THE MEDIEVAL EAST (500 – 1350 AD)
During the European Medieval Age (500-1350 AD), important developments were also taking place in the Far East. In China, the Sui dynasty (589-618 AD) at last succeeded in reuniting the nation into one kingdom after several centuries of internal turmoil and political fragmentation. This political reunification was the chief accomplishment of the
Sui rulers. The Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) followed and held the nation together for over three centuries, strengthening the Chinese state and encouraging the development of art, technology, and good government. The population of China rose to between 50 and 80 million people, the largest in the world even at that time. Civil servants were selected on the basis of their performance on standardized examinations. Buddhism was tolerated and even promoted, and porcelain for the first time became a major Chinese product, valued both domestically and for export. The Tang era was thus one of high culture and technological innovation.
After a short period of unrest, China's Tang dynasty was replaced by the Song dynasty
(960-1234 AD). The technological base established under the Tang was broadened, and everyday life became relatively prosperous. The first paper money in history was issued, the Chinese built their first navy, printing using movable type first appeared (several hundred years before Johann Gutenberg’s similar printing press in Europe), and gunpowder was invented. Moreover, the population of China doubled during the Song era, perhaps reaching as high as 150 million people. During the early 1200's, Mongols began infiltrating into China, setting the stage for a new era in which the nation would be controlled by foreign invaders.
The Mongols were a north Asian people who had long been regarded by the Chinese as barbarians, and in fact, as early as the Qin dynasty, a great earthen wall had been erected to keep them at bay. Nonetheless, they overwhelmed China in the early 1200’s, and the
Yuan dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan and the principal founder of high Mongol culture. He also established Beijing as the capital of
China, as it still is today. The Italian traveler and adventurer, Marco Polo, claimed to have visited Beijing during Kublai Khan's reign. Kublai Khan's successors spread
Mongol influence into India and Afghanistan, and to most of the south Asian republics which were once part of the Soviet Union. By the late 1300’s, however, the Mongols were losing their grip on China, and a native reaction was building against them.
In 1368, the Yuan dynasty was replaced by the native Chinese Ming dynasty. This would be the last dynasty which could trace its family heritage back to the Han. Beijing remained the capital of China under the Ming, and the population rose to around 200 million. A vast army and navy was developed, perhaps with as many as a million men

under arms, and the Great Wall which still stands was erected to protect the Chinese heartland from any further invasions from the north. Equally impressive was the Grand
Canal, an artificial waterway stretching over a thousand miles from Beijing to
Hangzhou, built at about the same time. A nation-wide communication system in which couriers carried messages from one end of the country to the other was also established.
When the first Europeans arrived in the Far East by sea, they first encountered and conducted business with Ming officials or their representatives. This cross-cultural contact may in fact have stimulated the development of the first Chinese capitalists, the first Chinese businessmen to trade and seek profits in the western manner. Finally,
Chinese fleets themselves began to undertake voyages of exploration into the Indian
Ocean and at least as far as Africa.
Japan's Asuka Period is dated from 538 to 710 AD. Political centralization was achieved for the first time, perhaps under Prince Shotoku, and Buddhism was introduced from the
Asian continent. The strong influence of Chinese culture and Confucian philosophy on
Japanese life was established in the 600's AD, and in the early 700's work began on the
Kojiki, a collection of myths and stories about the origin of Japan and its history up to about 600 AD. A similar work, the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), appeared around the same time. They claimed that Japan had been founded in 660 BC by the legendary
Emperor Jimmu, a descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu. Although the country had a divine emperor or empress whose ancestry could be traced back to Jimmu, the actual business of government was conducted by court officials and military officers drawn from Japanese nobility (shoguns). This governmental arrangement was to be the rule throughout most of Japanese history.
The Heian Period, which lasted from 794 to 1185 AD, is considered by many to be the peak period in Japan's cultural history. Poetry collections and the famed Japanese novel, the Tale of Genji, date from this era. A distinctively native Japanese culture was gradually emerging, and powerful aristocratic families were beginning to compete for control of the nation. From them would arise a number of powerful clans, including the
Tokugawa, which would play an important role in Japanese history at the end of Japan's feudal age. From them also came the samurai, Japan's hereditary warrior class. From the late 1100's to the end of the 1800's, Japan was a feudal nation in the European sense, with territory held by powerful landlords called "daimyo," who were supported by warlords called "shoguns" and their loyal samurai warriors. The divine emperor or empress remained a figure to be revered but a mere figurehead with no real political or military authority. Some shoguns supported and protected the royal family and some opposed them, making feudal Japan in many ways similar to feudal Europe, at least from the 1100's through the 1300's.

In the late 1200’s the Mongols attempted to invade the Japanese islands by sea, but a massive typhoon (hurricane) destroyed the fleet, and Japan’s independence was preserved, as if by a miracle. This miraculous or divine wind which saved the nation was called “kamikaze,” a term which would resurface almost 700 years later during World
War II.
Several small kingdoms were situated in ancient times on the Korean peninsula, all of which were heavily influenced by China, both culturally and politically. Japanese influence was also strong within the region, and Buddhism was introduced from India.
Eventually, three kingdoms emerged: Goguryeo (modern North Korea and the northern part of South Korea), Silla (modern southeast South Korea), and Baekje (modern southwest South Korea). Seoul, the present capital of South Korea, was once the capital of Baekje. Pyongyang, the current capital of North Korea, was once a capital of
Goguryeo. All three of these major kingdoms were at war with one another during much of the period between 500 and 1350 AD.
Due to its geographical position in Asia, the Korean peninsula was also frequently a battleground for Chinese and Japanese troops, each desirous of controlling it. The region has continued to be a dangerous flash point right up to the present day.