Chapter 13 – The spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

1. Chapter 13 – The spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam • The people of China’s borders naturally were influenced by their great neighbor • Japan “borrowed” heavily from China during the 5th and 6th centuries • In all 3 regions, Buddhism was a key force in transmitting Chinese civilization

2. Japan – The common people looked to Buddhist monks for spiritual and secular assistance and meshed Buddhist beliefs with traditional religion

3. *Taika reforms (646 CE) – Attempts to remake the Japanese monarch into an absolutist Chinese-style emperor; included attempts to create professional bureaucracy & peasant army • Taika reforms failed; the aristocracy returned to Japanese traditions • Heian – Japanese city later called Kyoto – built to escape influence of Buddhist monks • *Bushi – regional warrior leaders in Japan; ruled small kingdoms from fortresses; administered the law, supervised public works projects, and collected revenues; built up private armies (Samurai) • Similar to Feudalism in Europe – local nobles carved out estates and reduced the peasants to serfdom

4. Samurai– mounted troops of the bushi; loyal to local lords, not the emperor

5. The aristocrats lived in palaces and gardens; the basis of their life was the pursuit of enjoyment • Sinfication– Extensive adaptation of Chinese culture in other regions (from previous chapter) • Japanese peasants were reduced to the status of serfs with the rise of the Samurai

6. Bakufu– Military government established by the Minamoto; retained an emperor, BUT thereal power resided in military government and samurai • Shoguns – Military leaders of the Bakufu

7. Similarities of Japan and Western European Feudalism • BOTH were not able to sustain more centralized political forms • BOTH embraced elite militaristic values • BOTH of their women were excluded from inheritance • Warfare based on spying, timely assaults, wise command, and organization of professional armies. • Japanese determined aristocratic rank by birth, thus blocking social mobility (think of the Indian caste system!)

8. Korea • Not until 3rd century CE was Korea independent of China • Korean bureaucracy admitted members almost exclusively by birth rather than test scores • “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” ;-)

9. Buddhism supplied the key links between Korea and China • Korea, because of its proximity to China, was more profoundly influenced over a longer period than any other state

10. Three competing kingdoms emerged in Korea: Silla, Koguryo and Paekche • Koguryo* – Tribal people of northern Korea; established an independent kingdom in the northern half of the peninsula; adopted cultural Sinification* • Silla* – southeast Korean kingdom was successful in establishing a unified and independent government in Korea although they paid the Tang tribute. Korea’s Three Kingdoms

11. Southeast Asia • Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, & the Malay Peninsula • Located between China and India (and south of China) • More rights for women than in India or China

12. VIETNAM • they had their own culture (remained distinct, in spite of Sinfication) • They were prepared to receive the benefits of Chinese civilization but not to lose their identity • Their spoken language was not related to Chinese • Vietnamese women had more freedom and influence than Chinese women did

13. Vietnam adopted Chinese model of government as well as Confucianism as state religion/philosophy • The expanding Han Empire first secured tribute from Vietnam; later, after 111 BCE the Han conquered and governed directly • Viets attended Chinese schools, learned Chinese scripts • Chinese techniques made Vietnamese agriculture the most productive in Southeast Asia

14. Geography, environment, and movement in Vietnam divided the nation into two cultural divisions – one in the south along the Mekong River and the other in the north along the Red River • The conflict between north and south left the Vietnamese oblivious to outside threats from the French and the Catholic Church.

15. The Khmer Empire - Cambodia • Kingdom of Angkor in 9th century • Jayavarman (King) united Khmer Empire • Thai people invade and destroyed the Khmer capital in 1432 • Khmer set up new capital in Phnom Penh

16. Thailand • Influenced by both China and India; Thailand adopted Buddhism as its state religion and the political practices of India.

17. Malay Peninsula/Indonesia • Heavily influenced by Indian culture • In the 15th c. an Islamic state formed around the small city of Malacca (southwest Malaysia) A sultanate* is a term used for a land ruled by the authority and office of a strictly Islamic monarchy

18. The Least You Need to Know • As the Chinese Empire developed and grew culturally and politically, so did its influence on Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia • Geographic isolation set the stage for Japan to develop its own unique culture and government • Although originally dominated by China, Korea eventually emerged as a divergent nation, both politically and culturally • In Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, the class that most welcomed Chinese influence and culture was the court bureaucrats (scholar-gentry; upper-class)