THE SPREAD OF CIVILIZATION IN EAST ASIA

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THE SPREAD OF CIVILIZATION IN EAST ASIA

• JAPAN, KOREA AND VIETNAM IN THE POST-CLASSICAL AGE

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GEOGRAPHY INFLUENCES HISTORY

• Relative Location
• Korea, Vietnam border China
• Japan located off coast of East Asia
• Physical Characteristics
• Korea, Vietnam
• Mountainous, cut by river valleys
• Population located on plains
• Japan
• Volcanic islands, very mountainous
• Deep valleys with plains
• Demography
• Populace generally heavy on plains
• Rice was principal crop
• Cities exist but rarer than China
• Cities centers of Chinese culture
• Countryside resistant to Sinification

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THE CONFUCIAN WORLD
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KOREA THE BRIDGE

• Korea in the Ancient and Classical Periods
• Influenced by developments in China
• Chinese armies invaded periodically
• Chinese established control of parts of Korea
• Nomadic invasions frequent
• Fall of Han left regional Korean aristocrats in
  control
• Korean History 669 1392 C.E.
• Tang armies conquered much of Korea
• Silla dynasty allied with Tang, ruled peninsula
• Entered into a tributary relationship with China
• Song replaced Tang
• Koguryo conquered Silla in 935, ruled to 1392
• China's influence in Korea
• Sinification becoming Chinese
• Koreans borrowed what was useful, unavoidable
  avoided what was not
• Tributary embassies included Korean royal
  officials and scholars
• Silla kings built new capital at Kumsong modeled
  on the Tang capital
• Older Traditions
• Ancestor worship strong in Korean society

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VIETNAM A BORDER STATE

• Nam Viet people originated in Southern China
• Rise of Han and southern settlement of Chinese
  pushed Viet out
• Viet migrated into Red River Valley, down coast
  fighting local inhabitants
• Vietnam under Chinese rule to c. 983 CE
• Han first conquered Northern Vietnam in 111 BCE
• Viet elites adopted Chinese agriculture, schools,
  thought intermarried
• Massive migration of Chinese official, scholars,
  bureaucrats to Vietnam
• Trung sisters led revolt against Chinese rule (40
  43 CE)
• Peasants resented Chinese influence, role of
  towns, cities
• 1,000 year struggle for independence
• Relationship often tributary to China
• Independent Vietnam (c. 983 CE)
• Ruled by Dynasties, capital moved between Hanoi,
  Hue
• Constant pressure against hill peoples, pushing
  south
• Difference from China
• Role of village equal to role of family in China
• Few cities village dominate countryside, elders
  ran villages
• Many Vietnamese retained their religious
  traditions
• Women played more prominent roles in Vietnam

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EARLY JAPAN

• Ancient Japan
• Earliest inhabitants were nomadic Caucasians
  (Ainu) from Northeast Asia
• Japanese related to Koreans, migrated into
  islands, pushed Ainu north
• Ruled by several dozen states dominate by clans,
  1st millennium BCE
• Shinto Ancestor veneration with deification of
  nature, spirits (kami)
• Nara Japan (710-794 C.E.)
• Inspired by Tang, Yamato clan claimed imperial
  authority
• The imperial court modeled on that of the Tang
• Built a new capital (Nara) in 710 C.E., modeled
  on Chang'an
• Prince Shotoku wrote first Japanese constitution
• Adopted Confucianism and Buddhism, but maintained
  Shinto
• Heian Japan (794-1185 C.E.)
• Moved to new capital Heian (modern Kyoto) in 794
• Japanese emperors as ceremonial figureheads and
  symbols of authority
• Effective power in the hands of the Fujiwara
  family
• Emperor did not rule
• Lived in splendid isolation along with court
  elite
• Effected by bureaucrats, complex etiquette
• Chinese learning dominated Japanese education,
  culture

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MEDIEVAL JAPAN

• Japanese feudalism
• Called the Shogunate Period
• Military dictators ruled, Emperors reigned in
  splendid isolation
• Government was centralized feudalism
• Countryside divided up into fiefs
• Daimyo appointed by the shoguns
• Adopted Neo-Confucianism as state philosophy
• Provincial lords controlled Japan
• Called Daimyo, vied for power against each other
• Constant war to increase personal power, wealth,
  fiefs
• Kamakura Period (1185-1333 C.E.)
• Muromachi Period (1336-1573 C.E.)
• The Samurai
• The lowest class of aristocratic nobility
• Professional warriors of provincial lords
• Observed samurai code called bushido
• Valued loyalty, military talent, and discipline
  traded military skills for food
• To preserve their honor, engaged in ritual
  suicide called seppuku
• Japanese Women

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FIEFS OF FEUDAL JAPAN