1. ASIA
Unit 3 Section 3

2. CHINA
After a 300 year period of disunity following the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220 CE, the Sui family reunited China in a short 40 years
The Sui dynasty was short-lived, but it set the stage for China’s growth into a powerful society that dominated Asia up through the 20th Century and affect the evolving cultures of Korea, Japan, & Vietnam
The Sui laid the groundwork for many of the practices of the Tang Empire, which would come to power in 618,
Under the Sui, Confucianism was reestablished as the philosophy of the state, and the examination system was revived.
By the time of the Sui, Mahayana Buddhism had grown to be very influential in China & would be a defining characteristic of the Tang dynasty.
The Sui placed their capital in Chang’an & built several canals to link the capital to the coast of Southern China
The most important, the Grand Canal, linked the Yellow & Yangzi Rivers and would be a key part of the Tang’s economic success

3. The Tang Empire
The Li family, whose roots were both Turkish & Chinese, established the Tang Empire in 618
The Tang established a large empire, giving a great deal of power to local nobility in order to ensure control
They expanded westward into Central Asia until Muslim Arabs &Turks stopped their advance
The Tang had ethnic ties to areas of Central Asia where Buddhism had proved politically useful, and as they extended their empire into areas where Buddhism was popular among people of all classes, they continued to use it as a political tool
For this reason Tang princes rewarded Buddhist monasteries that supported their rule with monetary gifts, tax exemptions, and land grants
The Tang also reinstituted the tributary system, first used by the Han dynasty, by which independent states gave gifts to the Chinese emperor
Both Japan & Korea paid tribute to the Tang and in doing so acknowledged China’s regional power

5. The Tang Empire
The Tang Empire quickly attracted people from all over Asia who flocked especial to the Tang capital at Chang’an, a trading center, where they could be found worshiping as Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists
With more than 1 million people in the city and its suburbs, Chang’an was a center for cultural exchange in the arts, textiles, & music
This cultural exchange was possible in part because the Tang, with control of the coast of southern China, participated in Indian Ocean trade
Chinese maritime technology included the compass & the ability to make oceangoing vessels that could transport all kinds of good up through the Grand Canal
The Chinese also began to master new kinds of skills such as cotton production, & increasing competition with the textile industry in western Asia spurred them to increase their expertise in silk production

6. The Tang Empire
In the 8th Century, the power of the Tang began to be threatened by rival states, including the Uighur & Tibetan Empires
These external threats, combined with internal rebellion and overexpansion, signaled the decline and eventual destruction of the Tang Empire
Buddhism, because it had come to China from India, became a scapegoat for many of the problems the Tang faced
Buddhist monasteries were accused of being a foreign evil that drained money from the state because they were tax-exempt
They were also blamed for causing the breakdown of the family because elite sons & daughters were entering monasteries rather then getting married & producing heirs

7. The Song Empire
After the fall of the Tang dynasty, 3 smaller empires controlled territory in China
The Song Empire, based in central China, had a large army but never grew as large as the Tang, primarily because of the strength of the rival Tanggut & Liao Empires in northern China
These 3 empires had different religious & ethnic identities and competed for resources
The Song fought against these “Barbarians” in the north & focused on advancing their maritime expertise in order to build relationships with other states by sea
The Jin, who defeated the Liao in 1115, captured the Song emperor 2 years later in the capital city of Kaifeng and forced the song south of the Yellow River, where they established a new capital at Hangzhou
From this point on, historians refer to the Song Empire as the Southern Song

8. The Song Empire
Although never as large as the Tang, the Song made outstanding scientific & technological contributions by building on the mathematical and engineering skills that had come to the far-flung Tang Empire
Example: they used their knowledge of astronomy to build a mechanical celestial clock and to improve the compass and the junk – the main Chinese seafaring ship
The junk navigated the oceans with ease and had special features such as watertight compartments that allowed it to preserve all kinds of goods
Military technologies were also essential because the Song military commanded more than 1 million men
Improvements in iron & steel production and experiments with gunpowder produced innovative and effective weapons.

10. The Song Empire
The song also had many economic accomplishments:
Paper money, possible thanks to printing techniques such as movable type, was a tremendous technological contribution that would spread across Asia, into Europe & beyond
Printing also allowed for the dissemination of agricultural techniques, educational resources, and public-health materials in cities and villages across China
Improving production and health conditions in areas by combating malaria and the plague
Another economic tool was credit, which could be used across the region

11. The Song Empire
Although the religious influence of Buddhism remained strong, Confucianism reemerged as the philosophical & ethical basis for Song society
Neo-Confucianism – Confucian ideas that emerged in the Song period & thereafter – reflected Buddhist influence and incorporated new understandings of Confucian teachings
Mastery of the Confucian classics was required under the scholar examination system, and merit-based appointments gave new prominence to the role of the scholar-official in Chinese society

12. Role of Women
Confucianism’s patriarchal tradition, coupled with the backlash against Buddhism dating form the end of the Tang period, meant that expectations for women were closely regulated in China and subsequently in all East Asian states
In China, women:
Did not have property rights
Inability to remarry (very rarely occurred)
Rarely had educational opportunities comparable to men
Footbinding, a practice unique to China, came to embody the restrictions on women in Song China
Their feet were tightly wrapped and subsequently broken
When healed in a way to make the feet appear smaller
Made the woman unable to work
Footbinding became a status symbol among the elite in China (wealthy = women could be objects and not productive “trophy”)

13. FOOTBINDING

14. The Mongols
What made the Mongols able to conquer Eurasia relatively quickly?
Much of their success was a result of the military techniques these steppe nomads had practiced for centuries
Mongol expertise in horsemanship and the use of the central Asian bow, which could shoot 1/3 farther than the bows of their enemies, made them nearly unstoppable
The only true military rivals to the Mongols were the Mamluks, who shared many of the same cultural traditions and were therefore familiar with Mongol weaponry and tactics
The Mongols also adapted the iron weaponry and tactics they encountered in China, and they absorbed many captured peoples into their army, including Iranians, Turks, Chinese and even Europeans

16. The Mongols
From 1240 to 1260 the capital of the Mongol Empire was Karakorum, a flourishing city that attracted merchants, missionaries, and scholars from all over Eurasia.
During this period, the Great Khan remained in Mongolia and ruled over the khanate of the Golden Horde in Russia, the Jagadai khanate in Central Asia, and the Il-Khan in Iran
After 1265, the Jagadai khanate continued to control Central Asia and developed and thrived independently from the domain of the Great Khan in the East
Both Turkish nomads and Muslims had a tremendous influence on developments in the Central Asian khanate

17. The Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, established under Genghis’ grandson Batu in 1223, began as a unified khanate but broke apart into smaller khanates, the longest-lasting one surviving up until the 18th Century
The Mongols ruled Russia from a distance
Their capital was just north of the Caspian Sea
This allowed Russia to avoid direct subjugation and kept Russia’s principalities in place
Much of the credit for this was due to Prince Alexander Nevskii who convinced his peers that their best strategy was to cooperate with the Mongols
In appreciation for his help, the Mongols favored Nevskii’s territory of Novgorod
Moscow the town his son ruled, eventually became the most important political hub in Russia

18. The Golden Horde
The Mongols also recognized and patronized the Orthodox Church, a shrewd political move to win the hearts of the Russian people
Islam was also very influential and became a source of tension among the Mongols of the Golden Horde
Batu’s successor declared himself a Muslim, which sparked conflict between Golden Horde leaders and those of the Il-khan that culminated in war in 1260
In 1295, the Il-khan leader declared himself a Muslim, which shifted alliances again

19. The Golden Horde
In securing & controlling Eurasia, the Mongols allowed missionaries, merchants and diplomats to move freely and exchange ideas and goods
However, the Mongols also unknowingly spread disease, in particular the bubonic plague
It began in China under the Tang dynasty
As Mongol Troops moved from their stations in China, rats in their cargo spread the disease across Central Asia into Russia and port cities like Kaffa on the Black Sea, and from there eventually to western Europe
In addition, influenza, typhus, and smallpox were spread
The death and devastation caused by the plague is one of the greatest legacies of the Mongols
Peaceful trade allowed for an unforeseeable pandemic
The Mongols brought demographic change in other ways as well
The heavy burden they placed on western Eurasia in terms of taxes and resources led to population loss, drained the local economy, and destroyed rural areas

20. Jagadai Khanate
As the Il-Khan khanate was declining in the Middle East, new leadership rose in the Jagadai Khanate under Timur (also known as Tamerlane in the West – ruled from )
Although he was an ambitious military leader, Timur could never be khan because he was not born a Mongol – he was a Turk who had married into the Mongol dynasty
This did not stop him from having incredible success in attacking the Delhi Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire & bringing the Middle East under his control
He then set his sights on East Asia but died before he could attack China
Timur’s legacy lived on through his decedents, the Timurids, in the Mughal Empire of the 16th Century

21. Timur & Contributions
Placed strategically between Iran and China, the ends of the Silk Road, Timur’s capital at Samarkand, became a key trading point on the Silk Road
Timur also patronized great scholars, painters, and historians, helping to preserve and build on the significant contributions of the Muslim world
Astronomy was another field that flourished during this time
Timur’s own grandson build an observatory in Samarkand and studied astronomy with great precision and dedication

22. YUAN EMPIRE
The death of Ögödei caused conflict over who would be the next Great Khan
When Genghis’ grandson Khubilai Khan took the title of the Great Khan in 1265, Jagadai’s descendents refused to recognize Khubilai as the supreme leader
The fighting that ensued destroyed Karakorum, and as result, Khubilai began to rule from Beijing, where he created an incredible city that was linked to the Grand Canal
In 1271, he crated the Yuan Empire in China, the new domain of the Great Khan

23. YUAN EMPIRE
One of Khubilai’s greatest contributions to Chinese regional identity was his ability to unify the areas after the Song’s fragmentation
He destroyed the Tanggut and Jin Empires in northern China & conquered the Southern Song dynasty in 1279, thereby laying out the territory of modern China
Eager to establish himself as a the rightful ruler of China, he worked to bring together Mongol and Chinese traditions
To that end, Khubilai adopted many of the successful political and cultural practices of the previous dynasties- with a few exceptions:
He did away with the scholar examination system & placed Mongols in the highest positions of authority in his court
Chinese scholar officials kept their positions but were subordinate to the Mongols
The Confucians were at odds with many of the practices of the Yuan Empire, including the rising status of merchants, whom Confucians did not respect

24. YUAN EMPIRE
Mongol control of the entire Eurasian landmass revitalized the Silk road
The Yuan Empire stood at one end and Il-khan at the other, which allowed for Pax Mongolica, or the Mongol peace
The flow of ideas, religion, technological innovations, and resources brought tremendous wealth and grandeur to the Yuan Empire
Khubilai financed the building of canals and roads to bring the tribute and wealth right to his glorious palace in Beijing

25. Silk Road Map

26. YUAN EMPIRE
Because Khubilai valued this exchange so much, he welcomed to his court important men from all parts of the world, including Marco Polo
Polo was a Venetian merchant whose record of his alleged years at the court of Khubilai has given tremendous insight into life in the Yuan dynasty
Muslims furthered astronomical studies, brought new medicinal practices, and left their imprint on language – Mandarin Chinese, a dominant language in China today, has many Mongolian influences that date back to this time

27. YUAN EMPIRE The Mongols significantly affected Chinese demographics
For various reasons the population under the Mongols declined significantly perhaps up to 40%:
Warfare
Flooding
Migration
Bubonic plague
By the 1340s, feuding among Mongol princes led to mass rebellion and the eventual rise of a new empire that focused on reestablishing Chinese traditions
The Mongols did not disappear
Some were absorbed into Chinese society and others returned to the Mongol homeland
The Ming would never rule over all the Mongols, who continued to be a serious concern on the northern edge of the Ming Empire

28. Ming Empire
In response to the foreign threat represented by the Mongol’s Yuan dynasty, a priority of the first Ming emperor, Hongwu, was to reassert Chinese authority & indigenous cultural practices
He moved the capital from Beijing to Nanjing, on the Yangzi river, and reinstituted the Confucian examination system
The Ming also made many social and economic changes to reflect their desire to take back control form the Mongols
Communication with the rest of Central Asia and the Middle East was scaled back tremendously, and silver replaced paper money as the main currency
Growing staple crops became more important than growing commercial crops because of the large population increase under the Ming
They also completed the Great Wall, which stood as a tangible symbol of imperial desire to keep foreigners out
Despite these efforts, many of the influences of the Mongols remained, including the Mongol calendar

29. Ming Empire
The 2nd Ming emperor, Yongle, was quite different from Hongwu
He increased ties to the previous empire by moving the capital back to Beijing and added onto Khubilai’s royal complex, the Forbidden City
Yongle also reopened trade with the Indian Ocean trade network & reestablished economic relations with the Middle East
To avoid conflicts with the remaining Mongol presence in Central Asia, he sent the eunuch naval admiral Zheng He on maritime voyages to Indian Ocean ports
In the course of 7 expeditions between , Zheng He established trading, mercantile, and diplomatic relationships & added 50 new tribute states to China’s realm
During this time, Ming cultural achievements blossomed in the areas of literature & painting, and Ming porcelain, known as Ming ware, became the most famous Chinese product throughout Eurasia
The Ming Empire would endure until the mid-17th Century

30. Zheng He

31. Korea
The 1st written records of Korean history come from Chinese sources, which make clear that the Chinese heavily influenced Korea, but that Korea also maintained its own identity
Both Confucianism & Buddhism had a tremendous impact on Korean culture, but political roles were not determined by a civil service examination system as in China
Instead, Korea’s landed aristocracy created ruling families who were in power for centuries, & wealth was based on agriculture
One of these families, the Silla, conquered the Korean peninsula with the support of the Tang

32. Korea
The Silla fell in the 10th Century, and the Koryo family, from which the name Korea derives, took over
Like the Southern Song in China, the Koryo also feared the Liao and Jin Empires, and they established a diplomatic relationship with the Song in light of this threat
The Koryo also had a tense relationship with the Mongols that climaxed when the Mongols attacked in 1231
In 1258, the same year that they sacked Baghdad, the Mongols finally defeated the Koryo and brought Korea under their control
The Mongols demanded economic tribute from the Koreans, and the Koryo family married into the Mongols, which resulted in further exposure to the Yuan culture

33. Korea
After the Yuan fell, the Yi family rose to power and established a new kingdom focused on reasserting Korean identity
The Yi remained in power until the Japanese takeover in 1910
Part of their ability to remain independent as a tributary state to the Qing Empire was their strong naval power – gunpowder technology taken from the Chinese allowed them to mount canons on ships

34. Korea One of the greatest contributions of the Koreans was in printing
Although the earliest woodblock print dates back to Han China & moveable type was in place in Korea by the 1300s, it was the invention of metal movable type by the Koreans in the 1400s that allowed for increased accuracy and readability

35. JAPAN
The 1st written records of Japan, like those of Korea, came from the Chinese
Many Chinese influences reached Japan through Korea, among them Confucianism & Buddhism
Indeed, Japan became a center for Mahayana Buddhism in the 8th Century
Like Korea, Japan adopted some practices from China but had some key differences in political organization
There was no concept of a Mandate of Heaven in Japan – Instead emperors descended from one continuous lineage
The Fujiwara family assumed protection of the emperor & was in power from , although a civil war plagued the last 30 years
The Kamakura family took power in 1185 & established a shogunate that controlled Japan through the military
Japan became a decentralized feudal state that recognized the emperor and shogun but was not unified

36. JAPAN
It was the threat of a Mongol invasion that unified feuding Japanese lords and helped create a national identity out of a politically decentralized environment
Every effort went into protecting Japan’s economic resources & preparing for attack
Japan’s ability to resist a Mongol invasion twice was partly because of the weather
Both times storms undermined the Mongols’ attempts
This fact helped cement the view that Japan was a unique state among her East Asian neighbors
Defending Japan successfully strengthened the power of the warrior elite, or samurai, who developed a culture centered on Zen Buddhism during the period of the Ashikaga Shogunate, established in 1338

37. VIETNAM
During the period , Vietnam was divided into 2 rival kingdoms:
Annam in the north
Environment similar to that of southern China & agriculturally based like its neighbors of East Asia
Culturally, politically & economically tied to China beginning in the Tang period
Champa in the south
It was a part of the Indian Ocean trade network
Heavily influenced by India & Malaysa
Both Annam & Champa were tributary states of the Song, and Champa made a significant tribute gift of Champa rice, which grows fast and allowed Chinese farmers in the song period to produce more of this staple crop
When the Mongols came, they made both Annam & Champa tribute states
This continued under the Ming (who occupied Annam for a time)
Annam regained tribute status, then took Champa – uniting the 2 kingdoms into one state named Annam by 1500
Annam continued to have Confucian political structures, including the examination system, but women retained property rights

38. South Asia
Since the decline of the Gupta Empire, India was divided into separate states that often fought one another
In the 12th Century, Turkish invaders from Central Asia poured into northern India and established the Delhi Sultanate
From , this Muslim empire ruled almost the entire subcontinent of India except the south, which Hindu princes held, and did much to centralize India under a strict government bureaucracy
The Turks destroyed temples and massacred thousands

39. South Asia
Once the initial conquest was over, the Delhi sultanate required Hindus to pay a special tax in exchange for protection
This created an ongoing tension between Hindus & Muslims that would ultimately weaken the Delhi Sultanate significantly – in fact, this tension between Hindus & Muslims still goes on today and causes much of the conflict in this region
The sultanate received a fatal blow in 1398 when Timur sacked & captured Delhi, a defeat that signaled the end of the prominence of Delhi
Despite its difficulty in controlling all of India, the Delhi Sultanate profited tremendously from the Indian Ocean trade network because it held many of the key port cities and regions along the trade routes

40. Indian Ocean Trade Network
The key to Indian Ocean trade was mastering the monsoon winds and navigating their currents
The typical ship of the Indian Ocean was the dhow, a boat fitted with a lateen sail – a triangular sail that caught the winds of the ocean beautifully
The Chinese junk became known in the Indian Ocean as the best vessel for travel and large transport
The Indian Ocean trade network grew to be the richest trade network during the period & it was at its height from
So precious was this trade network that gaining control of it would become the quest of European explorers like Christopher Columbus by the end of the period

41. Indian Ocean Trade Network
The complex trading patterns of the Indian Ocean were not controlled by one central political authority but worked through a series of smaller economic relationships
Gold from Africa flowed through the East African city-states.
Goods from the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Europe were transported across the Arabian peninsula
Port cities like Malacca stood as a gateway between Southeast Asia, China, and the Indian Ocean
Islam was the dominant religion of the network and facilitated trading relationships between peoples of all languages and ethnicities who shared this faith, among them
ibn Battuta, a Moroccan Muslim, who chronicled his extensive travels to many of the prominent locations along the Indian Ocean trade route and recorded that Islam spread to each port along the trade route and then beyond