Ch.

8 Asian World
The Han Dynasty; the word Chinese actually means
“man of Han.” The Han dynasty is perhaps the
greatest Chinese dynasty. They were famous for a
strong central gov’t, adopting Confucianism, the
great wall, & the invention of the water mill for
grinding grain, which led to an increase in
manufacturing.
Ended in 220AD due to weak leaders.
 Part 1 Three dynasties after Han
• Sui -581-618-unified China after 3oo+ years of civil war and chaos; Sui Yangdi—
emperor who built the Grand Canal connecting the Huang (Yellow) River and the
Chang Jiang (Yangtze) River; cruel leader who was murdered

• Tang-618-907-gave land back to peasants; instituted a civil service exam; brought

peace; expanded control of Tibet; Emperor Tang Xuanzang- famous for
devotion to a commoner’s daughter. Uighers: hired fighters for the dynasty; unrest
led to the fall of Tang; gun powder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqHVRgCkCDE

• Song-960-1279; economic prosperity; Hangzhou-new imperial court located

farther south due to threats from northern neighbors.
 Chinese Government & Economy
• Monarchy with large bureaucracy
• Confucian Ideals
• Agriculture & Manufacturing; Aristocrats who owned slaves mainly owned land;
• Cotton
• Steel
• Gunpowder (Tang)

Changan-wealthiest city in the world—due to trade; according to Marco

Polo, this city was a paradise.
 Chinese society
• Prosperity made the cities wealthy and, according to Marco Polo, “paradise(s)”
 Cards
 Chess (brought from India)
 Paddle wheel boat
 Horse back riding
 Block printing
• New class in Tang & Song era: scholar-gentry—replaced the aristocracy as the
political and economic elite of society. (middle class---due to prosperity)
• Wu Zhao-one of few women with power—Empress; ruled for ½ century in Tang
dynasty.
• Dowry: girls parents expected to provide this to a prospective husband.
Part 2 Mongols: a people with a STRONG military;
pastoral: herd livestock in open areas; clans;
• Genghis Khan: 1206; elected leader; devoted to conquest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8GOAR2IHIU

When he died in 1227, empire divided into territories or khanates

Introduced to gun powder in China—evolved it from fire-lance into a gun
• Largest Land Empire in history: most of Eurasia Mrs. Gerardy reads p.270
• Kublai Kahn: Genghis’ grandson; 1279; completed conquest of China (Yuan Dynasty) &
set up capital city of Khanbalik/Khan/later Beijing

• MONGOL DYNASTY fell due to too much spending on foreign conquests, corruption,
and instability.
 Mongol Religion & Government
• Confucianism was basis during Han, but during Mongol, Buddhism & Daoism rose in
popularity too.
• Buddhism: brought from India in 1 AD –material world not real VS Confucianism—need for devotion
to family and hard work.

• Neo-Confucianism: heart of the new government from Song Dynasty until end of 20th
century: believed world is divided into material and spiritual parts; the main goal is
for humans to move from material to spiritual
 Golden Age of Arts and Literature in China
• Invention of Printing meant literature more readily
available—especially poetry –Li Bo and Du Fu –popular
poets

• Painting and ceramics: porcelain

 Part 3 Early Japan
• Japan: unified by a noble family in what is present day Osaka & Kyoto that gave
rise to a line of emperors; society made up of clans
• Geography: Japan’s geography made it VERY different from China. Japan is
chain of MANY islands—isolated—we learned this with Greece.
mountainous, volcanic

• Chinese Influences: Shotoku Taishi-Yamato (clan) Prince tried to unify

clans so they could hold up against China. He sent an envoy to China & Japan
modeled their gov’t after China. Centralized gov’t with a supreme/divine ruler.
(himself)
 Early Japan Clan evolution
• Nara Clan : 622 Taishi dies; Fujiwara clan takes over. Aristocrats kept taxes
for themselves. Weakened gov’t
• Heian Clan : 794; power still in hands of aristocrats/powerful families;
weakened gov’t lead to rise of samurai: “those who serve,” warriors who
protected their aristocrats on horseback; Bushido-warrior code of samurai
• Kamakura Shogunate: 1200; Minamoto Yoritomo defeated most aristocratic
families & held power; centralized gov’t is BACK; shogun: military leader who
runs the government (shogunate);

• Collapse of Central Rule: 1500; aristocrats power grows –heads of family called
daimyo controlled the lands & weakened central gov’t.
LIFE IN EARLY JAPAN: farming; barter; trade slow to catch on due to isolation
• Trade: During Kamakura—markets appeared with paper, porcelain, and iron.
Trade with Korea and China increased.
• Women: early on—women equal. Later on—women subordinate.
• Religion: Early Japanese worshipped spirits called Kami. Spirits of ancestors
also important. Shinto belief in the divinity of the emperor & sacredness of
Japan.
• Culture: Aristocratic men thought fiction was “vulgar gossip” and for others,
so main writers were women. Murasaki Shikibu wrote a Tale of Genji.

Emergence of Korea: Chinese controlled the Korean peninsula until 200 AD. After
Mongols lost power in China, the Korean Koryo Dynasty emerged and stayed in
power for 500 years.
 India after the Guptas
• Religion’s impact: Buddhism was accepted but there were two factions
Therevada Mahayana
Buddhism is a way of life centered Therevada too strict; not a way of life
on individual salvation but a religion

Decline of Buddhism: neither faction stuck; Therevada declined;

Mahayana was absorbed by Hindu/Islam
Eastern Expansion of Islam: Islam began to catch on because India was disunited
politically; no central gov’t—people looking for a leader/place to belong.
Islam was able to peacefully just move in. Ghazna—NEW Islamic state set up by
Turkish slaves in what is present day Afghanistan. Rajputs were Hindu warriors who
fought bravely in trying to the settling of Ghanza. They were unsuccessful.
A new stronger society emerged—sultanate of Delhi in Northern India.
Impact of Timur Lenk: ruler of Mongols located in Samarqad.
He killed 100,000 Hindu prisoners in the territory of Delhi.
 Indian Society and Culture
• Islam: Muslim rulers realized that there were too
many Hindus to convert them all. They reluctantly
tolerated religious differences.
Islam/Muslim=Conqueror Hindu=Conquered
• Farming
• Sanskrit: Indian writing; Dandin-Indian author
from 800’s.
 Southeast Asia
• Formation of Geography: area between China/India
2 parts Mainland-Malay Peninsula
Archipelago-chain of islands
**May be why this area has never unified under a single gov’t
Farming/trading
Aristocrat landowners
Chinese and Indian culture had on impact throughout
Hindu/Buddhist impacted; Theravada Buddhism became
the religion because it emphasized nirvana being able to be
reached through their own efforts—not a ruler’s
 Distinct areas
in SE Asia
• Vietnam: one of the 1st people in SE Asia to
develop their own state/gov’t. STRONG sense
of cultural identity makes them hard to
conquer---CHINA! 111 BC China DID
conquer them, but Vietnamese wouldn’t
conform/assimilate.
• Angkor- 9th century kingdom arose in what is
present day Cambodia.
• Thailand: 500 frontier people of China—
destroyed the Angkor
• Burma: Migrated from Tibet in 600’s to escape
Chinese armies.
• Malay: 2 organized states; evolved into
Majapahit in 1400’s; greatest empire in this
region.