Chapter 12
Empires In East Asia 660-1350 A.D.
Vocabulary: Part I
 Moveable Type: Blocks of metal or wood, each bearing a
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single character, that can be arranged for page printing
Gentry: A class of powerful, well-to-do people who enjoy
a high social class/status
Acupuncture: Chinese form of medicine. Needles in body
to relive stress/pain (Chinese Anatomy)
Clan: Group of people descended from a common
ancestor
Genghis Khan: United Mongols. Created largest empire
in the world
Pax Mongolica: The “Mongol Peace.” A period from
1250-1350 A.D. when the Mongols imposed stability, law
and order across much of Eurasia
Vocabulary: Part II
 Kublai Khan: Grandson of Genghis Khan. Goal was to
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rule/conquer all of China. Tried to conquer Japan
multiple times.
Marco Polo: Italian merchant/explorer. Served Kublai
Khan for 17 years. Opened Europe to the greatness of
China
Shinto: Native Religion of Japan (Nature Based)
Samurai: One of the professional warriors who served
Japanese feudal lords
Bushido: The strict code of behavior followed by samurai
warriors in Japan
Shogun: In feudal Japan, a supreme military commander
who ruled in the name of the Emperor
Vocabulary: Part III
 Khmer Empire: A southeast Asian empire, centered
in what is now Cambodia, that reached its peak of
power around.
 Angkor Wat: A temple complex built during the
Khmer Empire and dedicated to the Hindu god
Vishnu
 Koryu Dynasty: Dynasty that ruled Korea from 9351392 A.D.
Tang and Song China
CHAPTER 12:1
Two Great Dynasties in China
 The Tang Dynasty Expands China
 Tang Rulers Create a Powerful Empire
 After collapse of Han Dynasty in 220 AD, it took until 589 AD for
Chinese to restore a new dynasty
 Tang Emperors lowered taxes and concentrated on foreign trade
and agriculture for income
 Built Roads/Canals
 Conquered Northern lands
 Influences Korea
 Empress Wu Zhao (Only Women Empress)
Tang Dynasty Map
Empress Wu Zhao
The Tang Dynasty
 Scholar-Officials
 Tang revived examination system (Civil Service) for choosing
government officials
 Giant Bureaucracy to rule empire
 Tang Lose Power
 Military expansion had wrecked economy by mid 700’s.
 Taxes too high
 Tang lost control of central Asia – Silk Road routes
 Chinese rebels murdered the last Tang Emperor (Child)
The Song Dynasty Restores China
 Song Taizu
 Founded Dynasty that
lasted from 960-1279
 The Song returned China
to prosperity, but
steadily lost lands to
invading nomads
 10 cities over 1 million
people
 Expanded via “Sea
Trade”
Song Dynasty
An Era of Prosperity and Innovation
 Science and Technology
 Innovations lead to the
most advanced society in
the world
 Movable type and
gunpowder were
invented
 Vietnamese Rice
 Other inventions
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Paper Money
Porcelain,
Mechanical Clock,
The Magnetic Compass
Trade and Foreign Contacts
 Trade and Foreign Contacts
 Trade expanded over the
ocean as the Silk Roads were
lost to nomads
 Chinese became greatest
naval power in the world
 Cultural Diffusion: Tea, new
ideas in math and astronomy
to China, Buddhism to
Southeast Asia and Japan
A Golden Age of Poetry and Art
 Tang and Song dynasties
fostered artistic
brilliance
 Li Bo and Tu Fu
 Topics: Life/Confucian
Ideas/Battle
 Chinese Paintings:
Nature/Black Ink
Changes in Chinese Society
 Levels of Society
 The Gentry: Scholar-officials and their families,
emerged as the ruling class in China
 Laborers, soldiers, and peasants made up the lowest
classes of society
 Few control land
The Status of Women
 The Status of Women
 Women raised to be
subservient to men,
especially in the upper
classes
 Practice of foot-binding
was started, crippled
women for life
 Was considered a sign of
prestige for men
12:2 The Mongol Conquests
Nomads of the Asian Steppe
 Vast dry grasslands (Steppe)
 Trade routes/open lands
 Central Asia to Eastern Europe
 Home of the Hittites, Huns, Turks, Mongols
 Dramatic Weather Changes
 Better weather in the West (constant migration)
 Nomads constantly fighting over lands
 Importance of the Horse
 Development of Clans vs. Kingdoms
Empire of the Great Khan
 The Mongol Empire
 Temujin
 Genghis Khan (Universal
Ruler)
United all Mongol tribes by
conquest in 1206 AD
 Used organization and new
battle tactics to defeat
enemies
 Fear convinced many
people to surrender to
Mongols
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Genghis Khan 1162-1227
 “Man’s greatest fortune is to chase and defeat his
enemy, seize his total possessions, leave his married
women weeping and wailing, and ride his horse…”
Genghis The Conqueror
 Organized Military
 Followed Chinese Military Organization based on armies of
10,000
 Silk Armor
 Gifted Strategist
 Set up traps on attacking armies
 Skilled Horsemen
 Cruelty
 Terrifying enemy into surrender
 Two Choices: Join or Die (Slaughter)
 Won on Reputation of Cruelty
Mongols as Rulers
 Mongols destroyed much of the land that they
conquered
 4 Khanates: Descendent Rulers
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Khanate of the Great Khan (Mongolia and China)
Khanate of Chagatai (Central Asia)
Khanate of Ilkhanate (Persia)
Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia)
 Over time, they began to blend into society
 From 1250 to 1350, Mongol Peace/ Pax Mongolica
fostered trade and cultural diffusion throughout Asia
 Consequence: The Bubonic Plague
Tsonjin Bolog, Mongolia
The Mongol Empire
12:3
Kublai Khan Conquers China
 Kublai Khan, grandson to Genghis Khan
 “Great Khan”
 Beginning a New Dynasty
 Yuan Dynasty unified China
 The armies of Kublai Khan conquered China in 1279
 Kublai tolerated Chinese traditions and did not change government
 Abandoned Mongol Life Style….. Enjoyed Luxuries
 Moved Capital to China
Failure to Conquer Japan
 Kublai sent two invasions
to conquer Japan
(1274/1281)
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Forced the Koreans to build,
sail and provide supplies
(Why?)
150,000 (Largest Until
WWII)
Typhoon swept across the
Sea of Japan
 Shipwrecked on Japanese
rocky coastline
 Kamikaze Wind “Divine
Wind”
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Mongol Rule in China
 The Mongols and the
Chinese
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Mongols lived apart from
Chinese
Most important government
posts went to Mongols or
foreigners
Kublai built canals and roads
that improved
transportation in China
Extended the Grand Canal
Marco Polo at the Mongol Court
 Kublai Khan invited
visitors to stay with him
 Traveled to China in 1275
and stayed 17 years
 His writings were the
first European records of
China
 Encouraged later
European interest and
exploration of routes to
China
The End of Mongol Rule
 Yuan Dynasty overthrown
 Mongols suffered several military defeats, causing taxes to
increase
 Kublai’s successors were cruel towards the Chinese people
 Dynasty overthrown in 1368
 By 1480, all lands the Mongols had once ruled became
independent once again
Feudal Powers In Japan
Chapter 12:4
The Growth of Japanese Civilization
 Geography of Japan
 Made up of about 4,000 islands
 Four Main Islands – Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu
 Very Mountainous, few natural resources
 Relies on seafood
 12% of land is farmable
 Natural Disasters: Typhoons and Earthquakes
The Growth of Japanese Civilizations
Early Japanese History
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Family clans dominated
Japanese culture
Worshiped nature gods
and goddess
Shinto Religion Evolves
Shinto: meaning “way of
the gods”
Respect for nature and
ancestors
 Kami: Divine spirits that
dwelled in nature
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Shinto Torii Gate
The Growth of Japanese Civilizations
Yamato Emperors
 Yamato family ruled as
emperors of Japan
from the 5th century
 Most emperors lacked
any real power
 Dual Structure of
Government
Japanese Culture
 The Japanese Adopt
Chinese Ideas
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Buddhism in Japan
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Combined traditional
Chinese form with aspects of
Shinto (Zen Buddhism)
Cultural Borrowing from
China
In 600s, Japanese sent
envoys to China to study
ways of the Chinese
 Writing, Cooking, Gardening,
Drinking Tea and
Hairdressing
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Feudalism Erodes Imperial Authority
Decline of Central Power
 Landowners living away
from the capital set up
private armies
 Small landowners looked
to local lords for
protection
 Beginning of a “Feudal
System” in Japan
 Central government not
interested in affairs
outside of capital
Samurai
Warriors/Bushido
 Samurai bodyguards of
loyal warriors “one who
serves”
 Bushido Code “the way of
the warrior”
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Reckless courage
Reverence for the gods
Fairness
Generosity toward weak
Dying an honorable death
A Samurai's Life
A Samurai's Life
A Samurai's Life
A Samurai's Life
Seppuku
 Also called Hara-kiri
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(Belly Cutting)
The honorable way of
taking one’s own life
Bring honor to
dishonorable name
Part of Bushido Code
Plunge sword into left
side of stomach and cut
all the way over to the
right
Geisha
The Kamakura Shogunate
 Minamoto clans take control in 1192, leader takes
title of Shogun, or supreme military ruler
 Shogun ruled as military dictator, daimyo ruled each
province
 Emperor remained as puppet ruler
Emperor
Shogun
Daimyo
Samurai
Peasants/Artisans
Merchants
Kingdom of Southeast Asia and
Korea
12:5
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
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Myanmar (Burma)
Laos
Cambodia
Vietnam
Malaysia
Indonesia,
Thailand
Singapore
Brunei
Philippines
Kingdoms of Southeast
Asia Geography
 India and Pacific
Oceans
 Indochina and the
Islands
 Warm Humid Tropics
 Monsoon
winds/Seasonal winds
Kingdoms of Southeast Asia and Korea
Influence of India and
China
The Khmer Empire
 Trade ships from China
 Cambodia
and India
 Hindu and Buddhist
Missionaries
 Improved rice and
irrigation (4 crops)
 Angkor Wat
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Hindu Temple to Vishnu
1 square mile
Moat
Largest religious structure in
the world
Korean Dynasties
Geography of Korea
Early History
 Korean Peninsula
 Clans and tribes rule
 Mountainous land
 Chinese ruled
divides it from
Manchuria
 Climate is moderate
 Centralized
government,
Confucianism and
writing
The Koryu Dynasty
 Wang Kon takes over empire
 Established a central service exam
 Faced the Mongols
 20,000 horses, clothing for 1 million soldiers,
children and artisans as slaves