POST-CLASSICAL
CHINA, JAPAN AND
THE MONGOL
EMPIRE
The Big Questions:
• What were the major civilizations of Asia in the post-classical
era?
• What were the effects of the Mongol invasion?
• What were the achievements of Ming China?
Introduction
• China entered a long period of turmoil and unrest
after the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 A.D.
• As in the West, the advance of the Huns helped
plunge China into disunity
• Several warring kingdoms arose, and science, art ,
and culture declined
• At the same time, Buddhism spread through much of
China
• This period in China’s history is known as the Six
Dynasties, and it took several hundred years before
China re-emerged as a leading civilization
Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 A.D.)
• Gave China a “Golden Age”
• Suppressed peasant uprisings
• Reunited China and brought peace and
prosperity
• Expanded into Korea, Manchuria, and parts
of Central Asia
• Government took census, restarted civil
service exam, and built public works
• Peasants paid taxes of grain and silk
More about the Tang
• Empress Wu Zetian
• Implemented government reforms
• Built a new capital city of Chang’an
(largest city in the world – merchants
and officials from Persia, India, Arabia,
and Syria could be found there)
• Artistic Achievements
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Pottery with painted glazed figures
Metalwork and jade
Poetry and painting
Unique gardens
• Mapmaking, medicine, and block printing
• Encouraged Commerce
Song Dynasty ( 960-1279 A.D.)
• Ruled a much smaller area than the Tang
• A time of great social and economic progress
• Paper currency and standardized coins of copper
and iron
• Eliminated forced labor for the emperor
(increased farm production, leading to greater
wealth for China’s people and government)
• The most populous and advanced civilization of
its day
• Merchants, craftspeople, and scholars lived in
larger towns and cities
• Traded with many other parts of the world
More about the Song
• Achievements
• The Grand Canal – connected Beijing, the Hwang Ho, and
the Yangtze Rivers (used to ship grain within China)
• Caravans carried silks over the Silk Road
• Large ships carried goods to Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia,
India, and Africa
• Science and Technology
• New instruments for astronomers
• Acupuncture
• Advanced mathematics
• Gunpowder in war
• Compass for navigation
• Moveable type
• Created an alliance with the Mongols
Chinese Society
• Buddhism and Confucianism influenced society
• Women
• Had to obey father, husband, and son
• Left family when they married
• Widows could receive a portion of husband’s land
• Divorce was allowed if both
husband and wife accepted it
• Footbinding
• Limited female mobility
• Practiced by the wealthy
More foot binding photos
JAPAN
Introduction
• Japan was deeply influenced by China
• Spread by Chinese and Korean scholars and
merchants
• Confucianism – loyalty to family and ruler
• Buddhism – renounce selfish desires
• Daoism – love of nature
• Chinese writing was adopted
• Influenced music, art, dance, and cooking
• Although greatly influenced, Japanese society
was not an exact copy, and changed as time
passed
Japanese System of Rule
• Emperors free some nobles from tax burdens
• Nobles began to raise their own private armies
• Imperial government grew weaker (less
money)
• In 1192, the most powerful noble had the
emperor appoint him “Supreme Military
Governor” or Shogun
• For the next 600 years, Shoguns were the real
rulers of Japan (emperors were only
figureheads)
The Hierarchy of Japanese
Feudal System
• Shogun – real ruler, Emperor a figurehead
• Samurai – warriors (knights on horseback with
armor or leather and iron, and swords). Swore
an oath of loyalty to the emperor and his local
daimyo
• Daimyo – noble landowners. Provided the
samurai with social status and economic support
• Bushido – a strict code of honor promised by
samurai that emphasized loyalty to the Daimyo
Left Side:
Diagram of Japanese Feudalism
Emperor
Shogun
Daimyo
Samurai
Samurai
Peasant
Peasant
THE MONGOL EMPIRE
Introduction
• The Steppes – a treeless grassland stretching across
Eurasia (from the Carpathian Mountains of Eastern
Europe to Manchuria in NE Asia)
• Inhabited by nomadic people since earliest times
• Used as pastures for herding livestock
• Provided a unique environment for people to learn
horsemanship and fighting skills
• The Huns
• Repelled by the Chinese, but contributed to the fall of the
Roman Empire
• Attila was the most famous Hun leader
• The Turks
• Came from Central Asia to create empires in the Middle
East
Central Asian Invaders 4th – 13th Centuries
Mongols 13th
Huns 4th-5th
Seljuk Turks
10th-11th
Central
Asia
Mongols 13th
THE MONGOLS
• Established the greatest land empire the world had ever
seen
• Divided into several loosely organized tribes
• Slept in domed tents made of felt
• Excellent horsemen and archers (used stirrups)
• Ghengis Khan (Chinggis Khan)
• United Mongols by 1206
• Conquered Mongolia, China, &
Muslim States of Central Asia
• Although a brutal warrior who used
terror, he was tolerant of religions
• Promoted trade
• Used local administrators
• Ordered a written script for Mongol language
The Empire after Ghengis Khan
• Ghengis Khan’s successors extended Mongol rule
into Persia, Russia, Iraq, and the rest of China
• This was the largest land empire the world has seen
• There was a “Pax Mongolia” – people could trade
safely from one end of the empire to the other
• The empire was so vast, it was soon divided into
four kingdoms (each ruled by a different
descendant of Ghengis Khan)
THE YUAN DYNASTY
• Ruled by Kublai Khan (Grandson of Ghengis) -1260 A.D.
• Was born Mongolian, but was fascinated with
Chinese culture, traditions, and art
• Mongols served as military aristocracy
• Chinese officials helped rule
• Mongols were encouraged to adopt Chinese ways
• Kublai Khan claimed the Mandate of Heaven
Yuan Dynasty continued…
• Marco Polo (a venetian merchant) journeyed
along the Silk Road to visit China
• Astounded at the magnificence of Kublai Khan’s court
• Chinese were technologically superior to European of
the day
• Was impressed by gunpowder and burning of coal for
heat
Mongol Influence on Russia
• Mongols controlled Russia for 200 years
• Mongol words, customs, and clothing styles were found in
Russian culture
• Moscow and its surrounding territories (Muscovy) was the
strongest Russian state
• Muscovites eventually rebelled against Mongols
• In 1480, Ivan the Great declared Muscovy’s
independence
• Proclaimed himself Tsar (“Caesar” or Emperor”)
• Soon increased Muscovy’s size by conquering neighboring
lands
Tamerlane
• Expanded his kingdom from Samarkand into
Persia, Afghanistan, Russia, Syria, Turkey, and N.
India
• Known for his brutality and massacre of civilian
populations
• Empire collapsed soon after his death
MING DYNASTY (1388-1644 A.D.)
• Overthrew the Mongols to take over
• 300 years of peace and prosperity
• Constructed an imperial palace in Beijing , The
Forbidden City. (Became home to Chinese emperors
who were revered as gods)
• Two main social classes
• Peasants – largely illiterate, lives centered around family
and village
• Scholar gentry – owned land, respected learning
• Restored civil service exam (focused on Confucian
teachings)
Ming continued…
• Trade and manufacturing flourished
• Merchants and craftsmen lived in the cities
• Excelled at printing and producing silks and porcelains
• Exploration
• Great naval expeditions were sponsored by the emperor
in the 1400s to spread the news of China’s wealth and
power
• Zheng He sailed to India and Arabia
• Emperor stopped voyages in 1430
• In 1557, Portuguese traders established a settlement in
China
• Catholic missionaries soon followed trying to convert
Chinese to Christianity
• Established a global pattern of trade (exported silk and
porcelain and imported silver, sweeet potatoes and corn)
Voyages of Zheng He
“Now there was on this spot a
great and noble city called
Beijing. As regards the size of this
city, it is 24 square miles, since
each side is 6 miles long. It is
walled around with walls of
earth, 10 paces thick at bottom,
and a height of more than 10
paces.