I.
Classical Civilization: China
A. Introduction – longest-lived civilization in history
a. Isolated
i. Couldn’t learn from other cultures
ii. Rare invasions
iii. Distinctive identity
iv. Relatively little internal chaos w/ decline of Shang dynasty
1. Greatest links to classical society
b. Intellectual theory
i. Harmony of nature – yin and yang – balance
ii. Seek Dao – the way
1. Avoid excess
2. Appreciate balance of opposites
3. Humans part of world, not on outside – like Mediterranean
c. Thesis: China emerged with an unusually well-integrated system in which
government, philosophy, economic incentives, the family, and the individual
were intended to blend into a harmonious whole.
B. Patterns in Classical China
a. Pattern of rule
i. Dynasty, family of kings – create strong politics, economy
ii. Dynasty grew weak, taxes declined
iii. Social divisions increased
iv. Invasion or internal rebellion
v. Another dynasty emerged – general, invader, peasant rebel
b. Zhou Dynasty – 1029-258 BCE
i. Started decline in 700 BCE
ii. Ruled w/ local princes – alliance system
1. Successful in agricultural communities – ie manor system
Europe
2. Princes received land for troops/tax
iii. Eventually local leaders ignored central gov’t
iv. Contributions
1. Extended territory to “Middle Kingdom” – wheat north, rice
south
a. Transportation/communication difficult – hard to
govern
2. Mandate of Heaven – Sons of Heaven – emperors live affluent
life
3. Greater cultural unity
a. Banned human sacrifice
b. Standardized language – Mandarin – most people
speaking same
4. Confucius – wrote on political ethics
v. 402-201 BCE Era of the Warring States
c. Qin Dynasty – China’s namesake
i. Xin Shi Huangdi – first emperor – brutal leader
1. Undid power of regional leaders
2. Nobles brought to emperor’s home
3. Officials selected from nonaristocratic groups – allegiance
4. Extended territory south
5. Built Great Wall – 3000 miles
6. Burned books, attacked culture – hurts his autocratic rule
ii. Innovations
1. National census – tax and labor service
2. Standardized coins, weights, measures
3. Uniform written language
4. Irrigation projects
5. Promoted manufacturing – silk
iii. Downfall – unpopular
1. high taxes, attacks on intellectuals
2. killed men, punished brutally
3. Died in 210 BCE – revolts broke out
d. Han Dynasty – 202 BCE-220 CE
i. Kept centralized power of Qin, but reduced repression
ii. Extended borders – opened trade to India, Mediterranean
iii. Wu Ti – period of peace – like Pax Romana
iv. Advancements
1. Formal training
2. Supported Confucianism
a. Shrines built to worship Confucius as god
v. Invasions – Huns – led to decline
vi. 220 – 589 CE China in chaos
C. Political Institutions
a. Strong central government
i. Qin stressed unquestioned central authority
ii. Han – expanded bureaucracy
b. Political framework
i. Strong local units remained, but power diminished
1. Relied on patriarchal families
2. Ancestor worship linked families
3. Village leaders helped coordinate farming/harvesting
ii. Single law code
iii. Universal tax system
iv. Central authority appointments – not based on local government
nominations
v. Delegation done to emperor’s ministers
c. Huge bureaucracy – 130,000 bureaucrats
i. Civil Service tests
ii. Scholar bureaucrat
iii. Not exclusively upper class rule - occasionally lower class recruited
iv. Rulers often could be controlled by bureaucrats – didn’t do crazy stuff
of Rome
d. Most tightly governed people
i. Rules administered by trained scholars
ii. Father unquestioned power – passed down from ancestors
iii. Harsh punishments to put down rebellion
e. Government traditions
i. Not heavily militaristic – not huge need
ii. Promoted intellectual life – not Qin
iii. Active in economy
1. Organized production of iron/salt
2. Han tried storing grain for bad harvests
3. Sponsored public works – canals/irrigation
f. Technology made it difficult to control, but…
i. Torture and execution used to keep obedience
ii. Taxed
iii. Annual labor
g. Invaders – Huns – couldn’t create better system for governing – kept
bureaucrats
D. Religion and Culture – people not united by religion – no political threat
a. Religion – relation to politics
i. earthly life/obedience more important than speculating about God
ii. harmonious earthly life – prevent excess
iii. traditions
1. Ancestor ceremonies
2. Special meals
3. Politeness at meals – tea ceremonies/chopsticks
b. Confucius - Analects
i. Political virtue and good government
1. secular views, not religious
ii. Respect for superiors- even if bad
iii. Respect for tradition
iv. Leaders should behave modestly without excess
1. Work hard as a leader and lesser people will serve superiors
2. “When the ruler does right, all men will imitate his selfcontrol”
3. Rulers not just punish – be humble and sincere
v. Satisfied upper class distaste for mystery, and interest in
learning/manners
vi. Gov’t used to maintain order
E. Careful socialization of children
F. Lacks spiritual side
a. Legalism – pragmatism
i. Better gov’t is one that rules by force
ii. Human nature evil – needs restraint
iii. Confucian façade + legalist strong arm tactics
b. Polytheistic beliefs – appealed to peasants
i. Spirits of nature
ii. Ancestors
iii. Dragons – fear plus playful respect
c. Daoism – first to upper class who wanted spirituality
i. Nature has divine impulse that directs life
ii. Understanding comes from withdrawing and thinking of “way of
nature”
iii. Espoused humility and frugal living
d. Intellectual
i. Five Classics – speeches, songs, poems, etiquette, political materials
1. Poetry mark of an educated person
ii. Art form
1. Calligraphy
2. Chinese artists, pottery, carved jade
3. No monumental buildings – except palaces/Great Wall
a. No singular religion
b. Confucianism against temples soaring to heaven
iii. Science – practical work – not imaginative theorizing
1. Calculated motion of planets 1500 years before Copernicus
2. Medicine – anatomical research – proper hygiene for longer
life
G. Economy and Society
a. Class – social status passed from one generation to the next
i. Upper class literate, wealth, culture denied peasants
1. Mandarins – educated bureaucrats + landowning aristocracy
ii. Land owners 2%, peasantry the rest
1. “mean” people – lowest status – like India’s untouchables
iii. Property owned communally
b. Trade
i. Luxury items – silk, jewelry, leather goods, furniture – Silk Road
1. Carried by merchants
ii. Merchants not highly important – Confucius prioritized
learning/political service
c. Technological Advance – practical usage – remained agricultural
i. Ox-drawn plow/collar for animals
ii. Iron mining – pulleys and winding gear
iii. Production methods advanced – water powered mills
iv. Paper invented – needed for bureaucracy
d. Family life – father unquestioned leader
i. “There are no wrongdoing parents”
1. law courts don’t punish parents
ii. Strict control of emotions
1. Home training ground for personality
iii. Women gained power through sons/mother-in-laws to women brought
in
iv. Power to oldest son, boys over girls
H. How Chinese Civilization Fits Together – Chinese wholeness – not a divided
society
a. “China’s politics and culture meshed readily, especially around the emergence
of a Confucian bureaucracy.”
b. Theme of isolation – surrounded by barbarians – can’t learn anything from
outsiders
i. Buddhism – rare foreign concept embraced by population
c. Common culture provided unity
i. Elaborate bureaucracy
ii. Confucianism – trained group w/ common ideals
iii. Appreciation of distinctive art, poetry and literature
iv. Relative political stability
v. Stable family – clear hierarchy
vi. Private and public not separated – extensions
vii. Views on etiquette
viii. Language
d. Daoists and Confucianists tolerated
i. But…Confucianists saw Daoists as superstitious
ii. Sometimes divine attacks on gov’t
e. Justice – tight control - Arrested – presumed guilty – tortured
i. Mixed torture w/ benevolence – good cop/bad coop
f. Precarious balance – sometimes violent
I. Global connections – Heavy influence on the world
a. 1/5 of population supported by peasants
b. Created technologies shared w/ world
i. Power – water mill, porcelain (China), paper, compass
c. Views affected region “Middle Kingdom” basis for most of Asia
i. 2000 year reign
ii.
II.
The Spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam
A. Introduction
a. Neighbors of China borrow from Chinese achievements
i. Influenced North/West nomadic neighbors
ii. Also influenced agrarian Japan, Korea, Vietnam
iii. Buddhism played key role in transmission
1. Indian ideas filtered through Chinese society/culture
B. Japan: The Imperial Age
a. Introduction
i. Overview
1. 7th and 8th century attempt to borrow from China
a. army, bureaucracy, etiquette, art
2. But…emperor’s sheltered
a. provincial leaders/warlords took over
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
3. c. Plunged into civil wars from 12th to 17th century
Taika Reforms – copying Chinese administration
i. Chinese characters/language adoption
ii. wrote history in dynastic terms
iii. court etiquette
iv. struggled to master Confucian ways
v. worshipped Chinese style temples
vi. admired Buddhist art
vii. Buddhism blended with kami – Shinto
Crisis at Nara and the Shift to Heian (Kytoto)
i. Army/bureaucratic ideas stopped by aristocratic families/Buddhist
monks
ii. Emperor can’t control Buddhist monks – influenced government
i. Moves to Heian – monks just make
monasteries in nearby hills
ii. Power given to aristocratic families
iii. Rank determined by birth, not merit
iv. Local leaders organized local militias
Ultracivilized: Court Life in the Heian Era
i. Hyper structured rules of court
i. Polite behavior always
ii. Every action known by everyone – put up a
façade always
iii. Complex gardens/palaces
ii. Literature
i. Writing verse prioritized
ii. First novel – prose – Lady Murasaki’s The
Tale of Genji
criticizes those who pursue aesthetic enjoyment
Shows how poised/cultured nobility must act
Females played unusually creative roll – avoided full Chinese influence
The Decline of Imperial Power
i. 9th century – Fujiwara clan influences emperor greatly
i. Stacked courts
ii. Married into family
iii. Built up large estates
ii. Monks equally build up power and domains
The Rise of the Provincial Warrior Elites
i. Large landed estates come from
i. aristocratic families
ii. Built up power – landowners, estate
managers, local officials
ii. Mini-kingdoms – like fiefdoms/manors in Europe
i. small fortresses
ii. constant threat from neighboring lords
iii. self-sufficient – granaries, blacksmith, wells
iii. Warrior leaders – bushi
i. administered law, public works, collected
revenue
ii. maintained armies
iv. Samurai armies – loyal to lords
i. called in to protect emperor
ii. age of danger/bandits – samurai as
bodyguards
iii. warrior class
iv. constantly trained in hunting, riding, archery
v. used longbow and steel swords
vi. warrior code – bushido
j. courage
k. seppuku – hari-kari if you dishonor family
l. prearranged battle locations, proclaimed ancestry, few fatalities
C. Peasants become serfs – bound to land
a. can’t carry swords, dress like samurai
b. turned to Buddhism
D. Era of Warrior Dominance
a. Introduction
i. 12th century on > civil wars
ii. Chinese influence declines
iii. Warrior elite produces impressive Japanese art –
ceramics/landscape, poetry
b. Declining influence of China
i. Emperor – heavenly mandate and centralized power a joke –
regional power clear
ii. Refuse to grovel, pay tribute to Chinese Son of Heaven
iii. Gempei Wars – peasants vs. samurai
iv. Minamoto established bakufu – military government
1. Power with Minamoto family and samurai retainers
c. The Breakdown of Bakufu Dominance and the Age of the Warlords
i. Warlords – shoguns – military leaders
1. built up power – enlarged domains
a. Hojo family – manipulated shoguns who ruled for
emperors
ii. Ashikaga Shogunate took power 1336-1573
1. Emperor flees to hills
2. Warlord lands passed out to samurai – used to be just
military, now leaders
a. 300 little kingdoms – daimyos – no longer bushis
d. Toward Barbarism? Military Division and Social Change
i. Chivalrous qualities of Bushi era deteriorate
1. spying, sneak attacks, betrayals
2. poorly trained peasant forces
3. looked like they were reverting to barbarism
ii. Some Daimyos tried to maintain order
1. tax collection
2. public works
3. encourage settlement of unoccupied areas
4. new tools
5. new crops – soybeans, hemp, paper, dyes, vegetable oil
6. new commercial class emerged
a. guild organizations started – solidarity/group
protection
iii. Women
1. merchant women a bit of independence
2. noble women used to be able to ride/use bow and arrow
a. Now primogeniture – oldest son gets everything
wins out
b. given in marriage for alliances
c. taught to slay selves rather than dishonor – if raped
d. Japanese theatrical female roles played by men
e. Artistic Solace for a Troubled Age
i. Focus – simplicity/discipline
ii. Revival of Chinese influence
iii. Monochrome ink sketches
iv. Architecture built to blend with natural setting/meditation
1. Famous gardens
2. Volcanic rocks
3. Raked pebbles
4. Bansai trees
5. Tea ceremony
E. Korea: Between China and Japan
a. Introduction
i. Most profoundly influenced, for longest
1. Extension of mainland
2. Dwarfed by neighbor
3. Ruled by indigenous dynasties
ii. Peoples before – hunting and herding peoples
1. Colonized by Chinese settlers
2. Koguryo tribe resisted Chinese rule – Sinification…but…
a. variants of Buddhism
b. Chinese writing – tough to be adapted
c. unified law code
d. established universities
e. tried to implement Chinese-style bureaucracy
i. Noble families don’t allow
iii. Divided into three parts during Three Kingdoms
1. Koguryo
2. Paekche
3. Silla
b. Tang Alliances and the Conquest of Korea
i. Three kingdoms weakened – Koguryo warriors hurt Tang
c. China striking alliance – Silla in southeast – became tribute
i. tribute payments
ii. submission as vassal
iii. Chinese withdraw armies in 668
d. Sinification: The Tributary Link
i. Tribute system
1. Send embassies
2. Must kowtow – ritual bows – prostrate self
ii. Benefits of tribute system
1. Continued peace
2. Access to Chinese learning, art, manufactured goods
3. Merchants went with emissaries
4. Scholars study at Chinese academies
iii. Became major channel of trade/cultural exchange
e. The Sinification of Korean Elite Culture
i. Aristocrats
1. studied in Chinese schools – some took tests
a. but family connections still more important than test
scores
2. artistic pursuits/entertainment
3. favor Buddhism over Confucianism
f. Art
i. Artwork/monastic designs reproduced Chinese Buddhist work
ii. Outdid teachers for pottery
1. porcelain/ black stoneware
g. Civilization for the Few
i. Elite attracted to luxury goods
1. fancy clothes
2. special teas
3. scrolls
4. artwork
ii. Korea exported raw materials
1. forest products and copper
iii. Beneath elite class
1. purpose servicing elites
2. government workers
3. commoners
4. near-slaves – “low born” – like mean people
h. Koryo Collapse, Dynastic Renewal
i. After common people tired of being repressed
ii. Yi dynasty established 1392 – ruled until 1910
1. Restored aristocratic dominance
F. Between China and Southeast Asia: The Making of Vietnam
a. Introduction
i. Vietnam – rice-growing area
ii. Vietnamese not as accepting of Chinese influence
1. farther away
2. resilient culture
3. seen as distinct people – fear of losing identity
iii. Already received benefits from China
1. technology
2. market for their ivory, tortoise shells, pearls, peacock
feathers, aromatic woods, exotic products from sea/forest
3. political organization
4. ideas
iv. Seen as “southern barbarians”
v. Different from China
1. Different language
2. Village autonomy
3. favored nuclear family over extended family
4. never developed clan networks
5. women have greater freedom/influence
6. women wear long skirts/not long pants
7. delighted in cockfighting
8. chewed betel nut
9. blackened teeth
b. Conquest and Sinification
a. 111 BCE Han dynasty conquers Vietnam – elite realized they could
benefit
i. attended Chinese schools
ii. took exams for administration
iii. cropping techniques and irrigation
iv. military organization gave them an edge over neighbors
v. extended family model to extended family – venerated
ancestors
b. Roots of Resistance
i. Elites like, but peasants annoyed
ii. Chinese didn’t like local customs – disgusted/looked down
iii. Peasants rallied when lords wanted to fight
1. Trung sisters led 39 CE revolt
a. Women had a lot to lose with Confucian ideas
c. Winning Independence and Continuing Chinese Influence
i. Can’t control
1. Greater distance
2. Mountain barriers
3. Small number of Chinese actually moved to Vietnam
4. Vietnamese took advantage of political turmoil in
China
5. By 939 won independence
ii. Future leaders borrowed from Chinese ideas
1. Chinese palaces
2. Administration
3. Secretariats
4. Ministries
5. Civil Service Exams
6. Bureau of Censors – graft/corruption
iii. But…scholar gentry never arises
1. local officials identify with peasantry
2. competition from well-educated Buddhist monks
d. The Vietnamese Drive to the South
i. Able to defeat Khmer/Cham neighbors – superior military
forces/weapons
e. Expansion and Division
i. North vs. South – South seen as less energetic, slower
ii. Nguyen in South, Trinh in North – civil wars
iii. Unable to unite against foreign threat – eventually French
G. Global Connections
a. Chinese organization suited to sedentary cultivation
i. Borrowing from China led to ignoring of outside world
b. Writing, bureaucracy, religious teachings, art spread to Asia
i. Korea, direct rule brief, but influence great
ii. Japan – emulated China for awhile, aristocratic class took over
1. Imports monopolized by wealthy elites