📅Weekly Schedule and Objectives: East Asia to 1400
Topic: East Asia to 1400
| Due Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| Nov 17 |
Read & examine this week's module Textbook: Chapters 14-15 Watch: All Videos |
| Nov 17 | Discussion: Tang Dynasty |
| Nov 17 | Homework: Tang Dynasty Document |
| Nov 17 | Quiz on East Asia |
Image: Tang Dynasty Court
Summary:
The fall of the Han dynasty led to five centuries of political instability and even chaos, known as the Age of Disunity. The Three Kingdoms era (220–280) was followed by the Xiongnu conquest of the north, which brought about another century of chaos and ruin. This era came to an end in 439 when the Toba, a Mongolian nomadic tribe, gained control over the entire northern region. The Toba established a dynasty called the Northern Wei and restored a semblance of stability to northern China. Meanwhile, the turmoil in the north prompted mass migrations to the south and Buddhism became popular as an answer to the age’s difficulties.
In 589, Yang Jian ended the Age of Disunity by conquering all of China and founding the Sui dynasty. The Sui dynasty paved the way for the much longer-lived Tang dynasty (618–907). Starting in 907, China entered a new period of disunity, which came to an end in 960 when Zhao Kuangyin reunified China and founded the Song Dynasty. The Song resisted the temptation to conquer new lands, focusing instead on controlling China itself. In this context, the Song initiated a series of important governmental reforms. The Song also promoted commerce, making China an economic giant. Once again, however, China was disrupted by nomadic invasions, this time by the Jurchen in 1114. The Song were driven from the north and forced to regroup in the south. The Song survived and thrived in the south until the Mongol conquest.
The Tang and the Song brought stability and security that strengthened Chinese commerce. Farming advances also contributed to population growth and commercial power. Technological innovations enhanced international trade. Stability and prosperity, in turn, stimulated spiritual, intellectual, and cultural creativity, centered mainly in the cities. China’s peasant population, however, knew little of the splendors of the city. Chinese society, both urban and rural, remained intensely patriarchal.
Vietnam, Korea, Japan
For most of the first millennium, Vietnam was ruled by China. Thus, unlike the rest of Southeast Asia, where Indian culture was the main foreign influence, Chinese influences dominated in Vietnam. The result was a uniquely Vietnamese synthesis. In 939 the Vietnamese managed to regain their political autonomy. Vietnam then expanded southward along the Southeast Asian coast.
Like the Vietnamese, the Koreans developed a distinctive language and culture, and then came under Chinese rule in the second century b.c.e. Also like the Vietnamese, the Koreans adapted Chinese ideas and institutions to their local culture. Eventually the Koreans too, regained their political autonomy. Unlike the Vietnamese, however, for centuries Korea continued to pay tribute to China’s emperors and retained close cultural ties.
Largely isolated, the Japanese were the last of the East Asian peoples to develop a complex culture based on farming settlements. By 300 c.e., Japan was dominated by native warrior clans and, by 500 c.e., one of these clans, the Yamato, had brought most of Japan under its control. The Yamato established itself as the first ruling dynasty, tracing their descent from the Shinto sun goddess. The Korean introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the mid-sixth century ushered in a period of extensive borrowing from China. This was followed by the Heian era (794–1185), during which Japan developed a new culture that blended Japanese and Chinese ways. By the twelfth century, local warlords and samurai armies, who brought an end to the political power of the Heian court, dominated Japan. The Minamoto came to rule as shoguns, leaving the emperor in a ceremonial position.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this week's module, students will be able to:
- Critically analyze major historical events in East Asia, such as
- The rise and fall of Chinese dynasties
- The connections between China and Vietnam and Korea
- Japanese history and culture by 1400