THE SPREAD OF
CIVILIZATION IN
EAST ASIA
JAPAN, KOREA AND VIETNAM
IN THE POST-CLASSICAL AGE
GEOGRAPHY INFLUENCES
HISTORY
• Relative Location
– Korea, Vietnam border China
– Japan located off coast of East Asia
• Physical Characteristics
– Korea, Vietnam
• Mountainous, cut by river valleys
• Population located on plains
– Japan
• Volcanic islands, very mountainous
• Deep valleys with plains
• Demography
– Populace generally heavy on plains
– Rice was principal crop
– Cities exist but rarer than China
• Cities: centers of Chinese culture
• Countryside: resistant to Sinification
THE CONFUCIAN WORLD
Sinification of
Japan, Korea and
Vietnam
Himeji Castle, Japan
Overview of Sinification
• Two ways Chinese
influence entered
Japan, Korea and
Vietnam: 1)
Peacefully thru
Buddhist
missionaries. 2) By
force.
2 kinds of force:
• 1) J,K & V gov’t
orders and 2)
Chinese attack (on
Vietnam)
• Peaceful
Sinification
tended to “stick”.
• Forced
Sinification
tended not to.
• Huge exception:
Chinese written
language was
“forced” on J, K
and V by their
leaders.
(In the 18th c., French Catholic
missionaries introduced a
new Latin-based alphabet
to Vietnam, which is used
today).
Japanese
Korean
Korea to 1400
• Korea in the Ancient and Classical
Periods
– Influenced by developments in China
– Chinese armies invaded periodically
– Chinese established control of parts of
Korea
– Nomadic invasions frequent
– Fall of Han left regional Korean
aristocrats in control
• Korean History 669 – 1392 C.E.
– Tang armies conquered much of Korea
• Silla dynasty allied with Tang, ruled
peninsula
• Entered into a tributary relationship with
China
– Song replaced Tang
• Koguryo conquered Silla in 935, ruled to
1392
Korea and China
• China's influence in Korea
– Sinification = becoming Chinese
– Koreans borrowed what was useful, unavoidable; avoided
what was not
– Tributary embassies included Korean royal officials and
scholars
– Silla kings built new capital at Kumsong modeled on the Tang
capital
• Older Traditions
– Ancestor worship strong in Korean society
– Korean officials trained in Confucian ideas during Han, Tang
but not as strong
• Newer Traditions
– Korean elite turned to Neo-Confucianism
– Peasants turned to Chan Buddhism
• Difference from China: aristocracy and royal houses
dominated Korea
Korean Palace Detail
• Sinification anyone?
Vietnam Maps
Vietnam through 1400
• Nam Viet people originated in Southern China
– Rise of Han and southern settlement of Chinese
pushed Viet out
– Viet migrated into Red River Valley, down coast
fighting local inhabitants
• Vietnam under Chinese rule to c. 983 CE
– Han first conquered Northern Vietnam in 111 BCE
• Viet elites adopted Chinese agriculture, schools,
thought; intermarried
• Massive migration of Chinese officials, scholars,
bureaucrats to Vietnam
– Trung sisters led revolt against Chinese rule (40 –
43 CE)
• Peasants resented Chinese influence, role of towns,
cities
• 1,000 year struggle for independence
• Relationship often tributary to China
• Independent Vietnam (c. 983 CE)
– Ruled by Dynasties, capital moved between Hanoi,
Hue
– Constant pressure against hill peoples, pushing
south
Hue Palace, Vietnam
Vietnam vs. China
• Difference from China
– Role of village equal to role of family in China
– Few cities; villages dominate countryside, elders ran
villages
– Many Vietnamese retained their religious traditions
– Women played more prominent roles in Vietnam
• Could be head of households, own land, engage openly in
business
• Were often leaders of villages and even at national level
• Chinese influence in Vietnam limited to the elite
• Elites adopted bureaucracy, form of state, emperorship,
Confucianism
• Adopted Chinese script, literary and artistic models
• Mahayana Buddhism (although region is Theravada) also
arrived
• Irrigation and water control techniques
• Ancient Japan
Early Japan
– Earliest inhabitants were nomadic
Caucasians (Ainu) from Northeast Asia
– Japanese related to Koreans, migrated into
islands, pushed Ainu north
• Ruled by several dozen states dominate by
clans, 1st millennium BCE
• Shinto: Ancestor veneration with deification
of nature, spirits (kami)
• Nara Japan (710-794 C.E.)
– Inspired by Tang, Yamato clan claimed
imperial authority
• The imperial court modeled on that of the
Tang
• Built a new capital (Nara) in 710 C.E.,
modeled on Chang'an
• Prince Shotoku wrote first Japanese
constitution
– Adopted Confucianism and Buddhism, but
maintained Shinto
Heian Japan
• Heian Japan (794-1185 C.E.)
– Moved to new capital Heian (modern Kyoto) in 794
– Japanese emperors as ceremonial figureheads and symbols of
authority
•
•
•
•
Effective power in the hands of the Fujiwara family
Emperor did not rule
Lived in splendid isolation along with court elite
Effected by bureaucrats, complex etiquette
– Chinese learning dominated Japanese education, culture
• The Tale of Genji
• Women contributed most to Japanese literature and writing
• Decline of Heian Japan
– Equal-field system began to fail
– Aristocratic clans accumulated lands
• Rivalry between court nobility and landed aristocracy
• Taira and Minamoto, the two most powerful clans, engaged in
wars
• The clan leader of the victorious Minamoto claimed the title of
shogun
Life in the Heian Palace
Heian Palace Complex
Japan Maps
Medieval Japan
• Japanese feudalism
– Called the Shogunate Period
• Military dictators ruled, Emperors reigned
in splendid isolation
• Government was centralized feudalism
– Countryside divided up into fiefs
– Daimyo appointed by the shoguns
– Adopted Neo-Confucianism as state philosophy
• Provincial lords controlled Japan
– Called Daimyo, vied for power against each other
– Constant war to increase personal power, wealth, fiefs
– Kamakura Period (1185-1333 C.E.)
– Muromachi Period (1336-1573 C.E.)
• The Samurai
– The lowest class of aristocratic nobility
• Professional warriors of provincial lords
• Observed samurai code called bushido
• Valued loyalty, military talent, and
discipline; traded military skills for food
• To preserve their honor, engaged in ritual
suicide called seppuku
Women in Japan
• Japanese Women
– Legendary founder of Japan, Yamato clan was
sun goddess, Amaterasu
– Under Heian
• They were the cultural elite with elaborate rituals
including dress
• Had great influence, including several empresses
– Under Shogunate
• Lost considerable influence as Neo-Confucianism
introduced, warfare spread
• Could still be samurai and fight but patriarchal
society
• Shinto was also male dominated and included
ancestor worship
FIEFS OF FEUDAL JAPAN