Charlie Alexander
Hamilton
Asia in the Modern World
2-14-12
Southernization vs Westernization
For a majority of the 20th century there was a sense, especially in America, that all great
contributions to civilization had been made by Western countries. Children were taught that
Columbus sailed the ocean blue and found America, the British Industrial Revolution had
mechanized the world, and that western powers had helped Asia advance beyond their primitive
status. This Eurocentric ideology has made western powers feel superior to most of the world
including Asia. For the past few decades there has been a growing interest in the idea that
western powers have not always been the advanced society. Lynda Shaffer introduced the idea
of Southernization, which proposes that Southeast Asia had developments that spread throughout
Asia and the world which have effected civilization throughout history. Shaffer breaks down
many of the advancements which included; sailing routes, sailing equipment, spices,
mathematics, and crops. Shaffer then goes on to explain how these advancements would have
gotten to Europe. Shaffer goes as far as saying that without northern Europe adapting to
Southernization they would not have become the power they would eventually become.1
One of the strengths of Lynda Shaffer’s model is the identification of a timeline showing
the beginnings of Southernization. The actual start of Southernization has been somewhat
disputed, but many believe that it started in “Southern Asia by the fifth century C.E. during the
1
Lynda Norene Shaffer, “Southernization,” in Kevin Reilly, Ways of the World (New York: Bedford St. Martin’s.
1976), 523-535.
reign of India’s Gupta kings.”2 Southernization had many different forms of innovation, but one
of the first was the mass production of cotton. “Cotton was first domesticated in the Indus River
valley some time between 2300 and 1760 B.C.E., and by the second millennium B.C.E, the
Indians had begun to develop sophisticated dying techniques.”3
Another advancement that Asians made centuries before the Europeans was in sailing.
“By 400 C.E. Malay sailors could be found two-thirds of the way around the world, from Easter
Island to East Africa.”4 The ability of these sailors was greatly affected by the Malayan
invention of the lug sail. The “lug sail made it possible for sailors to tack against the wind, that
is, to sail into the wind by going diagonally against it, first one way then the other.”5 Another
advancement in sailing associated with Southernization is the Chinese use of cotton canvases for
sails. Shaffer’s analysis shows that both the sailors and the sailor’s equipment associated with
Southernization in comparison to European sailors and their equipment were years ahead.
Shaffer then breaks down the advancements made in Mathematics in Asia, “The Indians’
also laid the foundation for modern mathematics during the time of the Guptas.”6 The Indians
invention of zero has effects felt by every civilization since its inception: “without it, the use of
this system, base ten or otherwise, was fraught with difficulties and did not seem any better than
alternative systems.”7 The Indians’ advancements in math were copied by almost all other
cultures and are still being used today.
2
Shaffer pg. 524.
Shaffer, pg 524.
4
Shaffer, pg. 526.
5
Shaffer, pg. 526.
6
Shaffer, pg. 527.
7
Shaffer, pgs. 527-528.
3
Southernization was not limited to early advancements in equipment and academics.
During the “Sung dynasty (960-1279)”8, advancements were made in the production of food.
The introduction of Champa rice “which was a drought resistant, early ripening variety that made
it possible to expand cultivation up well-watered hillsides, thereby doubling the area of rice
cultivation in China”9, providing food for millions of people throughout Asia.
Southernization was also advanced in the world of science and technology. “Printing
seems to have developed between 700 and 750, and subtropical Sichuan was one of the earliest
centers of the art.”10 This is approximately 700 years ahead of Guttenberg’s printing press.
Shaffer also points to Southernization playing a role in the invention of gunpowder, “The
invention of gunpowder in China by was made by a Taoist alchemist in the ninth century.”11 The
invention of gunpowder would lead to many other inventions such as the flamethrower, cannon,
and eventually the gun all which can be traced back to China.
An additional strength of Shaffer’s document is her ability to show how many of these
advancements potentially moved from Asia to the rest of the world. Her ability to breakdown
potential trade routes provides understandable ways for the innovations of Asia to enter Europe
and other markets. Shaffer describes the trade routes both on land and sea. The Chinese traded
with many groups including the Arabs and Africans. Trading with the Arabs who used the
Chinese compass to cut through the Persian Sea was happening by 745.12 The Arabs would then
relay products they were purchasing from China into Africa.
Another way Southernization spread was through the Mongolian Empire. The Mongols
were able to conquer most of the land connecting Asia and Europe. The Mongols allowing
8
Shaffer, pg. 529.
Shaffer, pg. 529.
10
Shaffer, pg. 530.
11
Shaffer, pg. 530.
12
Shaffer, pg. 532.
9
trade; “Fostered the unprecedented contacts between Europe and peoples from those areas that
had long ago been southernized.”13 Many European countries connected with Asia, but Italy
became the primary trader. This connection with Genoese traders opened up trading markets
throughout the Black Sea: “Such contacts contributed to the Southernization of the Christian
Mediterranean during this period of Mongolian hegemony approximately 1250-1340 AD.”14
The weakness of Shaffer’s document is her lack of identifying what happened to
southernization. Her writing indicates that northwestern European powers took until at least the
eighteenth century to catch up to the south. 15 Her writing does not tell what happened to China
after Europe caught up. She does discuss how the Industrial Revolution greatly benefited
Europe, but why did the revolution benefit Asia? She describes all of these great innovations
that have been happening all over southern Asia for centuries and it seems as if they all stop at
the eighteenth century. Her lack of explanation makes it seem as if all innovation stops at this
time.
Her document also lacks to detail whether or not south Asia has continued to have wealth
to the present day. Her lack of explanation leaves the reader wondering if they have continued to
have success with trade. An educated reader may know that India had been taken over by Great
Britain but Shaffer neglects to show the reader how. Most people would say that many of the
countries in south Asia currently would qualify as third world countries, but Shaffer does not
describe how the countries that were the birthplace for such great innovation have been left
behind.
Lynda Shaffer’s document on Southernization brings in vital information for anyone
studying Asia who has only been told about the success of westernized countries. A majority of
13
Shaffer, pg. 532.
Shaffer, pg. 534.
15
Shaffer, pg. 535.
14
students growing up in western culture including myself are unaware of the great achievement in
southern Asia that occurred centuries before anyone in Europe had ever thought of them.
Shaffer’s paper brings to light these achievements and documents how early these achievements
were reached. Shaffer also documents how these achievements were transported to Europe.
This documentation may change many readers’s perspective on whether western countries were
advanced compared to their southern competitors. Shaffer’s paper also explains how and why
the trade partnerships between Europe and Asia were formed. Hopefully more educators will
analyze Shaffer’s work to inform students on the great achievements of southern Asia.