Asian Cultures
Tang Imperial Gardens
Song Six –Harmonies Pagoda
Part 1
Tang and Song China
Emergence of the Tang Dynasty
• Post Han Dynasty- Sui dynasty
takes power; Excessive and
unstable
• Collapse immanent
• Tang Dynasty seizes power;
ensured stability in government
• Uses military might to expand
territory; Pacific to Afghanistan
• Empire covered: Tibet, Korea,
Vietnam, and Manchuria
Government & Religion in Tang China
Government in Tang China
• Confucian ideals shape government
• Aristocratic power reduced, imperial
families and bureaucrats had power
• Bureaucrat numbers rise; higher
than Han
• Tests become harder; best candidates
got high ranking jobs
• Intelligent commoners could get
into an office
• High ranking families had the best
positions
Religion in Tang China
• Buddhism a major religion during
early Tang China
• Endorsed by government; Empress Wu
(690-705)- builds many shrines
• Confucian/Daoist faiths threatened
• Buddhism a threat
• Emperor Wuzong (841-847)
persecutes Buddhists
• Destroyed temples, seized lands
• Buddhism survives; weakened
Height and Fall of the Tang
• Emperor Xuanzong (713–756)strengthened empire
• Tang dynasty builds on
achievements of Sui
• Canal system connects north and
south
• Great achievements in science,
technology, and the cultural arts
• Civil war/bandit attacks weaken
the empire
• Emperor forfeits throne (907),
military takes over; Song dynasty
established (960)
Rise of the Song Dynasty
• Continue Tang advances in science,
medicine, and culture
• Song military technology advanced:
flamethrowers, toxic gas, and early rockets
• Song takeover focused on Confucianism;
Neo-Confucianists dominant
• Zhu Xi- Practice philosophical principles in
everyday life
• Neo-Confucianism impacts daily life
Zhu Xi
• Focus on patriarchy; Rights/roles of women
restricted
• Certain classes lose rights
Confucian Revival & Other Song Contributions
Neo-Confucian movement revives
Confucian learning
• Old texts rediscovered; emphasis on
core beliefs promoted
• Reinforced Confucian belief
structure; good morality the
ultimate goal and education made
superior rulers/officials
Impact of Neo-Confucianism
• Emphasis on tradition limited critical
thinking
• Hostility to foreign ideas limited
innovation
Song innovations advance society
• Created first “banks”; paper money
• Easy trading
• Explosive powder; Fireworks to
military use
• Rockets/early bombs
• Compasses used in navigation;
Chinese junks (trade ships) superior
• Fast, sailed through water easier
• Bi Sheng- Movable type (11th
century)
• Increased literacy in Asian world
Collapse of Song Dynasty
• Song dynasty weakened by bandit
raids
• Emphasis on scholar gentry weakened
army
• Wang Anshi- Reforms society;
Confucian scholar
• Focus on education reform
• Emperor supporting Anshi dies; NeoConfucianists undo Anshi’s reforms
• Mongols invade from north; Song
dynasty flees south
• Southern part of Yellow river
Part 2
The Mongol Conquests
The Early Mongols
• Nomadic herders- goats/sheep
• Excellent horse riders; taught at
young age
• Tribal society divided into kin-based
clans
• Tribes united to defend land or
conquer land
• Men were leaders, women had
influence within family
• Free election of leaders; stayed in
power as long as they were
successful
Modern Mongols
Genghis Khan and the Mongol War Machine
• Mongols were semi-successful;
changed with election of Genghis
(Chinggis) Khan
• Wanted to conquer the world
• Brought discipline to powerful
Mongolian armies; 10,000 strong
/army
• Strict discipline enforced; punishment
for rule breaking/ cowardice, rewards
for courage
• Used new tech (gunpowder, canons,
etc.) and old (horses and bows)
Mongols Conquer China & the Middle East
• China attacked by Mongols
• Conquered border provinces
• Attacked Tang/Song Dynasty
• Needed new tactics; take cities
• Mongols capture urban centers
• Submit- be spared (join Mongols)
• Resist- get sacked (killed or slaves)
• Mongols move west
• Take Turkish speaking lands in
Middle East
• Strengthened his armed forces
• Iran conquered by Mongols
• Empire stretched from Persia to
N. China Sea
• Genghis Khan dies in 1227
conquering China
The Great Mongol
Empire
Peaceful
Roads safe to travel
Trade boomed; Europe
and Asia begin increased
trading by land
Mongols spread
culture/adapt to other
cultures
Life Under the Mongols
• Mongols= violent conquerors, tolerant
rulers
• Genghis Khan open to new ideas; wanted
to create a peaceful empire
• Capital: Karakorum- Center of learning for
conquered regions
• Talented people come from all over
• Tolerant of all religions
• Grand bureaucracy established; Chinese
help
• Mongolian script invented; wrote law
code that brought peace to much of Asia
Mongols After Genghis Khan
Russian/European Conquests
• Batu (Genghis Khan’s grandson) invades 1236; Russian armies defeated by
“Golden Horde”
• Burn Kiev, Novgorod spared; Russians paid tribute to Mongols after
• Moscow made wealthy under Mongol rule; stable trade & increased
populations
• Attacked Europe; invaded Hungary
• Driven back by Christian kingdoms
• Russian resistance attacks when Golden Horde weakens
Mongols After Genghis Khan
Middle Eastern Conquest
• Hulegu (grandson of GK)
• Invades Muslim territory
• 1258- Topples Abbasid Dynasty;
Baghdad sacked/destroyed
• 1260- Mongols stopped by Mamluks
of Egypt
• Golden Horde converts to Islam;
Hulegu stops conquest
Mongols After Genghis Khan
Influence on Chinese Culture
• Kublai Kahn attacks Song Dynasty; 1271
established Yuan dynasty
• Mongols/Chinese separated in society; No
intermarriage
• Reject Confucian culture; Confucian exams
stopped
• Capital at Tatu (Beijing) blended Mongolian
and Chinese styles
• Art, architecture, etc.
• Mongolian tolerance brings new ideas into
China; religion, technology, philosophy, etc.
• Allowed foreign visitors to his court; Marco
Polo most famous
Part 3
Imperial Japan
Early Japan
• Early Japan divided into clans; 500
CE-Yamato Clan dominated part of
largest island (Honshu)
• Yamato influence lasts 1000 years;
first and only dynasty
• Divine heritage (Sun Goddess); Rising
sun= symbol
• Pre-Modern emperors treated as gods
• Early Japanese religion: Shinto
• “Way of the Kami”
• Kami- Anything that invokes the
wonder of the Japanese (natural things)
• Shinto still practiced today; Shrines all
over Japan
Early Japan
• Buddhist beliefs become popular, Shinto beliefs of world/supernatural
remain dominant
• 5th-6th centuries Borrowed heavily from China; 7th-9th centuries peak of
Chinese influence
• Taika Reforms (646 CE)- Change government to be more Chinese
• Local nobility resist change
• Buddhist elite try to take throne/marry the empress
• Emperor flees to Kyoto and abandons Chinese reforms; Kyoto becomes
capital
• Restored landholders’ rights; local leaders to defend their own areas
(militias)
The Heian Period
• 794-1185 CE
• Capital at Kyoto
• Court life very elegant; luxurious
palaces/gardens everywhere
• Men were noble scholars; Women cultural
contributors
• Dei Shonagon- Wrote first humor/history book
“The Pillow Book”
• Lady Murasaki- Wrote the first novel “The Tale of
Genji”
• Poetry part of society- Haikus
• Nobles living in luxury, peasants in poverty
• Civil war is brewing
Rise of the Warrior Elite
• Weak emperors lose power to
provincial elites; Warrior elite take
power
• Warrior leaders (Bushi)/Shoguns
ruled from forts; ruled/taxed for
themselves not the empire
• Bushi created own armies;
mounted warriors (samurai)
• 11th-12th centuries= Lawlessness;
Samurai hired for protection
• Samurai followed code of honor;
fought other samurai in duels
Era of Warrior Dominance
• Chinese influence fades away;
Japanese culture becomes central
• Military government was established
(Bakufu) by Minamoto dynasty
• Family strife leads to collapse of
Minamoto; Shoguns war for control
• Sporadic dominance
• 1467-1477: Civil war between rival
shogunates
• Civil war ends unity, Japan divided
between 300 separate warlords
(Daimyo).
• Era of warring states
The Legendary Samurai
• Samurai- Elite, armored warriors that followed a code
• Bushido- Samurai code of conduct, “Way of the warrior.”
• Stressed personal/family honor above all else; death before
dishonor
• Seppuku- Ritual suicide committed by Samurai
• Samurai served Shoguns to the death
• Alliances could change
• Above peasants in society; insulting a samurai was a
TERRIBLE idea
• Samurai without a Shogun: Ronin
• Dishonored warriors
• Wandered the land
• Mercenaries