Chapter 13: The Spread of Chinese Civilization
ANSWERS
Japan, Korea, Vietnam
(600-1400 C.E.)
Geography of Japan
 Geography
o The nation is an archipelago or a group of islands under control over one government (4,000 islands)
 Approximate size = 146,000 square miles
o Four major islands (north to south)
 Hokkaido
 Honshu
 Shikoku
 Kyusbu
o Located 120 miles away from Korea, and 500 miles
away from China
 Enabled area to import ideas from abroad
without worrying about destruction of their
own culture
 Contact between China and Japan resulted
from both trade and warfare
o Area is mountainous – 20% of land is arable
 Mountains are of volcanic origin
o Located on the Ring of Fire
 Area at juncture between the Asian and Pacific
tectonic plates
 Prone to earthquakes, typhoons. floods, and occasionally tidal waves.
Geography of Japan
 Geography (continued)
o Maintains temperate climate
 Approximate latitude as eastern seaboard of U.S.
 Slightly warmer on east coast
 Natural harbors provide protection to those living within this region
 Most of the population lives within region
Early History of Japan
 Legendary Origins
o Islands of Japan formed from marriage of the god Izanogi and goddess Izanami
 Gave birth to Japan
 Gave birth to sun goddess – Amaterasu
 Descendent became the founder
of the Japanese nation.
o Still believed into modern times
 First inhabitants
o Islands inhabited by humans for at least
100,000 years
o Jomon people
 Earliest Neolithic inhabitants (8,000
B.C.E.)
 Lived by hunting, fishing, and food gathering
o Yayoi culture
 Immigrants from Korea who blended with Jomon people
 Majority of Japanese can trace ancestry to today
 Moved into Yamato plain during the first century C.E.
 Set up tribal society based on clans, known as uji.
Early History of Japan
 Religion
o Early Japanese worshipped kami
 Spirits who resided in trees, rivers and streams, and mountains
 Believed in ancestral spirits who were present in te atmosphere
o Shintoism
 Also known as the “Way of the gods,” or Sacred Way
 Evolution of various kami and ancestral spirits into a state religion
 Serves as ideological and emotional force hat knits Japanese into a single people
 Focuses on the beauty of nature and respect for nature
Imperial Japan
 Yamato Period (250-710 C.E.)
o Yamato uji became the strongest of all the clans in Japan
o Claimed to be decendents frm the sun goddess Amaterasu. Addressed themselves as the emperors of
Japan
 As a result, there has been only one ruling family in Japan throughout its entire history
 At time, others ruled in the name of the emperor (made Yamato a figurehead). However, the
same family sits as emperor today.
 Divinity officially recognized during Nara Period (710-794 C.E.)
o Shotoku Taishi (Prince Shotoku (574-622 C.E.)
 Served as regent under Yamato rule
 Set up first major correspndence between Japan and China
 Sent missions to Tang capital of Chang’an to learn political institutions
 Devised Seventeen Article Constitution
 Created a centralized government under a supreme ruler
o Gave legitimacy to Yamato rule
o Taika reforms
 Further borrowed ideas on government from Chinese model
 Included farm ownership by state and similar bureaucracy
o Buddhism blossoms in Japan from interactions with Chinese
Imperial Japan
 Yamato Period (250 – 710 C.E.) con’t
o Buddhism in Japan
 Originally introduced to Japan from Korea
 Became highly influential amongst aristocracy following missions to Tang China
 Idea of gaining peace through meditation appealed to Japanese
 Nara Period (710 – 794 C.E.)
o High point of Chinese influence in Japan
o Capital of Japan moved to the city of Nara
 City design based on Tang capital at Chang’an
o Period Yamato rulers claimed themselves as the “Son of Heaven”
o Height of Buddhism learning
o End of period marked by a loss of Chinese influence
Tadaiji Buddhist Temple in Nara. Largest wooden structure on
earth
Imperial Japan
 Heian Period (794-1185 C.E.)
o Moved capital back to original power based at Heian (present day Kyoto)
o Power held by the Fujiwara family (Emperor = figurehead)
o Eliminated missions to Tang China
o Focused on development of Japanese culture and ideas
 Ex. Tale of Genji – world’s first novel written by woman Murasaki Shikubu about life in the
Heian court
o Period marked by a decentralization of
government
 Powerful families, known as Shoen,
acquired great wealth through
ownership of tax-exempt farmland
 Worked out deal with court
aristocrats to avoid taxation
 Samurai class created to
protect land interests
o Samurai
 Military retainer class
 Lived life of simplicity and self-sacrifice
 Followed strict code of honor known as bushido (“way of the warrior”)
Japan Under the Shogun
 Kamakura Shogunate (1192-1333 C.E.)
o Emerged at the end of the 100s as rivalries amongst noble families led to constant civil war
o Minamoto Yoritomo (1142-1199 C.E.)
 Given the title of Shogun – “supreme general of the Emperor’s army”, in 1192 C.E.
 From 1192 to 1867 C.E. the Shogun will have true power in Japan
 While the Emperor remained in Heian (Kyoto), the Shogun would move his power based
to the city of Kamakura
 Created a bakufu (centralized government) under Shogun title
 Mongol conflicts (1274 C.E. and 1281 C.E.)
 Proved power of Shogun
 Began when Japan refused to pay tribute to Kublai Khan in 1266 C.E.
 Defeated Mongol army of 30,000 in 1274 C.E.
 Mongol army of 150,000 wiped out in
1281 C.E. after two months of fighting and
the massive typhoon (kamikaze) that
wiped out most of their ships.
 Japan would not face an invasion on their
land again until the U.S. forces entered the
mainland in 1945 C.E.
 Overthrown by the Ashikaga clan in 1333 C.E.
Japan Under the Shogun
 Ashikaga Shogunate (1333 – 1600 C.E.)
o Unable to restore centralized power
o Power of local aristocracy reached peak
o Daimyo
 Heads of the great noble families of Japan
 Relied on Samurai for protection
 Owed loyalty to Shogun in principle
o Onin War (1467 – 1477 C.E.)
 Led to the virtual disintegration of the shogunate
 Powerful aristocrats seized control over large territories
 Result – Japan enters its own warring states period that will last until the end of the 1500s.
Japanese Feudalism (100s – 1867 C.E.)
 Japanese Feudalism
o System of government where local peoples (nobles) were given land in exchange for military service
and loyalty to higher class
o Emperor still rule in name, but did not control country (no real power)
o Power rested in the hands of the military strongmen
o Small ruling class was superior to their subjects
o All members of Japanese society had a defined place
o Began with the Kamakura and would end with the Meiji Restoration in 1867 C.E.
o Power of the Shogun would become more solidified under the reign of the Tokugawa beginning in
the 1600s C.E.
 Japanese feudal structure (highest to lowest)
o Emperor – stood at the top of society but considered a figurehead.
o Shogun – military and political ruler of society
o Daimyo – Wealthy, elite samurai who served the Shogun in protecting and ruling Japan
o Samurai – small nobility class of warriors. Followed code of honor – bushido
o Peasants – Produced food for all of Japan
o Merchants – Although wealthier than peasants, viewed as the lowest for lack of contribution to
society as a whole.
Japanese Feudal Structure
Japanese Culture
 Japanese borrowed selectively from abroad without destroying essential native elements
 Religion
o Shintoism
 Known as “Way of the gods”
 Emphasis on respect for nature
 Blended in with Buddhism upon its arrival
o Buddhism
 Became a part of Japanese courts in 500s C.E.; masses in 700s
 Pure Land Buddhism (Jodo) – popular amongst masses
 Zen Buddhism
 Emphasized austerity, self-discipline, and communion with nature
 Exerted significant influence during Warring States era
 Complements traditional beliefs in Japanese society
 Became important component of warrior code
 Language
o Japan had no written language prior to Chinese
o Used Chinese characters as phonetic symbols that were combined to form Japanese words
 Chinese characters could not ordinarily be used due to the multiple syllables of Japanese words
Japanese Culture
 Literature
o During early period, Japanese preferred to write in Chinese. This changed as Japan moved into the
Heian period.
o Poetry
 Combines traditional Japanese aesthetics, Zen, and the language itself
 Haiku
 Composed of seventeen syllables (lines 5-7-5)
 Focused on images of nature and appreciation of life
o Novels
 Many written during the Kamakura era, focusing in heroic war tales of the warrior class
o Role of women
 Did not possess full rights of male counterparts, but held significant role in society
 Guaranteed inheritance rights to property
 Could be divorced if not able to produce a male heir
 Aristocratic women prominent at court (ex. Murasaki Shikibu)
Korea
 Geography
o Peninsula located in East Asia
 Bordered by the Sea of Japan in the east, East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to
the west
o Area roughly the size of Minnesota
o Located within close proximity to China (north) and Japan
(east)
o Mountainous terrain – only 20% of the land is arable
 Early Chinese influence
o Took control of northern portion of Korea during the early
Han dynasty
o With decline of the Han, power shifted to local tribal leaders
 Three separate kingdoms emerge in Korea as a result
 Koguryo in the north
 Paekche in the southwest
 Silla in the southeast
Early History of Korea
 Era of the Three Kingdoms (300s – 600s C.E.)
o Kogurya, Paekche, and Silla became bitter rivals during this period
o All accepted tributary status under China during the Era of Six Dynasties
o Kingdom of Silla
 Emerged as the dominant power on the peninsula
 Forced Chinese rulers to withdraw from Korea
 Accepted tributary status under the Tang
 Temporarily united all of Korea
 Borrowed ideas from the Chinese on
government
 Made Buddhism the unified state religion
 Power undermined by aristocracy
o Result – plunged area into civil war after
assassination of leader in 780 C.E.
Korea Under Dynastic Rule
 Korya Dynasty (918 – 1392 C.E.)
o Protected from invasion by weak Chinese dynasties during formation
o Era of high achievement
 Buddhist monasteries flourished and controlled vast amounts of territory
 Buddhist Tripitaka was produced using woodblock printing
 Time period where Confucian themes
began to predominate
o Northern portion of kingdom seized by
Mongols in the 1200s C.E.
 Became a tributary to the Yuan Dynasty
 Period of suffering for Korean people
o Collapsed during the rise of the Ming in
China
 Yi Dynasty
o Yi Songye
 Military commander who defeated the Korya Dynasty in 1392 C.E.
Vietnam
 Geography
o Located on China’s southern frontier
o Lands found on the eastern portion of the Indochinese peninsula
o Borders present day countries f China, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand
o Earliest people practices irrigated agriculture in the Red River Delta
Vietnam
 Early history and conflict
o Unified as a state around 200 B.C.E.
o Fought against the Qin
 Temporarily preserved independence upon Qin collapse
 Vietnam under the Han
o Absorbed into Han dynasty around 180 B.C.E.
o Trung Sisters
 Widows of local nobles who were executed by the Chinese
 Led a brief revolt against Han in 39 C.E.
o Han officials began to intermarry with local
nobility, forming a Sino-Vietnamese ruling class
o For the next 1,000 years, China would have control
of the Han
Rise of the Great Viet
 Dai Viet
o Overthrew China during the collapse of the Tang
o Maintained cultural heritage despite long period of captivity
o Expanded lands southward
 Defeated by Champa by 1400 C.E.
 Expanded to the Gulf of Siam by 1600 C.E.
o Gave tribute under the Song Dynasty
o Conflict against the Mongols
 Vietnamese capacity for guerilla warfare drove invaders out
o Conflict against the Ming
 Ming had occupation over Vietnam for 20 years
 Drove out Ming by 1428 C.E.
 Created a strong sense of national identity
Vietnamese Culture
 Government
o Borrowed Confucian model of administering rule
o King viewed as a symbol for Vietnamese independence
o Initiated civil service exams to check on power of nobility
 Religion
o Vietnamese traditional belief of spirit worship culturally diffused with Buddhism, Daoism, and
Confucianism
 Language
o Chu nom (southern characters)
 Devised to provide a written system for spoken
Vietnamese
 Emerged in the 800s C.E.
 Created system total independent of Chinese forms
 Role of Woman
o Confucian concept of family took hold during 1,000
year rule
o Possessed more rights than Chinese in both practice and
law
 ex. Permitted to own property and divorce
o Had strong historical tradition of associating heroic women with the defense of the homeland
 ex. Trung Sisters