AP World History Study Session #5

1. AP World History Study Session #5 East Asia from 500 to 1500 and the Mongol Empire

2. SUI DYNASTY • The long power struggle that followed the fall of the Han Dynasty ended in 589 when Wendi unified China under the Sui Dynasty. • Wendi used alliances, intrigue, and warfare to achieve his goals. • Yangdi murdered his father to gain the throne, then strengthened the empire by making legal and educational reforms.

3. SUI DYNASTY • After military defeats and expensive building projects that overwhelmed his subjects, widespread revolts threatened the Sui. • Following Yangdi’s death, Li Yuan (the Duke of Tang) seized power, expanded China’s boundaries dramatically, and founded the Tang Dynasty.

4. TANG DYNASTY • The Tang used scholar-gentry to create an effective bureaucracy and check the nobility’s power. They set up a new capital at Changan. • The Tang greatly expanded the Confucian-based examination system that provided qualified bureaucrats. Those who passed the highest-level exams were called jinshi. • Despite the system, many officials gained their positions through family connections rather than merit.

5. TANG DYNASTY • Buddhism enjoyed a resurgence. Among the masses, the salvationist, pure-land strain of Mahayana Buddhism won widespread conversions because it seemed to provide a refuge from an age of war and turmoil. • Members of the elite classes, on the other hand, were more attracted to the Chan variant of Buddhism, or Zen as it is known in Japan and the West. Empress Wu was particularly supportive of Buddhism. • Buddhist successes aroused the envy of Confucian and Daoist rivals, and by the reign of Emperor Wuzong in the mid-9th century, the religion was openly persecuted. Buddhism survived, but in a weakened condition.

6. TANG DYNASTY • Deadly family infighting led to the long reign of Emperor Zuanzong, whose reign marks a high point in Tang civilization. His interest in governing waned as he became increasingly obsessed with his lover, Yang Guifei. • In 755, the first of several revolts signaled growing discontent with Zuanzong, and soon nomadic tribesman – former allies – were impinging on Tang territory. • In 960, the scholarly general Zhao Kuangyin defeated most of the rivals who competed for power after Zuanzong’s death and founded the Song dynasty.

7. SONG DYNASTY • In establishing the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin could not defeat the Manchurian Liao dynasty (founded by Khitan peoples) in the north, a fact that proved fatal in time. • The Song favored the scholar-gentry at the expense of the military, which meant that the empire was never as formidable as the Tang. • Confucian ideas were emphasized under the Song, and the neo-Confucians believed that cultivating personal morality was the highest goal for humans, arguing that virtue could be attained through book learning and personal observation.

8. SONG DYNASTY • Signs of the Song dynasty’s decline included border kingdoms like the Tangut people’s kingdom of Xi Xia, disdain for military expenditures among the scholar-gentry, and Wang Anshi’s failed attempts to secure long-term reform. • In 1115, a new nomadic contender, the Jurchens, overthrew the Liao dynasty of the Khitans and established the Jin kingdom north of the Song empire. What became known for the next century and a half as the Southern Song dynasty was a weak state politically.

9. TANG AND SONG CULTURE • Yangdi’s Grand Canal linked the original centers of Chinese civilization on the north China plain with the Yangtze River basin more than 500 miles to the south. • The canal made it possible to transport grain from the fertile southern regions to the capital and to transfer food from the south to districts threatened by drought and famine in the north.

10. TANG AND SONG CULTURE • Tang conquests led to increased trade and contact over the silk roads and over the seas in Chinese junks. Urban centers grew, and “flying money” was a sign of the increasing sophistication of trade. • The movement of the population southward to the valleys of the Yangtze was part of a larger process of agrarian expansion encouraged by Tang and Song leaders. Agricultural improvements and land reforms aided peasants’ quality of life.

11. TANG AND SONG CULTURE • Both within the family and in society at large, women remained clearly subordinate to men. But some evidence suggests that, at least for women of the upper classes in urban areas, the opportunities for personal expression increased in the Tang and early Song. • Men were allowed to have premarital sex without scandal, to take concubines if they could afford them, and to remarry if one or more of their wives died. No practice exemplifies the degree to which women in China were subordinated as dramatically as footbinding.

12. TANG AND SONG CULTURE • The Tang and Song eras are remembered as a time of remarkable Chinese accomplishments in science, technology, literature, and the fine arts. • As the Confucian scholar gentry supplanted the Buddhists as the major producers of art and literature, devotional objects and religious homilies gave way to a growing fixation with everyday life and the delights of the natural world. • Li Bo’s poetry is a shining example of the everyday themes these intellectuals prized.

13. JAPAN’S IMPERIAL AGE • The Chinese influence on Japan came to a peak in the Taika, Nara, and Heian periods. (645-857) • The Taika Reforms restructured the government following the Chinese model. Confucianism permeated Japanese culture from top to bottom. • The Taika Reforms were not completed because of resistance from the nobles and Buddhist monks. Moving the capital to Heian (Kyoto), the emperor Kammu hoped to avoid monastic opposition.

14. JAPAN’S IMPERIAL AGE • Heian society was extremely mannered and sophisticated, developing a poetic tradition in a Chinese script tailored to the Japanese language. • The classic Tale of Genji symbolizes the aesthetic of the period, in particular the important, albeit limited, role of women at the Heian court.

15. JAPAN’S IMPERIAL AGE • The Fujiwara family was one of the most powerful, but typical in their cooperation with Buddhist monasteries to reduce the power of the emperors. • A new force came to cahllenge the court aristocracy: the bushi, or warrior leaders. Some were of noble origin, some not, but they had in common increasing power in their small domains, and the loyalty of samurai troops.

16. JAPAN’S IMPERIAL AGE • Unchecked use of force led to the preeminence of a warrior class and a warrior culture. • The code the samurai followed included the practice of seppuku, or ritual suicide following defeat. • Growth of samurai power accompanied the reduction of peasant status.

17. JAPAN’S ERA OF WARRIOR DOMINANCE • Chinese influence, and direct contact with China, waned in the 9th century. From the 11th century, court families, in conjunction with bushi allies, split the court with open rivalry. Eventually, open war broke out between the Taira and Minamoto Families. • The Gempei Wars ended with the ascendancy of the Minamoto at their new capital at Kamakura.

18. JAPAN’S ERA OF WARRIOR DOMINANCE • The bakufu government of the first Minamoto ruler, Yoritomo, was supported by shoguns, military leaders. The following centuries saw a complex system with titular emperors and Minamoto shoguns, real power being wielded by the Hojo family. They later were supplanted by the Ashikaga Shoguante. • Royal authority was a mere shadow, but the shoguns also lost power in the late 15th century, replaced by 300 daimyo kingdoms.

19. JAPAN’S ERA OF WARRIOR DOMINANCE • Court manners became irrelevant as making war took center state. The plight of the peasants became desperate, leading to unsuccessful revolts. At the same time the dynamism of some daimyos led to economic growth and the emergence of a merchant class. • Among the merchant and artisans, women had a more prominent role, while women of elite families saw their lives constrained.

20. KOREA: BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN • Korea, although strongly linked to Chinese cultural and political developments, had distinct origins, and long followed its own path of development. • The peninsula’s first kingdom, Choson, was conquered by China in 109 B.C., and subsequently Chinese settlers arrived. • Korea broke from Chinese dominance, forming three kingdoms: Koguryo, Silla, and Paekche.

21. KOREA: BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN • As in Japan, Sinification – adoption of Chinese culture – was largely mediated by Buddhism. The Koguryo ruler applied a Chinese-style law code. • Internal conflicts in the Three Kingdoms Era left Korea vulnerable to Chinese attack. The Tang allied with the Silla to destroy the Paekche and Koguryo, leaving the Silla a subject kingdom

22. KOREA: BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN • Sinification peaked under the Silla and Koryu rulers. Tribute and acknowledgements of Chinese authority created peaceful relations that stimulated Korean borrowing from Chinese culture. • Sinificiation was limited to Korean elite, while indigenous artisanry was allowed to decline. All of Korean society was arranged to serve the needs of the aristocracy.

23. VIETNAM: BETWEEN CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA • The early history of the Viet people is little known. Early Chinese raids in Vietnam in the 220s B.C. increased trade. Intermarriage with Mon-Khmer and Tai language groups furthered the development of a distinct Vietnamese ethnicity. • The Han became dissatisfied with merely exacting tribute from the Viet rulers and began direct rule in 111 B.C.E. Sinifcation increased, and was used by the Viet rulers to consolidate their power over both their own peoples and those to the west and south.

24. VIETNAM: BETWEEN CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA • Continuing Chinese influence in Vietnam depended on overcoming physical barriers, and on the competence of Chinese rulers. • Following the fall of the Tang the Vietnamese freed themselves completely by 939. Yet Chinese influence continued, particularly in the administration.

25. VIETNAM: BETWEEN CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA • The land of the Chams and the Khmers attracted the Vietnamese. From the 11th to the 18th centuries, the latter steadily expanded their territory at the expense of the Chams. The new southern territories were controlled only with difficulty by Hanoi. • The Trinh family, ruling the north, was challenged by the southern Nguyen family. The conflict left the Vietnamese oblivious to an outside threat: the French and the Catholic Church.

26. Rise of the Mongols • Accomplished horsemen, the Mongols typified the numerous nomadic bands that migrated throughout Central Asia in search of grazing lands for their livestock. To supplement the meat and dairy products provided by their herds, the Mongols traded with settled agricultural peoples for grain and vegetables. • The basic unit of Mongol society was the tribe; when warfare threatened, tribes joined together to form confederations. Although men held tribal leadership roles, Mongol women had the right to speak in tribal councils. Throughout their history, the Mongols were masters of the intrigues of steppe diplomacy, which involved alliances with other pastoral groups and the elimination of rivals, sometimes rivals within one’s own family.

27. Chinggis Khan1160? - 1227 Ruler and Military Leader of the Mongols who led the Mongol army to conquer and control an empire that stretched from China in the east to Eastern Europe in the west.The term Genghis Khan literally means “Universal Ruler”. The true name of the man given this title was Temujin (pronounced Tem – Yuh – Juhn). The Mongols were nomadic keepers of livestock from the region of modern-day Mongolia. They were organized into many separate clans. In 1206 Temujin was elected as leader of all of the Mongol clans, giving him authority to lead them all into battle. The Mongols created the largest empire in human history. To rule his empire Genghis Khan set up a capital city at Karakorum in Mongolia. Several characteristics lay behind Genghis Khan’s stunning success as a conqueror. First, he was a brilliant organizer. He assembled his Mongol warriors into a mighty fighting force. Following the model of the Chinese military, Genghis grouped his warriors in armies of 10,000. These in turn were organized into 1,000-man brigades, 100-men companies, and 10-man squads. He put his most battle-proven and loyal men in command of these units. Second, Genghis was a gifted strategist. He used various tricks to confuse his enemy. Sometimes, a small Mongol cavalry unit would attack, then pretend to gallop away in flight. The enemy usually gave chase. Then the rest of the Mongol army would appear suddenly and slaughter the surprised enemy forces. Finally, Genghis Khan used cruelty as a weapon. He believed in terrifying his enemies into surrender. If a city refused to open its gates to him, he might kill the entire population when he finally captured the place. The terror the Mongols inspired spread ahead of their armies, which led many towns to surrender without a fight. As one Arab historian wrote, “In the countries that have not yet been overrun by them, everyone spends the night afraid that they may appear there too.”

28. Chinggis Khan (Temujin) • A master at motivating the Mongol tribes, Chinggis Khan managed to break individual clan loyalties and construct new military units with allegiance to himself as their leader. In addition to unparalleled horsemanship, the Mongols became masters of the shortbow. Mongol contact with the Chinese also introduced them to other weapons of war, such as the catapult, gunpowder, cannons, flaming arrows, and battering rams. • By the time that Chinggis Khan died in 1227, the Mongols controlled an empire that extended from northern China to eastern Persia.

29. Pax Mongolica “Mongol Peace”; From the mid-1200s to the mid-1300s, the Mongols imposed stability and law and order across much of Eurasia. They guaranteed safe passage for trade caravans, travelers, and missionaries from one end of the empire to another, leading to the greatest exchange of items and ideas in human history to that time. Genghis Khan died in 1227 – not from violence, but from illness. His successors continued to expand his empire. IN less than 50 years, the Mongols conquered territory from China to Poland. In so doing, they created the largest unified land empire in history. After Genghis’ death, his sons and grandsons continued the campaign of conquest. Armies under their leadership drove south, east, and west out of inner Asia. They completed their conquest of northern China and invaded Korea. They leveled the Russian city of Kiev and reached the banks of the Adriatic Sea. The cities of Venice and Vienna were within their grasp. However, in the 1250s the Mongols halted their westward campaign and turned their attention to Persia. By 1260, the Mongols had divided their huge empire into four regions, or khanates. These were the Khanate of the Great Khan (Mongolica and China), the Khante of Changai (Central Asia), the Ilkhanate (Persia), and the Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia). A descendant of Genghis ruled each khante. Many of the areas invaded by the Mongols never recovered. The populations of some cities were wiped out. In addition, the Mongols destroyed ancient irrigation systems in areas such as the Tigris and Euphrates valleys. Thus, the land could no longer support resettlement. While ferocious in war, the Mongols were quite tolerant in peace. They rarely imposed their beliefs or way of life on those they conquered. Over time, some Mongol rulers even adopted aspects of the culture of the people they ruled. The Ilkhans and the Golden Horde, for example, became Muslims. Growing cultural differences among the khanates contributed to the eventual splitting up of the empire.

30. Mongol Drive to the West The effects of the Mongol occupation of Russia (Khanate of the golden Horde) were numerous: • The Mongols set up a tribute empire called The Golden Horde • Serfdom arose as peasants gave up their lands to the aristocracy in exchange for protection from the Mongols. • Moscow benefited financially by acting as a tribute collector for the Mongols. When neighboring towns failed to make their tribute payments, the princes of Moscow added their territory to the principality of Moscow. • They strengthened the position of the Orthodox Church by making the metropolitan, or head of the Orthodox Church, the head of the Russian church. • Mongol rule kept Russia culturally isolated from Western European trends such as the Renaissance. This isolation denied Russia opportunities to establish both commercial and cultural contacts with the West, in a situation that fostered misunderstanding through the modern period.

31. European Opinion of the Mongols • After establishing their presence in Russia, the Mongols went on to their next goal: the conquest of Europe. After an attempted conquest of Hungary in 1240 and raids in Eastern Europe, the Mongols withdrew to handle succession issues in their capital of Karakorum in Mongolia. The proposed conquest of Europe never materialized.

32. Kublai Khan Kublai Khan – Grandson of Genghis Khan who defeated the Song Dynasty in China, establishing the Yuan Dynasty, which he ruled from 1279 to his death in 1294. He established a new capital city for his empire: Beijing. After the death of Genghis Khan the empire was divided among his descendants. In all five “khanates” (separate territories) were established by Temujin’s sons. In their attack on the Chinese the Mongols first encountered firearms, which were invented by the Chinese. In the 1270’s the Mongols gained this technology for themselves and introduced its use into Europe in the following century. The Yuan Dynasty remained in power until 1368, when Zhu Yuanzhang, the son of a peasant, put together and army and overthrew the Mongols, establishing the Ming Dynasty. As China’s new emperor, Kublai Khan founded a new dynasty, and though it lasted for less than a century (until 1368) it was an important period in Chinese history for several reasons. First, Kublai Khan united China for the first time in more than 300 years. For this he is considered one of China’s great emperors. Second, the control imposed by the Mongols across all of Asia opened China to greater foreign contacts and trade. Finally, Kublai and his successors tolerated Chinese culture and made few changes to the system of government. Unlike his Mongol ancestors, Kublai abandoned the Mongolian steppes for China. He did not share his ancestors dislike of the settled life. On the contrary, he rather enjoyed living in the luxurious manner of a Chinese emperor. He maintained a beautiful summer palace at Shangdu, on the border between Mongolia and China. He also built a new square-walled capital at the site of modern Beijing. Kublai built this palace to enhance his prestige, but his new capital meant something more. Previously the Great Khans had ruled their empire from Mongolia. Moving the capital from Mongolia to China was a sign that Kublai intended to make his mark as emperor of China.

33. Yuan Dynasty • In China, the Mongols under the leadership of Kublai Khan, a grandson of Chinggis Khan, turned their attention to the remnants of the Song Empire in the southern part of the country. By 1271, Kubliah Khan controlled most of China and began to refer to his administration as the Yuan Dynasty. Under Mongol rule: • The Chinese were forbidden to learn the Mongol written language, which was the language of official records under the Yuan Dynasty. • Intermarriage between Mongols and Chinese was outlawed. • The Chinese civil service examination was not reinstated. • Religious toleration was practiced. • Chinese were allowed to hold positions in local and regional governments.

34. Yuan Dynasty (Cont.) • Mongol women enjoyed more freedoms than Chinese women, refusing to adopt the Chinese practice of footbinding. Mongol women were allowed to move about more freely in public than were Chinese women. • The Yuan used the expertise of scholars and artisans from various societies. • Foreigners were welcome at the Yuan court. Among visitors to the Mongol court were the Venetian Marco Polo and his family. • Merchants were accorded higher status in the Mongol administration than they had under the Chinese. • The suppression of piracy furthered maritime trade (trade by sea).

35. Marco Polo Venetian merchant who explored Europe, Africa and Asia in the 1200’s, traveling by caravan along the Silk Roads. While imprisoned in Genoa during a war between Venice and Genoa, Polo shared the stories of his travels. A fellow prisoner compiled these stories into a book, which was widely read throughout Europe. After his visit to Hangzhou, the capital of China during the Song Dynasty, Marco Polo wrote “So many pleasures may be found (in Hangzhou) that one fancies himself to be in Paradise.” Some of the “pleasures” Marco Polo witnessed in China included new forms of entertainment, such as chess and playing cards, block printing which made literature more easily available, and paddle wheel boats and horseback riding that made travel faster. Foreign trade increased under Kublai Khan. This was largely due to the Mongol Peace, which made the caravan routes across Central Asia safe for trade and travel. Traders transported Chinese silk and porcelain, which were greatly valued in Europe and western Asia, over the Silk Roads and other routes. These traders also carried with them such Chinese products and inventions as printing, gunpowder, the compass, paper currency, and playing cards. Kublai further encouraged trade by inviting foreign merchants to visit China. Most of them were Muslims from India, Central Asia, and Persia. Many European traders and travelers, including Christian missionaries, also reached China. The Mongol rulers had little in common with their Chinese subjects. Because of their differences, the Mongols kept their separate identity. Mongols lived apart from the Chinese and obeyed different laws. They kept the Chinese out of high government offices, although they retained as many Chinese officials as possible to serve on the local level. Most of the highest government posts went to Mongols or to foreigners. The Mongols believed that foreigners were more trustworthy since they had no local loyalties.

36. Mongol Decline • By the mid-fourteenth century, the court of Kublai Khan weakened as it became more concerned with the accumulation and enjoyment of wealth than with efficient administration. Banditry, famine, and peasant rebellions characterized the last years of the Yuan until their overthrow by a Chinese peasant who founded the Ming Dynasty.

37. Timur i-Lang (Timur the Lame) • With the decrease of Mongol dominance in Eurasia came the final nomadic thrust by Timur the Lame, or Timurlane, a Turk from Central Asia. Although his capital city at Samarkand was noted for architectural beauty, his conquests were known only for their incredible brutality. From the mid-1300s until his death in 1405, Tamerlane spread destruction across Persia, Mesopotamia, India, and a part of southern Russia. His death marked the final major thrust of nomadic peoples from Central Asia into Eurasia.