism
• Culture and Arts

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Statues of traitors to Song dynasty in Hangzhou